Last Sunday August 23rd, the LVRC championships were held as part of the La Fleche Waltonne road races promoted by Welland Valley Cycling Club.
In a fit of enthusiasm earlier in the season I had entered my age category C ( 50-54) despite my relative inexperience of road racing. As the day of the event came closer I wondered whether I had over-reached myself. When I got the entry list I recognised quite a few names from previous events, a few ex-pros and a couple of sponsored riders like Ian Wright of Raleigh Avanti, the current National Cyclocross champion for V50+.
Nick Scott had also entered but had decided not to ride as he wasn't feeling 100% but was kind enough to give me a lift down and to support me during the ride with spare water bottles etc.
The course near Husbands Bosworth just off J20 of the M1 consisted of a fast downwind section on the A5199 towards Shearsby before turning onto a B road towards Bruntingthorpe and Walton. After Walton village it turned onto a narrow lane leading to the finish at the top of a short sharp climb.
My race for the C category had 56 entries and was to cover 85km of (almost) 6 laps. The race started with a neutralised section but the speed was soon over 30 mph as we headed downwind towards the first turn.
With the wind now on the left, the field split into a series of echelons across the road although oncoming traffic forced the field into a series of swerves back across the white line. I decided to keep out of trouble by staying well to the left.
The next turn brought the wind right ahead but the speed only dropped slightly as various riders had a go off the front only to be brought back into the peloton. This continued for a couple of laps until Ashfield RC rider Mike Perrin tried his luck. For some reason, this time nobody chased him down and he soon gained 200m on the fast downwnd section.
(I had a chat with him before the start and he told me he needed a couple of laps to warm up properly ( older legs!) and didn't fancy the finish as he wasn't much of a climber. I knew he was an attacking rider who wasn't content with riding around in the bunch but he still had almost 4 laps (60km) to go so going so early was a real gamble)
However after leaving him out alone for 10km or so, two riders finally decided to make a break soon followed by another pair and these five came together at about half race distance with a lead of about 30 seconds.
Now this illustrates one of the main differences between a pro race ( as seen on TV) and an amateur race. The pro's can organise themselves as a team for the chase as domestiques work themselves into the ground for the benefit of their team leader. However in an amateur race there is often little or no organisation in the group to catch the break. Sometimes 4 or 5 riders may start working together but give up when they realise the rest of the peloton is just sitting on.
This was the case here as the gap remained at about 30 seconds for the next 2 laps.
Another difference with a pro race is that they probably don't have to contend with a tractor with a fully laden hay trailer blocking the road ; in fact not just one but three in quick succession.
This caused chaos as the commisaire's car couldn't get past and the riders had to dismount to walk round on the grass verge. By now the lead group were away as they had managed to get past without too much delay and the bunch reformed and half-heartedly gave chase.
Eventually, having got past the tractors, the commisaire's car caught up and passed the message that the race was neutralised and would be re-started at the beginning of the next lap with a two lap 'sprint' to decide the outcome.
The leading group were to be given a 30 second start ; there were a few grumbles and some riders called it a day but most accepted the decision as the fairest solution.
The leading 5 riders probably needed the rest most and , after the re-start, were never in danger of being caught.
The main group kept the pace high which discouraged any attempts to breakaway so therefore the peloton was still together as we approached the village of Walton for the last time.
The lane leading to the finish was very narrow ( about the width of a tractor!) and overtaking was difficult so I had decided to try to be near the front as we exited the village.
One rider made a break and had a lead of about 25m but I was third in line as we hit the lane with about 2.5km to go. The riders ahead slowed slightly so I took over the chase on a slight rise leading to a short descent before the final climb with about 1km to go.
2 or 3 riders went past on the descent so I grabbed a wheel to try to recover a bit before the final push to the line. The rider in front left a slight gap on the left so, as the climb steepened, I went for it. I was aware of riders going past on the right but I was catching someone ahead so I just dug in for the last 50m to the line.
In the end I came 7th in the bunch giving me 12th overall.
The winner was ex-pro Simon Day who out-sprinted his breakaway companions ; Mike Perrin came 4th.
