Cheshire Classic Road Race

This weekend saw me on a little adventure to the northern parts of England to compete in the Cheshire Classic RR, the first round of the women’s national series and my first attempt at competing in a road race at this level. I already new it was going to be hard from the start sheet which contained a lot of riders I’d never raced before and of course a few I have. Travelling up by train on Saturday afternoon I became more and more nervous as the journey continued and I had too much time to think about the race to come. The true reality of the glam life of a cyclist then hit me at 9.30pm when I was already in bed on a Saturday night with only a stack of hot cross buns and a mug of ovaltine to keep me company watching Shrek 2 on TV. So very rock & roll!

The weathermen had promised a scorchio day on Sunday so I was pretty surprised to find it had rained overnight and it was pretty chilly – my overnight bag hadn’t accounted for cold. Not put off I tucked into the hotel’s breakfast to fuel the day’s race, sending a few jealous glares to the two men already in the dining room tucking into a full English, croissants, toast, bagels, smoked salmon, cream cheese… The ground seemed to have dried out by this point but still no sign of the promised sun.

The race itself was in Weaverham near Northwich and the course went up a drag up a main road, round a roundabout, back down the main road, left into a steepish hill (where the finish line lay), round a bit, down a hill and then back up the main road. On paper it sounded pretty dull but it was actually a good course and suited me quite well I think, going up the hill 11 times was certainly enough to make things interesting.

I placed myself near the front on the start line. Having not ridden a national series road race before I wasn’t sure what the pace would be like and didn’t want to be caught out by hanging around at the back. Despite my preparation, once we were out of the neutralised zone and the race started I found myself at the back. I have no idea how it happened but I won’t be caught napping like that again. The pace was immediately a lot higher than the team series races and we were spread out in two pace lines from the gun. The first 2 laps I started to work my way back up the field, keeping as calm as I could but on the second time up the hill there was a lot of huffing and puffing from the girls around me and I knew I needed to be right up in the top 10 riders the next time up it so I didn’t get caught the wrong side of a split in the field. At the top of the hill I gritted my teeth and rode along the outside of the single file line of riders who were going along at a pretty decent pace and edged my way into line a few riders back from the front.

On the same lap, at the roundabout on the main road, Iona Sewell (Squadra Donne) put in a bit of a kick coming out of it and gained herself a gap from the bunch. I knew she was riding strongly at the moment having won the Tour ta Malta a few weeks ago so decided in a split second to join her. Not necessarily the best place to attack, into a downhill, but we got a bit of a gap and were joined by another rider, number 54 (I’m still not sure who she is- a mystery entrant on the line!). As we turned left into the hill I knew we needed to be committed to the climb if we wanted to stay away from the bunch so I rode up it as hard as I could. Looking back about halfway up it I was surprised to find I was on my own. Not wanting to loose my gap I carried on grinding my way up it. Just before the crest I was overtaken by three girls, who I think were Sarah Storey (Horizon Fitness), Ali Holland (Shred Racing) and Anna Fischer (Max Gear) and I knew then that I needed to stick with them as they must have caned it up the hill and surely dropped a few of the main field on their way. I also knew that all three of them are strong riders and if it was an attack, this break was one that had a good chance of sticking. Firmly planted on the wheel in front I rode on with my head down as the road leveled out. After a while I slowly began to realise that it all seemed pretty quiet behind me so chancing a glance over my shoulder I was ecstatic to see that it was because there was no one there. Shouting this to the other seven girls in the group we immediately began to do through and off. It was clear that every single one of us was committed to the break and it was fantastic to work so well with a group of riders who all had the same aim, staying away. No one was missing turns, everyone was focused and we continued in the same vane for the rest of the race.

Each time we went down the main road we could see the main field coming back up the other way so we had a good idea of how big the gap was. Apparently we were making up about 30 seconds a lap, no doubt helped by Max Gear and Horizon Fitness disrupting any attempts at a chase by the bunch. At this point with seven of us in the break, the race result was then only going to be decided by the sprint up the hill. Suffice to say, the biggest thing I need to work on is my finishes in races. I ended up 6^th which I was pretty disappointed with but I have taken away some very valuable lessons and I guess I can’t really complain with a 6^th place in a national series race. The winner was Jess Booth who narrowly pipped Sarah Storey to the post.

In all, well worth a trip up north and thanks to the rain which managed to hold off until prizegiving. I should also possibly mention that I managed to complete the race with a grand total of no liquid after watching my waterbottle bounce off down the road after hitting a particularly big pothole partway into lap one. Next time I'm taking a spectator with a spare water bottle! Also thanks so much to the Rapha/Condor girls Claire and Rachel (and James) who squashed me and my bike in the car to give me a lift back to London. Three bikes, a bike bag, nine wheels and four people apparently do fit into a Mondeo.

Race report and a few pics on British Cycling website.

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roa20100425-Report--Cheshire-Classic-Women-s-Road-Race-0

Training Camp

So finally… I’ve seen a little sunshine. Not only has the past week been gorgeous in the UK (Saturday's monsoon in the surrey hills excluded) but I’ve even encountered 21°C while on my first training camp of the year in Spain. For the first time in months I could put on shorts, a short sleeved jersey and mitts without having to layer up the rest of the cycling clothes I own underneath just to stay marginally warm (Don’t mention this to the locals, they were still wrapped up in balaclavas!). The beginnings of my cyclist’s tan are just about apparent and I would say that summer is surely just round the corner.

I’m really lucky that my parents have a very handily located flat in Murcia which has some fantastic rides nearby with plenty of mountains to climb. It’s also the home of the Tour of Murcia, a five day stage race which this year was targeted by Team Sky and Radioshack as Tour preparation with Wiggins and Armstrong both in attendance. This was a great chance to get as close to professional racing as you are likely to. Being Spain there didn’t seem to be a great deal of security but plenty of opportunity to ogle at the bikes and catch a few words with Lance. Check out Wiggans' O symetric chain ring!

With the Tour of Murcia following some of our usual training routes it made me feel pretty inspired to clock up some miles in the legs. Even so much as to take my parents’ mountain bikes out on an incredibly windy day and do reps up the side of a mountain, just so we could get out on the bike and be sure not to be blown off the side of the road.

So now back in the UK and the miles are beginning to settle into my legs and the race season is creeping closer. I've spent a whole day stripping down my cervelo giving it a good clean and changing loads of parts (next time I pay a mechanic - 8 hours for one bike is not good value for money!) and it felt great to take it out for the first time this year. I'd say my excitment levels for racing are now pretty high :o)

Winter

Welcome to my new little project! I’ve never written a blog before or even kept a diary, apart from a few mostly angry scribblings when I was about 16, so this is all quite new to me. Where on earth to start?? I’m hoping that this will give me a chance to keep in touch and keep people updated on what’s going on in my year cycling and my move out to Belgium to try out European racing and the big unknown…

After the big freeze over Christmas and some panic in the Creswick household about whether we would have any food on the table for Christmas dinner or whether any of the family would actually be able to make it to the table, it seemed the New Year was off to a good start with three full days of relatively ice and snow free roads. Time for some rides! It was amazing to finally get back in the saddle in the great outdoors for a ride out into Surrey on New Years day and then to Windsor on the Saturday via Hillingdon to watch my boyfriend Stew race. I know it never ever gets warm at Minet Park, even in July, but when you anticipate the cold and wear every single item of clothing you own, being a spectator is pretty good fun.

Evidence that all good things come do to an end was loud and clear when the even bigger freeze was back with a vengeance. Cycling in a foot of snow? No thanks. This has really got me thinking about people in the more unlucky parts of the Northern Hemisphere, how do cyclists in Canada stay sane on the turbo day after day? There must be secrets to surviving winter banished to the indoors that I don’t know about.

Fortunately my boyfriend has an incredible stash of cycling DVDs that are somehow just the ticket for making me imagine in some small way that I’m out on the road and keeping me motivated on the turbo. I have absolutely no idea where this collection comes from or where the new titles appear from, but even so, they’re pretty useful. Saturday was the turn of ‘Hell on Wheels’ which followed the T-Mobile team around the 2003 tour de France. That Stew gets into these films perhaps more than most was very clear when halfway through, the DVD shows footage of the team car and a couple of riders tearing down the Tourmalet. Wheels are screeching, riders are holding on to the road by the skin of their teeth when suddenly, thinking he too was about to take the hairpin, Stew goes flying off his rollers! He’d turned the front wheel ‘into the bend’ and for a spilt second both of us thought he has fallen off the edge of the mountain – very amusing!

Over the weekend, I also went to a talk by Vin Denson organised by Redhill CC. It was the highlight of my weekend. I have recently read his book, 'The Full Cycle' and it was great to hear him talk about his experiences as a pro rider and he came across as such a nice man who really wanted to inspire young riders. I know I’m not a young rider but he definitely inspired me!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Full-Cycle-Vincent-Denson/dp/1874739528