Eastern CX League, Revolution Cross Sun Nov 9th 2014

Another return fixture CX on the Sunday, but this time at Colchester and in the Eastern League.  An earlier visit in the season to the same venue was dry and fast, but inevitable the course condition where substantially muddier and a more challenging course lay-out provided a much different challenge.

More than ever the key was a good start.  A fast, wide straight into a naughtly muddy off camber section that narrowed to a mathematically impossible pinch point.  Get there early and you where free to roam the Savanna  like Thompson Gazelles, get there a few seconds later, and you where cut from the herd ready to be despatched by the waiting lions.  More technical sections awaited thorough some woods, options for more running than usual, and some testing elevation meant some hard graft on the bike.

Steve James riding first in the Vets+50 race was doing his first double race weekend.  A good start but lack of elbow deployment meant losing out in the early pinch point rumble.  A  battle with Steve’s regular rival and well known local TT’er (Hugh Vivian of the Finsbury Park CC)  ensured a race to the end with Steve pipping his CX ‘minute man’

John McDowall, Bryan Holland and Dave Kiely raced in the Vets 40-49.  Bryan made the gap in style, John didn’t, and was forced to a halt not once but twice as one rider went down at another tight point on the course.    Bryan was away and battling with riders he is usually on fag duty for whereas John was milling around mid-table again.   However, as is the way in CX John got in a tussle with some other riders and despite a prop forward bounce off a tree he eventually despatched them over multiple laps of tight racing.  Dave was further back finding his feet and fitness on a course that in his pomp would be on his Christmas list.

In the Senior race Matt Crees lined up alongside Adam Stone.  Matt struggled with his second race of the weekend and DNF.  Adam also got up close and personnel with the trees and local foliage so that he will still be picking pieces of foliage out of his legs during his working week.  

Steve James came 19th in the Vets+50 at +7.22 (48 riders)  Bryan, John and Dave, riding in the Vets 40-49 came 12th, 23rd and 50th at +4.51, +1 lap and 0.02, +1 lap and 10.24 respectively .  There where 57 riders.    Adam was our sole finisher in the Senior race finishing in 19th place.