Phoenix Cycling Club
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Cicli Sport GP (27 March) by Andy Flannery
Sat was a bit of a mixed bag, A good turn out from the club, Mert, Tim,
Jemma, Leon, Paul and I see Stephen Richmond, AKA the clubs own Ironman
came
out for a try. I'd heard that the course was tough, looking at it on Multimap
didn't help, I've shown the profile on the HR plot 122ms climbing per lap most
of that comes at the back of the circuit, but if I could I'd try and get round
in the big ring, if I needed to go for the inner ring I think I'd have problems.
Good news on the handicap front, they where letting the 3rds off with the vets
over 50, 5mins to the Vets and 2nds then 3 to the 1sts. I felt sorry for Leon
who would give me 5mins, but I don't make the rules. I didn't feel sorry for
Paul, cause he was giving me 8mins and Tim must've started with the 2nds. No
sign of that bloke from Orhard these days ?
The 3rds started off as standard, I wasn't sure how the legs would fair, but you just go with it, about 6 of 30 riders where working and it was tough, It was obvious that a few of the lads where interested in getting up the road since so many where sitting on. Fit enough to follow wheels but not fit enough to come through, same old story.
The first test for my legs would be the wee hills at the back of this circuit there were a couple of guys who looked like climbers i.e. they were thin, so when I managed to hold the wheel I was delighted, this was a major point for me, if I couldn't hold the wheel here how would I ever ride up Stormount. We started to hit it hard on the hills and the lads that I was in the break with last week where riding well. Still for 3 1/2 laps we couldn't get up the road, so with 2 laps to go the majority of the 3rds and vets over 50 (those that were left) started to ride through, I guess they thought we had a chance of staying away, funny thing Tommy captured this moment you can actually see two lines in the 3rds group even big Proctor was having difficulty hangin in there :-).
On the hard portion of the 3rd lap I thought I was a gonner on the hard hill, the legs where tired and I didn't think I was gonna make it over the top of the little climbs with the front guys, I was near the end of the elastic. But I just went with it rid'n at the front I was able to follow the wheels. Relief just a sticky patch, I beat a load of Jesus juice into me (thats SIS, not EPO) and I seemed to come round. Half way into our 4th lap, I was starting to think we might just stay away, our group had just started to work together the first time in the whole race about 16 guys rode through. Off-course I've nearly lost my voice giving them little bits of encouragement.
Half way through the 4th lap scratch caught us as we saw them coming I decided better to bulb myself at the front than go out the back with a wimper, so 3 of us beat the daylights out of it and we started to go away, I was in serious oxygen debt but I wasn't gonna go out the back door without having totally emptied myself. Bangin away working harder than I could sustain, Simon Thompson comes round me with a small break, everytime I look over my shoulder that big lad is doing the damage, last week he was unlucky with a puncture and this week he was to be unlucky again.
Right now, game plan 2:- Survival. Get onto a wheel and make it a good'n.
So here we go, I knew right away where the biggest problem was gonna
be, the
hills at the back. The wind was now a problem, it was putting us on the other
side of the road, I didn't care I seemed to be able to get up the bunch, one
or two warm-up hills, we're doing 26 mph, it doesn't matter, breaks are trying
to go all the time, people are bringing them back, I'm now at the back I must've
recovered a wee bit cause I'm actually thinking of attacking, second thoughts
lets just get over the hills first.
As we come through the hardest climb on the circuit this was it, I thought
every sorryful reason why I should go out the back now, so a surge in
the
group right now is the time, then they slow, sh!t lets make some places, I'm
about a 3rd up the group I'm gonna get over this, happy days, and so it
went, periods of high speed surges followed by slowing periods with me making
up places, and it stayed this way until the last few hundred metres
to the finish.
On this circuit there is a nasty wee corner at the bottom of a short steep descent. When the 3rds were on their own I organised one person who looked able to ride the front to take us round the corner (so that we all got round) and it worked a treat, but with the 1sts I'm thinking stay out of it, stay upright but stay in the group.
Going into this corner I'm towards the back, and Off-course theres always a fifty pencer, so we lost a couple of bike lengths, big Ian Proctor closes the gap but with about 500 meters to go I'm happy, I'll probably be able to see the finish from here. Then it happened a crash, followed by the hollow on the road as riders go round whoever it is that has fell. As I ride by, Pauls on the deck, along with Simon Thompson. I ride back immediately, Simon seems in a bad way but Paul is OK, no broken bones, serious road rash, but he's always got a smile on his face. I think Simon was OK , he seemed in a lot of pain I hope he didn't break anything.
So in conclusion, onceI realised I was coping with the little climbs it became a Vfrustrating race. If the 3rds had've worked we'd have stayed away longer. Most of them must have been put to shame by the 50 something Yr old guy with the Litespeed jersey who never missed a turn at the front. I was pleased to able to stay with the main group after working hard throughout the race. I have the doom, but I don't think it affected me really. As for the others Tim punctured with about a lap to go, Gemma got 3rd in her race, Leon and Stephen I know nothing, Mert got dropped about the 4th lap, not surprising after his layoff with the doom, Paul seemed strong and he was strong enough to go for the sprint, butt he'll be sore Sun. I hope Tommy got some pictures of his ass, ennought to put anyone off steak.
Next weekend I might be going round the Lough and racing Barton's Bay I think, or it could be the surgenor Cup. Roll on the TON.
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