Toks wins at The Palace!!!!

[Matthew Ives]

Awesome result.
http://www.londoncyclesport.com/reports_2006/cp11.html

Do tell the story

[Alan M]

Well done Toks - your success is a testament to your own advice and training regime. Good stuff.

[Elliot M]

Chapeau!

[mark mclaughlin]

Excellent result Toks, sorted the paragon I see. Well done to Jack also coming 5th.
Toks are you joining us at the Bletchingley course next tues? should suit you sir!

[Toks]

There's something slightly distasteful about chasing around a girl less than half your age. Thankfully my conscience is clear. This is road racing, so following riders no matter what their gender is par for the course. Louise Mahe is a gutsy junior rider from Sutton CC and she's been slugging it out with us 3rd/4th cat blokes for the whole year. Sat on her wheel, I can tell she's putting in a tremendous effort just to maintain a place in the front fifteen. With a top ten finish already this year if the pace stays steady she'll be fine.

A few laps later however Dulwich Paragon?s Kevin Knox sounded the death knell. He opened up the throttle and a gap of almost two bike lengths quickly formed. Louise looked like she hadn't quite recovered from Brixton Cycles Vet, Quentin Tring's earlier surge, so the effects of increasing blood lactate plus a possible need to breath in a more rhythmic and less laboroured fashion meant she was unable to respond. Nevertheless she showed humility beyond her years by not hindering our progress and switched over to the slow lane (she'll be kicking our arses in a couple of years!). I smiled at her and then towed forty riders back up to the leaders.

With approximately twelve laps to go I'm out on my own desperately trying to win friends and influence them. Two Dulwich Paragon riders have suddenly gone AWOL. Close to fifteen seconds behind them is a ragged looking group of three, and about five seconds behind them is me. A lap later and the threesome has become a foursome; featuring, myself, Sutton CC's junior rider Matt Zietz, a London Dynamo rider and another hitch hiking Dulwich rider.

"Common guys we can catch em" I urge. Oops! On the climb enthusiasm's got the better of me and I've unintentionally dropped my bridge-across-buddies. So once again I'm Billy no mates? [i]Jesus Christ how long does it take to close sixty metres? I've been chasing solo for two laps I've narrowed the gap to about 30 metres. Are they easing off? I can't tell, but they're looking back so I'm sure they can see me coming. [/i]It?s been a five minute all out effort at my maximum aerobic power. I'm not sure how much longer I can maintain it.

On my third solo blast up the climb they're almost within spitting distance. One big anaerobic jump and I'm there. But then that effort might just put me out of the race... From nowhere the ?hand of god? appears and I?m pushed for about five metres. ?Thanks mate?! It?s a London Dynamo rider to the rescue... closely followed by the bunch.

There?s no time for me to recover. The two Dulwich riders had basically been riding tempo for a couple of laps and now they're back in business. sh1t I?ve got to go with them...Either this is the winning move or I'm gonna pack. Strangely know one else follows and we quickly established a fifty metre gap. Once again I turned into Mr motivator...

?Common guys, just four laps to go". I led down the descent and after thirty seconds on the front I flicked out my elbow and breakaway protocol was activated...With three laps to go our gap shot up to about twenty five seconds. The effort required to stay a way should not be underestimated and at one point I thought I was hallucinating when I saw VCL's Max McCalla suddenly appear in front of us soft peddling in the slow lane.

My calves started hurting on the penultimate lap and I secretly tried to stretch them while recovering at the back after taking my pull. With a lap and a half to go one of the Dulwich riders refused to pull through. Fatigued or faking it? I'm not sure, but they were obviously getting ready to execute the old ONE TWO

For those like myself, not really blessed with lots of fast twitch muscle fibre, the path to a road race win probably looks something like this: happy to just finish; finish in the bunch; get in a breakaway, then finish with the bunch; get in THE breakaway and place; get in THE breakaway and win?

On the climb for the final time we're sizing each other up. I didn't feel strong enough to drop them both so I decided rather riskily perhaps to leave it to the sprint. One of them tried a fake jump - but I didn't buy it. With fifty metres to go I set off, hands in the drops, pretending to be Robbie Mc. I really expected the guy who was sat on my wheel to nick it at the line, but he was obviously knackered. Job Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tel]

Well done Toks, you certainly deserve your win.

Terry