Eugene and I traveled up to Scotland for Anderside Classic. Unlike almost every other road race the Anderside Classic is a point to point race made up of three unique laps. This meant each stretch of road was new and you can’t learn the course as the race progresses. The race was 130 km (82 miles) and features some seriously hard climbs, some full blown technical descents and long stretches of single track farm roads. It was to be a true classic!
Due to the quality of the course I thought it was going to be an attritional race and planned accordingly. I ate loads for breakfast and aimed to bide my time before being active in the latter half of the race. I mean, that’s always the plan but doesn’t always happen.
On the first small lap, Eugene made it into a group off the front. This let me rest and follow people attempting to bridge for the next 10/15 minutes. When his group eventually got brought back a group of 4 countered. I knew this was the move so followed it. Unfortunately I left it a bit late to chase and couldn’t actually close the gap. At its closest, the gap was about 5 seconds but I couldn’t bridge and did not want to burn all my matches so early. I called off the chase, eased up and allowed myself to be absorbed by the peloton.
More attacks came and went and I could feel that THE break was about to go. People seemed to be on the limit chasing and it was just a case of the best riders attacking that I was waiting for. After 35km of racing it happened. Several of the best riders made their moves and I followed. We got into a group of less than 10 riders and had a short gap as we hit the main climb of the day. The transmitter climb is 3.4km long averaging more than 5% but has several steep ramps towards the base which can make it decisive.
As we hit the first steep section two riders raised the pace and went clear from our group. I didn’t follow immediately but increased my effort and slowly brought them back on an easier section. I’d dropped everyone else in the process. I decided that even though it was early, this was the time to go. So when we hit another steep section I got to the front of the trio and drilled it. The other two didn’t follow so I went solo. The effort was anaerobic and I was into the red, but not so deep I wouldn’t be able to recover later.
While doing this effort the original break came into sight. Having checked retrospectively I scaled the climb 30seconds faster than them. I hadn’t quite closed the gap but got joined by maybe 3 other riders over the top who helped me drill the descent. It was pretty technical and on extremely gravelly single track road it was tough work. I needed to utilise my bike handling skills just to keep up with the other two and really pushed it as much as I could. We averaged over 50kph which for a descent as technical and roughly surfaced as that is rapid, I just rode without fear. We took another 5-10 seconds from the break and by the bottom they were in bridging distance.
Immediately after the descent we hit another climb. Not as hard as the one before but nothing easy. I followed Ben Hetherington as he made a move to bridge to the break and as he began to flag towards the middle of the long drag I closed the gap. Somehow Ben never made it, even though the gap was less than 10m he just couldn’t shut it. Now in the front group, I realised that 3 of the other 4 were wearing the same kit. Somehow Team Ribble had got 3 riders in the break, Alex Luhrs, Zeb Kiffin and Common Wealth silver medalist John Archibald. In fairness they are all sick, but John is in a league of his own.
Now I had a tactical decision to make. Do I work with them completely, make sure we get away but then potentially blow up at the end. Or don’t pull turns, make the Ribble riders commit to the break, potentially get caught but then be fresher at the end aiming to back myself for a win. I chose the latter. Why would I work when there are three top class riders on the same team. I felt like Ian Stannard in the famous Omloop Het Neuisblad. Naturally they did not let me sit on and made me work. With over 2 hours of racing to go I made the call to work with them as long as they did the bulk of the effort. So I pulled false turns below threshold, so I didn’t stress myself needlessly. The other non-Ribble rider took the same approach.
As we extended our advantage over the peloton scraps I began to realise just how good John Archibald is. I’ve never been so personally outclassed by another rider before. In our break he was pulling about 2-3 minute turns while I was pulling 20 seconds. He was just unbelievably strong, on the slight descents he could happily sit on the front at55kph. I was in second wheel, doing over 300W barely hanging on. In all he must have done over 60% of the work. He’s on another level really
Due to the quality of the course I thought it was going to be an attritional race and planned accordingly. I ate loads for breakfast and aimed to bide my time before being active in the latter half of the race. I mean, that’s always the plan but doesn’t always happen.
On the first small lap, Eugene made it into a group off the front. This let me rest and follow people attempting to bridge for the next 10/15 minutes. When his group eventually got brought back a group of 4 countered. I knew this was the move so followed it. Unfortunately I left it a bit late to chase and couldn’t actually close the gap. At its closest, the gap was about 5 seconds but I couldn’t bridge and did not want to burn all my matches so early. I called off the chase, eased up and allowed myself to be absorbed by the peloton.
More attacks came and went and I could feel that THE break was about to go. People seemed to be on the limit chasing and it was just a case of the best riders attacking that I was waiting for. After 35km of racing it happened. Several of the best riders made their moves and I followed. We got into a group of less than 10 riders and had a short gap as we hit the main climb of the day. The transmitter climb is 3.4km long averaging more than 5% but has several steep ramps towards the base which can make it decisive.
As we hit the first steep section two riders raised the pace and went clear from our group. I didn’t follow immediately but increased my effort and slowly brought them back on an easier section. I’d dropped everyone else in the process. I decided that even though it was early, this was the time to go. So when we hit another steep section I got to the front of the trio and drilled it. The other two didn’t follow so I went solo. The effort was anaerobic and I was into the red, but not so deep I wouldn’t be able to recover later.
While doing this effort the original break came into sight. Having checked retrospectively I scaled the climb 30seconds faster than them. I hadn’t quite closed the gap but got joined by maybe 3 other riders over the top who helped me drill the descent. It was pretty technical and on extremely gravelly single track road it was tough work. I needed to utilise my bike handling skills just to keep up with the other two and really pushed it as much as I could. We averaged over 50kph which for a descent as technical and roughly surfaced as that is rapid, I just rode without fear. We took another 5-10 seconds from the break and by the bottom they were in bridging distance.
Immediately after the descent we hit another climb. Not as hard as the one before but nothing easy. I followed Ben Hetherington as he made a move to bridge to the break and as he began to flag towards the middle of the long drag I closed the gap. Somehow Ben never made it, even though the gap was less than 10m he just couldn’t shut it. Now in the front group, I realised that 3 of the other 4 were wearing the same kit. Somehow Team Ribble had got 3 riders in the break, Alex Luhrs, Zeb Kiffin and Common Wealth silver medalist John Archibald. In fairness they are all sick, but John is in a league of his own.
Now I had a tactical decision to make. Do I work with them completely, make sure we get away but then potentially blow up at the end. Or don’t pull turns, make the Ribble riders commit to the break, potentially get caught but then be fresher at the end aiming to back myself for a win. I chose the latter. Why would I work when there are three top class riders on the same team. I felt like Ian Stannard in the famous Omloop Het Neuisblad. Naturally they did not let me sit on and made me work. With over 2 hours of racing to go I made the call to work with them as long as they did the bulk of the effort. So I pulled false turns below threshold, so I didn’t stress myself needlessly. The other non-Ribble rider took the same approach.
As we extended our advantage over the peloton scraps I began to realise just how good John Archibald is. I’ve never been so personally outclassed by another rider before. In our break he was pulling about 2-3 minute turns while I was pulling 20 seconds. He was just unbelievably strong, on the slight descents he could happily sit on the front at55kph. I was in second wheel, doing over 300W barely hanging on. In all he must have done over 60% of the work. He’s on another level really
We were on the way into the starting town to complete the large lap as I heard the blood draining sound of air leaving my rear tyre. I knew I was in the best move I’ve been in all year and to have it ruined by a puncture would have been tragic. I held up my hand and yelled at the neutral service who were conveniently directly behind me. They rushed out with a rear wheel, quickly changed it, gave me a fresh water bottle and pushed me off. I yelled “will you get me back in?” to which they said yes.
The chase began.
They overtook me and allowed me to sit behind them and within 5 minutes from puncturing I was back in the break. In hindsight I actually think puncturing was beneficial to me. I got to rest as the wheel was swapped, got to ride at150w for several minutes and got a fresh drink when I was nearly out. As I got back in Alex Luhrs goes “as if you got back in!”. Tee hee.
While we didn’t actually get told until the end, as we entered the final lap we had a lead of 2 minutes 30 seconds. There was still 35-40 minutes of racing left so it was all to play for. Our chances of success unfortunately were shattered when John attacked on a false flat. I did a token effort to close him but had nowhere near the legs to match him that late into the race so called it off. This move almost ruined us really. The two Ribble riders refused to work but we said “obviously we can’t close this gap, just work with us so the bunch doesn’t catch us.” To be fair, they did work and I began to pull better turns than before. With 20km to go the race goes up a 6km long climb. It does flatten out over the top but is very steep at the start.
We hit it quite hard and I was under pressure. I managed to stick with them but at a cost to my stomach. A combination of all the gels, carb drinks and massive efforts earlier caused me to throw up into my mouth. Not loads but enough! That has never happened before.
As we crested the top of the steepest section a chasing group was in sight. Two riders Ben Hetherinton and ANOTHER Ribble rider managed to bridge to us. They both got to the front and drove the pace. I once again began to sandbag and not pull turns, aiming to save as mush as I could for the sprint. Soon enough the 5 mile to go sign came and went, as did the 4th. Knowing we were going to make it without getting caught I began to pull proper turns. This meant I could be at the front to watch any late attacks and further ensured we wouldn’t get caught.
With 1 mile to go I sat in 3rd/4th wheel anticipating the sprint. This issue with this course was that I didn’t have much idea what the finish was like and as we hit a small kicker two riders attacked. I followed and crested the rider just behind them. I pushed on but didn’t quite bridge the gap and with 100m to go the three riders still behind me executed their sprint and passed me. I got it wrong really. I backed the finish being closer to the hill, and when it wasn’t I ran out of fuel. I didn’t think I deserved last in the group really, while I don’t have the best sprint I did back myself to beat at least one other person. I just got it wrong!
Regardless this was one of my best ever performances. I’d made the break by my own strength alone, attacking on the main climb, smashing the descent and then bridging solo on the next climb. Of course the race would have been extremely different without John Archibald but I still made the cut when it counted. I had such a fun day out, the course was wild, capturing every conceivable terrain, I was tactically very good and I remained on top of nutrition meaning I could perform to the end.
Strava file
The chase began.
They overtook me and allowed me to sit behind them and within 5 minutes from puncturing I was back in the break. In hindsight I actually think puncturing was beneficial to me. I got to rest as the wheel was swapped, got to ride at150w for several minutes and got a fresh drink when I was nearly out. As I got back in Alex Luhrs goes “as if you got back in!”. Tee hee.
While we didn’t actually get told until the end, as we entered the final lap we had a lead of 2 minutes 30 seconds. There was still 35-40 minutes of racing left so it was all to play for. Our chances of success unfortunately were shattered when John attacked on a false flat. I did a token effort to close him but had nowhere near the legs to match him that late into the race so called it off. This move almost ruined us really. The two Ribble riders refused to work but we said “obviously we can’t close this gap, just work with us so the bunch doesn’t catch us.” To be fair, they did work and I began to pull better turns than before. With 20km to go the race goes up a 6km long climb. It does flatten out over the top but is very steep at the start.
We hit it quite hard and I was under pressure. I managed to stick with them but at a cost to my stomach. A combination of all the gels, carb drinks and massive efforts earlier caused me to throw up into my mouth. Not loads but enough! That has never happened before.
As we crested the top of the steepest section a chasing group was in sight. Two riders Ben Hetherinton and ANOTHER Ribble rider managed to bridge to us. They both got to the front and drove the pace. I once again began to sandbag and not pull turns, aiming to save as mush as I could for the sprint. Soon enough the 5 mile to go sign came and went, as did the 4th. Knowing we were going to make it without getting caught I began to pull proper turns. This meant I could be at the front to watch any late attacks and further ensured we wouldn’t get caught.
With 1 mile to go I sat in 3rd/4th wheel anticipating the sprint. This issue with this course was that I didn’t have much idea what the finish was like and as we hit a small kicker two riders attacked. I followed and crested the rider just behind them. I pushed on but didn’t quite bridge the gap and with 100m to go the three riders still behind me executed their sprint and passed me. I got it wrong really. I backed the finish being closer to the hill, and when it wasn’t I ran out of fuel. I didn’t think I deserved last in the group really, while I don’t have the best sprint I did back myself to beat at least one other person. I just got it wrong!
Regardless this was one of my best ever performances. I’d made the break by my own strength alone, attacking on the main climb, smashing the descent and then bridging solo on the next climb. Of course the race would have been extremely different without John Archibald but I still made the cut when it counted. I had such a fun day out, the course was wild, capturing every conceivable terrain, I was tactically very good and I remained on top of nutrition meaning I could perform to the end.
Strava file