Mid-Suffolk Road Race, August 10th 2003
It was hot today. I heard the figure of 35C being floated around; perfect
for a 101km road race then ;-)
Pete Watson (Cambridge CC; but rumoured to be riding for CUCC next season
with sufficient beer/ kit bribes), myself and fellow Cambridge chain gang
regular Dave McLean (Sherwood CC) headed out for what turned out to be a
great race based at Ringshall, near Ipswich.
8 3/4 laps of a pretty flat circuit, with a long, gentle decent and a
steeper drag up to the finish, with plenty of twisty bends.
With 4 laps to go and with one rider away, Dave made a well-timed break at
the top of the climb and took two with him. With a lap out ahead they'd
built up a minute lead and it looked like the break might stick. So I
thought I'd have a go at bridging the gap; three of us got halfway there
before we shelled someone and it looked like the pack might catch us. I
kicked again when I heard I was just 20s off the break but soon realised I
was getting a bit lonely. But as luck would have it Pete W had broken clear
with a couple of others and soon picked me up. With a bit of organisation we
caught the original break; 8 in total now and the legs and will to stay
clear. Which we did and soon built up to a 2 1/2 minute lead on the main
bunch.
So all that remained was a superb lead-out at ~1km to go by Pete, stringing
the 8 of us into a line as the group climbed towards the finish. I sat on
Dave's wheel for a bit as he moved up, then the road just seemed to open up
for me and I was through to take my first road win. Dave got 3rd (and enough
points to get his 2nd cat) and Pete 7th.
A MASSIVE thank-you to Pete for his work, you can certainly expect the
favour to be returned if you're riding in the right colours next year...!
Rob Driver
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