Ken Wright Road Race - 21st April 2013 - Top 10 finish for Colin Bailey
Mon 29 Apr 2013
Top 10 finish for Colin Bailey
Shaun Rouse, Paul McGrath and myself started the Ken Wright near Colchester on Sunday 21st April. Another cold start meant starting with some warmer kit but actually needed removing mid race this time as it warmed up as the race went on.
A pretty cagey race with a lot of moves getting marked constantly in the first half of the race. Paul was doing a lot of work early on, probably a bit too much at this stage but he looked strong. Unfortunately Shaun got caught up in a crash around half way as someone reached for a gel and went down in front of him. Luckily he wasn't badly hurt but it did end his race.
As we moved into the back half of the race I tried to make sure I went with any move that tried to get away. A few times we were close at getting a group clear but couldn't quite force the gap. As we went through the finish on the penultimate lap 4 strong riders started to move clear as a couple of guys let their wheels go at the front of the bunch. Paul and myself were stuck on the inside of the bunch but knew this was a serious move which would probably contain the winner. It took us a bit too long to force our way out from the inside but I tried to give chase with 1 other rider coming with me. I got within 3 bike lengths but couldn't quite close the gap as the 4 started to work well. We soon turned into a headwind and we were holding them at about 5 seconds. We were so close but couldn't quite close the gap, the 4 against 2 gradually starting to pull away. We were stuck in no mans land so I decided to sit up and wait for the sprint.
The 4 stayed away, I came 6th in the sprint to finish in 10th place and Paul finished 36th.