kirdford results

[Stu Merckx Man]

i predict 2 addiscombe in the top 3, and 3 addiscombe in the top 7.....

[Paul H]

Great team effort today with fours of us involved in breaks at various times. I felt sorry for Marek as every time he went off the front, nobody joined him. I did try to join him but kept on getting chased down. In the end I did get away with a Dynamo rider and as we caught up Marek, we got sucked up by the bunch.

Andy then went off the front and was joined by a Dynamo rider. A couple of other riders tried to bridge the gap and I decided to join them with some other riders and we ended up in a race winning break of about 9 riders with George joining us a little bit later with a couple of other riders. Marek and Anthony were also doing a great job disrupting the chase at the front of the bunch. We had 3 Dynamo riders in the break which I was a bit worried about as they were missing out turns but later found out they were toast. Thanks to George, the break was broken up on the last lap on the Hill at Alford and we were left with 5 riders and no Dynamo riders. Andy kept them company to make sure they didnt get back on.

The tactics were now pretty easy as George was by far the strongest and with a mile to go, George went off the front. I was third wheel at the time and backed off forcing the other riders to come round and I sat in as they tried to chase him down to no avail. George won and I sprinted round the rest for 2nd. Andy came over the line leading the second group for 6th. Marek led out Anthony for the sprint but went a bit early.

I did have a mechanical with a few miles to go when my seat post dropped 10cm when I went over a pothole but fortunately it didnt affect the result.

So Stu you were right 1st, 2nd & 6th.

Everybody made a contribution to the result so thanks to all.

[Andrew G]

Such a typically understated report from you Paul.
[quote]George won and I sprinted round the rest for 2nd

[Marek]

That has to be one of the most enjoyable races I have had on a bike for ages. The race started off quite quick with George and Paul indicating that they wanted to go from the gun. Well they were well marked and it looked as though it was going to be hard to get away. Half way around the first lap the pace came off a bit and I found a good place to go off the front. I was hoping that I would soon be joined by either Paul or George but again they could not get away. I stayed out the front for about half a lap and saw Serge waving close to the finish.

I eased up a bit as could see the peleton closing in with no breakaway riders and we were back together. On the second lap we got to a longish draggy bit and one of the Dynamo riders attacked quite hard but not hard enough, I sat on his wheel and then he kind of gave up, so I went around him and put in another dig and then found myself off the front again. Ah well, so I put my head down and managed to build up another pretty decent gap. Again I was waiting and waiting and no-one came across, it was just not my day. After what seemed like an age off the front I was brought back in.

I sat in for a bit and saw Andy go off the front with another rider. I could see that Paul was itching to go but I thought I would go and have a quick word in his shell like first about where to attack from. I sat on the front and slowed things up a bit and then Paul and another rider attacked from a bit further back in the peleton. I stayed on the front and let a few other riders go with the move. Now George was itching to go but I had seen that each time he went he was getting chased so I advised him to sit tight for a bit and wait for the break to get up the road. As they disappeared George and a couple of others made their move at just the right time on a draggy section and that was it, the last we saw of Paul, Andy and George.

I then sat on the front and had a chat with a tall guy from London Dynamo and we basically slowed down the group to a pace that was not going to cause the big guns up the front any issues. Was great to know that we had pretty much decided the result of the day with the moves that were instigated.

Coming onto the last lap I told Ant to sit on my wheel, I had my eye on one other rider that I was going to attempt to sit in on for the sprint. Unfortunately into the final km I found myself too far up the front and had a choice of either sitting their or trying my darndest to give Ant the best possible lead out. Unfortunately I went too early and although had a bit of a kick and Ant got a fairly good run into the finish it was much too early for him to be able to hold on for the bunch sprint.

Great to see Paul, George and Andy at the finish and was not that surprised to hear we got 1st and 2nd and Andy not too far down either was awesome. Really enjoyed it and although I was out of the points, I don't care, I loved it.

Cheers

Marek.....

[Antloony]

I did it...I completed my first ever 3rd cat road race. Thats by far the furthest distance I've ever rode a bike in anger so was pleased to last till the end and was even in with a shout to be the best of the rest but as Marek says he went just that bit early to lead me out and though I dug deep I just faded before the line, great effort though Marek, brilliant lead out

Really enjoyed my day out at the races and topped off with a fantastic result for George, Paul and Andy. Marek deserved more for all his hard work but like me he enjoyed himself. Team tactics worked a treat, as Andy was escaping up the road we had 3 ACC riders blocking any chasers giving him a good gap before Paul then George went to join him.

Cheers guys and well done one and all.

[George]

A good day's racing and a great team result at the end, all our tactics worked well.

From the start I tried hard to get away from the bunch with Paul, all this seemed to do was string out the peloton in a long line and speed things up without us getting away, so we put that plan on hold and let Marek do the usual off the front on the first couple of laps.

Andy was very active in the race and went steaming off the front on a couple of occasions, and midway through the race it worked, so he was up the road and before long out of sight.

Paul then got away with a few others and once away I knew this was the break to be in. Marek did indeed sense that i wanted to be in it too but I wasn't worried as I knew I could just TT across to them, Marek suggested I wait a little while so thats what I did and bided my time.

Mark Bayliss came up to the head of the pack for a while to see what it was like in the cockpit, then the seatbelt sign illuminated so he had to sit down.

Antloony was riding well and even had a go or 2 off the front and to be there at the finish in your first open road race is honor enough.

The break had a minute at 2 laps to go so I initiated my bridging plan, 2 others joined me, unfortunately they couldn't stand the heat so only I made it across

Rather than just sit on the back of the break I decided to surprise attack them just as I caught them and slingshot past up the road taking everyone by shock, this was just to whip them all into shape and not to hang around.

Now we had 3 agreeables in the break and were matched with 3 London Dynamo's, this was gonna be interesting, Paul and I helped drive the break hard and on the last lap we had 2 mins.

Paul suggested attack the break on the climb through Alfold, this whittled us down to 4 and got rid of all the Dynamo's and unfortunately Andy.

Paul was telling me to go but I was in control and knew where I was gonna attack.
3 miles out I tried a dummy attack but was covered well by the young Glade rider. He then attacked a mile later which I easily jumped on, then a mile out sayonara I powered to the line for a comfortable victory

Crossed the line with arms in the air almost came off on the line too Glyn caught it al on camera.

[Serge]

Great job guys, you made it look easypeasy !. Especially from Georges write up, it sounds like the results were nothing but inevitable .

Well done again, but now you are all marked men it will not be so easy next time. Where are all the other strong 3rd cats to bolster the team ?

[Ian A4size]

well done team addiscombe, great ride and a superb write up, congrats to all.

[glyn]

Pos Name Club/Team
[size=150]1 George Brent Addiscombe CC
2 Paul Hone Addiscombe CC[/size]
3 Richard Whitehorn Glade CC
4 Graeme Hadlow Bayeux Landscapes
5 Martin Weinberger Private Member
[size=150]6 Andrew Ellis Addiscombe CC[/size]
7 Robert Jeffroy London Dynamo
8 Harry Littlechild London Dynamo
9 James Peckham De Laune CC
10 Andrew Page Southdown Velo
11 Huw Watkins London Dynamo
12 Paul Callaghan G S Avanti
13 Nigel Langridge Crawley Wheelers
14 Darren Franklin VC Meudon
15 Trevor Chilman Redhill CC
16 Mick Fuller Team Quest
[size=150]17 Antony Leeson Addiscombe CC[/size]
18 Colin Addison VC Meudon
19 Paul Drake London Dynamo
20 Douglas Fox Crawley Wheelers
21 James Graham Festival RC
22 Nathan Dye Brighton Mitre
23 Nick Haskoll Brighton Mitre
24 James Dunsbier London Dynamo
25 Colin Bateman Festival RC
26 Nigel Wood Dulwich Paragon CC
27 Darryl Barr A3CRG
28 Keith Garbutt South Western RC
29 Graham Wood AD Cycles RT
30 Brad Lamb Glade Cycling Club
31 Mickael Metayer Kingston Wheelers
32 James Wasley Kingston Wheelers
[size=150]33 Marek Siwicki Addiscombe CC[/size]34 Gavin Spiers Reading CC
35 Charlie Sayer Brighton Mitre
36 Russell Short London Dynamo
37 James Carter London Dynamo

[Antloony]

17th for me, could have been 5 or 6 places higher had my lead out man not gone too early

Pleased with that though for my 1st race as a 3rd.

[Snoop Doug]

Very well done team ACC

I have the next lanterne rouge drafted and I was holding off for this, glad I waited.

Tidy!

[Marek]

Sorry Ant, have to admit I was pretty cooked coming into that final section but felt obliged to give you at least a bit of a lead out, although that did put you in the uncomfortable position of hitting the front quite far out from the finish. Anyhow next race its my turn to win, so you lot are going to tow me to the finish, is that ok?

Cheers

Marek....

[Antloony]

I must say thanks though Marek, if you had gone as hard as you did nearer the finish you'd have had a far higher placing but you gave it all up to help me to try and get a good result. Totally selfless riding. Thank you. I owe you a lead out next time for sure.

[Andy E]

Blimey, now that was fun!! We started the race knowing that George and Paul were obviously our strongest cards, and although it's a pretty flat course I was a little surprised that neither could get away in the early stages. I knew George was a marked man though as chatting to some of my Dynamo chums at HQ beforehand his reputation obviously proceeds him and they all knew he was the man to watch.

So a couple of laps in, and after watching Marek have a couple of really strong efforts off the front come to nothing I decided i'd try and have a bit of fun myself. I didn't expect to last very long, and on my first attack I went too hard and cooked myself after a couple of minutes, and as I was out on my own decided to site up and come back to the bunch.. Half a lap later George asked me if i'd recovered, to which I replied "Yes, actually I think i'll have another go ". So off I went again, and luckily was joined by a Dynamo rider immediately. I put in a long hard turn to try and get us a gap and then beckoned him through. We were soon out of sight and the Marshall told us we had 28secs. We were working really well together, sharing the turns but I was starting to feel the effort taking it's toll. With a great sense of timing we were joined by Paul and a few others who came storming past and we jumped on the back. After a quick breather I was joining in the through and off and we were really motoring, everyone working really well together, when from out of nowhere George came flying past

Now I was certain we'd stay away, and really confident we had a winning hand. I knew Paul and George would attack on the last lap, and all I had to do was cover the chase. They went hard on one of the drags and I just sat back and watched and waited for everyone to come past. This move took out all 3 Dynamo's and although they put in a decent chase I knew they'd never catch them. So I got the perfect armchair ride all the way to the finish, with nothing to do but come past them at 50m to go, job done

Great teamwork, great tactics. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of that race, to ride for and help out team mates as opposed to just riding as an individual. By far the most enjoyable race i've done to date. And we'll have an even stronger team out in 2 weeks time with Sylv and Keith as well, can't wait

Well done to Ant too in his first open RR

[huw williams]

[quote="Paul H"] my seat post dropped 10cm when I went over a pothole but fortunately it didnt affect the result.