.Stu, nice report
. Well done, I'm glad you enjoyed it last night. You said to me a couple of weeks ago that you wished you could enjoy the E12's as much as last year in the 3/4's. Well obviously now you've reached a level where you can. I look forward to seeing how you get on for the rest of the season - no pressure then 
Congrats to Ed for taking the plunge last night. The first one is always the hardest. You'll know what its all about next week
.The Race
So I did it again, didn't I
. After last years 'not listening to the commissaire' episode and thinking I'd won but hadn't (race distance 2laps less than E12's, not 3, as usual) 
, I was intent to make sure I was always fully concentrated on the race.Mmm, unfortunately this wasn't the case last night
.The race started off ok, pace was comfortable, a bit of jostling for position like always, but all in all things were going ok. After the Brighton ride on saturday, which was my first ride since 5 days off the bike, my legs didn't feel 100% so decided to put the powertap wheel on and use the race as training. But after a few laps of sitting in, my legs felt ok and my mindset for the race changed.
When the 2 guys jumped off the front on lap 10 or so, there didn't seem to be much reaction from the main bunch, which told me one of two things. They were either too good and the bunch knew this and let them go, or they weren't good enough and the bunch knew they would come back. Either way, I wasn't going to be doing anything about it
. A few laps later (and this is where I made my slight faux pas ), we caught and swallowed up two guy's on the hill.So now all to play for, head down, concentrate on position, save energy and keep out of trouble. Easier said than done
As soon as you get in to a good position, you find that one lap later you're shuffled back in to the pack as riders come up the outside, or inside of you, up the hill.With 10 laps to go and the pace not too hot, I started to feel very confident of lasting the race and finishing top ten, hopefully better. I was looking around me at the other riders thinking, 'I can have him, and him and him, no problem'. Its amazing what confidence does. The person I feared the most was Hal, but that was ok, I didn't mind that, he's Addiscombe.
Things didn't change much from then on, no one wanted to show their hand too early. A couple of small digs went off up the hill but were soon brought back and the whole bunch got ready for the mad last couple of laps. The previous 2 laps were really quite slow and this played in to my hands even more
.Serious concentration now, I have to be top 5 on the last lap at the bottom of the hill, otherwise its asking too much. Anyway, across the finish line with 1 lap to go, round the outside and into about 8th, perfect
. I looked up and Hal was at the front, probably a bit earlier than he wanted to be but all the same he pushed on down the hill, round the bottom bends and on to the hill. Wow, he was going like a train and had taken two guys with him. Damn, there was now a gap back to my little group, but no time to panic, get your arse in gear and get after them . The gap was gradually closing but not enough for my liking, I needed to push a little bit harder. Halfway up the hill it was now all or nothing. My legs were responding well, power and speed were good and there were no signs of fatigue or lactic, yet. But then - cramp in my right calf, no please not now. I changed pedalling action on that side, shortening the muscles movement, and this worked . Round the top bend now and I nearly overcook the corner, narrowly missing going up on to the grass, but the speed is good and I'm catching and passing all except one guy up front. Legs are screaming but I'm catching him, I'm catching him, but the finish line is quickly getting closer and closer. And then with 40 metres to go, the realisation that I will catch him before the line, yes, brilliant, fantastic, I've won . Embarrassingly I let out a big shout of delight (or as Andrew said, a roar), only to find that we were sprinting for 3rd place as the two guys had stayed away afterall ( the other two were lapped riders). Oh well, I can shout out for coming 3rd eh . While it lasted, probably a minute or so, it was such a great feeling to have won - well I thought I had you see . At first I was thoroughly embarrassed when I was told, but then found the funny side of it
. Thanks Andrew for the picture of the lion, very good.Mmm, I'll keep quiet next time. Hopefully one day there will be a next time - a proper win I mean
Great riding again Hal and Kieran. Well done to Mark, showing good form early on, and to Andy too for coming back strong towards the end. You both looked good early on in the race but I didn't see what happened after that, until seeing Andy again towards the end
Roll on next week
Steve
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