This week we have a result from MK Bowl, a TT on Sat which Alex Dowsett also rode in the Road Category and Stassia rode the iconic Lincoln GP on Sun. Well done to all our participants, if you fancy racing for the club try the Inter Club which starts at the end of May (more details to follow)...
Pat Ellerbeck Tues 9th May MK Bowl Criterium Race
BM race at MK Bowl, the circuit was wet so it was decided to ride the course anti clockwise on the inner circuit only, I spent much of the race on the front, 2 riders kicked passed with a lap to go, I managed to catch them and kicked for the finish,
halfway up the final climb, disaster, broke a cleat, and waved as everyone came passed, moral to the story regularly check footwear!! Big day Saturday taking on Alex Dowsett in the Leo 30 😜😜😜
Pat Ellerbeck 11th in Road Bike Category and Nic Pillinger 9th in TT Category Sat 13th May Leo 30 mile TT
Just a couple of club riders this Saturday in the prestigious Leo 30 on course E33/30, me (Pat) in the roadbike section and Nic Pillinger in the TT bike section. The road bike section was extremely strong with a winning time of 1:03:16, Alex Dowsett managed a 1:05:07 to finish 2nd. I was pleased to record a time of 1:16:14 (2 mins faster than spindata prediction) which would have been a 1:15 but took a detour at the last roundabout and lost time. Finished 11th overall and 3rd in the vets standard competition. Also recorded a faster time than anyone else in my age group (65-70) both the road bike and TT bike so all in all an enjoyable and productive outing . Average speed 23.7 mph. The TT bike category was won in
Quick report from Saturday by Nic. My race at the Leo 30mile TT didn’t really go to plan. I was pretty happy with the first lap, holding off my minute man (who I was expecting to see at anytime). On the second lap, things started to go south. The legs felt heavy, and I started to haemorrhage time. In the end I held on for 9th in the TT event which is disappointing, but I was actually only a minute from 3rd which I would have been content with. I guess I’m not quite back to putting out my usual watts over these shorter distances, but it still made for a decent training race. Plenty of work to do now having decided to target the National 50 & 100 in July.
1:02:18. Nic Pillinger was 9th in 1:07:36 which in a high class field was an excellent result (looks like he's recovered from his 112 mile TT!).
Anastasia Bowler Lincoln GP Road Race Sun 14th May 64th of 127
I had the privilege of racing Lincoln GP on Sunday and wow, what a race! My aim for my first National A Category Road Race was to not get caught by the broom wagon. Mission success!
8 laps of the course and 8 times up the infamous Michaelgate. I'm not a climber but the punchy cobbled climb actually treated me pretty well, I was in the main group for the first few laps, but then on the 3rd or 4th lap someone unclipped and stopped in front of me at the base of the climb, not ideal. I dabbed my foot, scooted along a couple of steps and luckily managed to clip in and get going again (I was NOT running up that!), but missed the front group going. A large group of about 30 of us ended up doing the second half of the race together, everytime up Michaelgate was an all out effort. I came in 64th out of 127 starters, nothing to write home about but what an experience. Completely closed roads, cameras on motorbikes and the CROWDS! The crowds on the climb were amazing and gave us all those extra watts when we were riding through gritted teeth over the cobbles. I cannot wait to race it again!