Close finish

East Midlands Divisional RR Champs - 21/05/2006 - Scunthorpe

Gareth's race diary....

'A grey start made the start of the Div champs just about bearable and another weekend passed where I was still having to use arm warmers and we are only 1 week away from June. In fact, I haven’t raced without arm warmers at all this season. I didn’t know how I would feel today as I had come down with some sort of throat infection during the week and this was the first time out on the bike since Tuesday.

The course was pan flat following the bank of the river Trent before looping back through Laughton woods and back to the Trent and the lack of any strong winds meant it was going to be hard to split the bunch up.

Despite the dismal weather and the bleak forecast, we set off quite quick and this time I had Richard and Pete Kennedy (first time in Cherry Valley colours) for company. Without hesitation and after only 2 miles, the inevitable attacks started and I found myself away in a move with Stuart Axcell, Jon Mozley and two other Ashfield lads. I could feel cramps in my legs as it was still very cold but I pulled my weight which is more than the two Ashfield lads did and inevitably we were caught after only a 3 miles. As soon as we were caught Pete attacked and Julian Gromett followed. Then Andy Eagers crossed, along with Scott Gamble, Andy Stuart, Richard, Steve Marrows, Andy Proffit, Paul Wilkes, Julian Lowes and Richard Wilkinson. This group hovered at around 15 seconds as I started to cross the gap with Matt Charity but all we were doing was too act as a carrot for the bunch and tow them across so I sat up and so did Matt and we came back to the bunch.

The lead group quickly got a minute and over the next 50 miles as the predicted rain started to fall in buckets but the gap never got more than a 1 min 30 seconds. Back in the bunch I just sat at the back of the chasers quite content that I had two team mates, Pete and Richard, in the move. Dan Alexander, Jim Bryan, Steffan Wolfer and Simon Day were the main chasers and they succeeded in bringing the breakaway back with about 20 miles to go. Just as the leaders were brought back Andy Proffit, Wayne Webster and Paul Wilkes clipped off the front and held a slender lead. After some fairly furious chasing at the front by Pete, Andy Eagers, Stuart Axcell and myself the breakaway only had a slender lead as I launched myself across the gap. Just a handful of seconds off the back of the group I punctured the back wheel and pulled over to wait for the service vehicle – race over, or so I thought.

After what felt like an age, I had another back wheel but my chain was jumping on some of the sprockets. With some help from service I managed to get back onto the back of the convoy and after jumping from car to car I regained the bunch. A further two miles later I had pushed myself to the front seeing Richard as I passed but I never saw Pete. After asking several people where Pete was, I got no positive response so I assumed he had made it across to the group which looked to be around 20 seconds up on the pack. I stayed near the front of the bunch trying to recover from the chase back on and also to try and get a glimpse of who was up the road and covering the moves.

The leaders almost stayed away to the finish as Webster and Proffit were caught on the line and Wilkes to the win. Much to my surprise, Pete came past me in the bunch with only 2 miles to go complaining of sore legs. Had I known Pete was still with us I would have made more of an effort to get across to the leaders. After this it was hairy stuff on the narrow lanes to the finish as there was still a good bunch of 35 riders left from the 80 starters who were now fighting it out in the sprint. With no hill on the circuit to split the race up there were plenty of riders left at the end who wanted some of the action after 80 miles sat at the back. I couldn’t find my way to the front in the sprint and had to settle for 13th place one behind Pete. Richard had climbed off earlier anticipating the mayhem of a bunch sprint and he was right to do so as a crash took out about 5 riders 4 miles from the finish.

After a slow start I quite enjoyed the race despite assuming incorrectly that Pete was in the final move of the day.'