Weekend of 8^th/9^th March 2014

Saturday 8^th March – San Fairy Ann CC Spring Crits 2

Today I had my second women’s race at Cyclopark and this time I was joined by my two teammates, Lucy and Frankie! We all lined up on the start line, with again quite a big field of women which was great. The race was much faster than the previous week and made quite a bit tougher with a strong headwind coming up the hill. The race livened up very quickly where I went in a small breakaway for a little while, before we were brought back into the group. The next breakaway was the one that stuck though and unfortunately I wasn't in this one. The group of 3 seemed to have organised themselves in the breakaway very well and they were all strong riders and so not before long there quite a big gap between them and us in the main group. I then put a lot of work in on the front with a couple of other women, we were closing the gap but not quick enough!! So many of the riders in the group weren't helping to catch the leaders and as a last ditch effort I made an attack off the front of the main group to hopefully quickly bridge the gap. I was soo close to getting onto the back of the leaders but then I hit the climb with the wind and I immediately began to suffer. I held the gap for a little while but I wasn't getting any closer and I WAS getting tired. So I decided to drop back to the main group. After a short while our group decided to stop chasing the leaders as we had maintained a high speed for a long time now and we were getting close to the final sprint. I could tell in the lead up to the sprint that I didn’t have any energy left in my legs for the sprint, after kind of sacrificing myself earlier in the race trying my hardest to catch the leaders. Nevertheless I finished 5^th in the sprint, so overall 8^th.

All in all, not the best final result in this race, but I think I’ve gained a lot by trying to stay with the leaders, so maybe next time I’ll be that little bit stronger and I’ll be able to either make the jump to the leaders or be in the leading group myself!!

Sunday 9^th March- Thames Velo Club Run –  57 miles, 20mph average speed.

You couldn’t have asked for a nicer spring day, the sun was shining, perfect weather for a bike ride.  Today I went on a ride with Thames Velo, with a route that planned to go past a local TT. My legs seemed to have recovered from yesterday and I felt quite strong on the ride today. There weren't many hills so we were able to go at a fast-ish pace.                                                                                                                

Some would say, rather conveniently, mid-way through the ride I got a puncture, which allowed the group to have a little rest. For me, my first puncture on a road ride EVER (I knew the day would come at some point) but because I’ve virtually had no punctures I was a little out of practise! Luckily for me everyone was really helpful, and with the aid of a gas canister, we were back riding in no time J Well I did set off riding but I had to stop again shortly to sort out my cadence sensor which I accidently knocked so it was brushing my wheel. Andy and Laurence stopped with me, and so we managed to efficiently get back to the group quite quickly.

With 3 miles to go I was warned of the usual 3 mile race back to the start point. For the next 3 miles the pace was really high and it was good to get my legs really spinning! I was still not quite sure what to expect so I followed each of the attacks, sitting on the wheels waiting for the next one to go. In the end a controversial red light, led to a DQ and I won. Overall a great ride in the sun and good to get some good miles in!