East Brighton Park CX - race report
Oct 2, 2018 0:14:26 GMT
Charliecod, Joe R Booth, and 5 more like this
Post by Dalila Lecky on Oct 2, 2018 0:14:26 GMT
Much to the dismay of those who had welcomed and even revelled in the 'proper' cross weather last week at Leeds Castle, the forecast for round 4 of the London CX League was for sunshine and a gentle breeze (carrying with it the scent of the sea ...and of the suspicious contents of a caravan parked near the start grid).
Sara, Joe and I arrived at East Brighton Park as the Jnr/V40 race was underway and were hoping to get in some prime heckling/cheering of the DP representatives, but, alas, there were none.
After some time spent faffing/discussing and then adjusting tyre pressures we were allowed onto the course for a warm-up/recce. This was a new venue on the calendar and it bore many similarities to the nearby Happy Valley venue. It was decidedly a 'grass crit' type of affair - a harsh but rideable climb each lap and some short, steep up and down ramps on the terraces added some interest (these ramps were quite tricky if you hit them at the wrong angle/speed - I found this out the hard way during my recce lap).
By the time I'd completed just one lap of the rather long course the commissaires were calling us over for gridding. Kath, Sara and I lined up at the side of the course waiting for our names to be called; Andy, Joe and Mark would be setting off with the V50 men a few minutes behind us.
The women's race split up very early on with a fast sprint off the start line and then several attacking moves going up the climb for the first time. I can never tell who's in my age category in the women's race so I usually just try to chase/not get caught by anyone who isn't a bloke, this served me well and I ended up 3rd senior woman (5th when all age categories are considered). Sara and Kath also rode well each coming 6th in their age categories and 12th and 16th overall respectively.
Andy looked to be riding strongly and came past with the lead V50 group quite early on finishing up 8th, Joe and Mark also put in solid performances finishing further down the field.
We managed to recompose ourselves, rediscover our belongings and found a nice viewing spot by the finish line by time the senior men were being gridded. It was to be a long race, 9 laps in total (I actually thought there had been a mistake when 10 minutes in I looked at the lap board and saw 7 laps to go).
Chris had a mishap of some sort at the start that saw him chasing back on for the whole of the first lap, to his credit he managed to catch up with and beat the guy who will now affectionately be known as 'new Aztec guy'. Eddie was right up at the front from the start, riding strongly with the two who would place 1st and 2nd. He then settled into his own pace but later ended up in a 3-lap battle with a Team Corridori rider for 3rd place, Eddie won this battle with an all-out sprint for the line to secure his podium spot (unfortunately no podium was provided, thus no podium photos). We grew concerned when we hadn't seen Dave since the first lap but he was soon spotted manning the bike pit having withdrawn due to a knee injury caused by another rider (I am assured that this rider's name did not begin with a P). Oliver, Stu, Sam and Aidan all rode well each having their own mini races within the race (as is often the way with CX) with Oliver and Stu both achieving top 15 finishing positions.
The next round (this coming weekend) we head to Herne Hill to tackle the lumpy grass and knobbly trails around the back of the velodrome (and not forgetting Big Bob). I expect there'll be many in attendance at the club CX training session this Wednesday. If you can ride it in the dark it should be doable on race day, right?
Sara, Joe and I arrived at East Brighton Park as the Jnr/V40 race was underway and were hoping to get in some prime heckling/cheering of the DP representatives, but, alas, there were none.
After some time spent faffing/discussing and then adjusting tyre pressures we were allowed onto the course for a warm-up/recce. This was a new venue on the calendar and it bore many similarities to the nearby Happy Valley venue. It was decidedly a 'grass crit' type of affair - a harsh but rideable climb each lap and some short, steep up and down ramps on the terraces added some interest (these ramps were quite tricky if you hit them at the wrong angle/speed - I found this out the hard way during my recce lap).
By the time I'd completed just one lap of the rather long course the commissaires were calling us over for gridding. Kath, Sara and I lined up at the side of the course waiting for our names to be called; Andy, Joe and Mark would be setting off with the V50 men a few minutes behind us.
The women's race split up very early on with a fast sprint off the start line and then several attacking moves going up the climb for the first time. I can never tell who's in my age category in the women's race so I usually just try to chase/not get caught by anyone who isn't a bloke, this served me well and I ended up 3rd senior woman (5th when all age categories are considered). Sara and Kath also rode well each coming 6th in their age categories and 12th and 16th overall respectively.
Andy looked to be riding strongly and came past with the lead V50 group quite early on finishing up 8th, Joe and Mark also put in solid performances finishing further down the field.
We managed to recompose ourselves, rediscover our belongings and found a nice viewing spot by the finish line by time the senior men were being gridded. It was to be a long race, 9 laps in total (I actually thought there had been a mistake when 10 minutes in I looked at the lap board and saw 7 laps to go).
Chris had a mishap of some sort at the start that saw him chasing back on for the whole of the first lap, to his credit he managed to catch up with and beat the guy who will now affectionately be known as 'new Aztec guy'. Eddie was right up at the front from the start, riding strongly with the two who would place 1st and 2nd. He then settled into his own pace but later ended up in a 3-lap battle with a Team Corridori rider for 3rd place, Eddie won this battle with an all-out sprint for the line to secure his podium spot (unfortunately no podium was provided, thus no podium photos). We grew concerned when we hadn't seen Dave since the first lap but he was soon spotted manning the bike pit having withdrawn due to a knee injury caused by another rider (I am assured that this rider's name did not begin with a P). Oliver, Stu, Sam and Aidan all rode well each having their own mini races within the race (as is often the way with CX) with Oliver and Stu both achieving top 15 finishing positions.
The next round (this coming weekend) we head to Herne Hill to tackle the lumpy grass and knobbly trails around the back of the velodrome (and not forgetting Big Bob). I expect there'll be many in attendance at the club CX training session this Wednesday. If you can ride it in the dark it should be doable on race day, right?