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CDNW Bashall Eaves Road Race 2nd SeptemberA report from Josh Townson on his first race as a 2nd cat follows. Pictures from Arthur Findley of Spencer Coltman coming home 5th and Arthur also caught a picture of Lennie Collins on a lone escape from the club run. Josh writes: Going into this race, I had little form. Having had a busy racing season (25 races), it seemed that I had peaked and my legs needed a well-deserved rest. The last event in the CDNW Road League was to be my first E/1/2 race, but also my last race of the season. Some people may say it was the wrong decision for me to take part in this race, but my aim for this race was to experience the demanding step-up from 3/4 category races to E/1/2 races. By doing this, I now know what to expect next season whilst competing in E/1/2 races.
Having spoke to Spencer about the course profile, it appeared to be a tough hilly course. The race consisted of 5 laps of a 10.84 mile course, making a shortened race distance of only 54.2 miles. The race had been shortened to allow the CDNW League Presentation to take place after the race as this race was the last in the CDNW Road League. Rolling out of race headquarters in wet weather when your not feeling too good doesn't put you in an optimistic mood. Back to the race, the neutralised zone was approximately 5 miles long. For some reason, a small group of riders decided to attack during the neutralised zone. Soon enough, the peloton was strung out in a long line. All of a sudden, a horse that had obviously spooked jumped over a gate and landed on it's side on the right hand side of the road. After a lot of shouting between riders and officials, we all came to a stand still to allow everybody to regroup. I will openly admit I was in awe of some of the 'big-hitters' in this race which result in my positioning within the peloton being rather poor. I know I have to fix this for next year and remember they are all just riders; the same as me. As the race re-started, I realized at my legs were not good enough to stay with this group of elite riders. Spinning my legs using junior gears at 38mph was pretty grueling. As a result, I only managed to stay with the E/1/2 group for half a lap before I dropped off the main peloton along with many other riders. I was disappointed at this but I more or less knew this was going to happen. Despite riding solo in wet weather whilst feeling weak; I pushed on. I had planned to ride the remainder of the race, but, during the 3rd lap of the race I punctured. With no neutral service car present that was the end of my race.
The good news was that Spencer finished 5th out of 29 starters in the 3/4 category race! CDNW Bashall Eaves E/1/2 Race Results - CDNW Bashall Eaves 3/4 Race Results - |
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 and Josh on Higher Hodder BridgeThumb.jpg)
As the alarm clock went off at 7am, I looked outside and the rain was pouring down. It was very tempting to stay in bed instead of getting my legs ripped off by elite riders. Despite the fact I knew I was going to have a poor race and suffer a lot, I was soon on my way to race headquarters in Clitheroe. Arriving at race headquarters at 8:45am, I had plenty of time to prepare myself for what was ahead.
Luckily, nobody was directly hit by the horse. Although the CDNW Commissionaire on the motorbike along with a select group of riders were extremely close to it. Unfortunately 4 riders crashed as a result of the sudden panic.
The 34-year-old Leeds rider Barras took the win after a uphill sprint finish with Ben Greenwood (Vanillabikes.com) and Jamie Shirlaw (Herbalife-Leisure Lakes Bikes) in close proximity. The top three led the Shirlaw's team-mate Kit Gilham by some 45 seconds. Working with his Metaltek-Scott team mates early on, Barras, who was crowned the Yorkshire Road Race League Champion last weekend, managed to get across to the break with half a lap to go before pulling away from his rivals. Due to its high pace, lumpy profile & poor weather conditions the race took its toll on many riders. This resulted in only 30 riders finishing the race out of 49 starters. Despite this result, I am now prepared to come back next season, stronger and fitter. Roll on 2013!