i got there fairly early and watched the 4th cats. matt D was up the front most of the time and looking comfortable. i watched the finish and matt was comfortably in the top 15-20, out of a huge field.
i nearly didnt come today, but i thought i would face my demons
. i had a feeling i wouldnt crash so i was not too worried.
anyways to the race---> there was one other acc there, richard.
so we got under way and almost immediately on the first lap i found myself in a break, although at the time i didnt realise it until i heard all the spectators shouting, i looked back and saw about 7 of us had a good gap. about 3 of us worked megga hard to stay away, the others just sat in, so inevitably we got pulled back in.
so for the next 10 laps or so i stayed near the front, going with, or chasing breaks which went pretty frequently. there was a mozzie bloke there who i think was at palace on tuesday, that deserves a mention. he did LOADS of work, chasing, breaking, and doing HUUUGE pulls on the front.
after about 10 laps i was feeling a bit tired so i let myself drift back, ready to come forward on about lap 17 (out of 20). on lap 14 christain yates decided to try and break away, he came passed me on the right, and i nearly went with him, but i had to force myself to stay mid bunch, as i needed to recover, and i was fast running out of water. he got away for a bit but thankfully the mozzie, an evans guy, and another bloke pretty much chased him back down.
on the 2nd or 3rd to last lap, yates went for another break, this time solo. he cought up with the e,1,2s who were about 150m ahead, (they had just overtaken us). everyone seamed a bit reluctant to chase him back, and so he stayed away until the end.
anyway back to us mortals....so the last lap came and i was in a good postion round about 15-10 from the front. the pace slowed big time as we went over the hills/bumps i think a few people crashed and everyone started shouting the 'woooooooo' or 'waaaaaaaay' or 'OI f**k off my line' at eachother
, so seaming as i was infront of all that i tried to go for a long one. i gave it everything over the otherside, and i had opened a gap, but a bunch of dynamos wernt having it and pulled me back. i then took chelter 5 from the front coming into the last bend. 1by 1 people pealed off the front until it was just 1 kingston wheeler infront of me, but still with nearly 300m to go. he started pulling over, even though i was saying, 'dig in, dig in, keep going'. unfortunately he was smarter than that ....so with about 250m to go he pulled over and i was right in the wind, but in poll position. i gave it 100%, and that familiar burning feeling tore itself through my legs. with 70m to go i was about 3rd position, great i thought!! but then out the corner of my eye i saw a serge of blue...it was a bunch of london dynamos. they slowly came passed me but there was nothing i could do . so in the end i think i crossed the line about 9th.
i still need to suss out chertsey. its a bit deceptive because of the way you can see the line up ahead, but its still a long way off. i recon next time i will have to try and come out of the last bend and try to be in about 10th place, make sure i dont get boxed in, then pop out with 55m to go and take the win...well thats the plan
average speed 26mph!!
cheers
stu
