Saturday saw two SNCC riders (Vincent P & Simon R) make the trek to deepest Suffolk for an Eastern League test event at Haughley Park. The event was part of a weekend of bike racing there which also saw MtB XC racing on the Sunday, and perhaps meant parts of the course were better suited to bigger knobblier tyres than CX 33mm.

The Covid-secure protocols established at the earlier CCA races were again used, although the multi-laned grid set-up meant if anyone in your channel had a bad start you were stuck behind them. I however had to wait until about 1/4 of the first lap to drop to last after a bit of a tangle with another rider saw us picking our bikes up as everyone else rode by and over the horizon.

The course of open wind-swept grassland and woodland with dry soil exposing roots and rocks meant the inevitable happened and Vin suffered a flat while running in a good position. I managed to catch and pass a few riders before another tangle (this time in the woods) saw me ride the lap couple of laps solo.

It was good to see that the 'new normal' could be applied to a larger event and hopefully BC were satisfied with what they saw and will sanction more races (if possible)