Central Cyclo-Cross League - Culham Park Sun 20th Oct 2013

After good reports from the Culham Park event last year a number of the cyclocross brigade took the slightly longer traveling option this week to take part in the Central League event. Bryan Holland, Dave Kiely and Hannah Ormesher represented the North Road in what was round four of the League hosted by Zappis. The sky was ominous as we left Hertford and the rain looked threatening.   However, the top of the hill at Culham Park seemed to be its own little micro-climate and we were surprised by the balmy temperatures as the dark clouds thankfully blew west. The top of the hill location did however mean that the same wind which was clearing the sky so quickly was going to be felt by those on the course!

A wet technical route around a motor-cross course looked challenging from the sidelines, but with the weather holding for the Vets race and the good drainage from the sandy mud (cyclocross alerts you to the many and varied types of mud), the course was dominated not by the mud but by a steep descent and ascent half way around the course. The course was all about taking the right lines to avoid the divots and ruts in the sand and, due to the nature of the course, the lines were often etched out by previous riders so that it was, in effect, little more than a game of keeping between the lines. Put like that it all sounds so easy..

Pre-entry assisted Bryan and Dave who lined up in the front and second rows of the grid for the start. Racing commenced and it soon became apparent that the descent on the hill was a good place to gain time (as long as you could resist the temptation to use the brakes) and the ascent split the competitors into 3 categories: riders, runners and walkers. Bryan went for the running option from the start but Dave was riding until the toll of repeats slowed him to walking pace and he resorted to running as well.  

A good start had Bryan slightly ahead of Dave after the first lap and with a little less traffic managing to stretch that on subsequent lap and before long both were battling in their own individual races. As the rain held off and the top layer of mud ridden off some of the more technical parts of the course became easier but the hill repeats just kept on coming. Bryan and Dave finished in 13th and 21st places respectively in the Vets 40-49 category. 

A minute or so after the vets the women were gridded and Hannah started on the first row of the grid with the field some 19 riders deep. Into the first bend in fourth position she managed to gain and pass third place on an off-camber hill with an unfortunate stumble from her competitor. Taking full advantage of this time gain was important as Hannah was conscious that any mistake on this course would cost big. 

The hill was an issue, Hannah prefers to ride wherever possible but she found herself having to dismount at the bottom of the hill and run up it. Well, this happened for the first lap but then this turned to walking up on subsequent laps as quickly as she could manage. It was a long hill. It was not quick. Most girls were doing the same but there were a select few who had the legs or the gearing to ride and these girls gained valuable seconds on this part of the course. With the laps being very short this meant the hill was ascended six times in the race, which was a good few more times than many would have liked! Time was taken out Hannah here and she was passed by two competitors riding the hill while making her own way up it on different laps.

On the penultimate lap there was a crash on one of the final bends as a rider lost his front wheel and fell down, this caused a bottle neck which Hannah just managed to get through with another rider . A call of 'On your left' was shouted to pass but the rider did not hear and moved left which caused handlebars to lock, the chap was sent flying over the handlebars and over the tape while Hannah slid off the bike on her side. Apologies were made for the confusion but in this melee of riders and bikes another rider passed. Hannah was now looking forward to the last lap, on the hill another rider nipped past and our heroine was lapped by the leader. All was not lost as up ahead one competitors had thrown her chain after a corner and a late challenge for a sprint finish seemed possible. But yet another rider down in front of Hannah held her up leaving too big a gap to close.  Hannah finished in 7th, four seconds seconds behind the 6th placed rider and two laps down on the winner -  Merce Pacios; who to put things into perspective, finished in 8th place overall in the combined Women/Vet/Junior race! A top quality rider who I later found out is a national top five ranking Spanish cyclocross rider (I’ll get my coat)

The Kiely kinder where also in action.   In the U12s race Joe Kiely (Welwyn Wheelers) had his first win of the season in what by all accounts was a thrilling race with Joe taking the lead in the final lap. It was great to see Abigail Kiely (Welwyn Wheelers) enjoying herself in her race and gaining confidence on what was a challenging course. She took 7th place in the girls youth race (2nd in her age group). 

Report by Bryan Holland and Hannah Ormesher