the A teams latest member...--->dunsfold april 8th

[Stu Merckx Man]

well its was a pretty exciting race full of attacks, crashes, close calls, and fast sprint finish.

pual T and adam--> (the cheer leaders for me, rob and richard ) counted me in at number 8 .

full write up to follow, im off to brighton.

[-Adam-]

Just want to say again, stu, good work!

Now your with us! i look forward to your report, i think writing the report is sometimes harder than the race itself!

Congrats, roll on next saturday, i cant wait to team up with you!

[Ian A4size]

Well done Stu- now the pain starts.....

[Stu Merckx Man]

well the weather was perfect, and there was almost no wind.

the excitement started from the first lap when richard went for a sneaky dig out on the right but was soon closed down. the speed was fine on the whole and the only time my legs burnt was chasing down the bountiful amount of breaks, and when i tried a few.

anyways, the second lap another attack was launched, as i was feeling good i felt like chasing it down, so i worked with the Cadburys chocolate man to get them back (you will be hearing a fair bit about him later), also coming down towards the line i saw adam and paul cheering us on which was a boost!...

so then i think the next lap was pretty un eventful, but on the 4th lap everything slowed down after we had passed the line, so i pulled out to the right and put my feet down. i got a decent gap on the pack and stayed out for half a lap or so but no one followed so i sat up so as not to waste energy. then the next lap the exact same thing, i simply pulled out to the right and gave it some welly. i got a decent gap again but it appeared no one was following so i sat up and slowed down...then all of a sudden i heard rob shout something along the lines of 'go stu go!' and he came steaming across the gap towards me. we had a little break going for about 3/4 of a lap but we got pulled in again. this is where i stopped going with any breaks, and stopped trying any, as it was clear they were all going to be pulled in, especially by Cadburys man.

i think it was on lap 5 or 6 there was a pretty bad crash which nearly took me out...we where approaching the back end of the track when someone next to me went onto the grass, and consequently went down...it made a pretty loud clatter and a big thump, and all i saw was a leg flailing about in the corner of my eye, the person behind me got taken down with him and i think about 4 all together.

now with 4 laps to go i made a real effort to stay near the front in the top 7 or so, and forced myself not to go in any other break aways. by now i had got to know who were the strong riders and i decided to stick to there wheels...another break went and with 3 laps to go the chase was on. about 4 of us did the work, mostly by Cadburys man who was very strong! we got a through and off of sorts going, and on the last lap we had caught them.

last lap-
well it was pretty exciting. the pace picked up and i had to keep fighting to stay in the top 5. the pace was high and Cadburys man was constantly hammering it which was pretty exhausting. i had done a lot of turns on the front, chased a few breaks, and been in a couple by then so it was not ideal...then the real leg churning stuff happened. people on the right of the pack kept on attacking, and if i wanted to be in the points i had to follow them, this went on for about a mile round the back, but soon settled down when we were about 1/2 a mile away...it was then i got the fright of my life when out of nowhere someone came into the side of me, his front wheel hit my foot, almost sending him flying, and whipping my foot painfully out of the pedal just as i was pushing down, making me fall onto my handle bars. luckily i didnt fall.

so with the line in site (still far away but we could see it from round the corner), i sat on Cadburys mans wheel. he was leading and i was in second, he was absolutely hammering it and i nearly dropped off his wheel! we turned the corner and the sprint started, i was pretty tired by now and my legs were already burning. there was no way i could go for a full pelt out the saddle sprint so i stayed in the saddle and took a sprinters wheel to the finish, grabbing 8th (according to paul) so that should make me 3rd cat.

i have realised something though about my sprinting. i am starting my sprint too far forward in the pack, my last 4th cat race was from about 4th place, but i ended 7th, and this race was from second and i think i got 8th, but on my first race when i was about 10-15th back i got 4th...so perhaps i should be entering the sprint from about 6-7 place back , any thought???

it was a brilliant race and easily the most exciting for me. 30 miles in total, and average speed of 25.5 mph

cheers
stu

[-Adam-]

Stu, placing for the sprint depends very much on the situation in each individual race. I came round the final bend 3rd wheel, but as the two infront of me drifted right, a couple of guys got thru the left side (including the guy who may or may not have beaten me!)

But sometimes it pays to be a bit further back, say at hillingdon, i reckon 5th wheel is the best place to be coming round the last bend... It will be interesting to see what the other more experienced racers have to say on the matter. I think there are two key factors though in the last lap...

a. having the bottle to not chase anyone down and wait for the final 200m
b. don't leave it too late, you don't want to finish with anything left in the tank (unless you've won that is!)

[Stu Merckx Man]

yeh,
mind you its only my 3rd race where i have been in with a chance with sprinting (against the 2nd cats it was impossible!), so i think i just need more experience, then i can read situations better.

[Andrew G]

Well done Stu, the open roads now beckon .

Re the sprint the danger of being to near the front is those in front dying and leaving you out there too early. In my only race so far I thought I was on a good wheel until the bugger died and left me in the wind 400m from the line .

[Marek]

Andrew was that in a track race in an 400m race, never mind, next time I am sure you will do better.

Cheers

MArek...

[Matthew Ives]

great result Stu...well done.
Look forward to racing with you soon

[Andrew G]

[quote="Marek"]Andrew was that in a track race in an 400m race, never mind, next time I am sure you will do better.

Cheers

MArek...

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Didn't meet anyone at 8:00am at CSS so headed off by myself to Dunsfold. Still managed to get dropped going over Gatton.
Just rolled the legs easy, max HR 140, and averaged a nice steady 17.1mph through the lanes to Dunsfold (38 miles).

Watched Stuart in the 4ths race and placed him 8th at the finish. Richard Viney and Rob Taylor also finished in the bunch.

Then waited til Adam started, then went to get something to eat and drink (nothing at race). Adam got in a break for a few laps, then got reeled in, and at the finish, was impossible to split for 1st place (video to be consulted)

Rode home quite strongly via Guidford, ending up with 86 miles average 19.mph (not bad for an easy day!!)

Paul

[George]

Well done Stu congratulations on coming up to the 3rd cats now all of us with Adam as well should go well together.

Good to see that the Cadburys Chocolate man was racing, did he hand out Easter Eggs at the finish,

Oh I do love a Cadbury's Egg

[Stu Merckx Man]

no such luck george, but i nearly managed to lay a few myself when i nearly went down....

[Toks]

Congratulations Stu! Despite all your posts it seems like you've been at ACC for about five minutes. Now you can settle down and find out what kind of racer you are. Aren't you sad that you'll never ever be a 4th cat again? Three years on and I still miss them lovely, nervous, scary frightening but fun summer races with the Hillingdon 4ths . Then again I'm a bit of a saddo - I still miss The Double Deckers kids TV program

[Stu Merckx Man]

i cant say i will toks, 2 out of the 3 4th cat races i have done have been in the wet, the wind, and the cold!

im hoping 3rd cat will leave me with the happy memories!