What a lovely day, shame there were'nt a few more of the Addiscombe there to enjoy the sun and the cycling.
Thanks to Mark for organising and to Huw for taking control of the starting, lap board, bell etc. Well done to all who took part, even though there were only 5 of us racing
.
The sprint heats were first; I was drawn against Owen in the second heat, with Mark, Alan and Keith in the first. Keith showed great speed off the final bend to take the win and in to the final. My heat with Owen was a bit nervy with me on the front the whole way looking over my shoulder waiting for the big man to make his move around the outside. He made his move but it wasn't enough
.
So to the final, Me v's Keith. I took the front position again, thinking that if Keith wants to win this he'll have to go around me. In to the back straight on the last lap I started to wind up the pace, negating the chance for Keith to jump me by surprise. Around the last bend, flat out now, and I could feel Keith's front wheel starting to move alongside my rear wheel. I stamped on the pedals as hard as possible all the way to line. It was good enough to take the victory
The 17 lap five miler was next. This is where I thought Keith would get his revenge. First few laps were steady, more to get the legs moving again after the break than anything else, but when Owen got to the front he picked up the pace and the race was on. Next in line was Keith, he kicked it up another notch trying to make me hurt. He suceeded
. This acceleration moved us both away from the others with still a dozen laps to go. I was hurting bad with 8 left but I think Keith was hurting too. We kept a steady pace going, neither of us had much left in the tank to make a solo bid for victory. And so it came down to the last 2 laps, who had the most left for a sprint to the line. As it turned out, it was me, but this time I felt no front wheel alongside, no sound of tyres whooshing along the concrete and thinking any second your going to be overtaken
. It felt great
.
So, a great day as it turned out. Next time, I do hope we can swell the numbers taking part and make a real event of it, we've got enough members to. Come on guys, get down to the track, you'll enjoy it.
Steve