Orwell Wheelers 2015 Club League Round 06: Brittas CP

Long Story Short

• I finished 12th,
• Limit group stayed away,
• The selection in the limit group was made inside 10km.

Race Report

View the ride on Strava here: Orwell Wheelers 2015 Club League Round 06: Brittas CP. 12th. Made an ill fated bid for glory on the 3rd descent.

Build-up

So I had a disaster of a commute the previous day. I felt like I was pedaling squares. I thought I was getting a cold. The cold was probably due to someone in the office being sick, and nothing at all to do with the six hours I spent cycling in the rain on the Saturday.

It was a difficult one to judge the kit, I packed my bag the night before. The forecast was indicating rain for the race. I made the decision that I was not going to be affected by any rain. When I was getting changed in the office, I decided to wear arm warmers, leg warmers, bib shorts, short sleeve jersey and a compression vest. This was fine on the ride out. I also decided to leave the Saddle Bag, phone and iPod in the car at the office. It has been ages since I got a puncture, as I run my tyres at max pressure. I didn't want the devices to get damaged by rain.

I got the notification that my new bike had been dispatched from Rose in Germany. I started eating at 17:00. My fuel mix consisted of a John West Tuna Steampot, a Nutri-Grain bar and a Banana. I packed a pair of gels, a banana and two Nutri-Grain bars in my Jersey. I was on the road at 18:03.

Pre-Race

I rolled from the office to the start. I utilised the Embankment climb to warm-up on. I used intervals 1 minute at Z5+ wattage, followed by 1 minute easy. I was nice and warm after the 8km ride.

I had a chat to Siobhan when I arrived. She was marshalling. Barry was also marshalling, he was recovering from two crashes the previous Sunday. I met Stephen and a few others too. Stephen just picked up a pair of Campagnolo Zonda wheels, same as myself. They're a fantastic pair of wheels. I think he upgraded from a stock set of Shimano RS-11s. I ate the second of my bananas and signed on. I cycled up a hilly laneway, to unload a few liters. I removed my arm and leg warmers 10 mins before the start.

We were under the impression that it would be one race, with the three faster groups trying to catch my Limit crew. This was not the case. Because they were faster, the two scratch groups were sent off first. Then the two limit pelotons were unleashed upon the tarmac.

Ride down to the loop - Making the Selection

As you can see from the map at the top, there were three loops with a ride down to the start of the loops. Limit were on the road and riding hard. Lots of shouting, from the others. I was relaxed, I knew I would be shouting later. There was some very untidy riding at the start. Guys not being in two nice lines with smooth up and overs. Not communicating that they were the last man in the group. I just followed the wheels in front shielding from the wind.

I was riding with my head screwed on, not letting the adrenaline get to me. I knew my evening would be long, so I didn't need to make a big impression. I was remembering the drills that we did with Dick O'Brien in February. I found myself on Ann Horan's wheel, just like a fortnight ago. I went up and through smoothly by keeping an eye on where her wheel was under my armpit. The group settled and I flowed backwards through the bunch, as expected.

All of a sudden two things happened. First someone didn't call last man, and a gap opened. Second there was a corner (at 2.9km), so the accordion effect happened, as I was now out the back. I had to chase back on. Many others were in the same situation. Being, as the Mayo people say, "Pure Sound", I yelled in good time to those who I was passing that the Luke Express was leaving the station and to jump on. I don't think anyone was towed by me back on.

I caught back on, I over shot the bunch with my speed and I ended up in the middle. A 400 meter climb appeared (at 3.5km), I did my usual thing of spinning really fast, averaging 97 cadence for the climb. Everyone else was grinding out of the saddle and, from Luke Froome's perspective, going backwards. The selection was made, maybe twenty riders, and I was in the fray. Other people I recognized were Garret, Young Luke, another other young lad, James, Dan and Stephen.

Lap 1 - Trying my Luck

With the other riders now distanced, we tidied up considerably. There was just one guy on a BMC (not Garret) who was wild, more on this guy later. I had to sprint hard out of the two 90˚ turns over the bridge. I got back in position. As I moved up in the bunch, I noticed that Garret was out in front with about 20 meters gap.

I have no idea what I was thinking, so I bridged to his attack.

I took a turn. After about 30 seconds Garret told me that we were caught and to relax. I was sheltered the whole way up the first climb. It was easy going. The descent was handy. I was in second position coming up to the sharp turn at the top of the course. So it was relaxed going through the corner. The pace was back on, and we discovered where the finish line was.

Lap 2 - Cramps and Muscle Spasms

The road was very bumpy and my calf muscles were bouncing rather painfully. I dissipated a stitch by calming my breathing and riding on the hoods when I was being sheltered. The guy on the BMC was starting to annoy me. When he was riding through he would accelerate hard creating a gap. "There's no fucking need for that fucking shite". My turn to do some shouting was nigh. Then when he was riding in the shelter, he was riding out of line, so riders had to come around him. This was breaking the flow, and he wasn't getting it. So I calmed my tits. When I came past him again I calmly explained to him, not to accelerate when he was coming through. I have idea how this worked out as I lost position through the two bridge turns. I could see that the marshalls were holding up traffic really well. This was keeping us safe. The efforts in sprinting after the guy on the BMC to close the gaps took their toll. My ribs were in pain. The usual pain that started after I was hit by a car last summer. This made the second climb torture. Unable to breathe without pain, and my legs filling with lactic acid I fell off the back of the group.

I really wanted to throw the bike in the ditch and cry at the side of the road.

I caught up on the descent. Employing my sitting on the top tube techniques. But I was at the back for the sharp turn. Another sprint, where I nearly gave up. I did catch up again. We passed the finishing line again. Last lap. The Semi-Limit group were not in sight. On a windy course such as this, there wasn't a way for the rabbits to be seen by the dogs. We were away. The shouting was increasing. It was not an evening for improving your English. "Steady", "Up and Over", "Close the Gaps" and "Keep it Tidy" were the orders being given.

Lap 3 - All or Nothing

This was a good lap. The pain in my ribs had disappeared. I was smooth through the corners at the bridge. The pace on the climb was high, it was seven seconds faster than the previous two ascents. Some lads went out the back. I was third wheel.

In what could be my Cube Peloton's racing swan song, I launched an attack over the top.

Seeing that I had a nice few meters gap. I really upped the cadence. I should've sat on the top tube. I kept the pace up after the descent. I looked under my armpit and could see that James was just behind my wheel. I was deflated. I dropped back in the bunch and was last going into the sharp bend.

Finish

I sprinted back onto the bunch. I was really hurting from my previous efforts. Semi-Limit were nowhere behind us, so the thirteen of us that were left were going to contest the finish. The pace dropped a bit and the bunch did, as bunches do and, bunched up.

I wanted Dan to attack, so I could follow. So I shouted; "Dan Attack!".

But that only served to inject pace into the bunch. I cannot win a sprint yet, I don't have the raw power, technique or gearing on my bike. So I'd like to attack a few hundred meters out and try to hold it. This wasn't an option. The attacks went off the front, but I was at the back and just tried to keep pace. I passed James, who caught me on my attack, before the line for 13th position.

Post Race

I wasn't sure what the protocol was here. My group had won the CP race, but some guys had placed in the race. To my surprise, we were very happy about staying away. Lots of congratulations. We watched the Semi-Limit group roll on some time later. I heard he race organiser say that Limit had gained time on Semi-Limit. I knew that this would mean lots of upgrades. The top six were upgraded to Semi-Limit. Stephen and Garret would be chasing me next week.

Lots of people were talking, something had happened. One lad dropped a lap and joined our group and contested the finish. He finished 4th. I had no problem with him joining the group, but contesting the finish was a no-no. He was DQ'ed. I got 12th place.

Garret who finished seventh in the sprint placed sixth.

I did as all cycling heros do, and put on my leg warmers one leg at at time, then my arm warmers one arm at a time. I rode easy back to my car at the office. On the way, I stopped off to see if a guy who had a puncture was OK. He had all the tools. Another Orwell guy stopped off too, he had a track pump and supplied aid.

What was Learned

I was really happy with my performance at the race. I was delighted at my two attacks. In what could be a short season of racing, due to work, I didn't want to be anonymous.

• The racing drills that we did with Dick O'Brien in February were extremely beneficial.
• I need to really learn how to avoid the pain in my ribs/stitch.
• The group will slow down coming into the sprint finish. This might be a good time to launch an attack.