Acorn Road Race- 25/06/2005 - Belvoir
Castle and Harby Hill
Yet another puncture in a road race ended Gareth hopes
of victory whilst leading a 3 man break on the Acorn
Road Race around Belvoir Castle on Saturday 25th June.
The day started cool and damp with rain falling persistently
and with a wind blowing strongly from an easterly direction.
The course was based near Belvoir Castle with the riders
tackling the climb of Harby Hill, a 1.5 mile ascent
with a 1:8 gradient near the top. The course then turned
left at the top of the hill and headed towards the castle
where the roads were very wet whilst there were many
90 degree bends that were covered with grit and would
cause the riders some trouble.
With only a 400 yard de-neutralised zone, the race
began instantly with the fierce climb of Harby Hill.
The riders still with cold legs stuck together up the
climb with a relatively easy tempo until the top where
the first attack took place and the speeds soon rose
to over 30mph. Turning left at the top of the hill towards
the castle, Gareth took advantage of the technical roads
and put in his first attack which was soon brought back.
Straight after, Nigel White (Sherwood CC) and Mark Bottely
(Bourne Wheelers) put in a hard attack which was soon
followed by Gareth. With the 3 riders working well together
the bunch had other ideas and brought them back after
only a mile in the lead. As soon as this break was brought
back, then Steve Marrows (GB Fire Service) headed off
the front with what looked like a useful move but Gareth
soon brought this back and then counter attacked with
Martin Webster (Webster Cycles) to force a narrow lead.
Gareth and Martin worked hard for the next 7 miles
to stay clear with the bunch counter attacking but were
now 1 minute behind Gareth and Martin. After 2 laps
and on the ascent of the Harby climb, Martin started
to struggle as Gareth pulled clear and was soon joined
by former Elite rider Marc Mallender (Rutland CC). Gareth
and Marc now worked hard together over the tough undulating
and technical section towards the castle. Just as the
pair were staring to pull more time out of the chasing
bunch, Marc followed Gareth into a tight corner and
the combination of gravel and wet roads resulted in
Marc crashing and hitting the tarmac with some force.
Gareth now sat up to see if Marc would get back on his
bike and as he did Gareth waited for him to regain the
lost ground. With Marcs confidence having taken a knock,
Gareth stayed at the front for the next 4 miles and
drove them onto the flatter section back towards Harby
Village. With only 1 and half laps remaining, Gareth
had to pull off the front as he realised his rear tyre
was loosing pressure quickly and with no service vehicle
in the race, it was game over for Gareth as Marc ploughed
on alone.
Riding alone, Marc couldnt keep the chasing bunch at
bay any longer and despite taking the bell lap alone
with a lead of 30 seconds he was caught with only 7
miles remaining. All the attacks and counter attacks
had blown the chasing pack into many smaller groups
spread across many minutes around the course. At the
finish, it was down to a sprint to the top of the Harby
Climb between 16 riders which was won by Paul Wilkes
(Team Bradgate). Marc Mallender still had the legs to
finish 7th in the sprint.
Gareth was still pleased with his ride despite puncturing
'I attacked right from the start until we finally got
a move that went clear', Gareth commented, 'and when
I was joined by Marc on the climb I knew this was a
winning move. I truly believe that we would have stayed
clear as Marc only got caught with a few miles to go
but he still had the legs to finish in the top 10'.'
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