Palace 31/05/11

[kieran]

Well, my first race of the year finally done and my worst result for a few years

There were 4 ACC on the start line for the 3rd/4th cat race (none in the E/1/2), myself, Iliya, Ghaleb and Rich. The race was going around the 'new' way as the barriers were still up from the motor racing. I did 2 warm up laps and so ended up at the back of the bunch on the start line with Iliya and Ghaleb. As I wasn't familiar with the new direction I made the mistake of taking the turns too slow and ended up constantly losing ground only to regain it later. This couldn't go on and I was dropped from the bunch about 10 laps in. Then I spent a few laps on my own and later on joined Iliya, Ghaleb and one other rider for most of the remainder of the race (with another few laps on my own, once in a while for good measure). We got lapped by the main 3/4 bunch at some stage, and finally pulled out near the end to watch the finish.

I found the new direction interesting, the tight U-turn seemed worse and the bottom corners didn't flow together as well in my opinion, but then the hill didn't seem as bad, so good and bad. I did like the smaller field size, less places to hide but the circuit felt much roomier and safer. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say, and my 'result' certainly indicated that the training I did in previous years had an effect (in those years - hasn't really carried through sadly). Maybe I need to dust off the turbo

See Sylv's posting in the Tour of Wessex thread for a link to his pictures of the night.

[Sylv]

[quote="kieran"]Then I spent a few laps on my own and later on joined Iliya, Ghaleb and one other rider for most of the remainder of the race

[quote="Sylv"][quote="kieran"]Then I spent a few laps on my own and later on joined Iliya, Ghaleb and one other rider for most of the remainder of the race

[Ghaleb]

Good race guys, and nice pictures Sylv. I enjoyed the race, but didnt expect the pace to be like that, didnt last long with the bunch was dropped early on and then a little group formed which i stuck with. I got overlapped a few times dont know how many and then Later in the race Kieran and Iliya joined the group and we stayed together till the end of the race. It took me a while to get used to the turns, but felt more comfortable with the cornering after a few laps round. I am going to have to train more for the next one, but not until I sort out my knees, probably need to give them a rest, and try to strengthen them somehow. In the mean time I will definitely have to buy a jersey but I am just waiting for the new design to come out first

[Iliya]

I too didn't expect the pace to be so strong from the beginning. The little warm up I had on the way from home to CP had "worn" off by race start as we waited for good 20 minutes for the race to start. Next time (there will be next time) I must make sure I stay warmed up.

Otherwise not much more to add to the previous comments. Dropped off at the beginning but then pedaled on my own for a while until I was joined by Ghaleb and Kieran.

I averaged 93% of max HR over 56 minutes. How does this compare with HRs’ of more experienced racers?

[quote="Ghaleb"]Good race guys, and nice pictures Sylv. I enjoyed the race, but didnt expect the pace to be like that, didnt last long with the bunch was dropped early on and then a little group formed which i stuck with. I got overlapped a few times dont know how many and then Later in the race Kieran and Iliya joined the group and we stayed together till the end of the race. It took me a while to get used to the turns, but felt more comfortable with the cornering after a few laps round. I am going to have to train more for the next one, but not until I sort out my knees, probably need to give them a rest, and try to strengthen them somehow. In the mean time I will definitely have to buy a jersey but I am just waiting for the new design to come out first

[kieran]

hi Toks, where have you been hiding? I'm afraid my singing voice is worse than my racing!

[Ghaleb]

[quote="Toks"]Hey well done Ghaleb, once your knees sorted (bike position, cleats or pushing big gears??) try to get yourself on the front when you start the race. Keep going, you'll make progress each time you race