Congratulations to Frances for winning her first race of the season and to Pat for gamely racing on in his race...

Frances Lamm Milton Keynes Bowl Spring Series, Race 3. 18.3.23. 1/10 position. 2/3/4 women's.

In Saturday's race my aim was to do better than last time and stick with a group instead of dropping off at the corner each time. There weren't as many women on the start sheet which was a little frustrating, but a few signed up on the day so we had 10 in total. 

There was quite a range of abilities so the group split quite quickly. Within 15 minutes a surge in speed had broken the group into a 6 and a 4. The 6 of us gradually whittled down to 4. We worked well together to maintain a high pace by each taking short turns on the front. I was able to keep practicing my cornering at high speeds, either by leading the group or following someone's wheel.

Before we knew it 45 minutes had passed and the 5 laps to go sign was up on the board. Until now we had been fairly consistent with our pace, but this suddenly increased! Still, the 4 of us stuck together but we were all on the edge to see who would make an attack before the final lap.

With 1.5 laps to go, a fellow rider made a break for it up the hill. I happened to be at the back of the group and wasn't in a good place to surge forward and catch her. I stuck behind the other two riders to conserve energy for 30 seconds, then I made a sprint forward to bridge the gap. The two behind me tried to follow my wheel but couldn't hold on.

I stuck behind the rider up front, who suddenly realised she had mistaken the penultimate lap for the final lap. Together we flew around the track one more time and I did my best corner yet, staying close to her wheel and not overthinking. All to play for! 

We both got to the final hill and we were climbing side by side, in the saddle. I remember the adrenaline coursing through me at this point,  not knowing when we would start our sprint for the line. Instead of sprinting straight away, I increased the speed slightly whilst staying seated, to see how she would react. She didn't appear to be keeping pace with me which gave me the boost I needed to make a final sprint. I think her mistake cost her as I crossed the line about a metre in front of her. 

I couldn't quite believe it. Not often do I get to say I've won something!! And what a change from the last race. Even if there were only 10 women, it was a huge confidence boost. Oh, except I decided to wear the wrong kit (sorry St Neots CC). I need to find a better fitting SNCC jersey or skinsuit, or improvise for next week!

 

 

Pat Ellerbeck NCRA Spring Handicap Race Southwick Circuit

Pat says he calls this a learning experience. He went off in the second group, but still averaged 24 mph for the first lap, he then managed to get dropped and couldn’t get back on, it was then just a matter of watching as the fast boys roared past, he's hoping to perform better on the flatter circuits. Upon reflection he had a look at his strava segments and for his age group had lots of pbs and 4 age group KOMs including fastest lap by 25 seconds so not all doom and gloom. He is looking at racing at the Old Circuit on Apr 1st.