Hillingdon + Chertsey

[Rob C]

Raced at both of these this weekend.

Hillingdon.
Must have been 40+ racing, stayed near the front for the entire race and was feeling good. A few people attacked but none of them were committed, I chased one guy with A N other and the minute we got to him he gave up and it came to nothing. The weather was really good and the wind wasn't coming at you on the long straight which made a nice change. Anyway, more breaks went but they all seemed to give up rather quickly once they had a few meters. There were definitely two crashes and perhaps three, the second of which was on the home straight coming into the finish line. Lots of riders went down, luckily enough I avoided it but I had to brake and swerve to do so. I saw a people carry bike parts away on my warm down lap so I hope they were all ok.

Chertsey.
First time I've been here it's a much more interesting course then Hillingdon. The earlier start and the fact that some of the course is shaded meant that it felt really cold, the short sharp climbs soon got you warmed up though. This had been advertised as a beginners race so I was hoping that loads people in baggy shorts riding sit up and beg bikes would turn up and I'd get some cheap points. It wasn't to be, there were loads of Dynamo riders and a few from most of the local clubs. I think there were over 60 starters for that race but that number might have included the ladies. From what I saw if Michelle had been there she would have kicked ass. The race didn't start straight away, we were taken out in a group of 10 and shown how to do a t & o and then again with a group of 20 before the race started. Once that was over we got down to it and everyone ignored what they had been told previously and rightly so! It wasn't anywhere near as larey (sp?) as yesterdays Hillingdon and I think there were a couple of chaperon type characters in the pack who were calling things out - very civilized. The format for this race was 8 laps. I was on the front at the end of the first lap and feeling good again., thinking better of my position I decided to sit in with the pack. Same sort of thing as yesterday with regard to attacks, no-one really committed to anything and so no one stayed away. The laps really flew by and teh pace felt pretty reasonable.

I thought I'd sum up both finishes together as the same sort of thing happened in both. My poor tactics let me down both days, I got blocked in at Hillingdon and so was too far back to contest anything even with the collision that I avoided. As for Chertsey, again bad positioning, before you hit the final home straight you dropped down through right and then a left turn. I should have been further up the field. I finished strongly but from where things wound up I was out of the running before it started. The results aren't out for either but I reckon I was top twentyish for them both, I probably did better at Chertsey though...

Thanks to PVT for the loan of a jersey - I forgot mine and was going to race in a jumper before I spotted him. Lastly, where are all this years new racers? Dynamo has loads, it was an event they were running so you'd expect a presence but not only did they run the event they also had the numbers to be able to race 10+ 4th cats in it as well. It would be even more enjoyable if there was a team aspect to this racing lark...

[huw williams]

Well done Rob, you're certainly getting the race miles in early season
Like you say hopefully more of our 4ths will do the same soon cos by the time the seaosn proper starts, you're going to have a lot more experience than they are
I always found Chertsey the hardest finish to judge - it's cos the straight is so long. If you get in a good place round that final downhill chicane you're almost certainly too near the front and have to work too much before the sprint winds out. If you hold back before the chicane you're almost certainly out of it

[Toks]

[quote="Rob C"] I finished strongly but from where things wound up I was out of the running before it started. The results aren't out for either but I reckon I was top twentyish for them both, I probably did better at Chertsey though...

Thanks to PVT for the loan of a jersey - I forgot mine and was going to race in a jumper before I spotted him. [size=150]Lastly, where are all this years new racers? [/size]Dynamo has loads, it was an event they were running so you'd expect a presence but not only did they run the event they also had the numbers to be able to race 10+ 4th cats in it as well. It would be even more enjoyable if there was a team aspect to this racing lark...

[-Adam-]

Good effort Rob, racing two days running will certainly make you stronger...

[Andrew G]

Well done Rob.
I like the circuit at Chertsey, as you say it's a bit more interesting than some. They started with a couple of these beginner races last year too with "chaperones" in the bunch - Warrick Spence in one of them.

The problem I have with it is that because it is so wide it's easy to cruise round in the bunch at 25mph without breaking sweat. I think because of this it tends to attract nutters in the 4th cats. I raced there last year a few times and each race was nervy with people doing stupid things all the time, and I mean really dumb one bloke caused two seperate crashes in the home straight on the final lap. This caused crashes in all the 4th cat races, often more than one. With that loooong home straight it prevented any breakaways as you could always see them and pull them back easily, so no-one tried and it made the bunch even more shaky. I just don't fancy anymore 4th cat races there because of this.

3rd cats should be better although when I went there these races always seemed to be a bit of a bunch cruise too, just at a quicker pace. It was only the E/1/2 race where things really happened and breaks formed. Bit of a shame as it's quite a nice circuit, If it was only one lane wide all the way round I think it would be a great circuit and actually keep the racing safer in the lower cats.

[Tony]

Glad you had a good and safe weekend racing with the 4th Cats. Don't beat yourself up over poor tactics - you finished both races without incident and had a decent workout. That must be everyone's primary objective.

I've never got my head round some of the things that happen in lower-cat races. Mass bunch finishes in 4th Cat races result seem to result in carnage with worrying regularity. Recognising this and considering that safety is the number one priority for everyone, I don't understand the mentality of the racing that actually goes on. No attacks are ever allowed to succeed (everyone wants to chase) and no one wants to commit to a break-away nor work with any breaks that threaten to form. Then come the finish everyone feels entitled to push to the front to get few points irrespective of the consequences of their actions. Year-in, year-out it is the same! Several big crashes at Chertsey, Hillingdon or wherever.

To encourage more aggressive, higher-quality racing and to mitigate the number of accidents, this sort of riding needs to be 'dis-incentivised'. A simple way to do this would be to award no points nor record places in these type of races for anyone finishing with the same time as the bunch. You simply have to get away to get a placing (or points). Hopefully, this would split the field-up more and make people realise that a mad gallop with a bunch of novices is not a good thing! Maybe it's been tried somewhere before...however, I'm sure it would lead to a more attacking race and be a more positive introduction to road racing than what we see at the moment.

[Marek]

Tony, don't the pros ever crash in a sprint finish?

[-Adam-]

Actually I don't think it's the bunch sprints that are the problem (obviously) I just think its not that great having a complete field of inexperienced riders.

Although 3/4 races are by no means perfect, and the 4ths will obviously find it harder to get points, I think having th 3rds in there... relatively more experienced, brings the standard of riding up. Not least because the 3rds are more likely to call when someone does something stupid. But because they'll attack more also. This way the 4ths get a better picture of what it's like.

Thats my take on it anyway...

[Ivor]

[quote]Lastly, where are all this years new racers?

[Toks]

Oops I didn't actually see the result of this first time around. I've always liked the way Marco and occassionally Paul T have mentioned if an ex ACC rider has done well so I gotta give props to this OBG (Oldies But Goodie) - former ACC man Philip Watkins. Phil took the win in the much publicised [url=http://www.sleepingbearproductions.co.uk/Video/Andrew-MOD-Chertsey-18-02-08-SlowMo.wmv]Andrew Bye[/url] crash race

E/1/2/3 - 48 miles
Pos Name Club/Team Cat Time
1 Philip Watkins Old Portlians CC 3V 1:54:30
2 Jerone Walters Sigma Sport RT 2
3 Graham Galvin Private Member 4
4 Andrew Bye Sigma Sport RT E
5 Matthew Carden Team Quest 3
6 Adam Page Kingston Wheelers 2
7 Rod Saxby Godalming Cycles RT 3V
8 M Bialoblock Sport Beans E
9 Jason Edwards Wildside RT 1 @ 0:40
10 Dan Rudd Citihub 1
11 Simon Lewis VC de Londres 2
12 Rudie Marais Norwood Paragon CC 2
13 Thorsten Klassen Kingston Wheelers 2
14 Gavin Atkins Hemel Hempstead CC 3
15 Rune Sanbeck Nilsson London Dynamo 3
16 Sam Humpheson London Dynamo 1