Been wearing some very fetching green kinesiotape to keep my poorly knee in place, which seems to be working as I can now cycle pain free and the running is improving too….
On Saturday (4/3/12) a few DW’s headed over to the Boro to compete in the Highfield Kitchen races on the specially built Prissick track. The first race was a cat4 / go race which me, Brit, Stephen and Alex decided to have a crack at. The pace was surprisingly tastey, with a few attacks and lots of dodgey cornering… in the end it came down to a bunch sprint, with the slight rise before the line suiting my riding style and helping me finish 4th overall, my best result (and first top ten) in a ‘blokes’ race.
40 minutes rest (+sandwich and energy chews) and it was time for the 3/4 race, this time the DW racers from the 4th race were joined by Nick, Ruairi, Lee, Phil… and 70 odd other riders! For a small 1km curcuit there were alot of bikes around, but in testament to the good road surface and cleverly designed corners there were no crashes and only a few riders ended up going cross country off onto the grass. A consistantly high pace tested me, and many of the other riders, from the start, ensuring the bunch was strung out. This sort of racing: fast, technical and in a big bunch of riders is really good practice for my cornering skills and also my ability to group ride which I find abit overwhelming at times. Towards the end a group of 4 escaped taking the podium spots, Following an excellent lead out from Ruairi, Nick A sprinted home ahead of the bunch to cross the line in 5th. I was happy to finish in the bunch following a bad position coming into the final lap, in such a big group it is very hard to get from the back to the front in a short space of time, although to be honest my legs were pretty much spent by that point anyway.
A torrential downpour later and it was time for the E/1/2/3 boys to set off on the now wet track. Only Nick and Zack competed in this race, following his good performance in the 3/4’s Nick started agressively chasing attacks and making the riders work hard. Zack came to life in the second half of the race, almost making a break and chasing breaks down… although he did spend 2 laps with a gel flapping out of his mouth?!.. Eventually a 2 man break, and a lone break, escaped from the pelaton in the final laps, taking the podium. Zack had an excellent sprint finish in the group to cross the line in an official 11th according to the camera man (although specators would argue he placed higher). This gives him his first points of the season, against a quality field, not too shabby…
write up and results here : http://www.cd-ne.co.uk/2012/03/04/round-1-highfields-kitchens-spring-shield/
Racheal Bamford 