Fleche Welywn 3rds
Windy but sunny and warm.
Based upon previous experiences, i figured i would stay in the bunch instead of joining the early futile break like previous races.. proving there are no givens in road racing the early break actually stayed away this time around. That's racing!
The pace within the bunch wasn't that hard to begin with, it was more the constant wind and narrow roads which were the big challenge.
Nigel had a stormer of a ride. Did lots of pulls on the front, when no one else really showed any commitment to the chase he changed mode and attempted a number of breaks. One of which become the main move of whole bunch.
After a scary moment where by i looked back and suddenly saw the following car, it turns out that the small group 100m up the road that Nigel was in was all of a sudden the main bunch. Managed to make my way to it and hitting my max HR in the process. 60 odd starters had been reduced to about 22 finishers.
Coming into the final climb, knowing that climbing isn't my strongest, i sat third wheel and just tried to keep the power on. Managed to hold off some surges from riders behind and rolled over the line 4th in the group and 8th overall. Looking at the power files it appears i also had a lot more to give, but a top10 is the confidence booster i needed.
Next up is probably the HHV Omnium and then some quality training before the Surrey League 3 day.
@MattB
Fleche Welywn 3rds
Windy but sunny and warm.
Based upon previous experiences, i figured i would stay in the bunch instead of joining the early futile break like previous races.. proving there are no givens in road racing the early break actually stayed away this time around. That's racing!
The pace within the bunch wasn't that hard to begin with, it was more the constant wind and narrow roads which were the big challenge.
Nigel had a stormer of a ride. Did lots of pulls on the front, when no one else really showed any commitment to the chase he changed mode and attempted a number of breaks. One of which become the main move of whole bunch.
After a scary moment where by i looked back and suddenly saw the following car, it turns out that the small group 100m up the road that Nigel was in was all of a sudden the main bunch. Managed to make my way to it and hitting my max HR in the process. 60 odd starters had been reduced to about 22 finishers.
Coming into the final climb, knowing that climbing isn't my strongest, i sat third wheel and just tried to keep the power on. Managed to hold off some surges from riders behind and rolled over the line 4th in the group and 8th overall. Looking at the power files it appears i also had a lot more to give, but a top10 is the confidence booster i needed.
Next up is probably the HHV Omnium and then some quality training before the Surrey League 3 day.