Phoenix Cycling Club
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Andy Flannery at St Paddy's Day race, Downpatrick
St paddy's day race at Downpatrick went down a storm for the Phoenix.
Being a third cat this year, I have become used to the head start, but this time the vets got 4 mins in front of the 3's, awesome, I guess 3's aren't meant to win anyway.
For my game plan in this first of three races I had decided that the
scratch were gonna catch us and that I wasn't gonna go anywhere near
the front of the bunch, but stay close enough to cover anything that
goes. So as we rolled out a couple of the usual suspects came to the
front including Stuart who regularly did long stints at the front. I
wasn't really sure how the legs where going until we hit the draggy climb
at the back of the circuit, the only really hard bit of road on the circuit,
and I found I was able to
hold the wheel.
On the 2nd lap the 3's group broke under the pressure of hard riding from Stuart and a couple of high speed attacks on the drag, and we where away, 6 of us, 3 Phoenix Maurice, Stuart, myself and three others, including big Mark (forget surname) who used to ride with Phoenix years ago an Ards guy and a lad from the Lurgan club, the latter 2 seemed the fittest in the small group cause they hurt us alot for the first couple of laps, so much so Maurice decided to let it go . I was told the break went away quickly but I guess it is the lack of an organised chase that creates the gap.
After a few laps the break seemed to settle down, we seemed to ride
well together, and whenever there was a lull, big Mark and Stuart would
go to the front and keep the pace high, the two lads who where strong
seemed to be able to keep the pace up on the hill, and we all worked
through fairly consistently. About lap 5/6 we had sight of the vets group
in front of us, after a few shouts at bystanders we realised there was
a group up the road (Bo Graham, Jim McConnel and Vinty Turbidy). So we
soldiered up to them and right through them, the plan was to attack them
on the draggy climb at the back, and so it went, we beat the cr@p out
of it as best we could going over the small incline, but to no avail,
only one or two went out the back, but there where still a large group
hangin on the back and although the guys from the break worked through
for about three laps we stopped working
together and it didn't quite happen. That unfortunately was that until
scratch came up with a lap to go, so again I stayed as close to the front as
I could, with lots of very good riders trying to do the same, it wasn't easy.
I managed to stay there anyway, and I found myself riding next to slaner. I
was able to follow his wheel as the little surges went on the drag, Coming
round the top of the turn to the last run in I found myself on the front so
I decided to give it all I had to stay at the front of the bunch and out of
harms way, a very nice picture of me on the cycling ulster website doing just
that, my race was over anyway.
That was the end of me as big Gerry launched an attack on the other side of the road, they all left my wheel and I slid back to the rear of the field, about a bike length off the back incase someone went to grond, and It happened some young fella , whacked head on into a parked van which was parked off the road by the side of the finish, I think he walked away. I suppose it could have been worse if he'd have bounced back onto the road.
So Overall, absolutely auxillerated to be in the break for most of the
ride, the break in the end was nearly easy/ier ? to ride, although my
HRM told me I'd had a long hard steady workout, In the break everyone
came quickly to
the same stage of tiredness, and everyone contributed. I don't think we
could've done anything else when we got up to the group, we went straight to
the front and we attacked them on the drag two or three laps in a row, I did
get off the front but with no-one on my wheel there was no way I was soloing
it. As for the others Paul seemed to ride solidly in the A group, Sean and
JR coped with Slaners group quite well, Leon, Cormac snr and Bob survived the
mellee in the vets group and Conan's first race since he was a we'en was very
successful indeed. Maurice was complaining of tiredness he was a lot stronger
on Sun than Wed and for only the second race of his career ever stuart rode
fantastically well, even having a go in the last 600ms or so. Ards next then
Phoenix GP, hope you all turn up, forecast is good. And as a note I was quiet
for most of the ride :-)
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