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DayatRaces2 03_04_11 |
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A Day at the Races 2IT’S A LOCK-OUT - TEAM FINDLEY GOES TO CAPERNWRAY, 3rd APRIL
There we were parked up outside the Red Well Inn at about a quarter past nine preparing to enter when mein host peered out, closed the door and locked it. If I add that that the pub was a potentially inspired choice of Race HQ for CDNW’s Capernwray caper and that a hundred or more bikies and hangers-on had, allegedly, “made a mess” of the loos first thing on Mothers’ Day, the pub’s busiest Sunday of the year, you’ll see that it wasn’t anything we did! A small, slightly bemused group of racers and officials in need of facilities gathered outside and the Race organiser had words with the pub owners but the doors remained shut. Pity.
Undeterred, the racers got under way on time with four SCC riders (John, Simon, Steve and Spence) in the 3rd and 4th Cat group, up for a 90km (55.3miles) jaunt involving about 1300m of climbing (that’s nearly 4200 feet – sounds much scarier in Imperial units). The Elite group would enjoy even more purgatory. After a few mainly sunny and flat circuit race interludes since Bashall (mainly around the short-ish Pimbo) Team Findley noted some changes this morning.
It was cold (6 degrees), windy, overcast and raining, thus far much like Bashall in fact. However, the Capernwray circuit is about 13km (8 miles) round, and lumpy with about 180m (600 feet) of climbing per lap of which about 90m (300 feet) occur on the climb of Sunny Bank which hits you with a maximum gradient of around 13% (1 in 8) towards the top. Like to guess where the Finish line was?
Our pre-race recce revealed a mix of double track “B” and unclassified roads plus several miles of unclassified singletrack. And a stretch of recently trimmed hedge……with some debris along the roadside…….also pot holes of course, including a few nasties (more on these later) and an impressive collection of metal manhole covers, shiny and wet in the chilling rain, which lay scattered across one turn.
Inside the pub was clearly the place to be but as the Landlordly drawbridge had been raised we trundled off, once John’s group was under way, to the not-so-sunny Sunnybank and managed to squeeze the Team transport into a “scrape” about half way up the climb which, although not populated quite to T de F standards was already home to quite a few spectators and team vans.
Team Management commiserated with one rider who punctured part way round Lap 1 and our Peloton representative reported that one of the worst potholes caught out three riders, two with compression punctures and one with a wrecked wheel. We heard of one crash (a touch of wheels, no serious injury) and many retirements.
The Elite race was won convincingly by Matt Cronshaw (Team Raleigh) and the 3rd/4th Cat race by John Hopkinson (Aire Valley RT) in 2h 30m 5s or about 22 mph average. Our man John was up with the leaders until the penultimate ascent of SunnyBank when he lost contact. Although he chased and kept them in sight the gap widened on the final climb one lap later and he was left to outsprint his companion for 13th place. Steve Duffell came in 32nd (he’s my age - just one lap at race pace would have done me ….. in) whilst Simon Deeley and Spence unfortunately DNF’d, Simon puncturing on Lap 1.
The sun did eventually shine on Sunny Bank by the way but while the pub had reopened when we got back we didn’t stay.
Arthur Findley |
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Well, unsurprisingly both groups fragmented on Lap 1 and that’s how they stayed, with some riders sinking further and further down the field with each lap. Inevitably The Hill was sorting them out. The Elite race leaders powered up the climb very impressively and the 3rd/4th Cat leaders looked good but there were many who struggled and no wonder.