Guilford Crit.

[Sylv]

Well that was good hard fun. Afterwards, the palms of my hands hurt, the ball of my feet hurt, the back of my throat hurt (still does this morning) but it was a good evening. A very different half hour's racing from the previous night's TT. You think Palace is frantic - try this!

The sun was shining and it was feeling almost too warm by 6.30pm. Adam and I had a few warmup laps to familiarize ourselves with the course, which can't have been much more than 1/3 mile and went like this from the start line: few meters of cobbles into the pot-holed downhill, sharp left turn into a cobbled back-alley, with several lines possible but most of which involved riding over a 5cm bump on the pavement, and left turn onto the cobbled climb - all of this only took the E/1/2 as little as 49 seconds - not sure about our race as my computer stopped working on the first lap, the rattling having knocked the sensor out of place.

We found riders already lining for the start with over 8 minutes to go, I got to the second line which wasn't too bad, but as we were set off it was a sprint from the start line - just like in a mountain bike race when you want to be within the first to hit the singletrack. I'm not the best as this especially without a good warmup ride, and I was moved back to about halfway down the field of about 45 riders. It was balls out and very hard, the cobbles didn't seem too bad just looking at them, but when you went out of the saddle into the climb you were often losing traction or having your back wheel thrown sideways.

It took me ages to make up places and I was in the red. The course was lined with barriers and tape, and there were loads of spectators which like last weekend made you feel you were on the continent. Grant and Commissaire Paul were cheering on us which was great. After about 5-6 laps I'd made my way up towards the front group and was in the first 8 riders. We started lapping people and they were getting pulled off the course (under the shouting orders of Paul). The first prime I hadn't gone for but for the second I found myself alongside Kevin from NP with a small gap on the climb, so gave it a good push and got the prime (not sure whether Kevin contested it that hard).

The fast pace was taking its toll and more and more we found ourselves freewheeling the last bit of the downhill to recover - I managed all in all a half-sip out of my bottle there once. They announced the countdown for the last ten laps and realising that would be done in under ten minutes I started thinking about the sprint. I left myself slip a few places to make the most of the drafting (though there wasn't much of it going on on such a course) and concentrated on not letting myself getting dropped out of our group, which was now down to about ten riders (I think all the rest must have gotten pulled out!). With a few laps to go the pace increased and again I was completely in the red.

Final lap, and with legs burning I had to let a few more overtake me on the downhill - this is bad, I thought, looked behind me and there was no-one - bugger. At least I had the leisure to pick any line through the tricky second to last corner, and try and make up a few places with the extra momentum - so I hammered it without braking, but suddenly felt both wheels lifting from under me and I was drifting towards the naked barrier. That was bloody scary but somehow I stayed upright, by the time I'd recomposed myself though the group had gotten a ten meter lead, and I knew I wouldn't be contesting the sprint - I doubt I would have stood a chance to win, but maybe make up a few places on the climb - so I soft-pedalled to the finish, making sure no-one was coming from behind me.

I was convinced there were at least ten riders ahead of me, but Paul said I came 6th which came as a pleasant surprise - 85% of the field had been decimated! We got changed and came back to watch the end of the Youth races and then the E/1/2 - the pace was incredibly high and they were at it for an hour. Jamie Newall did a lot of work chasing Mc Cauley especially in the final laps, and Warrick did really well to nip second place with all those Plowman boys around him.


E/1/2 race
1. Gordon McCauley - Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles RT
2. Warrick Spence - CycleFit.co.uk
3. Tony Gibb - Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles RT
4. Ross Muir - Rapha Condor
5. Wouter Sybrandy - http://www.agiskoviner.co.uk
6. James Millard - Plowman Craven/Evans Cycles RT
7. Jamie Newall - Evans Cycles RT
8. Tom Smith - AWCycles.co.uk
9. Andrew Wilkinson - Team Emporelli
10. Gary Dodd - Sigma Sport RT
11. Darrell Pembroke - http://www.agiskoviner.co.uk
12. Dan Duguid - Sigma Sport RT

3rd Cats
1. Paul Hopkins - Mountain Trax
2. Dominic Schils - Interbike
3. Iain Redpath - iBike.co.uk
4. James Wakelin - Evans Cycles RT
5. John Glaysher - http://www.agiskoviner.co.uk
[color=blue]6. Sylvain Garde - Addiscombe CC[/color]

Youths (overall)
1. Dominic Schils - Interbike
2. Chris Legg - Palmer Park Velo
3. Jim Lewis - Lea Valley CC

U16
1. Dominic Schils - Interbike
2. Chris Legg - Palmer Park Velo
3. John Hobbs - Hillingdon Slipstreamers

U14
1. Jim Lewis - Lea Valley CC
2. Stephen Bradbury - Palmer Park Velo
3. Dante Carpenter - Norwood Paragon

U12
1. Harvey Watson - Velocity
2. Robin Townsend - Hillingdon Slipstreamers
3. Otto Young - British Cycling Private

[Mike I]

Wow, that takes me back to my ride to and from Law School 20 years ago - apart from the cheering masses of course.

On a point of pedantry, though (aagh, it's catching!), how does this work?

[quote]85% of the field had been decimated

[Sylv]

not sure where the rub is - 45 started, 6 finished

I'm having to take sore throat relief pastilles such is my soreness today

Adam said he had a taste of blood in his mouth after the race

[richv]

[quote="marco"]he was so close, only 5% out!

edit: what happened to adam in the race?

[adrian]

Actually, to out-pedant you all, the earlier sense of the verb decimate - kill one in every ten (soldiers in Roman times) - has been entirely superseded in modern usage by the more general sense 'kill or destroy a large proportion of.'

So Sylv was correct.

[Sylv]

Oh I see now. A good, if moot, point.

It wasn't as bad as with the Romans, one rider did seem to have a nasty crash though

[richv]

[quote="seanieh.NearlyNewCondor©"]To take the pedentary even further. Decmicate comes from the Roman Army practice for disciplining by executing 1 out of every 10 legionaries.

[Andrew G]

Great stuff Sylv cracking result, even if you were a ringer .

Andrew
(A proud pedant seeing all those comments )

[Ian A4size]

See what you started now Andrew?


E&O E

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Sean,


[quote]Decmicate

[Marek]

Nice one Sylv, I forgot that the Guildford race was on else I would have come along and beaten all of you. Ah well, always next year.

Cheers

Marek...

[Sylv]

Why wait next year Marek you can (try) win(ning) the Sutton one on 29th July. I would have a go, but it's the day after my boat/run/bike triathlon so probably won't.

[Toks]

[quote="Sylv Choufflard"]

...but suddenly felt both wheels lifting from under me and I was drifting towards the naked barrier. That was bloody scary but somehow I stayed upright,

[Sylv]

So mrpvt, do you know more about the (fabled?) Croydon Crit? Is a particular club promoting the event? Couldn't it have been ACC?

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

All is quiet on the Western Front.