Commissaire gets in the way of the break!

Bridlington Road Race - 01/04/2007 - Bridlington

Gareth went back to the seaside where he has had some success over the last 2 years.

Gareths race diary….

I wanted to prove to myself today that I was getting progressively stronger and my race fitness was improving. To do this I started strongly trying to break up the main field with one or two attacks. The weather was not altogether favourably but the rain stayed clear of the event but we were instead blessed with a strong and very cold North Easterly wind which kept the temperature nearer to 8C.

On the second lap I tried my luck and forced a small gap as 3 of us went clear of the main bunch in pursuit of Julian Ramsbottom. On the flatter section of the course on the run into the village of Burton on the Wold we caught Julian which made a group of 4 and then we were quickly joined by another rider who had jumped across the gap from the main bunch. Approaching the main finish climb for the second time and with a lead of 15 seconds, the race commissarie decided to stop the race and warn the main bunch for crossing the white line in the cross winds. Unfortunately for us in the lead break, he decided to stop us as well, although we hadn’t broken any rules!!! The commissaire started to the race again but wouldn’t give us a head start so we started en-mass. I decided to sit in for a few miles before having another dig and this time joining another group of riders which I thought would stay clear to the finish. We had a lead of around 20-30 seconds until the final lap and within 2 miles of the finish we were caught by 3 other riders and with 1km to go, the main bunch caught us. At this point my energies were spent so it was a simple tap into the finish in the bunch with no result to show for my efforts of the day.