Cheshire 2 Day, Day 1 report: FP Mailing win prestigious award!
After Day 1 of the Cheshire 2 day the FP Mailing/Rapha team are in a great position to go on and challenge for overall
honours in the final stage at Delamere. As part of the new CDNW regulations to ride the series you need to marshal an event.
I think this is a great development as you get to see how the event works from a different angle and appreciate all the work
the people from CDNW put in alongside the event organisers. Respect is due!!!
I also believe they should take this one step
further and make all teams who race in the series (like us) run an event every 2 years, this would mean more races in the region
which has to be a good thing.
The FP Mailing marshalling team picked up the highly prestigious and unofficial "Best Marshalled Junction Award".
Pictured are the team (Dr Gary, Steve B, Dave, Steph and Jacko behind the camera) ready for the race and Steve B showing the little finishing touches that
made our junction the best on the day.
Team captain Steve B is quoted as saying "This is an award for the whole team, we need to
thank all the back room staff who made it possible. The selection of pies, sandwiches, cakes and coffee available in the team
butty boxes was a key factor in our performance on the day. Well done to everyone involved!"
In the race there were some great performances from the team:
• Fantastic performance by Rob Pugh taking 3rd place on the first stage
• The FP Mailing/Rapha team getting 2nd best time in the team time trial
• The FP Mailing/Rapha team in 3rd place overall ready to go for the win on day 2
• The sheer determination shown by Pat Hanfling to finish the first stage after still being asleep on the first lap and getting
dropped early on. Pat was not going to drop out as he wanted to be able to give what ever help he could to his team mates in the TT.
Further details to follow from day 2 ….. can the FP Mailing riders improve on a good first day?
Story By: Jacko
FP Mailing get 1st win
Who the _____ were those guys?
The midlands of England conjour up many images. Green rolling fields, castles, gentle lanes and winding roads past thatch cottages. Midsomer murders style villages nestled in little Hobbit style havens punctured only by the playful barks of well fed Labradors.
Of course, at some stage, every image must be challenged. And so it passed that FP Mailing cat 4 racers Adrian Davies and Patrick Hanfling strode into Leamington town like Clint Eastwood. Past the mossy gravestones of century old church yards and played gunslingers, from the wild north.
When they left, 42 of the midlands finest cyclists were checking in to the midlands version of boot hill......
In terms of a quick recap, 2007 had left Adrian and Patrick frequently as frustrated cat 4s. Regular placings in top the top 20 while being plastered with snot and drool left an element of battered confidence all around. Points were so close and yet so far away, with just one being gained in the bitter winds and cold of Liverpool lanes.
To kick off the 2008 year a choice was made. Head south my sons!! To the land of milk and honey and see what points you can pick up from those southern jessies.
And so dawned the 26th of April and 9:45 in the morning. Sprinting around a 1km loop 30 times in a serene leamington park, on smooth surfaced footpaths, all to ourselves.
Immediately it felt different. Attacks from the front were easily contained by the men in orange and white of FP Mailing, while our attacks left the peleton strecthing and struggling like a day old piece of chewing gum in Alex Fergusons mouth. The sweat was pouring from their sullied brows and expressions flashed across their faces as if to say "who are these guys"?
And then on the final lap of the first race of the day, the killer blow was landed. At the start of the final lap the bell was jangled. And from then on in, the midlands cyclists bones were dangling from the gallows. FP 4th cat Patrick Hanfling shot from the blocks and gained 5, 10, 15 meters on the Peleton. And it was more than enough. He crossed the line a 200 meters ahead of 2nd place and after establishing that he hadnt got the laps wrong, celebrated a first victory and a move to cat 3.
Before the celebrations could really begin though, there was work to be done. Another race a few hours later and another vistory was needed. So a plan was decided. Work together and then combine on just before the last lap for Adrian Davies to sprint for the win and make it 2 for 2.
This time however, it all started a little differently. When the FP mailers accelerated, the Peleton accelerated. When the FP mailers slowed, so the Peleton slowed. The new alpha males were in town. Wild Bill Hickocok had arrived and law and order was back to Leamington. And so, just before the last lap, after 30 minutes of bossing the bunch around, racers Davies and Hanfling put their plan into perfect implementation. A symphony of style and panache and a perfect sprint from 500 meters out led to a win for FP 4th cat Adrian Davies who celebrated victory and indeed, a move to cat 3. And celebrations all around.
So on Sunday morning the bells they mournfully tolled. Echoing across the green rolling fields and the ancient passageways of brooding castles. For while Patrick and Adrian slept and in then went for a leisurely traing ride past the hobbit villages and stopped for a taste of cider, a procession filed past the mossy gravestones of ancient churches. Sombre and pensive. For that procession carried the reputations and standings of 42 of the midlands finest cyclists and deposited them, on green and pleasant boot hill. And while the mourners sobbed and wailed, a well fed Labrador sat and pondered.....who the hell were those guys?
Story By: Patrick and Adrian
