Felt Colbornes Team

Last Friday saw the 4th and final round of the highly successful circuit race series at Cheltenham Racecourse. Organised by VC Montpellier and generously sponsored by Leisure Lakes, the events have been well organised and supported. With live commentary, drinks and a BBQ, the enthusiastic spectators were kept well entertained.

After finishing 2nd twice, and third in the first race of the series I was totally determined to try and get onto the top step of the podium. The same rider, Perry Bowater had won all three rounds so far, so I decided my aim for the night was to make this race the hardest 1hr bike race his skinny legs had ever experienced. After the neutralised first lap (behind JC in his quality black cab) I put the hammer down almost immediately, hoping to break free and get the first prime. Coming up to the prime line after a lap and a half in the lead, guess who nipped past me to take the prime on the line…. This was war!

Shortly after this a leading break of around 9 riders established at the front of the race. A few riders tried their luck at escaping, and I attempted a few escapes myself, but nothing was staying away from the leading group. The obvious thing in this race, regardless of who rode of the front, I had a permanent annoying shadow in the shape of Perry Bowater. I think he just wanted to follow me around all night, and nip past whenever a prime was available. The angry adrenaline must have helped me in the middle part of this race, as I took 3 primes in a row, winning some cash, and a nice pair of Specialized shades (thanks Leisure Lakes).

With 2laps to go a rider from Echelon Spuik put in a great attack to ride clear of the break. The others in the lead group didn’t seem too keen to chase, so it was down to my team mate Dave and myself to close the gap with half a lap to go. Dave led me into the final climb, and I accelerated with everything I had, going for the line. 10metres from the line a rider levelled with me, and just edged ahead by half a wheel to take the win……Perry Bowater again! That’s racing I guess, but the kid isn’t exactly on my Christmas card list….

As you can see from the photo, close racing for the crowd to witness…..Dave also took third, so two Felt riders on the podium for the second week in a row!

The night wrapped up with the podium presentation and prize giving. It was great to collect a few primes, shades, and enough money for a nice Indian takeaway on the way home. The award of the overall prize however was quite embarrassing to witness. Phil Landry of Leisure Lakes had generously sponsored this series with an overall prize of a 2009 Specialized Allez road bike. As Phil wheeled to bike towards the podium, Perry Bowater seemed reluctant to hold his fantastic prize, let alone muster the strength to pick it up. With the local press there to capture the moment and give Leisure Lakes the press coverage they deserve, the boy could at least have smiled.

 Maybe I had tired him out after all…… 

Despite not quite managing to win a round, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Leisure Lakes series, and hope it resumes next year. I’ll have to practice my sprinting over the winter! Thanks to Phil at Leisure Lakes, and all the boys at VC Montpellier for putting on/supporting a great series.

Friday night saw the penultimate round (3) of the Leisure Lakes Bikes Circuit Series at the Cheltenham racecourse. As ever, a large and enthusiastic crowd had gathered for an evening of top class cycle racing at the prestigious venue. The racing was fast, at speeds over 30mph and the cash sprints (primes) throughout the event quickly split the race apart. 

David, Richard and Duncan turned up in force to assist Duncan for the series win as points thus far meant series standings where tight to say the least! Duncan locked in with rising star Perry Bowater. 

Richard proved invaluable right from the start. After only five minutes of racing, he put in a strong attack on the ascent to the finish area. The remaining peloton, which numbered 40 riders in total, watched each other nervously as Richard quickly established a good lead but the gap produced was closed once Richard sat up when he lost one of his glasses lenses. This strong move off the front forced Bowater to chase, Jamieson, of course, marked this move!

Duncan then attacked taking Perry with him, the two worked together to open a large gap while the remain riders moves where marked by Richard and David. Three quarters into the racing and Richard attacked off the front to make the break to Perry and Duncan, picking up a last minute prime for his efforts. Now there where three!

Behind, the remaining peloton started to fragment as the chasers attempted to bridge the gap. Oliver Graham (Arctic Premier), Simon Burgess (Severn RC) and Adrian Bird (Team Echelon-Spiuk) were all aggressive attackers on the tough hill to the finish. David Curtis-Whitfield played a great marshalling role on the front of the peloton in order to make sure that his teammates, who were now leading, were not caught. Incidentally, the hill had been nicknamed by the commentator as ‘Landry Hill’ after Phil Landry, manager of Leisure Lakes, who’s shop sponsor’s the race series.

With only one lap remaining, Richard started to pushing the pace to lead the Duncan to the line, moving into the finish line hill, Richard swung out to give Duncan the clear path. At this point Perry took a cleaner line gaining a few meters which Duncan pushed hard to close. All the way to the line it was open, Perry taking the win by a few inches! Teammate Richard took third.

Race 3 – Cheltenham Racecourse
1 Perry Bowater (CC Giro)
2 Duncan Jamieson (Felt Racing)
3 Richard Mardle (Felt Racing)
4 Oliver Graham (Arctic Premier)
5 Simon Burgess (Severn RC)
6 David Curtis-Whitfield (Felt Racing)
7 Adrian Bird (Team Echelon-Spiuk)
8 Ewan McDonald (Epic Cycles-Viner RT)
9 Daniel Bill (Team Echelon-Spiuk)
10 Mark Williams (Python Racing)

Senior Result:

 With the new Felt DA’s finally arriving in the country I’ve manged to get around to doing a few time trials. Setting up before the National 10 was fun with the bike arriving on the wednesday before and then being stripped and rebuilt with the awesome SRAM Red groupset.

I managed just warm up prior to the Nationals with a 21:57 in a local club event. A bit more “adjusting” to get the seat further back to try and get close to my position from last  and I was ready.

On the day I didn’t really find a good rythm and recorded a relatively slow 22:02 nearly 2 1/2 minutes behind the winner, Michael Hutchinson.

The National 25 took place a couple of weeks later and was to be my first 25 since last August. I cruised round with a leisurely 55:35 in fairly windy conditions.

Hopefully with a few more time trials in the coming weeks and a laid back seatpost instead of the “triathlon” seatpost supplied I’ll be able to finally clock a 19 minute 10 this year.

On Wednesday 10th June I travelled to Winchcombe for the first round of the popular Cotswold League Road Race Series. The first round last month had been cancelled due to flooding, and the weather was doing its best to ruin the Winchcombe race also. Conditions were filthy, especially the section of road outside a farm where the road was a nice shade of brown. I was half expecting to be reaching for the Immodium on Thursday morning…….

Back to the race. Split into 3 groups for a pursuit style of racing, 7 of us set off in the scratch group with 4laps of around 8miles to catch the others. Driving rain and spray from the wheels made the going pretty cold and grim. Castelli kit was great though, especially the windproof baselayer which kept me warm without the need for bulky clothing. The groups all came together towards the end of the 3rd lap and the race was on. 2 riders clipped off the front on the long drag up to the finish line and by the top of the climb 5 of us had escaped to form a break with 8miles remaining.

The last lap I started to feel good for the first time all race. Being in the break and riding hard helped to keep the legs warm. Tried to drink some High 5 energy drink to dilute the tasty road spray. 5 of us arrived at the bottom of the last climb and Ian Alexander attacked and rode away steadily at a good tempo. With two VCM riders in the break I tried to be patient and stay in the wheels. It looked as though Ian was on his was to a win however……

Wayne Coombes decided to accelerate in pursuit of Ian and I jumped onto his wheel. We caught Ian and with the finish in sight I went for the line. My legs were starting to buckle and Grant Bayton manage to edge ahead by half a bike length by the line. 2nd place in a reasonably strong field however, things are on the up! With a limited amount of racing in my legs this year I’m sure the best form is yet to come.

Maybe I’ll find out in a couple of hours time, as heading to the VCM Circuit Race Series at Cheltenham Racecourse….

After a long day Saturday racing and dying many times over in the round three of the National Cross Country series, Sunday held the event I had my eyes set on. The National Marathon Championships!

With the best weekends weather we’ve seen all year, the sun shin soaked course at the legendary South Wales Margam Park was dry, fast and HOT!

The gun went at 10am and lap one went quickly with a group of 15 riders pushing on completing the first lap in 59 minutes. This course was all about climbing! We had four laps to cover and I knew that the race would come down to who paced well and drank well. Lap two and three went quickly lapping again at 59mins and 1hr 01min, everything happened on lap four. Oli pushing the pace hard at the end of lap three and squeezed out the remaining guys holding on including myself, cramp and burn had become the new battle. Holding onto my pace I swept in to take 6th place.

100KM Champs Male
1 Oli Beckingsale Giant – 4 laps in 03:48:05
2 Paul Oldham Hope Factory Racing – 4 laps in 03:53:16
3 Ian Bibby Team Halfords – 4 laps in 03:58:17
4 Jonathan Pugh Clee Cycles Kcnc High 5 – 4 laps in 04:01:40
5 Ross Creber – 4 laps in 04:02:20
6 Richard Mardle Felt Racing – 4 laps in 04:11:42

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/mtb/EventReports2009/20090531_british_marathon_champs.asp

Last Friday I entered the first round of the new circuit series at Cheltenham Racecourse. Only a couple of miles from home, but it took some serious coffee and High 5 Extreme energy drink to revive me after a hectic week at work.

The circuit within the racecourse complex was short but challenging with a tough little climb through the finish area, a fast open descent, and some tight corners and a chicane.

With a race format of an hour plus 5laps it felt a bit like a cyclo cross, minus the mud! My first road event of the year (about time!) and first time out on the Zipp 404s this season, complete with brand new Vredestein Fortezza Pro Tricomp tubs. These tyres aren’t cheap, but the ride quality and grip is absolutely stunning, especially with Zipp wheels. The SRAM Rival groupset was working really well too, a nice upgrade for my Felt Z35 Bike for 2009.

The hammer went down within a few laps of the start. Making sure I stayed close to the front I actually got away on my own very early, just by riding really quick through the technical sections. Around 12 riders pulled away only 10minutes into the race. The legs were feeling good, so I pushed the pace hard and escaped with two other riders for company. The 3 of us then set about riding fast and smooth to lap the majority of the field who were spread all over the course. Spectators gathered on the hill to shout encouragement and enjoy a drink or 2 from the bar.

Coming into the climb for the 40min prime I was feeling confident and opened it up for a sprint. Alas, both calves locked into an embarassing spasm and it was all I could do to stay in the break of 3. Maybe a hilly run on the treadmill mid-week had been a bad idea, doh. Settling into the break my legs started to feel a bit better. I decided my best chance was to go for a long one, launching a do or die effort with a lap to go. It almost worked, until being hindered on the tight turns by lapped riders. 3 of us back together with a few hundred metres to go it came down to a tough uphill sprint which would normally suit me perfectly. The calf muscles locked as soon as I jumped out of the saddle, v annoying, but 3rd on the night and a good result. Dave (Curtis-Whitfield) also finished well in 11th from a field of 52 riders. from Saddleback I’ll be better hydrated and stretching before the next race!!

Also a race report on the VCM website:

 http://www.vcmontpellier.com/news.php?id=173

A busy week ahead: Cotwold League RR on Weds, Racecourse Series Round 2 on Fri, and Midlands MTB at Hanchurch Woods on Sunday. Bring it on…….

Round 3 of the National Series was held at the classic MTB venue, Margam Park in South Wales. Arriving to practice the course on Friday we were greeted by scorching hot sunshine. The course had the usual mix of long tough climbs, fast bumpy singletrack decents, and some new technical sections which were still wet and slippy from torrential rain earlier in the week. Two laps were enough to warm up the legs and scare myself on the decents….. The decents at Margam are not necessarily described as technical, but riders push the speeds as high as possible, and if you do stray offline there are old mining holes and stone walls waiting to cause maximum carnage. Luckily I stayed on course, just! A relaxing coffee in the sunshine was great, before the trip home to clean my RXC Team Bike, check the tyres, and swap the riser bars for flats with bar ends. The Margam climbs didn’t seem quite right without bar ends to grab in anger.

Race Day:

Even hotter weather! Arrived at the race and soon found Richie, posing in the arena with his latest pink Castelli hat and pink bar tape!!

A quality turn out for the Elite race meant it was flat out from the start, led by World Cup riders Oli Beckinsale and Liam Killeen. My first lap could have been alot better….. A rider stopped dead infront of me making me wish I hadn’t fitted those bar ends, nice gash to the knee and throbbing pain for the following 10mins, no pain no gain. By the end of the first lap I had managed to catch Richie and a group of riders gasping on the climb to the highest point of the course. From there I tried to settle into a good pace, sustainable in the heat on such a tough course, picking of riders each lap.  

 By the finish I was 21st, totally cooked, but satisfied to finish a tough race after recently suffering with a virus which had ruined my ablility to ride a bike really quick. Confident I can now build from here and put in some solid rides later this season. Another excellent race from organiser supremo Martyn Salt, can’t wait for the next round at Crow Hill!

 I have a busy schedule of criteriums, Cotswold League road races, and mtb races during June, aiming to be firing on all cylinders by late June/July for the MTB Nationals……

Richie had a solid race to finish 31st, didn’t look too tired to me though, perhaps saving his legs for the 100Km Marathon Champs the next day. All he needed to do was stay off the wine, get some sleep, avoid dodgy Chicken Paninis, and stick to the recovery drinks………

Bye for now, Dunc.