East London Velo Road Race - Sun 21st June 09 (report by Jamie Anderson)

A cool but clear morning greeted the 70 starters for this year’s somewhat controversial edition of the East London Velo Road Race on 21st June. It was a strong field made up principally of 2nd and ambitious 3rd cats and the pace was high from the off. A break of 4 or so riders from 3 of the stronger teams - Cambridge, API and Eagle - got away within the first few miles. The bunch was reticent to chase at that early a stage, but the group never looked like pushing beyond their 30-second advantage. 
 
Midway through the second lap, after my rather ill conceived burst off the front, the bunch (consisting of 65 odd riders) was stopped on verge of a B road and read the riot act over riding standards. Surprising, only one rider was disqualified, and one could argue the choice of location for the ticking off was of more of a hindrance to traffic than the behaviour of the individual, but it put the whole race on a final warning. 
 
The break was allowed to continue and consequently built a lead of over 5 minutes. Whether born out of a collective sense of injustice, or the desire for a thorough training ride now the race seemed all but lost, the more proactive members of the bunch drove us on at a fearsome pace. With 1 lap left the bunch caught the breakaway group and a 61-rider drive to the finishing line through increasingly narrow lanes took place. Never in contention, and relieved to have at least held on, I finished in the middle of pack after completing the 115km with an average speed a pinch over 25mph. Debates are still raging about the need to stop the bunch, the quality of the riding and the ability of officials to identify serial ‘white line’ offenders and this race added further fuel to the fire.

To subvert a critique of my Grandmother’s, uttered after viewing a Harry Potter film, I found the race ‘interesting, but not enjoyable…’

Full results from ERRL website here