Worcester St John RR

Aug 14, 2011

Fast racing is rare in amateur racing in the U.K, usually the format is race for a bit a break goes some guys chase for a bit get frustrated and then its game over.

However, this race was different with the Olympic Test event taking the best UK teams to London for a well deserved shoeing! Although as it proved an amateur field for an amateur race does not mean easier racing, it just means that more riders feel that they are in with a chance of a win.

The Worcester St. Johns road race is flat (well almost) there is a small rise every lap, of the six laps. This leads to very fast run ins to the climb where the bunch splits, and on this day came back together as they went over the top.

As the race rolled out on a dry warm Sunday none of us expected the race to pan out this way. As the commissare pulled in the flag, the bunch immediately came to life with attack after attack being towed back in, usually by Forme or Qoroz. It became patently clear that nothing was going to stick, but that did nothing to stop the attacks, and I managed to get in quite a few but nothing ever more than for a few seconds.

Notable rides came from Matt Clinton Mike Vaughan cycles, who although marked, still managed a nice little escape attempt on the last lap, but again chased back. With little or no wind the race came to a bunch sprint. Even though I felt that I had a good day it proves that a slip of for a few seconds can ruin a race. This lack of concentration meant that I fell to far back in the bunch and could not recover quickly enough before the race turns to final rise and finish.