Eastern Cyclocross League - (Redgrave) Sat 24th November 2012

Eastern Cross League racing found our guys and girls out at the Redgrave Cross near Diss in Norfolk.  A mainly flat, suck your will to live layout, meant a tough ‘grind it out’ sort of day battling the exposed course and soggy energy sapping ground.  A series of small hillocks on one side of the course meant some careful decision making was required to decide when to enter running mode and shoulder the bike.  An out and back closed road section was also included along with a set of hurdles.

In the plus 45 vets category Tim Brown, John McDowall, Dave Kiely and Steve James lined up gridded between rows two and four.    It was a mass cavalcade of a start into a long exposed half lap that allowed the race to take on its usual format - Tim was off ahead, John and Dave where battling just behind the leaders with the same group of riders (mainly from the Ipswich CC) that they seem to tangle with most weeks.  Steve a ‘mercurial’ cross rider can be in the mix, but today was the flip side of mercuriality, and he struggled round the course finding the going not to his liking.

John, clearly involved in some sort of tag-team working over from either Steve or Dave on a week about basis; was locking horns with Dave this week for virtually the whole race for best placing behind Tim.  A gaggle of Ipswich CC riders  interspersed around the North Road duo, are also regular opponents so the racing was on, with lots of anxious head swiveling looks around to gauge the opposition.  But it was Kiely Dog that took his chance, nipping round a struggling rider just at a difficult time for John to also get round, enabling Dave to open a crucial gap with a lap to go that John could not make up.

Tim, also not at his best, still came home strongly  in 11th place at +2.31.  Dave was 12th, his best ever cross result, at +2.34.  John was close behind in 14th at +2.42.  Steve had got round but decided to tactically register a DNF right at the finish.   There where 49 starters with four DNFs

Hannah Ormesher got a good start off the front of the grid  in the women's race, before losing a bit of time on a rideable but steep hill, as she was held up by someone who stopped suddenly ahead of her.  Hannah then became locked in a battle with an Ipswich CC rider.  Hannah would pass her on the road section but she was very quick on the get off and run hillocks and would regain the lead there.  On the last lap Hannah create a gap over her rival to secure her eighth place out of 13 starters.

Bryan was the sole North Roader in the hour long senior race.   As the others set off home the promised rain arrived and as often is the case in Norfolk appeared to be near horizontal by the end of the race. A reasonable start and some good overtaking through the first few busy corners gave Bryan some advantage over his usual mid-pack rivals, and he worked hard to make the most of this over the first couple of laps. 

By lap three he was sitting about 20 meters behind a group of three and five meters in front of one rider. The rest of the race seem unrelenting, trying to catch the group ahead and wary of the rider behind  who he couldn’t quite break free from. The conditions were slowly changing and hills which were best ridden in the early laps became quicker to run as the mud reduced traction and back wheels spun furiously. 

With two laps to go  the race heated up and Bryan managed to catch the tail on the road section of one of the leaders as they overtook and finally caught and subsequently passed one of the group ahead.  Of course he paid the inevitable price on the last lap and coming in to the last road section he had to be impressed by the tactics of the rider who’d hung on through the race as he made a big push and slipped past,  Despite Bryan’s efforts he couldn’t recapture the place. He finished 34^th, one lap and 3:31 down on the winner.

 

  Abigail and Joe Kiely where racing the under 12's event.  Joe got off to probably his worst start of the season, but then proceeded to cut through the field like a racing greyhound chasing a stuffed bunny rabbit.  He came home in ninth place, his first top ten placing, at +2.26 on the winner.  Joe was also second under 8 home, just three seconds behind the winner of that category.  Abi came home in 36th place and again showed determination on a tough course and riding a heavier MTB style machine.  There where 43 riders with two DNFs.