Eastern Cyclocross League 11 - Grafham Water Sat 30th Nov 2013

Round 11 of the Eastern Cyclo-cross League attracted a strong field of riders to the ever popular venue of Grafham Water.  A course that combined the many varied aspects of cross riding with the ‘bonus’ of some sections through some sandy and shale beaches alongside the shores of the lake.  

In the Vets race John McDowall and Dave Kiely where lined up on the starting grid in rows three and four respectively with Lawrence Brenchley further back.  The start was always going to be an ‘elbows out‘ affair with a long straight funneling into a series of dead turns.  John and Dave made the best of it gaining places in the ensuing melee although Dave, never shy of some elbow work, found himself squeezed out between two ‘larger boned’  riders.

For John, after a good start and some early working his way through the field, it was a race mainly spent trying to catch a group of four riders ahead and opening a gap over regular rivals that where now riding in his wake.  Sadly, he couldn’t make contact with those ahead but he managed to secure his lead over his chasers so had a relatively untroubled race after the early laps.  The Kiely Dog had a rather more mixed race on a course less suited to his cut’n’dash cornering style.  Some rather eclectic line choices on the beach sections into the lake remained utterly unique as nobody else used them!  

John finished in 18th, 5.43 mins down on the winner.    Dave 31st at 1 lap and +1.21 with Lawrence Brenchley in a respectable 55th at 1 lap and 6.03.  78 riders competed with the winner, National Vets Champion Dave McMullen, managing seven laps in 40.41.

Hannah Ormesher got a good start off the first row of the grid in the women’s race which started a couple of minutes behind the vets. She was in second place of 15 riders into the first corners and felt confident with suitable tyre pressure and tread for this week's action.  Over the hurdles and ditch and she was still in contention and after a quick remount it was down to business through the first beach section of the course. The favoured track was the high line, furthest from the shore, and right up against the course marker tape (NOT the Kiely line). 

 

After this it was over some really lumpy ground and down onto a second beach section where again it paid to take the high line although the entry to this section was slightly more difficult with deep rutted sand.  Hannah was on the tail of the first placed women when the course then led through a pinch point consisting of a sharp right hander with roots and a small rock to negotiate – this was the source last year of Hannah’s ‘superman’ moment where she winded herself however thankfully this year the ground was a lot firmer, drier and more tacky. 

The next section however was sloppy with three distinct boggy patches, the preferred line taken by the previous riders had been carved out and it was fastest to try and stay in their tracks if you could. There was a slight rise next and Hannah lost sight of first place but then the course straightened out through a narrow single-track section bordered by trees and with roots on the track to keep you on your toes, and first was in sight again. Following this the course meandered up and down a gradual slope which didn’t look much but it certainly tested the legs. This open section was great for checking out where the competition were in relation to you. A couple of sharp off camber turns followed before the course charged downhill, crossed a path and swung left to an incline up the finishing straight.

 

The race was fairly uneventful save for an incident getting caught up in the marker tape on the beach as Hannah got held up behind a vet and tried to keep both momentum and balance through the sand without clipping his wheel. Thankfully the tape broke and Hannah charged on, the importance of taking advantage of passing places before entering technical sections was made blindingly obvious and she then made note to sprint past riders to get ahead where she could before these more testing sections.

First place had started to distance herself and Hannah was in turn was distancing herself from third and fourth place who were locked in a game of cat and mouse behind her. It seemed every time she glanced back there was a change of events playing out. Then, on the penultimate lap, the leader crashed on a corner and had a mechanical.   Hannah took advantage of this and pushed as hard as she could to try and get away enjoying the best part of half a lap in the lead before being overtaken just after the hurdle section by her recovered opponent.   Hannah hoped she could close the gap enough to challenge the leader in the sprint however the gap was too great

Hannah finished the race in 2^nd place, 41^st overall and 21 seconds down on the winner, Francesca Morgans-Slader of Lea Valley Velo, and lapped half the women's field achieving her best result to date in the Eastern League. There was particular achievement in finishing ahead of riders she had not before. It was a very physically demanding race, favouring power as well as skill, and combined with the rough ground she felt pretty broken by the effort at the end. 

Matt Crees and Bryan Holland where racing in the Senior race.  Neither North Roader lost too many places at the start, with Matt pleased to enter the first section of beach further up the field than in previous races. The first lap was soon over with Matt at the tail end of proceedings but ahead of people he normally finishes around.  The hurdles on the second caused his only mishap of the race, a dropped chain, and fumbling to get it back on (twice) cost him 30 seconds.   Matt pushed hard for the next one and a half laps, passing frequently and made up the lost time to end up further up the field.   The hard effort took its toil, and Matt admitted he came close to enriching the Grafham soil with breakfast, so had to ease it back.   With two laps to go Bryan caught and passed Matt, for the first time this year.,just before the second beach section.  Both riders found it a good course which seemed more suited to power over technique with many different surfaces, and some first time exposure of riding through sand.

Bryan again rode strongly and came 44th at +1 lap and 4.31, with Matt noticeably higher up the field to achieve his best result so far in 67th at +2 lap and 6.11.  82 riders took to the start line.