Wednesday 4 April 2012

Surrey League Bletchingly road race 2nd cat

The week building up to the Saturday Surrey league race went really well! got some goo hours on the road and even managed to get on the TT bike for an hour and felt great! surprisingly felt natural! :) even when but in such an aero position which is very low down my back wasn't hurting! Only my forearms, but that's probably because I'm just not used to it just yet. Felt really good and it was the last of the heat wave as well. 

The start of the race was at 1:30 and was nice to have a race slightly later on. we got there with an hour and 20 to go and we did a lap of the course to just re-fresh in my head what happened last year and how I did. Last year it was a very painful race and just managed a 16th. That time was just a matter of keeping up and not trying to get in breaks or anything like that. lots of people recognising me, mostly for the overall Surrey league win which is a big deal apparently. for me the Surrey league overall just happened and even though my mum was very pleased and happy. To me it was just a wake up to where I am as a cyclist at that time and how far I still have to go... But thanks to all the people around me supporting me and my winter training I think I can step it up a notch! well back to the race. neutralised done up a hill 800metre climb/drag and then it was off! coming to a long technical decent I forced my way to the front as I know from experience that its going to string out down it and for a while afterwards too. very slow first several k's and a VO2 development rider went.with no reaction his gap grew. he probably got up to about over a minute gap till he was brought back 20ks later. my turn. and the attacks and aggressive riding began! so many times i tried to get away with random other riders but no luck... and then after being a bit tired, a few riders went, NO! I was in the wrong place, stuck in the middle. several riders from teams that had a rider up the road sat on the front and tried to let the gap grow. why cant this happen with me? when I go for it nobody lets me! :-(  then 40 k's go by with me trying to get away with other riders or trying to follow wheels of strong riders who might go and they did, but yep didn't happen for me. so legs feeling a little gone I had it in my head that I was just going to wait for the sprint. and hope for a best 5th or 6th place that is a available to me. A lap to go (10 miles) I hear they are a minute up the road. with about 3 k's to go and i see the break! and for some reason riders are pulling this along! I'm thinking jackpot! because half the field have been dropped and are DNF. but just before we catch them 2 riders jump again to stay away. 1k and its 1 Kilometre of a very steep hill. Every one has fights for position and I'm around 30th wheel (I know not the best) and I say to myself I'm not gonna sprint I'm just gonna put the hammer down and dish out some serious Watts! there I go flying past riders almost going backwards up this 12-15% climb and then I past the bunch! I see the 2 riders up the road about and I know 3rd is the best I can get even though I almost on the 2nd places wheel Its over. I'm dead. the best I have ever done on a 100k road race and a decent 21 BCF points too! :) 
Have a look at the results

also have a look at the podium finish 
1st Harold Even - V02 Development 
2nd Matthew Miles - InGear Quckvit
3rd Elliott Porter - Team corridori 

with not 100% legs I can be happy with that :) I think I have the form. in two 2nd cat races I have won the gallop up the finish climb and looking at the next race on a course called Milland Hill I know I can do some serious damage! 25% climb finish for 500 metres. Also! with loads of top riders which made Bletchingly so hard they wont be there as there is another race the next day which most people wanted to do instead. 

well, lets just wait and see! :)

Elliott Porter

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