English
FD’s Cycling Challenge
On the 20th May four Wiggle employees (Ben Jeffery, Richard Pearman, Humphrey Cobbold (CEO), and Andy Bond (Wiggle’s Chairman) all took part in a cycle challenge event around the purpose built cycling facility called ‘Redbridge Cycling Centre’ (www.redbridgecyclingcentre.co.uk), or more commonly known as Hog Hill.
The day was organised by the company FD Insurance ( www.fd.com ) and invited various companies to take part in the cycling activities planned for throughout the day. This included a 2 lap individual time trial, a 5 lap team time trial, and a 5 lap bunch style race. This was the first time FD had organised and event of this nature so they were not too sure how things would ‘pan-out’ during the day, but to theirs and everyone else’s it went to plan with no issues what-so-ever.
The day started off with Ben Jeffery and I (Richard) meeting up at Wiggle to load the bikes (mine, Ben’s and Andy’s) into our cars. After all was ok we both set off hitting the A3M and eventually jumping onto the M25 driving through the Dartford tunnel and into North East London. Ben and I arrived around 11.30am, thanks to a clear M25, so with plenty of time in hand decided to check over the bikes making sure all was ok.
It was not too long before both Humphrey and Andy arrived and after a quick chat we took our bags, and bikes, to the registration area to meet all the others. As we signed on we noticed that around 30 invited guests were taking part with teams from Rapha, PwC, and of course a team representing FD. Other companies were also present, but the idea of these events meant that we had to be in teams of 4 so any individual riders were placed in composite teams for the day. In total 7 teams were racing today each with a mixture of cycling ability, with Wiggle and Rapha having the most experience.
Stage 1
Soon it was time to get ready for the first event, which was the individual 2 lap TT. All riders (teams) had to start in race number order with a 1 minute gap between each rider. It wasn’t long before Wiggle were called to the start line and the race order for us was Andy going first followed by Humphrey, then Ben and finally me.
The Hog Hill circuit has a very smooth surface, a couple of hairpin turns, a fast descent followed by some straight stretches, and a tough little climb back up to the finish/start line. Coupled with the dry weather this enabled some of us to take the corners at speed.
Here are the results (top ten) for the individual TT.
1. Ben Brown/Andy Bond Rapha/Wiggle 6.10/6.10
2. Jack Briggs Rapha 6.24
3. Richard Pearman Wiggle 6.26
4. Olly Stevens IG Group 6.27
5. Konrad Manning Rapha 6.36
6. Ashley Unwin PwC 6.38
7. Duncan Walker/Humphrey CobboldHelical Bar/Wiggle 6.43
8. Frank Illett Deliotte 6.47
9. Richard Sunderland FD 6.53
10. David Levis Sportive Nation 6.59
Ben finished in 13th place with a time of 7.03 so a good team effort by us was achieved.
Apart from the cycling activities, FD had also organised refreshments throughout the day with a planned BBQ after the prize presentation. After the TT, everyone tucked into fruit, SIS food bars and/or energy drink, whilst drinking tea, coffee, or a selection of cold drinks.
Once the results were published it was time for the second event.
Stage 2
This was the Team Time Trial and the instruction was given for all the teams to work as one unit. We had 5 laps to complete, but the time would stop on the fourth member of the team crossing the start/finish line. We decided to stay together as much as possible and if anyone got dropped off we would regroup so to finish as a group.
We started off well working together with the aim of catching the Rapha boys, but climbing the rise to the start/finish line we lost Humphrey by a few metres or so. We quickly regroup and continued around for the second lap racing hard. Ben lost contact on the fast corners a couple of times, but fought hard to rejoin the group before the climb. In the morning I decided to place a small Camsports video camera to the bars and record our effort in the TTT and below you can watch the video footage from the event.
Video Footage
Due to the fact that we were riding as a team, we decided that it would be a great idea if we also looked the same whilst riding, apart from our bikes. With this in mind all of us were wearing: Catlike Whisper white helmets, dhb Chevron short sleeve cycling jerseys, dhb Pace arm warmers, dhb Aeron Pro bibshorts, Giro Monaco gloves and Craft shoe covers. The kit was a good mixture of black and white and we certainly looked the part.
Once the 5 laps were completed, we waited to hear the results. We were hoping to match or beat the Rapha boys, but unfortunately they beat us by 48 seconds. The results are listed below showing the top five.
1. Rapha 16.26
2. Wiggle 17.14
3. Composite Team 1 19.04
4. FD 19.35
5. PwC 20.04
Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout the day and to be honest this event was just about having fun. Yes, there was a bit of competitiveness during the events, but that’s human nature I guess, but everyone saw the fun side of things and just enjoyed it for what it was. Also, with plenty of refreshments available nobody went hungry or thirsty throughout the day.
Stage 3
The last event of the day was a 5 lap race around the circuit. The more experienced guys amongst the group were instructed to start off at the front with everyone else at the back – just for safety reasons really. Once the flag went down we set off on our little race. I did mention to Andy to follow me around so we kept with the leading Rapha riders as I was sure they would try to jump off the front to gain more time on Andy (second overall at this point). Rapha did try to escape, but were closed down and this was the case for the remaining laps. Coming up to the climb for the last time the leading Rapha guy jumped again and I shouted to Andy to jump after him, which he did.
Unfortunately Andy couldn’t get passed him on the climb so rolled across the line in 2nd place with myself finishing 4th or 5th. Ben and Humphrey also finished with the 2nd group shortly after our group had finished.
Once all had finished the results were given out just prior to the BBQ with a small selection of prizes. The event was a huge success and hopefully FD will organise this event again in2012. The final results are listed and were on a points system in relation to the finish positions of each event.
1. Ben Brown Rapha
2. Andy Bond Wiggle
3. Jack Briggs Rapha
4. Richard Pearman Wiggle
5. Olly Stevens IG Group
6. Konrad Manning Rapha
7. Ashley Unwin PwC
8. Duncan Walker Helical Bar
9. Humphrey Cobbold Wiggle
10. Ben Jeffery Wiggle
This was a good day out of work with lovely weather too. Once the BBQ had finished we said our thanks then took to the road going back home.