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Perfs Pedal Road Race.

13th February 2011

The first road race of the season for me was the very popular Perfs Pedal Race and is seen as the first big race of the season being in February. There is one problem with racing in February and that is the weather…last Sunday saw some of the worst the UK had to offer. It rained continuously and with that also came some strong winds, this made racing conditions tough.

The race started with a short neutralised section and then we were off racing around a short 6 mile lap which included a long drag of a climb which we had to race up 8 times with the 8th time being the finish. The standard of riders were very high and included former Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstead and his new UK Youth Team and the rest of the 80 man field was made up of Elite and 1st category riders.

The race was flat out almost all the way around with the bunch stretched out in one long line as different groups of riders breaking off the front. The course was like a river with puddles concealing pot holes and other debris so had to be extra assertive when riding in the group as visibility was poor combined with poor stopping power. The last thing I wanted to do in my first race was crash, the rain and wind was also making me colder each lap so was trying to ride at the front of the race most of the way round so I had less spray off peoples wheels and less chance of crashing.

With two laps to go a group of about 10 riders split off the front on the climb and I was then stuck in a group of around 15 riders behind that front group. For the last lap we could see the front group all the way round but made no ground on catching them. The penultimate time up the climb to the finish line 3 riders attacked and I made chase but only to hold the same gap to the finish line leaving me to cross the finish line in 15th place.

I was happy with my ride, I felt strong during the race up the climbs but felt I was lacking a bit of power on the flat compared to some of the bigger riders. The ride from the finish back to the HQ I was shivering so badly from being cold and continued to shiver for about two hours after I had got changed. There are a few more I have lined up before I head away for some sun in Mallorca so will keep you up to date as they happen.

Ben