To show my age, I started racing before Hillingdon was even built! We used to race up and down the unopened Hayes Bypass. It was a long hot dog circuit, up one side and down the other. The council very nicely removed a section of the crash barrier at one end and the other had half a roundabout. Bradley Wiggins was riding the junior races at the same time!
Hillingdon came a few years later, with just a shipping container to get changed in at first, although even that might have been added.
Always nice when they handed out the envelopes after the race if you won something! I won my first race at the bypass and they used to write your points on a paper license.
🤣👍🏻 👴🏻
When did Circuit races start getting called crit races?
Don’t want to show my age too much but a criterium was always a town or city centre race.
A race on a race track was always called a circuit race.
I did my last race just over 10 years ago and it was still the same.
When did this all change?
6 years 234 days ago.
Not a clue sorry 🤣🤣
Did you know Enduro’s aren’t long distance cross country mountain bike rides any more too 😱 😉
Just replace “Crit” with “circuit race” as you read it and all should be well again 😮💨
I must admit, I’ve never heard anyone refer to them as circuit races 🤔
Finally got my third cat yesterday, in a 4th-only race at Darley Moor.
I sat near the front all race and covered all the breaks, but didn't spend too much time out in the wind. With five laps to go I realised someone had dragged me a good 50 metres clear, so we started working together. One other guy bridged across about half a lap later and we rode well together for 5 more laps, finishing in a group of three (I came third as I have no sprint).
That makes me 15 or 16 points for the season now 🙂
Hey that’s awesome 👏🏻 Well done 🙌 Proper tactics too 😎
Thanks, I guess I'll never do a race that easy again now though 😭
Thanks, I guess I’ll never do a race that easy again now though 😭
Congratulations! Welcome to a season of hanging on for dear life.
Looking for more races but I'm not sure I'm dedicated enough to drive 90 mins to race yet - Thruxton, Milton Keynes, Bath and Hillingdon all theoretically accessible but it gets pretty expensive pretty quickly.
Where are you based Lodger?
I’m hoping to get to Thruxton next week. I would go tonight but have said I’ll show my face on the chaingang. Prob get dropped either way in this heat 🥵🤣
There were 10 dnf’s last week. Not sure if there was a crash or they got dropped. It is brutal there in the wind.
10 mins west of Abingdon. I still theoretically work in London (moved at christmas), but I'm stretching the boss's WFH patience for as long as possible.
I guess I'll eventually stick my bike on the train and do some evening races at Hillingdon and the olympic park
Oh cool. I’m at Newbury. It’s quite a good spot really as Castle Coombe, Thruxton, Abingdon and Hillingdon are all doable in under an hour. Have also been to Odd Down but that is a bit further and would be no fun at my current weight 🤣
Mountbatton is just over the hour but looks a bit 😴
Bovingdon is a little far and Velopark and Goodwood are doable but would have to be for something special.
Hillingdon is definitely my favourite.
Survived a fruity chaingang this evening. 25mph for 30 miles is a record for me on the roads! Even managed an attack at the end but even better, didn’t get dropped when they re-passed me.
Dropping to one intense session per week and a couple of real races has definitely improved the legs for the better.
I follow the Dirty Reiver winner on Strava. Their chaingang’s are INSANE!
25mph felt ripping for us last night but this morning, those Onyx lads went out and did an hour at 29mph!!!
To be fair, Conor McGoldrick won the E123 race at Hillingdon last week.
But that’s certainly going some out on t’open roads!
@Mos did you ride at Forge valley last night? How did you find it?
It was pretty fast I thought - I rode pretty well for most of it then failed miserably to hold my place towards the front of the bunch in the last 2 laps, so came 11th.
unless that's 11th out of 11.... then bloody well done....
Even if it's 11/11, still well done 😉
Thanks weeksy, there was 30 racing.
It's a very tight and narrow circuit, so the sprint for the line is actually half a lap from the finish.
You get into position on the back straight, then do a fast corner, a hairpin, then another corner and then there's about 50m to the line. I wasn't pushy enough on that back straight to hold the right wheel.
@finbar, finished close to the back as that preem on the first lap meant the people I was initially with lost wheels and I couldn't get across to the bunch. Im fairly sure I could have sat in the main bunch as we didn't get lapped until near the end.
Learnt a hell of a lot regards cornering and making sure I turned in soon enough to stay in the wheels on the exit.
All I need is an s-works SL7 with 80mm wheels, knee length aero socks and shiny legs, then the win is pretty much guaranteed:).
Haha, I've got the socks at least 🙂 . Those primes did make the race aggressive throughout...
There should be one more YBC race there this year, in October I think, so keep an eye out for that.
Well done guys. Nice one Finbar 👏🏻 You can start ticking off your Cat 3 version of Darren’s List 📝 🤣👍🏻
Cheers Crosshair 🙂 . What is Darren's List?
Mos, results will probably be on here this evening or tomorrow: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/261386/Yomp-Bonk-Crits-Super-Series-Round-5---Fastest-Lap#gsc.tab=0
“Tell me you didn’t watch my video without telling me you didn’t watch my video” 😭
🤣🤣🤣
Process goals to keep yourself amused if racing is hard, invented by @TiRed
and plagiarised by me here: 🤣
1. Buy a race license and enter a race
2. Not get dropped
3. Finish mid pack
4. Finish top third
5. Work on the front
6. Contest the sprint
7. Bridge to a break
8. Attack
9. Contest the points
10. Win!
