Addiscombe 1st, 3rd and 4th @ Hillingdon

[Matthew Ives]

A super night for The Addiscombe as Steve Broomfield (now a 3rd cat) used his ferocious sprint to claim 1st place after a stunning last lap lead out by Ajay.
Sylvain nailed 3rd cat status by getting 3rd in the sprint with me just behind him in 4th.
Also of note was a banzai breakaway by George from the gun that lasted 10 laps....phenomenal effort!

All in all a super night out for Team Addiscombe.
Full report to follow.

[Dr Frigo]

So with Palace Addiscombe had nine riders racing on a weekday evening. (Was Tim in the 1/2 race?).

Kevin raced at Hillingdon with the 3rd Cat group which started with the 1/2 (he caught some up at some point without even realising it at first).

Thanks to George and Kevin the ride back home was as hard if not harder than the race.

Legs are good today

[Toks]

Fantastic Stuff Everyone!! Steve, your first race of the season and you go and bloody win it! Absolutely brilliant. I hope to read your report soon. Hey Sylv well done again Mr 3rd cat; and Matt a very impressive fourth place. With George's big Diesel engine and Super AJ now chief leadout man things are looking good boys!!!

[Toks]

[quote]So with Palace Addiscombe had nine riders racing on a weekday evening. (Was Tim in the 1/2 race?).

[siwickm]

Hey, that is absolutely brilliant, first race and a win, terrific. And with ACC placings in 3rd and 4th that really shows how well everyone is coming on.

I am really looking forward to seeing a few more ACC racers out in some of the 3rd cat races now, we should be getting up there with the Dynamo in terms of numbers.

See you soon.

Cheers

Marek...

[Andrew G]

1st time I've seen the racing at Palace, blimey it's quick! Short lap and with the 1/2 and 3/4 fields split there seems a never ending stream of riders flying past.

Toks - I'm going to have to try and claim some credit for your next Palace victory if they're on the new tyres . Strong riding all evening, never outside the top 10 and always in a good position.

Well done to Team ACC for the storming results at Hillingdon. Addiscombe don't race eh? Some of this seasons results certainly seem to be rubbishing that claim, and that's without adding in Jon and cos. TT results.

[Matthew Ives]

I was only expecting George and myself to be racing at Hillingdon but it seemed that every five minutes a new black and yellow jersey arrived to sign on!

Anyway, we all gathered together in the club house and chatted about tactics over a pre race cup of tea.
George, mad fool that he is, proposed the idea of going for a flyer on lap 1..from the gun. At first a few of us (me included) agreed to go with him, but then after the grim reality of the endeavour dawned on us, we all bottled out to leave only George intent on making his mark from the get-go. On the start line, George gulped down a last minute gel pack and fixed his eye up the road.

It was still very hot, even at 7.30 as we lined up. Steve was looking nervous about his first race here, despite me telling him it was pretty much like a club run in terms of pace. So, off we go and George is like a greyhound from a trap. Immediately he gets a 50 metre gap and a couple of foolhardy souls try and latch on to him. Within a lap or so a group of 4 riders had a pretty impressive gap and it just kept on building . Several people were trying to organise a chase but it never materialised. I was asked a couple of times to come through and work, but refused, which seemed to anger a few people ( I can?t think why )

After 8 or so laps they were completely out of sight down the straight and we all thought that?s it?race over.
Then strangely within a couple of laps, they were back in the pack. I?m totally confused as to how it happened, since we didn?t seem to up the pace much and ,according to George, the group of 4 was working well together. Anyway, it remains a mystery how they came back so quick. George looked a bit wasted after his brief escape for freedom and he sat in for a few laps recovering.

The pace was pretty steady for the whole race. I just sat in, still feeling the effects of the sun and a hard day at work. Towards the end Ajay made a few powerful attacks and went off the front only to be pulled back. Then ,all of a sudden it was 2 laps to go and I found myself near the back. By the end of the home straight I had muscled my way up into the top 10 hoping that I could hold my position in the sprint. Ajay stayed on the front and kept the pace high and did a terrific job leading people out for the sprint. I sat behind Sylvain for the sprint and really just stayed on his wheel till we crossed the line. Steve must have come flying past at some point because he was about 10 metres up the road when we crossed the line. He came from no where ( as usual) and left everyone for dead. First race, first win. Fantastic result!!

There was a nasty crash on the last lap which resulted in a couple of head injuries and a lot of blood. Horrible to see that kind of thing.

As you can imagine, spirits were high after the race as the ACC took over the club house reliving the race whilst gulping down tea and cake. The ride home was actually harder than the race for me since Kevin (from the E1/2/3 race) decided that one race in an evening is not enough and proceeded to extend the pain for us by hammering away on the front.

Another great night out at Hillingdon. Thanks guys!!

[Steve B]

After being encouraged by Matthew and others to race at Hillingdon, I decided Monday night that I would take my bike and kit with me to work and definately make the effort to take part in my first race.
Left Croydon a bit late and decided quickest route would be M25, which it was until I came off and joined the M4 for the short 1 junction stint. Blimming eck it had stopped. Boiling over in a non air condition van on the motorway is not good preparation for bike racing.
Anyway just managed to get there in time to sign in and get changed ( thanks Ajay for pointing me in the right direction with both ).
No time to think what was going to happen in the race as it was 1 warm up lap and straight to the start line. George blasted off from the gun with two or three others and were soon out of sight, leaving me Matthew Sylvain and Ajay quietely sitting in the pack. A few non eventfull laps past and the breakaway group came back to us.
The pace quickened and slowed a few times but I felt quite comfortable and wondered if I ought to do a bit of work on the front. That thought lasted for approximately 0.25 seconds, your aving a laugh!! No just sit in and do what you've got to do.
Ajay made a lone break at the front towards the end and no one went with him, nice one.
Before I knew it "2 laps to go" was shouted out and I was last man at back of pack having a drink of water. All I remember from before the race was Matthew saying "make sure you're near the front with 2 laps to go". "Oh no I've blown it" I thought. I tried not to panic and just eased my way past about half the field before the bell.
I still felt strong so pushed hard to get into a good position down the back straight behind Matthew and Sylv and just focused on the final bends and where and when I would make my move. Fantastic, as the adrenalin flowed, I knew I was going to win before the straight as there was loads of power left in my legs. A nice gap opened up on the inside and it was there that the move was made. 85% effort up the first bit of straight, then 90% and I was clear. 100% up the last bit and I knew no one was coming past me. Er I just won -did I- yeah I just won, fantastic.
Smiling faces all round as we gathered after the finish, with Sylvain coming in third and Matthew fourth. With George making his move from the off, Ajay's lone break towards the end and Kevin riding well in the E123's, it was a good night for the Addiscombe .

[Ian A4size]

Nice one shadow! I see you waited till dark to make your post .
Now if you ever start training..... instead of just your one ride a week

[ajay khandelwal]

4/W/J
1, Steve Freeman, Addiscombe CC
2, Dylan Thompson, Twickenham CC
3, Sylvain Garde, Addiscombe CC
4, Paul Richards, CC Islington
5, N/A
6, Matthew Ives, Addiscombe CC

Note: Apologies for less accurate and full results than usual caused by combination of breakdown of camera and races intermingling for 4th cat event finish. Claims by riders who considered they finished in the top ten placings (for ranking points) in the 4th cat. event will be considered, especially if accompanied by independent evidence ie who was in front and behind you. A new camera has been purchased.

!! Heres my chances - so guys all I need is for Slyvain to say I was behind him and Matt to say I was in front of him !

[Paul R]

The list is wrong - there was an Agreeable in front of me who I couldn't get past and I think it was Matt. I thought we established that on the line with the commisaires. So Matt should be fourth and me sixth. That's sporting of me, isn't it? Who do we need to contact?

[Toks]

[quote]After being encouraged by Matthew and others to race at Hillingdon,

[Paul R]

Thanks Toks. I would've placed but my cravatte puts me at an aerodynamic disadvantage.

I'm hoping to get my remaining points next week and then be down at Palace the week after. I'll also be at Eastway tonight - hope to see you there.

[Matthew Ives]

[quote]The list is wrong - there was an Agreeable in front of me who I couldn't get past and I think it was Matt. I thought we established that on the line with the commisaires. So Matt should be fourth and me sixth. That's sporting of me, isn't it? Who do we need to contact?

[Paul R]

You're welcome Matt. But thinking about it, I was definitely behind you with no-one in between, so I don't know how that "N/A" got in there. I think it must have been that junior who hadn't actually paid to enter so was disqualified. Did anyone see where he finished? He looked about 13, and he was totally fearless; I kept seeing him weave in and out of tiny gaps during the race.