SOUTH WEST SERIES ROUND 4
ABBEYFORD WOODS, OKEHAMPTON
RACE REPORT
BY CARLA HAINES-ELITE FEMALE
The final round of the  South West series was now here.  I was looking forward to it as there has been quite a gap since the last mountain bike race I did (24/12). 
I pre rode the course and really enjoyed it. As it had rained it was quite muddy in places but still dry in other sections. I kept the tyres I was racing on (Kenda tubeless small block eights). They seemed to grip quite well even in the wetter parts.
My bottles were already made up and I was ready to race. Us females went off last, which was a bit of a shame but also good as well so I could pick people off one by one.

The whistle was blown and off we went. My start wasn’t the greatest; I had a bit of trouble getting my cleat in. Jane Cummings (vet winner) was off like a rocket so stayed with her as much as possible.
We caught up the slower riders of the vet men so did get held up quite a bit on the single track. There was a technical section near the beginning of the course where riders were coming off in all directions; it was quite hilarious but a bit frustrating as I just wanted to get on and race!

By lap two, every one had spread out a bit which was good so then I could use people as targets to pass. I dropped my bottle a quarter of the way in to the 3rd lap. I got really thirsty that I slowed down a bit.
On my last lap I grabbed a bottle from my mum, who was feeding me, and drank it like anything!!I felt hydrated again and went as hard as I could for my final lap. With about 800m to go to the finish I could see a fellow training partner (Rob Smith) up ahead. I rode up and sat on his rear wheel and hung on as much as possible all the way to the finish.
I was quite exhausted and pleased I put in the extra effort to the end.
A great course and have enjoyed the whole series. Thanks to Jay and Maddie of Team Certini- Mcaulys

The winner of Brent Tor 3 tells us his perspective... 

Brentor is an interesting race. It's circuit is tough, but not hard, it could be fast but yet it's slow. The 3 corners are sharp and 2 are excitingly off camber, as our chasing group companion Junior found out midway through the race. Round 3 was sunny. Warm and fairly calm wind wise with only a slight breeze easing you down the rolling descent. The race started with an ambitious early attack within 2k's of the start, everyone looked at each other and showed a distinct reluctance to go anywhere near the front. Here 2 Pendragon riders (myself and James) took it upon ourselves to tap through and encourage a little speed. Things didn't really 'heat up' until the 4th lap, I remember looking down seeing 70 kph on the Garmin and casually screaming at James now would be a really, really good time to go really, really hard. We sort of did. We got away, a handful of us and kept going. It didn't take long before there were 3 of us, Gary Chambers, Junior Heffernan and I.

  We rode together pretty well, keeping a steady pace, making good progress in catching Matt Hill who was now alone just in front of us. Junior was certainly nailing the corners, (I like to go fast but I was getting scared watching him) he then came off. Gary and I agreed to take it easy to see if he would catch us, however I'm told it took a while to sort out his bike, he never re-joined. Matt appeared to have waited for us, but was looking tired (understandably). We continued the 3 of us, until the last 2 laps (I think) at which point 3 once again became 2. Maintaining the same pace throughout the race Gary and I cruised around to the sprint together where a little cat and mouse ensued before one final acceleration to the line. It's a long old drag to the line and with a slight headwind I think we were both pretty conscious not to go too soon. Gary put up a good fight for 2nd, Matt rolled in for 3rd, and James didn't even stand to win the bunch sprint for 4th. Another fun day on the outskirts of the Moors.

Brent Tor 3 – Gary Chambers

After taking a break from the South West scene for a few weeks to ride the last two Premier Calendar races of the season, I decided that I would stay local and race at Brent Tor this weekend, being only just over an hour away it is just about the closest race to me all season!

The course itself is a 5mile circuit in a triangular shape with two fast sections and one drag of a climb. Upon turning up I was pleased to see a decent field had signed on for the race with about 40 riders taking to the start line. I had two team mates with me in the form of Blake Pond and Pete Johnston.

Not long after the flag had dropped, and Pete was the first to launch an attack and with no reaction from the bunch he was away up the road with a small gap. This was good for myself and Blake as we could now just sit in and follow the wheels.

However Pete was reeled in before the end of the first lap and it was game on. During the next few laps attacks came and went but nothing significant, for me those few laps involved myself and Blake marking Chris Opie and James Williams (Pendragon) and them doing the same to us with the rest of the field seemingly happy to sit back and watch. With a head wind blowing down the drag into our faces in was proving hard the get away.

The first move to get a serious gap came from two Mid Devon riders (Matt Hill and Jake Durant) to pair of them getting away on one of the fast sections of the course and with Pendragon and Southfork looking at each other no one else wanted to take up the chase. Mean while the leading pair quickly gained a 40second gap over the field.

It was on the fourth lap that the race winning move went….. James Willams put in a big dig to go across to two riders (Jason Flooks: pro bike kit, and Richard Oram: revo racing) who had just clipped off the front of the bunch. I was on James wheel at the time and had a quick look behind to realise that that dig had distanced us from the bunch by 10 metres or so and as we caught the two riders I came through to take my turn and try to establish a break. It looked promising for a while but with riders attacking from the bunch to bridge across, the gap was shut down. This had however stretched the field and caused a lot of tired legs.

Chris Opie now hit the front and turned the pace up stringing the bunch out, I am not really sure what happened next but myself and Chris found ourselves 10metres ahead of the bunch. Some one must have let a wheel go form behind or something. With Junior Heffernan (revo racing) jumping across to us we quickly settled into working well together to chase the leading Mid Devon riders down and distancing ourselves from the bunch.

Working well together we caught and passed Durant who had helped his team mate as much as he could and we were quickly closing in on Hill. Unfortunately for Junior he crashed as we went into a tight corner leaving myself and Chris Opie to continue the chase. Over the top of the drag for the 5th time and we had picked up Matt Hill and the 3 of us set about building are advantage over the chasing bunch. As we were unsure of what the gap was (one report of 5minutes to next 1minute!) we continued working like this until the last lap.

With Matt beginning to miss turns I didn’t know if he was blowing or just cheating, so last time up the drag I decided to attack him. The answer was he was blowing after a long day out front, Chris Opie came with me and it was now clear that the winner would be one of us. 

On the run into the finish I knew Chris is a very fast sprinter but I fancied my chances, knowing that the finish was half way up the drag I thought that this may even it out between us. I forced Chris onto the front around the last corner leaving him to lead the sprint out, Chris is obviously very experienced at this and with only a couple hundred metres to go we were almost doing track stands!

I kicked first drawing alongside him but I couldn’t come by him leaving Chris to take a good victory by a bike length. Looking back now I should have known Chris was the better sprinter and should have tried to get rid of him before the finish, but bike racing is always easier in hind sight! Still a good win for Chris and I was still fairly pleased with my 2nd place. Matt Hill managed to keep the bunch at bay and finish by himself to take a fine 3rd place and James Williams mopped up the bunch kick for 4th on the day.

Thanks to everyone who organised and marshalled the race and I look forward to coming back for the final Brent Tor race of the season.

Paignton, it's a short circuit. Kind of like riding the track. 760 meters and not too much braking in the corners, go too wide and air off a curb, avoid some pot holes and it's a fun little circuit.
We had a plan on Friday the 13th and it sort of worked. We would get 2 of us up the road, the other 2 would then sit back and clean up in the sprint.
 After 15 minutes Rhys Lloyd and I found ourselves off the front, with some good one lap turns and communication it didn't take too long to get around to the back of the bunch. Here we picked up a controlled stance on the front along with Jack Adams and James Williams to make sure we get as many of us in the top 5. There were plenty of of attempts from riders to get away from James leading up to the sprint, but with a bit of pace setting he sat comfortably awaiting the last lap. James blitzed past everyone for 3rd and Jack for 5th. Rhys and I had a couple of easy laps before our sprint for me  1st and Rhys 2nd. Now, this may not be the most exciting race report in history, but I don't have the journalistic ability to convey just how good the atmosphere is in Paignton. The race runs right through a Fair, along the seafront, past all the tourists and locals who come out to watch. It has to be one of the best attended races that aren't a Tour Series or ToB stage. Think about it next year, it is a whole lot of fun!

Results

Chris Opie - Winner

Rhys Lloyd - 2nd

James Williams - 3rd all the above Pendragon - WELL DONE good riding

Eighty riders tackled the Mendips hills on Sunday 25 July when Somer Valley Cycling Club revived the Colin Carfield Memorial Road Race. The race was last run 5 years ago and this year’s race saw second, third and fourth Category riders tackle one of the toughest  races in southern England thanks to the four different climbs of Burrington Combe, 2 Trees at Blagdon, followed by the Wellsway and finally finishing at the top of Smitham Hill. Over a race distance of 60miles competitors would ascend 1367m as they circled the Mendips in ever decreasing circles, meaning that riders had a shorter rest between the climbs each lap.

Starting from Priddy the riders descended to Chew Valley lake and then tackled the undulating road to Blagdon before ascending the route’s first climb of Burrington Combe. With the pace going into the climb already high the bunch immediately lined out and the resulting pressure at the front saw 12 riders break clear as they crested the summit led by Oliver Mott (Paramount CRT). Whilst this lead bunch quickly started to work together the melee of small groups behind meant that an organised chase was slow to initiate and so the leaders were able to establish a lead of more than a minute before the second climb of the day up the brutally steep and long 2 Trees hill in Blagdon.
Oliver Mott was once again first to the top of the climb justifying his prize of King of the Mountains. Whilst the climb was not decisive itself, the flatter road across the Mendips after the climb saw Travis Walker (Inverse Racing) and Crispin Doyle (Swindon RC) break clear. With both riders sharing the workload they managed to forge ahead and following the Wellsway climb it became obvious that the winner would be from this leading duo.
It was the steep middle section of the final climb that Doyle started to struggle allowing Walker to break clear of his breakaway companion to earn the applause of a large crowd waiting at the finish line at the top of climb.
The remainder of the initial breakaway was led in by a close 2 man sprint between Luke Dunbar (Team Quroz)  and Junior Hefferman (Revo Racing) with Dunbar just edging it and in doing so earning the additional prize from the Les Adams Trust for the best under 23 rider.
Former national hillclimb champion James Dobbin (Artic Premier RT) had to settle for fifth place, crossing the climb by scooting, after his chain had snapped on the climb whilst Andy Rivett (VC Raphael) rounded off the top  six. Best rider from the promoting club was Jerry Rayner in 27th place.
Whilst all 51 finishers deserve praise a special mention should  go to Nick Creed (Somer Valley) who was best placed fourth category rider in 34th place whilst Anna Fisher (Max Gear) was the only woman in the race finishing in 40th place.

Cardiff 100 Miles Road Cycling Club – Open 25 mile Time Trial

A gorgeous July Saturday for a time trial in the Welsh Valleys, a test from Usk to Monmouth and back. The wind was pumping though and it was going to be a tough ride, wind on your back out to Monmouth then in your face home. Not expecting to break my personal best for the second week in a row because of the conditions I was still keen to set a good time and try for the win.

I got on the turbo to warm up, Carleen (the ever helpful girlfriend/cycling widow) pinned my number on and I got the heart rate up. 10 minutes to start time, I pop the daft aero hat on and adopt my space age appearance jump on the TT bike and head to the start.
10… 5, 3, 2, 1 Go! Into my rhythm quickly and out onto the A472 I could sense the tailwind, constantly having to dig deep to keep my heart rate up in the 180’s I knew this was fast. Only meaning one thing, the return leg would be hard. Through 12 miles in around 48 minute pace I was feeling good into the turn, over the bridge and back along a rolling unclassified road before hitting the duel carriageway for home. Bang there’s the headwind! This was a grovel I dug in and had to concentrate on pedalling circles. The last 3 miles were dead flat and the wind was really strong but I knew I was going well looking at my watch. Over the slip road it was a full on sprint to the finish line, pushing the 53x 11 as hard as I could. Approaching the line the photographer caught me in a full warface / gurn / grimace, certainly not a smile thanks Alan! Heart rate pumping and lungs and legs on fire, I stopped my timer 51:27.
Back in the club house and a cuppa and some wicked flapjack was enjoyed during the nervous wait for times. A chance to admire Darren Carpenter’s very slick looking Giant Trinity too. The times were in and mine was posted as 51:26, my third fastedst time ever, I was well pleased. It was enough to give me a winning margin of 38 seconds over Ben Anstie (Chippenham Wheelers), with Welsh Time Trialling legend Colin Wallace (Merthyr CC) taking 3rd in 53:12.
Thanks to Bob Jones and all at Cardiff 100 Miles RCC for the event and Alan Jones for the photo (http://digitallphotography.co.uk).

Modbury RR three -James Smith

Bike racing is a confidence game… Look at the way these results pan out.  Clearly you have Marcin Bialoblocki who is leagues better than anyone else in the local area and in fact is ranked as the number one rider in the country.  He does not need confidence; he is able to ride with pure strength.  However there are a number of riders who dwell in the steps below Marcin whose performance has no small amount to do with their current confidence.

My confidence was quite high last night, I had a plan and felt it would be given the chance as long as none of the favourites chased me.  Why? Because then they would instantly chase each other etc.

So as the race rolled out of the town of Modbury on a damp summers evening, I sat right on the back of the lead car waiting for the red flag to be pulled in.  As we started climbing out of Modbury the car pulled away and I attacked.  I looked behind and at first the group chased and I sat up.  I decided to give it another go and this time the bunch just sat and looked at each other. The plan was working so far….

After about half a lap I looked behind and the bunch was no longer in sight no all I could see was Phil Borett Tor 2000 and MDCC’s Andy Hitchens coming across to me.  When they finally did we began to work pretty well together.  Each time up the main climb we knew we had to have a gap otherwise we would go straight out of the back of the bunch as it came past.

2 laps later our two minute gap was almost gone and the bunch was upon us.  I was pretty disappointed but now thought that I had an advantage.  Whereas the bunch would have been attacking each other, I had been riding at tempo for an hour.

As I looked at the bunch to say I was surprised was an understatement.  Everyone was still there, I was expecting a few riders to come across and then go to the finish with these riders.  However the whole group was still sat there and looking at them they all looked pretty fresh.  As Marcin said at the end “no wind, no wind”. 

So although there were a few different attacks and a strange tow from a TOR 2000 rider most of us knew it would be decided on the hill and the finish.  The attack on the hill came pretty quickly and the group dissolved in to about 15 riders chasing for the finish.  I managed to scrape 8th pretty pleased considering how active I had been.

Marcin wins followed by James W and Gary Chambers…..

What have I learnt?  Well whether you attack or not there is no point handing the race to the favourites at least make them work for it.  The large majority of riders last night felt it was necessary to sit on wheels and hang on.  COME ON GUYS!!  At least have a go…..