@ what weight and height? 😆

The last clubrun I did with MrBlobby illustrates this perfectly. At 26mph, I was using more watts IN HIS DRAFT than it was taking him 😆

a mate of mine who was cat 4 at the beginning of the year just got his cat 2 from one of the recent ORRL road races

Who’s that? I did similarly last year and sneaked victory in the league.

The last clubrun I did with MrBlobby illustrates this perfectly. At 26mph, I was using more watts IN HIS DRAFT than it was taking him

That sir is an impressive feat of unaerodynamicism (good word huh!) 😀

See, MrBlobby is about as big as my right leg 😆

I watched Top Gun at the weekend and it is like when they are doing the training op’s in their F14’s against the instructors in the A4’s 😆

Who’s that? I did similarly last year and sneaked victory in the league.

Martin S. Still shown as 3rd right now but last race result not up there yet where he got enough for 2nd.

@ what weight and height?

Bit shorter and heavier than me.

CH, chances are low but if I can make it I’ll drop you an email.

Ok brill. Be nice to have some company up the motorway 🙂

If I had to quantify it based off of my experience, I’d say 3.0w/kg is your Cat 4 ticket of entry.
But to use the chess analogy, you only have a pawn so need your opposition to make all the mistakes to place anywhere and you need to know how to use it!

After that, I think you need more pieces in your set, with good five minute and one minute numbers to go with the better moves and either the skill or the brute force for a winning sprint.

Regardless- I would be very surprised if anyone scoring points consistently wasn’t kicking on towards 4w/kg but certainly 3.5+.

See, MrBlobby is about as big as my right leg

Not knowing either of you IRL I’m none the wiser from a photo of about 10 guys 😆

Sorry, I’m the one in the yellow TFC kit and MrBlobby is in the blue and yellow Newbury kit trying not to get sucked into my back wheel from the tow 😆

I’m smaller because I’m further away 🙂

I’m smaller because I’m not a fat trougher

Fixed to reflect reality 😆

Was I in that race CH??

Nath, I’ve only done one and that was to come play with you and CH, so you were both there.

Yep 🙂

And Weeksy too wasn’t it?

Oops, locked arms there!

In my defence I was watching what mrblobby was doing 😆

That’s why you only got 3rd 😆

Crazy that that was all that was left from what? 70 starters ❓

Is one of those Martin MrB? (Assuming far right?)

Yup,
I was there for my debut/only race.

I’ll be back one day ….. maybe.

Is one of those Martin MrB? (Assuming far right?)

Yes

Why is everyone so spread out? 😯

If I remember rightly, there was a tailwind and we were approaching a RH turn that had just claimed the rest of the peloton – so rightly a bit more cautious than usual 😆

We pulled together after this corner, with mrblobby and I doing FAR too much work at the front to pull the rest of them…

Heading up to Hillingdon after work, see you there CH / / TiRed / Weeksy / Mrblobby??

I’m over in Luton visiting family before heading off on holiday for 3 weeks Nath, so i’ll not be there, and when i get back i’ll be fatter and slower !

Martin/ Stan is a beast..I’ll be switching allegiance to Didcot next season (they are my local club) and hopefully will get more club rides in, maybe some of Stans ability will rub off? 8)

Resting tonight – have to head to the club to collect some kit, and I’m racing vets tomorrow evening. So based on last Tuesday’s thrashfest, I’ll be taking it easy!

If I remember rightly, there was a tailwind and we were approaching a RH turn that had just claimed the rest of the peloton – so rightly a bit more cautious than usual

If it was I’d not have been there as I was chasing to get back on for a couple of laps following the crash! Probably a lull going into the last few laps.

Yeah you’re right, but not too close to the end as Weeksy and CH were stood next to the Windymilla (pink) guys by the line..

no idea 🙂

I think they are Cowley Condors in Pink. Pete is the one I’ve ridden with at Hillingdon with a fair bit. We both seem to last full race distance lately which is something I suppose 😆

Ah well, I’m still going tonight 🙂

Had a frustrating and busy day at work so far with a bit more to do so I plan on blowing out as many cobwebs as I can. Just filling up with cereals.

Condors, Cranks and Windy Milla all ride in pink.

Law of averages at Dalton would say it was Condors.

It was 🙂
Are you there tonight Yeti??

so I plan on blowing out as many cobwebs as I can.

Attack from the gun, and when that doesn’t work out, sit in till the end and go for the long sprint strategy, hit the front with 350 to go then full gas till your eyeballs pop. No danger 10 people are coming round you if you are at 1000W+

Thanks FifeAndy 🙂

I’m proper up for it tonight so I had planned similar. Gonna start on the front row and just follow every move until I can’t. Then recover and make sure I’m as far front as I can get on the last lap and go early.

Predicting 25th after getting swamped with 100m to go 🙂

It’s only 45mins so I should have plenty of scope to have a play.

They were talking on FB about only running things anti-clockwise to keep it strung out more but if not it will be clockwise again ❓

I’m proper up for it tonight

Me too!
Thunder storms here, so my evening will be a turbo session followed by spamming F5 waiting for an awesome CH scores points write up.
No pressure 😛

Hahahaha! Spoiler alert- I called it almost perfectly 😆

CH, I’m admiring your perseverance 🙂

I know, I know, it sounds like a cop-out to refer to a race as a training race. But to me, it was an important distinction to make because it frees me up to have FUN. That’s why I do this after all.
My biggest regret from playing the Mr Sensible Zzzzzz – Sprint game last week is not that I missed out on points by two bike lengths. No! All week, my only thought was ‘what if I’d bridged to that (doomed) break’.

In my mind, I sprint across, shout out a few instructions to get folks organised and we drill it for the remaining laps until I out-sprint them for the win.

Cloud cuckoo land of course, but that’s what floats my boat in respect of Crits. Do I care that the Vegan Cyclist isn’t winning any races? No, but I lap up his videos because he encapsulates the type of racer I want to be. Strong, brave, attacking and active.

I was pretty up for it too. I’ve started a new plan with an eye on my target Big Events race which is around 9 weeks away. Suffering through SST on Sunday, it was the first time I really focussed on how the mental toughness to finish the intervals would help me in a race.
Work was not massively tough this morning but a few frustrating jobs helped fire me up to want to leave it all on the circuit tonight. No Z2!

Warming up I felt pants but took that as a good sign, I usually go well after. The headwind on the anti-clockwise straight reminded me of Abingdon with 260w good for about 16mph on the tops and about 16.01 in my best aero position lol

The Comm did a slightly better speech but then just stopped mid-sentence whilst stood in the middle of the circuit and said ‘OK, go on then!’ I didn’t even have one foot clipped in, was in the little ring and my visor wasn’t down.

A few guys drilled it straight away and I just got going as best I could and joined in the bunch. With my plan welling up inside me, I started moving up. I can’t remember if it was lap 2 or 3 but finally, someone launched it solo.

So I followed. Next lap, still in the front few riders, the counter came. So I followed and so it went on for a bit. Moves would go and I would follow them.

Eventually, things slowed and as we reached the bend before the clubhouse, the road opened up in front. So I went solo! Whizzing up the hill with the tailwind, I latched on to a guy who I didn’t even realise was off the front for a second and then passed him and carried on.

I was fairly toasted by the time I crossed the line so joined in with the front riders of the drawn out bunch and tried to recover as best I could. Sure enough, Johnny was next to counter but I was able to go with another couple of moves.

Luckily there is photo evidence of these shenanigans because soon after I was finally cooked, Nath arrived lol

I didn’t know if he would spot my new kit so I gave him a thumbs up next lap. Now for the training part, recovery whilst holding on and get ready to do it all again! A couple of laps later, a crash happened and this was about the time I felt ready to go- so I attacked straight after and joined the lead bunch but they didn’t really drill it, just gradually upped the pace. This allowed the whole bunch to reform and soon we were swamped from behind with the chasers.

I knew the end would be approaching and tried to move up again, placing myself in the top 10 or so. With 3 to go, a skinsuit guy launched a quality (winning) move off the front. I wasn’t behind him but I was aching to go. I think it’s fair to say I wouldn’t have hung on but nobody chased.

Two to go and I attacked the outside of the hill. As I passed the front of the bunch I joined in with another couple of guys with three in front of them and we separated from the bunch. Not wanting to do a Jesper and fade, I sat in as best I could.

The two guys I was with were rubbish through Brians though so I did them up the inside and found myself off the back of what must have been 2nd, 3rd and 4th on the road. As we rounded Bus Stops, relatively sheltered from the wind, I had 20y left to close. Absoultely burying myself, I closed the gap and crossed the line to the bell in 5th place. Now dig deep!

I was ecstatic! I could do this! I had a great tow and tried to keep my head down (well relatively I suppose!) and I wondered what the gap was.

Whoooosh! Ah. There is no longer a gap! At this point, I was very close to getting dropped altogether, as were the guys I was with. Training time- must stay on. So I pushed a little harder and clung on for dear life. A guy overtook me around Bus Stops so I jumped on his wheel and ‘out-sprinted’ him at the line just for the ego boost for what must have been 25th place or so (to within 5, I didn’t bother counting).

Ok, so I didn’t play the winning game but I certainly did what I set out to achieve.
AP was 280, NP was 304 and MP 1210
No points but also no regrets!

Gah, good write up as usual, and sounds like a lot of fun, but do a long sprint and get a point (or 6) already!!

Lol! To what end though? That’s the point. I’m painfully aware of my relative abilities and firmly believe I’m in the right place.

If I just played the game and DID manage to get points, I’d then have to learn to race from scratch in Cat 3.
I would instantly lose Thruxton as a venue too as that 2/3 race looks painful!!

So I’d be racing the same 3/4 race at Hillingdon anyway, only with more pressure.

I know how I want to race, so I want to get fit enough to make that work if that makes sense.

It’s pure escapism really. For those few laps, nothing else matters. It’s probably hard to convey to people who don’t know but I have a lot on my plate at work and a lot ofthe things that seriously effect my results each season are completely out of my hands. So this is my release and after a race like tonight’s- I bloody love it 🙂

It’s pure escapism really. For those few laps, nothing else matters.

This is so true. Helped me immensely last year, and still does. It’s a great adrenaline rush riding in a fast moving bunch. You’ve already come a long way.

Thanks TiRed!

I think you should be required to stand on a step ladder with a megaphone before each race and tell everyone “YOU CAN PEDAL THE WHOLE COURSE ON ANY LINE SO DON’T CUT, DON’T BRAKE AND DON’T BE A DICK” 😆
The other beauty of wasting energy in the front ten is that I missed most of the rubbish riding!!

In fairness, if you are going fast enough, you can grind a pedal on Brian’s Bends. You won’t have been going that fast. Front third is normally safer (except I had my worst crash at the front!).

Hillingdon is a safe course, it’s just that it is not a course to break up the bunch, so when it all comes down to a sprint, there are sixty Alexander Kristoffs not four or five gunning for the line. That’s what makes it unsafe. Other courses do a much better job. In fact almost every other course does this. Velopark in Paignton is a nice one. Cyclopark in Gravesend is probably the best of all. Never finished a race in a full bunch!

Nice write up CH!

There was a few arguments after the race 😆