Felt Colbornes Team

Last Saturday the Felt Colbornes team made the journey to Lincoln, ready for the infamous 87mile Lincoln Grand Prix. When we arrived in Lincoln I had intended to ride a couple of laps of the course, especially to check out the cobbled 1in6 climb which we would tackle eleven (ouch!) times the next day. It was raining however, so I opted for 40mins on the rollers in the hotel room, watching trashy TV….I must be going soft with this road racing lark! After an Italian meal on the Saturday night, everyone crashed out to grab some sleep before the big day.

After a quick breakfast on Sunday Morning we made our way to the HQ for sign on and final prep for the race. I may be biased, but we’ve definitely got the coolest looking team car at the big races, and the bikes get loads of attention. It was my first time at this race, but I had been warned it goes from the gun, so a quick spin on the rollers helped to warm up my legs nicely. I’m pretty sure Eurosport were fiming me riding the rollers infront of the team car, fingers crossed it makes the final program next week!

The start was delayed by at least 15mins due to Sunday drivers and cars parked on the course, there goes the warm up. Onto the action…..it did surge from the gun. Everyone wanted to be near the front and there were so many near misses, and several big crashes in the early laps of the race.

I think there were almost 200 starters in this race, a massive field on a fast and furious course. We must have been averaging nearly 30mph on most parts of the lap, not on the cobbled climb however. This was my favourite part of the lap by far, although complete chaos! I did get heldup by crashes on this climb, but when I got a clearer run, riding the narrow strip of smooth slabs at very edge of the road, almost clipping the kerb, and dodging spectators leaning out to scream at the riders…..it was a fantastic experience. The photos below, taken by my friend James Griffin, capture some of the action:

I can’t emphasise enough how intense this race was, not just the speed, but the sheer desperation of riders to be near the front before the start of the cobbled climb. There were numerous crashes and mechanicals, some unfortunately affecting our team.

With 2laps to go, Justin and I were in the third group of riders on the road, chasing the large group ahead who were only a handful of seconds ahead. We almost made contact, but yet another crash ahead caused the convoy of vehicles to hesitate and the gap opened up once again. Our group had some very tired legs, and the chase had eased unfortunately. When I say eased, we were still riding quickly, but the group ahead, with numerous olympic medallists and world title holders….were absolutely flying.

On the 10th ascent of the cobbles, Justin’s cramp caused him and plenty of others to lose contact with the back of my group. This race really was brutal! At the finish I claimed 59th spot, which doesn’t sound great, but with 200 riders, and perhaps 40 full time athletes in the field, not a bad showing. This was probably the fastest 87mile race I’ve ever done, what a fantastic experience. Especially the crowd filled cobbled climb in the city centre, just like a classic in Belgium!

On 2nd May 2010 the Felt Colbornes Team travelled to the Chas Messenger road race at Oakley in Bucks. With a 1pm start, we had the opportunity to see the riders from the Morning race crawling into the HQ looking like they’d done a cyclo cross race. It had lashed it down almost all Morning, and the country lanes around Oakley were filthy!

Lucky for us (and the white parts on our Castelli kit!) it stopped raining before our race, and the sun even shone for a bit. I was keen to get straight back into racing after an extended holiday the previous week, due to the volcano crisis. Very annoyingly that caused me to miss the Rutland GP, perhaps my favourite race of the year.

Back to the Chas Messenger…..100 hilly miles and a quality field of around 80 riders. Rapha, Endura, Sigma, and Raleigh were there in force, so it was guaranteed to be a tough day in the saddle. The hilly course was suiting me well, and I found myself in good company…..must be all the hilly MTB races I’ve done in recent years.

Around half distance the race had split with a front group of around 30 forming, mainly due to the pressure applied by Rapha. I managed to ride across to this lead group with a Rapha, Sigma, Zappi, and a couple of others for company. The legs were starting to hurt, but I was determined to hang in there if at all possible. The fireworks really started with around 20miles to go, when Rapha and Endura in particular were firing riders off in successive attacks. Under the pressure of this, the group split into several parts.

Dan Craven rode off the win the race alone by a huge margin. I finished towards the front of the 3rd group to arrive at the finish, bagging 24th place. Out of the BC points unfortunately, but a top quality race, and plenty of riders behind me who ride their bikes for a living. Mission accomplished, really happy for first race back

after a week’s holiday. The brutal course took it’s toll on all riders, and the DNF numbers were high, did mean we got a good cheer at the finish though. Photos in here came from the LondonCyclesport website, so all credit needs to go to Dave Hayward for capturing the action of the day.

After mincing around the Colbornes Audi dealership on Saturday night in the swanky new team kit, smiling for the photos, flapjacks, coffee, chatting with our generous sponsors for the 2010 race season….all very professional and positive fr the season ahead……

On Sunday Morning it was time to turn the pedals in anger and climb Old Down Hill 10 times in the Severn Bridge Road Race. With Saddleback the title sponsor for this event, the team, and guys from Saddleback were there in force on a bright, but chilly Morning. Windproof/thermal Castelli kit was ideal….merino socks, windproof baselayer, gilet, all top quality Italian clothing to made life in the saddle that bit comfier! With the new team car, team tent with the bikes neatly racked, Felt flags flying, our team presence was full on, and results were expected…..

The race started at a quick pace, with 2 riders clipping off the front almost immediately, staying out alone for most of the first lap. I stayed near the front of the bunch, and the legs felt really good first time up ‘the hill’. Over the top splits started to form, and I got into the big break of the race, around 18 iders in total. The group were working pretty well, extending our lead on the bunch to 3mins at on point when the motorbike gave us time checks.

I was trying to contribute well to the break, but also save a bit in the legs for the finish. I felt great (must be the Zipp wheels….)on the steep hill, but a block headwind across the top, and final 1km to the finish meant a solo break was almost bound to fail.

With 1lap to to, Richard Cartland put in a strong attack over the top of the hill, combining with Mark Perry for a two man escape. They stayed away for more than half a lap, but the rest of the break pulled them back, before a flurry of attacks came. Wilier, South Fork, and Zappi had two riders each in the break, so they were taking it in turns to attack, trying to break up the group before the finish. Final time up the hill, and the lead group were all together. I was trying to guess who would attack first, but everyone had the block headwind in mind on the finish straight.

With 400m to go Phil Sykes from Sigma Sport made an all or nothing lunge for the finish. Team mate pairs in the break hesitated slightly, and Phil managed to power on and win by several bike lengths. I got myself in to the sprint for second, and grabbed 6th place. A solid start to the season in a tough race. A nice early season boost, and confirmation the hard work over the winter has paid dividends! Roll on my first full road season!

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.

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….

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.

This is a double report covering my last two races.

The first National Points race at Thetford was a great start to the season for the team, and couldn’t have gone better for me on the sunday. I decided to make the marathon discipline my top priority for this season and started laying the foundations in training several months ago. I’m hoping to qualify for the World Champs this year in Villabassa, Italy. The hard work in training seems to have paid off, as I felt really good at Thetford, rode within myself, and didn’t suffer the usual ‘Thetford backache’. Will (Bergy) and I basically took the 100Km marathon apart from the start, sharing the work and keeping the pace high. The course was riding really well and conditions stayed dry until just after we finished. It was good team work all the way, Will having a minor mechanical glitch on lap 6, and also missing a bottle and having some of my energy drink. I took the win by half a wheel. Next race we might have to try a bit harder as the gossips at my local bike shop claim Nick Craig ‘will win round 2′……keeps me motivated that’s for sure!

Apart from myself and Bergy taking the top 2 in the 100Km, Dan was 4th in the 75Km, Annie won the Junior women’s XC race by miles, Dan was 8th, and Will 10th in the xc. Top weekend!!

Onto the following weekend and Nicky and I travelled to Italy for the Gunn Rita UCI Marathon in Italy, followed by a couple of days drinking coffee, eating cake, and seeing the sights in Venice. We arrived at Montebelluna the start town at midday on saturday where I hooked up with the Italian Felt Team and went for a ride to loosen the legs and check out the crucial start and finish sections. There was no practice lap here as the course was one epic 75Km loop in the foothills of the Dolomites. A couple of the Italians spoke good English luckily, as my Italian needs some serious work. I did become more fluent after the race though when sampling some local red wine…..

Race day: Montebelluna was basically shut down for the race! There were spectators everywhere despite the 8.30am start time. This race was live on Italian TV and we were filmed from motorbikes and a helicopter during the race. The clash with the first cross country World Cup in Belgium did little to reduce the quality of the field. Marathon racing is huge in Italy and the quality and depth of the field was incredible.

The gun fired and I got a decent start, holding my own on the first climb and focusing on folowing the wheel of Thomas Dietsch, who won the Marathon World Cup last month in Turkey. On the second big climb my stomach felt terrible and I almost saw the 6am breakfast again! Lost a few places and settled into a pace I could sustain. I spent a lot of the race with a Colombian guy in the Felt Team who probably weighs 55Kg and was making me suffer on the steeper climbs. I used the granny ring for the first time in 2yrs during this race!! On the power climbs and flatter last 10km though the Felt lad was hanging onto my wheel and I pipped him to the finish line to grab 27th place. There were around 500 riders who started at 8.30 although not all elites. No UCI Points (top 15), but a great race, and I felt as though I gave it 100%. I was only 4mins30 down on Thomas Dietsch, and beat Marco Bui and Dario Aquaroli who have been World Champs at cross country! Former top roadie Mirko Celestino won the race by over 4mins, respect! The weather was scorching too which made the going tough, but rewarded me with some tan lines (burnt).

Italy was a great experience and I really hope I get the chance to race in Italy again for the Marathon World Champs in july. The Felt Team were great aswell, treating me as one of their own, handing up bottles and checking over my bike before the start.

Its been a great april and I’m more motivated than ever to build on my form as the season progresses.

Ciao

Dunc

ps Venice is worth a visit and it was great to squeeze this into a long weekend.

pps Just notced the ‘Fantasy Caffe’ behind me at the start, missed out on that one!

Just had a great weekend riding the Echelon 2day road race in Worcestershire. Conditions were cold and windy, but luckily the snow on saturday night didn’t affect the racing. The Z35 is definitely the best road bike I have ridden, fast and comforttable what a combination! Half the Slipstream quad are on the Z bikes for good reason.

This race was training for Thetford really, but I came away with the best possible result as an individual riding against several strong teams.

Stage 1 on saturday was 55miles on a flat circuit with strong winds. The pace was high and some of the riding crazy from the start. I tried to get away several times, but nothing seemed to last due to the wind and high pace of the peloton (27mph average). I decided to avoid crashing and finish in the bunch. A small group of 3 or 4 did manage to grab a few seconds in the finish which could only be described as mayhem.

Stage 2, a time trial, only 2.4miles, but the last thing your legs want to do an hour after the first road stage. Rode hard and posted a reasonable time of 5mins47. Some riders had TT bikes and aero helmets etc etc, maybe I should have asked Andy for a loan of the Felt DA which sits in his office looking awesome. On the other hand, just jumping on a TT bike for the first time on race day could have been embarassing if I posted a slow time on the world’s best TT bike!

 Stage 3 was a longer 79miles on a rolling exposed circuit with fierce winds yet again. After a serious telling off to all riders from the Commissaire at HQ (for dangerous riding on Stage 1), the stage got underway. I was up for a tough ride and keen to move up from 30th overall. After 2miles a break formed and I managed to bridge the gap to them. 10riders in total and 77miles of through and off to the finish, ouch! Grant Bayton (Sports Beans) had the advantage of team orders (his team mate leading the overall wasn’t in the break) and could sit on the back of the break, tearing off the front only for time bonuses.

After grabbing a couple of time bonuses myself, the serious attacking in the break started at 17miles to go. I managed to break clear with just Grant Bayton for company, and the two of us rode ourselves into the ground to hold off the bunch who swallowed up the rest of the break, by around 30seconds. The 8miles of block headwind on the last lap was agonising. After riding hard all day I didn’t have the legs to sprint, but grabbed 2nd place on the stage, and another time bonus.

The effort moved me up to 3rd Place overall, and top second cat! Nice to get some prize money aswell. Top weekend all round. Shame Dan and Will had their entries returned, or we really could have caused chaos.

 All go for Thetford……………..

Cheers

Dunc

The first mountain bike race of the year is normally a stressful experience….. how is the form, new bike, start effort, other people’s form etc etc….

Sunday at Hanchurch Woods had a relaxed atmosphere though, difficult to get too stressed (except Bergy, for good reason), and the course was the best I’ve ridden for ages. We were all expecting a good technical course, put together by Martyn who rode for Felt last year, and he didn’t disappoint. There was plenty of tricky singletrack, logs to jump, bermed corners, tree roots, and after saturday’s rain….strength sapping mud. Altogether a challenging workout before the first National Points race at Thetford in 2 weeks.

The Elite race started at 2pm with a small field, but Oli Beckingsale in attendance and fired up for the start of his Olympic season. I lead out the field, and created a lead group of three with Oli and team mate Dan (Booth) for company. Without doing a full practise lap, Dan was acting like a Rally co-driver behind me, calling out instructions as we hit different sections of the course “steep section coming”, “stay to the left on this drop mate”. Got through the lap without any major slips and onto the second lap. Oli sat in behind me until the start of the third lap, where the real pain started…….

Oli clicked down a couple of gears on the long draggy climb to the top of the course and I tried my best to stick to his wheel. Alas, the spinning skinny legs started to pull away from me and I settled into my own pace to retain 2nd place. The great course kept me smiling, and apart from Oli leaving me behind, it felt like a decent start to the season. If you read this Oli, fair play mate you’re riding really well and should give those Euros some grief at the World Cups later this month!

Dan held on for third place, so 2 Felt riders on the podium which was made out of beer!! Also Will Verney, our XC Junior whippet stormed around the course to win the Junior Cat race on sunday.

Better form is to come (the coach promises) as I ease off the training quantity slightly and use the races to get up to speed. Fingers crossed I’ll be flying by Thetford and the Gunn Rita Marathon the following week in Italy…..

Have to go now…hill reps to do, happy days…………..

Looking forward to collecting a great new RXC Team bike, and riding the Z35 Road Bike in anger at the Echelon 2day Road Race at the weekend.