Marek Siwicki writes
Well done in organising todays events Toks, it can be a right pain in
the ass, but you did a really good job and fun was had by all, well at
least I think so, I certainly enjoyed it.
photos hereSo what happened:
Prior to the race I was really nervous, being last years winner I was
feeling the weight on my shoulders and having my wife and daughter
coming along to only about the third race they have watched me in I
was feeling the heat. Especially as my daughter always asks me when I
finish a race if I was the winner, and when I say no she looks very
disappointed. I was hoping to be able to put a smile on her face
today.
The race started off at a reasonably slow pace with everyone looking
at each other to set the pace. Being defending champion I thought it
would only be right to get the pace going so I sat on the front and
did a bit of a turn and then slowed up to let others through. Sylvain
and a guy on a nice Specialised bike were doing quite long turns on
the front. Tim also did his fair share of work and put in a few digs
up the climb. I also put in a fair few gos at getting away around the
back but it was quite hard work as the wind was in your face on the
back section.
At one point just before the whistle for the first prime I think Tim
had done a long turn on the front. Knowing he was going quite well
this season I thought it would be a good time to attack as I thought
the others would follow Tim and as he was in recovery after his turn,
I reckoned there was a good chance of staying away. It seemed to work,
and there was also the guy on the Specialised having a go. As we came
around for the end of the lap the whistle for the prime lap was blown.
That was very good luck as we had a bit of a gap over the peleton.
Basically I sat behind the Specialised guy for the hill around the
back to get my breath back and then I went for it on the downhill and
managed to open a gap over him and get the first Prime.
I slowed a bit and then got eaten back up by the pack and we had a lap
of relative ease, thank goodness as I was tired after the effort to
get the Prime. Sylvain was doing quite a lot on the front and then a
couple of laps later the Irish duo of Aodan and Kieran moved up to the
front. I was sitting in third posiiton and wondered if I could leave
them a bit of a gap and try and get some of the others to try and
chase to wear them down a bit.
Basically we let them go and they hung about 20 – 40 yards ahead of us
as no one really wanted to chase. Then on the next lap we got the
whistle for the second prime. Paul H came to the front and did a bit
of a turn around the back and then the pace started to pick up as we
realised that the second prime was not going to be contested unless we
got our asses into gear. I put on my biggest gear down the back
straight and then onto the final hill, Kieran must have been around 30
yards with Aodan about 20 yards ahead but I was closing very fast, but
not quite fast enough. I caught Aodan but Kieran managed to shade me
by about the width of a tyre over the line.
Into the final section of the race and we had a few people trying
their luck. Tim had a bit of a dig at one point but we managed to
stick to his wheel. Then with 5 laps to go we all started looking at
each other. With 4 laps to go I heard shouts from Huw on the sidelines
of ‘hurry up you lazy gits’. I decided to have one last ditch attack
with a few laps to go to see if I could win on my own. This was bit of
a mistake as it took quite a lot out of me and I could not hold the
others off. When they caught me I thought someone would attack and
screw me over, thankfully no one did.
Into the final lap and as ever the pace quickened. Down the back
straight I was sitting quite far back, but I managed to get up the
required speed to come up the inside. Then on the final hill I put it
into the 53 * 12 and let the legs go. I managed to get past all the
guys by going up the left hand side and then it was just a matter of
keeping the pace high enough all the way to the finish. Thankfully the
legs held out and I managed to keep the others at bay with Paul H
coming in second, Sylvain a well deserved third and a deflated Tim in
fourth.
What I would comment on is that the group were going very well, and it
is a credit to the club that we have that many quick riders. I really
hope to see you guys out next season in some of the road races, next
year is going to be an ACC whitewash, lets kick some Dynamo butt.
Thanks for the prizes from Cycling Weekly as well, a DVD and a couple
of books, with the bonus bottles of beer for winning the Prime.
Cheers
Marek…..
