Cicle Classic (UCI) - 25/04/09
The Cicle Classic is the British version of Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders mixed together, off road and loads of short steep climbs to make you hurt even more.With 200 riders in the bunch, it was always going to be hard with everyone trying to get to the front before the race entered the narrow roads. Before any off road there were 2 laps of Rutland Reservoir to be completed, I can honestly say other than going up hill I spent the first 30 miles of the race in my 2 biggest gears. The first hour was run at over 30mph average speed, and this also involved dodging road furniture and impatient drivers who carried on driving even though there was a rolling road closure!
After about 35 miles we turned off the wide-open roads and onto the first country lane and started climbing the 1st King of the mountains climb. I was badly positioned, probably in the last 20 but there was nothing I could do about it, I was swinging going up the climb and over the top the race had split and I was on the wrong side of it. With another 15 riders we held the bunch at 400 meters but we just couldn’t close the gap.
The race then hit the 1st off road section of the race and we where left to battle through the dust created by the team cars which where now passing us. I was secretly hoping for a sticky bottle from the kinesis team car, with them possibly mistaking me for one of their riders with similar colored kits and all the dust, it never happened!
I continued with another 5 riders and we hit the bottom of the feeding zone, which had the sign ‘Welcome to Hell’, at this point I cracked good style but kept going as the others started to retire.
To cut a long story short I continued for another 30 miles in a small group until we where pulled out of the race and I made by way back to the changing rooms for an early shower.
It was a tough day and brought home how good the top British riders are, I may have been mixing it the week before with Matt Stephens and co. at Elswick, but this was a total different level. Matt Stephens was up there and finished 7th; he must have just been spinning the legs @ Elswick!!
Cheers
Rob
CDNW Elswick 3,4,J - 19/04/09
"FP at the races"Today was one of the races where 58 riders knew they were in a race with FP Mailing Cycle Team.
It started after 57 meters. John Moore bashes on the pedals and he's off. Richard Bott (Aspire) goes with him. All I hear around me is "what's he doing? let the race settle down". I'm thinking two things - one; they don't know John can ride off the front like that all day, and two; I dont ride in a race to "settle down" - if they want to go on a club run they can f.o. and go on one. So, I get myself to the front and chase down any decent rider who tries to jump away, and let any other rider just dangle off the front. I cant cover every move, so I let John Kent (Birkenhead) go down the road, because I know he'd help the two of them. In the end the three of them stayed away for 3 & half laps. I try to test my legs by going hard up the finish drag and into the S bends. Not enough to cause a break, but enough to know that I've got good legs today.
A lap and half to go, I jump across to a rider, and then jump away again. I checked behind me - and no one. So I decide to give it a good effort, get my head down and ride. If someone comes across, great, cos I'll need a bit of help into the wind. But guess what - no one to be seen, and the gap is constant between 20 and 26 secs according to motorbike marshall. I keep riding, it got a bit worrying when a car pulled out and almost joined Tony Workman in the back of the lead car, but I managed to have enough of a gap to keep bunch off, but not by much in the end - 2 secs!. Still worth it.
After the finish, back in the car pack Andy Wright (Maxgear) comes over to John and gives him a big hugs and says "that is the best bit of blocking I have ever seen - a bloody masterclass".
Yup - FP were definitely at the races today.
ps. for the bike nerds, here is powerfile from the race
Stephen Ballie
CDNW Elswick E,1,2 - 19/04/09
After looking at the start sheet I realised us CDNW regulars where going be in for a hard time with the full Halfords squad riding as well as sigma sport team and Tom Barras from Plowman Craven. I decided I was going to make these fellas work up a sweat for the win so I attacked from the gun.I lasted nearly 3 quarters of a lap before I was caught by a group of 7 riders. I sat on for a bit and then started to do a few turns when a 20 man group came across with the rest of the Halfords team present. There was a lull in the action so I attacked again and Matt Stephens came across to me, he was ripping my legs off but I was giving him turns when he sat up and said they where catching us. At this point the bunch caught the group and we went again, Matt’s team mate Kit Gilham came across and next thing we had 30 seconds on the bunch.
We were told a chasing group of 12 was coming across so I sat on, only 2 of the 12 made it across, Mark McNally and Tom Barras. I was sitting pretty at the back letting the ‘Elites’ do the work, I had planned my attack and I was going to go with 1 km to go and hope that they would look at each other and give me enough of a gap to hang on for the win.
We still had a few miles to go and I was feeling comfortable even after an attack by Matt Stephens and then disaster struck, my front tub punctured. I waved good bye to the break and got a new wheel from the Halfords car not before Rob Hayles and James Williamson had passed me. I battered myself to the finish as I could see a group behind and rolled across the line to take 7th. I was pretty pleased with that after spending 5 seconds in the bunch and the rest of the race either on my own or in a break!!
Cheers
Rob
5 days, 5 races, 4 night shifts, hard as f*ck!!!
Last week saw me working in London for the week, with all my work being done through the night I planned on racing each day from Easter Sunday to the following Thursday.Rockingham Forest Wheelers – Sunday
I left St. Helens in glorious sunshine and arrived in Middleton for an afternoon of showers. The race wasn’t my best; I missed the break, got half away across with another rider when he decided he wanted a tow all the way. I got us within 300 metres and he jumped me, he didn’t get on and we where both reeled in by the bunch. For the rest of the race I was trying to get a break going with numerous attacks but nothing would stick, this took it out of my legs and on the 2nd to last time up the climb I popped good style and made a quick exit out the back of the bunch!! I gave a small chase but decided my day was over and headed back to the HQ for a shower!!
Hog Hill – Monday
I didn’t have an ideal start with puncturing on the 1st lap but I managed to get a spare wheel from my car and luckily the commasire let me back in the race after missing 2 laps. To cut a long story short the break went when I had just got back in the race, so I helped out with the chase but with a short steep climb every lap we never really got organised and I ended up finishing the race mid bunch.
Hillingdon – Tuesday
With 40 riders on a pan flat circuit I wasn’t expecting much out of the race, but once we got going I followed the wheels and the legs felt good so I decided to give it some!! I must have got in about 5 breaks but they never stuck with too many good riders in the bunch willing to chase. The race was looking like a bunch sprint with 5 laps to go so I stayed in the top 15 and with 200 metres to go I was boxed in but a gap opened and I squeezed through to take 7th on the line.
Portsmouth – Wednesday
This race was down on the BC website as a circuit race but when I turned up the race was on an outdoor tarmac Velodrome!! The race was 60 laps of the 500 metre track; it was fast from the start and gradually got faster and faster. I spent the whole race in my 2 biggest gears!!! After a couple of breakaway attempts I didn’t have the legs to stay away by myself so I waited till the bunch gallop which was for 6th place after a group of 5 had clipped off the front. I was looking good to take the bunch gallop until 50 metres to go when my legs exploded and 4 cheeky f*ckers beat to the line!!
Milton Keynes Bowl – Thursday
Even before I left my hotel I was knackered, but I had planned on racing 5 days on the trot so I drove the 45 minutes to the ‘bowl’. I was expecting a twisty flat out course; we had a ‘D’ shaped course with a drag, descent and flat bit each lap. From the start of the race I was being marked by 2 AW-cycles team riders one of them I had raced against on Tuesday. I spent most of the race either being chased down by them or chasing them, eventually the legs gave up and one of them clipped off in a small group. No-one else seemed interested and the 3, 4 cat race caught us. The finish came down to a 40 rider bunch gallop and with 200 metres to go there was a massive crash to my left, not wanting to wreck a good week with a broken collarbone I switched across onto the grass and watched another crash happen with a few riders contesting for 30th place!!!
So 5 days, 5 races and 4 night shifts, I’m well and truly knackered now but I’ll be back on the start line for Elswick this Sunday!!
Cheers
Rob
CDNW - Treales 08/03/09
"Nose in the wind"
Like most cycle team, there is an "A" team focused on the Grand Tours, and a "B" team who get to do the "spring classics". FP Mailing is no exception.
Whilst the "A" team was off pampering themselves in a Mallorcan spa with their aromatherapy massages, the northern hard men took themselves up to Elswick to race in the cold and gale force winds for the first outing of the CDNW league. Our only consolation was that by riding in the 3/4, we weren't subjected to take part in the the Halfords Team Time Trial aka the E1/2 event.
Everyone was pretty jittery on the first lap - new season, fresh legs and all that, and a furious couple of surges shelled quite a few out the back early on. Then there was one of those lulls when you just know you have to put your nose in the wind. So I did. But I didn't realise how bl***y windy it was - I was close to the red zone crawling along at 26kph into the headwind. But after a lap off the front, I was joined by 5 other riders, including a certain Mr Whitefield.
The six of us maintained a decent gap for the remainder of the race. Tony Workman won the sprint and I struggled to get the legs going up the drag and finished 6th. Still - it was a good day at the office for FP, as John Moore picked up 10th as the remainder of the field came home.
Stephen Ballie
Majorca Training Camp 07/03/09 - 14/07/09
3 crashes, 2 new pairs of wheels, a pair of pedals and hire bike later we eventually did some training in the sunshine!! The crashes all took place on the 2nd day but I managed to pack one pedal, so my 1st day was done in trainers and toe clips!!
The 2nd day started along the cycle path between Playa de Palma and Palma to reach the first climb of the day out of Palma past the military base. As usual Dean was putting the half wheel on me and then I was suddenly on my arse with Danny Quinn shortly following me!! Over the next 50 metres someone rode head first into a local on a mountain bike and then someone got switched into a bollard!!
We all continued until the descent before Galileo where max-gear rider Tony broke a spoke, further up the road my mech hanger decided to snap, so I ended up riding home with single speed and Tony’s buckled wheel. I eventually got back to the hotel; 20 miles took me 3 hours though as my chain kept falling off.
Jacko managed to also snap a spoke in his roval wheels, which meant an early trip to the bike shop in the morning to purchase some mavics!!
The rest of the week was mainly just long steady miles on the flat, racing up the hills and racing back to the hotel. The max-gear boys were on form on the hills but where it counted on the run in to the finish they where no where to be seen.
The last night saw the Jagermeister international team time trial which took place in Tango’s German Steak House. Like in a team time trial where each rider has to take a turn on the front, each rider was required to down a shot of Jagermeister!! After two turns each the 1st bottle was gone, it was then left to the men to finish the second bottle with 3 turns each!! There where definitely a few sore heads the next morning in the airport.
Cyclo-Cross Update - National Champs 11/01/09
After a promising ride at Macclesfield, i was looking towards a top 30 finish in the National champs at Peel Park, Bradford. The start of the race was gridded, supposedly on ranking points, which meant i would be fairly near to the front. This wasn't the case and i was called up to the 7th row, with each row containing 8 riders, i had my work cut out before i had even started.
Like every other cross race the start was fast and hectic, i managed to move up a few places during the first few laps when the race was just a long string of riders. As the gaps started to appear, i warmed up and gradually starting making up some ground. After about 30 minutes of racing i dropped a group of riders and sat about 20 seconds behind a group of riders who i had beaten at Macclesfield a few weeks earlier.
I closed the gap to about 10 seconds but couldn't get any closer, i was in about 33rd position when a couple of riders in front got dropped and i caught them. I dropped these riders on the road section of the course and was eventually caught by the leaders.
As the national champs is an UCI race i was forced to retire with 2 laps of the race remaining. I was a bit disappointed to have not made the top 30, i eventually finished 31st, but i was congratulated by many of the North West regulars on my ride.
So maybe with a couple more ranking points next year and a better position on the grid, i could be looking towards a top 25 maybe a top 20, who knows!!!
Cheers
Rob