SERRL Edenbridge 2/3/4 - 28th June '08

[Keith]

A field of 80 2nd, 3rd and 4th cat riders for what's my "local" SERRL race - just 5 miles from home. It's run on the same "rolling" course as the Bec CC RR, although it finishes on the flat in Marsh Green, rather than the steep Mutton Hill. Sean Yates was on the entry list, but was a DNS.
[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/2zgrivb.jpg[/img]

Hal was taking things pretty seriously....
[img]http://i40.tinypic.com/2rxi6uv.jpg[/img]

Pace seemed pretty high on the hills, but the race was dominated by a solo breakaway from the start by Jamie Howard of Exeter Wheelers. He was joined by one other rider when nearly caught by the peloton.
[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/34q1g95.jpg[/img]

However he stayed away for a well deserved victory.
[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/2s186za.jpg[/img]

The remains of the bunch were only 10 seconds behind by the finish line.
[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/11tszdz.jpg[/img]
12th place for me and 18th for Hal.

Photos by Michelle.

[Sylv]

Why didn't Marek win it,

Did he even race?

Well done guys i bet it was hot!

[Andrew G]

Good results chaps (and nice pics). Was it a bit short for you Hal?
What time do they start races on this course? Pretty close to me and would be nice to ride down and watch, and spin my legs off after a TT.

[quote="Keith"]Sean Yates was on the entry list, but was a DNS.

[quote="Sylv"]Why didn't Marek win it,

Did he even race?

[Marek]

Fighting off the remnants of a cold that came out after the TT on Tuesday, must have caught it off Andy E. Went mountain biking with a bunch of guys from Forest Row instead, was good fun and much more relaxed than trying to keep up with Keith and co which on that course would have been tough the way I was feeling.

Well done Keith and Hal on good results. Quite a tough course and in that heat it must have been pretty hot.

Cheers

Marek...

[Hal]

It was a hot morning even before we had started so two full bottles. I had a good ride feeling more confident that last year and moving within the bunch more easily. Also trying to keep an eye on the action to see who was going away. I tried to cross a few times into a break but these quickly fell apart. Should have bridged accross to the winner when I had the oportunity about half way through in hindsight. Decided instead to make a big effort on the last climb to see if a group could get clear so made quite a big effort and worked hard to keep the pace up but again this never materialised. As we came into the last couple of miles I was doing lots of big pulls on the front and decided to just stay there and see what happened in the sprint.

Current form, strong on the climbs, and in the last 10 miles. Looking forward to Wales later in the week.

Hal

[Jon H]

Hal's looking like a strong contender for the 2009 tongue-out competition