Maldon CC Road Race - Sun 22nd April

Maldon CC Road Race, 3/4, 90km, Steeple, Essex - Sunday 22nd April

Having allowed thirty minutes more than turned out to be necessary in order to drive to Steeple, Ian Coles and I arrived early for the start of the Maldon & District 3/4/W/J on the 22nd April.. After setting up the bikes and meeting with Trevor Burke we went out for a quick look at the course.

It was immediately obvious that the race was going to be quick, the winds were light and the road surface was smooth.  Trevor, Ian and I met up with Jeff on the start line and at 9:15 we rolled out for the start of the 70Km race.

As it was my first race of the season I had decided to adopt a defensive strategy and took up my customary position toward the rear of the group.  However, the tail turned out to be very skittish so a move toward the front was in order.  This, as it happened, turned out to be a good tactic as Ian was later shaken by a clash of wheels and Jeff was unfortunately dropped from the group after some riders came down on one of the many sharp corners.

As we had suspected the pace was pretty quick (averaging 25mph for the whole race) so time spent on the front was pretty draining, none the less, Trevor held his customary position in the top ten for the duration of the race while Ian and I slipped back and forth though the pack.  Mid way through the race I caught up with Ian who, after clashing wheels, was having a tough time holding position on the narrow twisty lanes with other riders seeming oblivious to the risks of oncoming traffic. 

I managed to settle quite nicely in the group and was able to take advantage of the slipstream as we quickly covered the first thirty miles. Several riders made efforts to break away from the pack, but due to the flat quick nature of the course they were always easily bought back by the group.  Moving into the last lap it was obvious that as the race reached it’s finale, there would be no room for late gains so I stayed toward the front and began to earn my position doing a little more to keep the pace moving.  As we entered the final five miles I found Trevor’s wheel and got a good tow into the sprint, which was on a short, but steep 200m incline.  As the finish was not on the same roads as had been used for the previous 4 laps we had to guess at the correct gearing.  We launched our sprints and luckily I had chosen correctly.  A gap opened for me and I was able to race through for 3rd position, narrowly in front of Trevor who claimed 5th for NRCC with Ian finishing strongly in the group.

Many thanks to all at Malden and district CC for putting on a well run race and thanks to all at NRCC for encouraging me along the way to my first top ten finish in an ERRL category Road Race.

Regards,

Jonathan Appleby.