Events/Results - Road

Spring Chicken Road Races

Sun, 11th March 2007

Report from James Fox:

Team MK fielded four riders at the Python RT Road Race last Sunday. Here’s what happened:

The weather was exactly what you’d expect of a Sunday in mid August- the sun fair split the pavement! I made that up- it was miserable at the start and only improved to not quite as miserable during the race.

Anyway, the race started at a cracking pace and our own Rich Wood was the first to prise himself off the front of the bunch. He was quickly joined by amongst others, Steve Golla, Grant Bayton and Martin Smith. This group of 8 took advantage of a dawdling bunch to rapidly gain a lead of 5 minutes. In the meantime, James Fox punctured and was paced back to the bunch. Phew!

Under normal circumstances you’d say that the break had it stitched up by now. Unfortunately, someone must have neglected to mention this to the Plowman Craven team. With 40 of the 89 mile race completed, they gave us mere mortals a lesson in how to organise a chase. It took them a little less than 25 miles to pull it all back together. Impressive.

Inevitably, as soon as the break was pulled back, the attacks began. It didn’t take a genius to work out what was going to happen, and not being a genius, James Fox latched on to the first thing that went. Pete and Tom Kirk (former Team MK) had the same idea and soon there were 7 of us with a fairly meagre lead over the bunch. We were in need of salvation.

This came in the form of Messrs Gibb, McCauley, Stewart and Bayton, with Gordon all but dragging the other three up to us with about 13 miles to go. We worked well together and had a minute’s lead at the bell. Then the jumping around began…

It was mainly Gordon and Marcin Bialoblocki (try saying that after a few sherbets!) doing most of the damage, but time and again we dragged them back and had a few goes ourselves. This is a novel thing to attempt when you’re cramping in places you’ve never cramped before- I don’t recommend you attempt it. Ultimately though, they were too much for everyone except Joel Stewart and they contested the finish slightly ahead of the other eight.

I unleashed my “demon” “sprint” and counted the rest of them as they passed me, including our own National Champ, Pete (c’mon Pete where’s yer Master’s jersey?). He finished sixth, I was ninth- couldn’t have done any better, unless the rest of them had fallen off.

A good demonstration of teamwork by PCA, but also not a bad show from Team MK- Rich and Mike Wragg finished “comfortably” in the bunch.

1 Gordon McCauley, Plowman Craven/Evans
2 Marcin Bialoblocki, Middridge CRT
3 Joel Stewart, Agiskoviner.com
4 Michael Janelle, Tokyo Joe’s/Catlin
5 Grant Bayton, Tm GWR
6 Pete Smith, Tm Milton Keynes
7 Tom Kirk, Tm Corley Cycles
8 Tom Burke, Agiskoviner.com
9 James Fox, Tm Milton Keynes
10 James Millard, Plowman Craven/Evans
11 Tony Gibb, Plowman Craven/Evans
12 John Tuckettt, A W Cycles
13 John McLelland, Agiskoviner.com
14 Steve Golla, High Wycombe CC
15 Paul Delahunty, London Dynamo
16 Lee Smith, Agiskoviner.com
17 Martin Smith, A W Cycles
18 Pete Scott, Comedy Superteam
19 Ceasar Collo, Spol Caixa Nova
20 Richard Prebble, Pinarello RT