Handcross Village Hall, Sussex. 78 miles (Staplefield Circuit)Comment: Things are getting tight at the top. Gary's (Dodd) grip on the lead is under threat:
1 Gary D 175,
2 Tom S 128,
3 Tim B 113,
4 Daniel Patten (the winner)
107,
5 Toby Neave 106 and me
5 Rob Enslin 106 - that's
less than 70 points between me and Gary. What makes it more interesting is that there are only
three events left in the series. We (
AWCycles.co.uk) have three riders in the top five.
Report: On the hottest day of the year (so far - the optimist hey?) 60-odd riders lined up to tackle 6.5 laps of the gruelling Staplefield circuit in Sussex. The 31 degree heat coupled with two big'ish climbs never detered the field hoping to grab the £200 purse. Unfortunately, the course and heat ensured that less than half the field finshed including Warrick Spence and Gary Dodd - the series leader. For most of the series contenders this (Gary's DNF) should have ensured they finish the race to claim their points on the overall lead.
On the first lap Tim B and 5 other riders got away on the first climb and soon established a strong minute or so on the peloton. There were also a few riders that slipped off the front and formed a small chasing group. I knew Gary wasn't going to let the groups go and with Tim in the front break I sure wasn't going to chase. So, I hugged Gary's wheel and sure enough Gary exploded off like a rocket - I hesitated and then jumped on his wheel. He was flying. I had to dig real deep to hang on. By the time we got to the top of the second climb he bridged to the small group of chasers (Tim Dunsford, Simon McNamara, Nigel Williams and one other rider).
I was now comfortable - sat on the back of this group, them chasing the front group (containing Tim B, Toby Neave, Paragon rider, Kevin Chambers, Daniel Paton) . At one point we were within 40 seconds of this group, but then on lap two Gary went over a pothole and flatted (and retiring). The rest our group lost the will to chase and sat up. I continued on my own hoping to either bridge the gap or be joined by a chasing group.
After a hard lap on my own and not getting any closer to the break I was joined by a bunch of eager-looking chasers. So, a second trick card for me - sit on the back of this group and watch the chase all over again. The group started wiltering in the heat and the hard-going course. Again, the gap was not closing but instead we were picking up a few riders falling off the original break. On the bell lap I put in a big effort and shelled most of the riders with only Chaz Hollosi and Andy Rivett able to follow. We worked well together and apparently closed quite well. But, with distance running out we were going to have to settle it in a sprint for fith place. With all my sitting in I still felt relatively strong still and took the sprint easily.
The final result:1. Daniel Patten
2 Tim Bedingfield (AW Cycles)
3 Kevin Chambers
4 Toby Neave
5 Rob Enslin (AW Cycles)Some interesting physio facts from the race:Distance: 78 miles (130 km)
Time: 03:28
Heart Rate: 162 ave and 190 max
Speed: 37.5kph ave, 70kph max
Temperature: 27degrees ave (29 max)
Ascent: 1435 metres
