Central Cyclo-Cross League - Harlington Sun 24th Nov 2013

With most of the cross regulars otherwise engaged this week Bryan found himself lining up as the sole NRCC representative in the Vets race at Round 8 of the Central League,. Hannah of course was due to start a few moments later in the Womens race and Richard McLellan was entered for the final race of the day - the Seniors. 

Lining up in the second row, Bryan had his best start this season, keeping on the shirt tails of the leading group up the initial straight and through the first few corners. This he realised was good news as it had kept him out of the general chaos unfolding behind as bottlenecks occurred on the hills and people were slowed by other riders  (NB - Thanks NRCC for affiliating to the league and enabling us to be gridded).  He soon realised thought that keeping up with this group was not going to be realistic, so he set about maintaining a pace he could manage.

 The course was a good mix of hills, technical cornering (some very steep off-camber corners included) and stretches to enable stronger riders to put down the power. Laps therefore were never dull and concentration was required all the time if you were going to avoid a fall or minimise time loss from bad tactical decisions. With the good start Bryan race was focused on limiting the number of people passing, and catching a few of the riders from the Vet 50’s (who start a minute or so ahead).  The disadvantage of a good start in cross is often it leaves you with little to chase and sense of going backwards as faster riders catch you up, so little battles ensue in the brain to keep positive. Going through the start line with two laps to go he  almost immediately heard the bell sound and then the leader rider zoomed by.  At least it was clear he could give what was left in to the whole of the last lap and set to it.  A solid last lap kept him ahead of any further rivals and win a small cross “race within a race” with another rider as they pushed each other through the middle of the lap. Bryan finished in a very respectable 13th in his category and 27th place overall. 

Hannah got a great start off the first row of the grid and was leading through the first corners. She had however let a little bit of air out of her tubs for luck before the start and this proved to be the tipping point from having a bit of grip to just folding the tyre under the rim in the tight turns on the off-camber sections. She then had a frustrating race being unable to corner properly and lost several places as riders came past her on these sections. She caught a few riders back up but they eventually passed her again. Hannah finished the race in 6th position of 14 riders which was disappointing after the previous weeks' success. It was a closely fought race with the competition within reach and easily visible on different parts of the course. Valuable lessons were learned in tyre choice and pressure and Hannah is looking forward to next week's race to hopefully get back to better form!

 

After getting a heads up from Hannah and Bryan about the course and the fastest (or more suitably 'least slowest') lines through some corners, Richard joined the other 32 riders for the senior race. The first of his central league races began towards the back of the pack without a gridding position - a sign of things to come maybe. Within the first lap it was clear there was a strong field, and that the course was going to be a technical one, partly thanks to the 'preparation' from the previous races. With lots of tight muddy corners to negotiate, and only a couple of straights to put the power down, Richard wasn't racing as far up the field as he'd hoped. Despite this, and grateful for the support from Hannah and Bryan, he pushed on determined not to be last man. Finishing 32nd and 2 laps down wasn't ideal, but gives lots of room for improvement! All in all it was a great race with lots of lessons learnt about tyre pressures and when to ride/run, but mainly to get down to Welwyn for the technical sessions on a Wednesday night!

David Vaughan also took part in his second cross race this season under Shorter Rochford colours and crossed the line in 11th place after steadily making his way through the field from the back of the grid. 

With an absence of a Central League fixture next weekend, the Eastern League is sure to draw North Road members up to the superb course at Grafham Water.  Arguably one of the most anticipated races of the season with it's challenging beach sections and a date with an infamous ditch for some...