Well this was without doubt the hardest Prem I’ve done. Today was the day I decided to try get into the break, my plan was get into the right move, hang on for like 4 laps, get my name out there and then bin it off.
Lancaster GP was my 3rd Prem of the year and I was getting into the swing of them now. The race took on the hilly Dolphinholme circuit 7 times before returning to Lancaster to finish, totally just over 100 miles.
With very good intentions, I’d got to the start line early and rolled out on the first row directly behind the commissares lead car. The race headed out of Lancaster centre towards the hills of the Trough of Bowland and was quickly deneutralised. We started on quite a reasonable climb up Langthwaite Road and as I was well positioned, I decided to roll off the front and attack over the top. I went pretty hard (420W for 3 minutes) and got away on my own. The camera was right on me so I’m hoping to be on TV!
I didn’t know the roads at all and suddenly ended up going down some absolutely wild descent. There were some really technical corners and I nearly binned it about 3 times in a row. If there was any footage, I looked like a right chopper ahahah. After successfully descending I kept ploughing on solo. I allowed myself a cheeky look behind and spotted a group of about 10approaching. Exactly what I wanted, a hiding place!
They scooped me up and I got to the back for a little rest. The group was actually full of hitters and I thought every team was represented. I’ve done other prems where the break has gone immediately and I was hoping this would be the case. Alas, it wasn’t to be. A few minutes later we were caught and it was groupo compacto. This was match number 1 burned.
Over the next 10-15km I was just following moves, hoping to get away. I followed Kendog for one and got away in a group of 5. I was pulling a hard turn around a blind corner when suddenly there was a motor home blocking the road. I had to pull some wild maneuver to avoid it and ended up riding through a ditch. I salvaged it, but it was another very near miss.
As we ascended the main climb, I still kept to the front, maybe 15th wheel or so. We didn’t race the actual climb too hard (only 330w for 5 minutes), but when we rolled over the top it kicked off. Once again the break was trying to get away and it was just full gas racing. I did follow a move or two but nothing stuck. Until the descent was over...
I was in about 10th place, right at the pointy end, when a group of 5 got away. The bunch didn’t chase, instead deciding to block the road, signing that this was THE break. I was so close to the front, and it really appeared to be the move so I tried to fit through so I bridge. Jonny McEvoy (Madison Genesis) was in front of me and I asked “can I get through” to which he laughed and said no. (angry face)
So I had to get creative. The road was next to a grass verge, which I rode onto pass. I snuck through and let loose. The group of 5 only had a small advantage and it looked bridgeable, I got my head down and drilled it. I was going full gas now, only 3 beats below max heartrate and it was really hurting. I was trying to time the gap and it was only around 5 seconds but I was struggling to shut it down. They were pulling so hard I just couldn’t bridge. I was continuing the chase but when I looked back, the peloton had started to chase and I was caught. What a spoon.
Now I was wrecked. And the race was still on.
I let myself slot back into the group, to discover how fast they were actually going. It was so hard and I was barely hanging on. We hit a fast descent over a bridge and then a short climb. I was quite cautious on the downhill and let a wheel go slightly. As we started to climb at full gas, I couldn’t close the gap I’d left. I flicked the rider behind me through, praying they could do it for me. They did which allowed me to slot at the back behind Louis Szymanski; I was in the absolute gutter. I’d just had several minutes solo chasing full gas and now I was forced to carry it on just to stick with the front group.
As we crested yet another short climb, tragically I had to let the wheel go. I watched the very reduced bunch ride away from me. I say bunch, there were only about 30-40 of them. I just got my head (even further) down and prayed that the pace would ease to let me back in. The thing is, it wasn’t like I was being rubbish, a Canyon rider got spat at exactly the same point as me. It really was hard.
I had just a short time on my own before I looked behind and saw a large group chasing to get back in. Easing up, I managed to find a space behind my two teammates (Archie and Andy) as some big dogs pulled on the front to get us back in touch. This whole process for me was matches 2-5 being burned. Archie said it was like “(I) was going completely backwards as they caught me”, it was true. I was spent.
However, the race was nowhere near over. It’s hard to describe the next lap or so, it would ease and then be absolutely mental fast. The race was just fully on with no let up. It was mega hard. Even without my break attempts I’d have been suffering. It took roughly 90 minutes for the break to get away and the race didn’t ease until then.
Finally, 3 guys got away and Swift Carbon got to the front to chase. Our pace became more consistent and I could recover and chill out for a bit. I mean, we were still racing fast but I was no longer on the limit.
The next 2/3 laps were simply a case of eating, drinking and staying out of trouble. My issue was that I was so wrecked from the first lap that I couldn’t move to the front and because I wasn’t at the front I was having to sprint for longer out of each corner and hill. It was really taking its toll.
With two laps to go I was feeling the exhaustion cramps begin. This was the beginning of the end for me. To mitigate disaster, I made a large effort to get as close to the front for the climb and subsequent exposed section. In about 20th position I had reasonable slipping room but didn’t actually need it because as we crested the KOM point, I was still in 20th.
Then as we turned the corner after the summit two of the Swift Carbon chasers pulled off and it kicked off. I have no idea what happened now. I was in a whole world of suffering, just hanging on to every wheel I could, praying the rider in front wouldn’t let the wheel go.
Inevitably someone did and the winning selection was made. A group of maybe 15 got away and I was in the third group as it splintered. We were not far off the second group at all though, maybe 5-10 seconds at most by the bottom. My group was clearly wrecked but the 15 or so of us pulled turns,some more than others (I pulled like 2-3 times before hiding at the back) and within 5km we had caught the second group.
At this point we had almost exactly 1 lap (plus 10km back to Lancaster) left and I was basically counting the hills until I got dropped. As my group started the KOM, a group containing Andy got away. I was in no state to follow and carried on rolling around with my group. It had several hitters in, at least 3 Madison Genesis rider, it was certainly not a casual group of waste men.
I got over the KOM ok and was pretty comfortable, just 30 minutes of cruising to the line to go. This would have been the biggest “get-round” from me. At this point disaster struck. I got an instant rear puncture and had to stop. This was by far the worst time for it to occur as literally every neutral service car had passed us about 2 minutes prior.
All I could do was pull over and walk. I was nowhere near any civilisation, just surrounded by open fields. I managed to wave over the ambulance who pulled over and kindly told me they couldn’t help. I tried at several cars and told a solo racer to tell the feed zone I was stranded.
But then aid arrived! A very nice man who had been marshaling the race pulled over and gave me a lift. We had a nice chat about the race and cycling life before stopping to watch the remaining riders pass Condor Hill. I actually wasn’t upset at all by the puncture, I 100% would have got around, and probs a top 40 but I had also had enough. I really did appreciate the lift, thanks Ian!
My aim for the race was to make the break and I didn’t half try, I burnt a lot of energy trying to make it but it wasn’t to be this time. I really learnt a lesson about suffering on this day. I was hanging on for over 2 hours. I have no idea how I didn’t get spat. I think the 5000 calorie day I had before played a massive part, as well as the volume of nutrition I had during the race, that carried me around, I’m sure Andy and the VO2 project would back this up.
All in all, I was on a mega day. I’d literally been the first person to attack and it was raced full on for 100 miles. I was slightly shell-shocked at the severity later that evening but I think that tough attritional racing suits me most, I have some ability to keep suffering which is how I ended up in a likely top 40position. Really cracking race!
Lancaster GP was my 3rd Prem of the year and I was getting into the swing of them now. The race took on the hilly Dolphinholme circuit 7 times before returning to Lancaster to finish, totally just over 100 miles.
With very good intentions, I’d got to the start line early and rolled out on the first row directly behind the commissares lead car. The race headed out of Lancaster centre towards the hills of the Trough of Bowland and was quickly deneutralised. We started on quite a reasonable climb up Langthwaite Road and as I was well positioned, I decided to roll off the front and attack over the top. I went pretty hard (420W for 3 minutes) and got away on my own. The camera was right on me so I’m hoping to be on TV!
I didn’t know the roads at all and suddenly ended up going down some absolutely wild descent. There were some really technical corners and I nearly binned it about 3 times in a row. If there was any footage, I looked like a right chopper ahahah. After successfully descending I kept ploughing on solo. I allowed myself a cheeky look behind and spotted a group of about 10approaching. Exactly what I wanted, a hiding place!
They scooped me up and I got to the back for a little rest. The group was actually full of hitters and I thought every team was represented. I’ve done other prems where the break has gone immediately and I was hoping this would be the case. Alas, it wasn’t to be. A few minutes later we were caught and it was groupo compacto. This was match number 1 burned.
Over the next 10-15km I was just following moves, hoping to get away. I followed Kendog for one and got away in a group of 5. I was pulling a hard turn around a blind corner when suddenly there was a motor home blocking the road. I had to pull some wild maneuver to avoid it and ended up riding through a ditch. I salvaged it, but it was another very near miss.
As we ascended the main climb, I still kept to the front, maybe 15th wheel or so. We didn’t race the actual climb too hard (only 330w for 5 minutes), but when we rolled over the top it kicked off. Once again the break was trying to get away and it was just full gas racing. I did follow a move or two but nothing stuck. Until the descent was over...
I was in about 10th place, right at the pointy end, when a group of 5 got away. The bunch didn’t chase, instead deciding to block the road, signing that this was THE break. I was so close to the front, and it really appeared to be the move so I tried to fit through so I bridge. Jonny McEvoy (Madison Genesis) was in front of me and I asked “can I get through” to which he laughed and said no. (angry face)
So I had to get creative. The road was next to a grass verge, which I rode onto pass. I snuck through and let loose. The group of 5 only had a small advantage and it looked bridgeable, I got my head down and drilled it. I was going full gas now, only 3 beats below max heartrate and it was really hurting. I was trying to time the gap and it was only around 5 seconds but I was struggling to shut it down. They were pulling so hard I just couldn’t bridge. I was continuing the chase but when I looked back, the peloton had started to chase and I was caught. What a spoon.
Now I was wrecked. And the race was still on.
I let myself slot back into the group, to discover how fast they were actually going. It was so hard and I was barely hanging on. We hit a fast descent over a bridge and then a short climb. I was quite cautious on the downhill and let a wheel go slightly. As we started to climb at full gas, I couldn’t close the gap I’d left. I flicked the rider behind me through, praying they could do it for me. They did which allowed me to slot at the back behind Louis Szymanski; I was in the absolute gutter. I’d just had several minutes solo chasing full gas and now I was forced to carry it on just to stick with the front group.
As we crested yet another short climb, tragically I had to let the wheel go. I watched the very reduced bunch ride away from me. I say bunch, there were only about 30-40 of them. I just got my head (even further) down and prayed that the pace would ease to let me back in. The thing is, it wasn’t like I was being rubbish, a Canyon rider got spat at exactly the same point as me. It really was hard.
I had just a short time on my own before I looked behind and saw a large group chasing to get back in. Easing up, I managed to find a space behind my two teammates (Archie and Andy) as some big dogs pulled on the front to get us back in touch. This whole process for me was matches 2-5 being burned. Archie said it was like “(I) was going completely backwards as they caught me”, it was true. I was spent.
However, the race was nowhere near over. It’s hard to describe the next lap or so, it would ease and then be absolutely mental fast. The race was just fully on with no let up. It was mega hard. Even without my break attempts I’d have been suffering. It took roughly 90 minutes for the break to get away and the race didn’t ease until then.
Finally, 3 guys got away and Swift Carbon got to the front to chase. Our pace became more consistent and I could recover and chill out for a bit. I mean, we were still racing fast but I was no longer on the limit.
The next 2/3 laps were simply a case of eating, drinking and staying out of trouble. My issue was that I was so wrecked from the first lap that I couldn’t move to the front and because I wasn’t at the front I was having to sprint for longer out of each corner and hill. It was really taking its toll.
With two laps to go I was feeling the exhaustion cramps begin. This was the beginning of the end for me. To mitigate disaster, I made a large effort to get as close to the front for the climb and subsequent exposed section. In about 20th position I had reasonable slipping room but didn’t actually need it because as we crested the KOM point, I was still in 20th.
Then as we turned the corner after the summit two of the Swift Carbon chasers pulled off and it kicked off. I have no idea what happened now. I was in a whole world of suffering, just hanging on to every wheel I could, praying the rider in front wouldn’t let the wheel go.
Inevitably someone did and the winning selection was made. A group of maybe 15 got away and I was in the third group as it splintered. We were not far off the second group at all though, maybe 5-10 seconds at most by the bottom. My group was clearly wrecked but the 15 or so of us pulled turns,some more than others (I pulled like 2-3 times before hiding at the back) and within 5km we had caught the second group.
At this point we had almost exactly 1 lap (plus 10km back to Lancaster) left and I was basically counting the hills until I got dropped. As my group started the KOM, a group containing Andy got away. I was in no state to follow and carried on rolling around with my group. It had several hitters in, at least 3 Madison Genesis rider, it was certainly not a casual group of waste men.
I got over the KOM ok and was pretty comfortable, just 30 minutes of cruising to the line to go. This would have been the biggest “get-round” from me. At this point disaster struck. I got an instant rear puncture and had to stop. This was by far the worst time for it to occur as literally every neutral service car had passed us about 2 minutes prior.
All I could do was pull over and walk. I was nowhere near any civilisation, just surrounded by open fields. I managed to wave over the ambulance who pulled over and kindly told me they couldn’t help. I tried at several cars and told a solo racer to tell the feed zone I was stranded.
But then aid arrived! A very nice man who had been marshaling the race pulled over and gave me a lift. We had a nice chat about the race and cycling life before stopping to watch the remaining riders pass Condor Hill. I actually wasn’t upset at all by the puncture, I 100% would have got around, and probs a top 40 but I had also had enough. I really did appreciate the lift, thanks Ian!
My aim for the race was to make the break and I didn’t half try, I burnt a lot of energy trying to make it but it wasn’t to be this time. I really learnt a lesson about suffering on this day. I was hanging on for over 2 hours. I have no idea how I didn’t get spat. I think the 5000 calorie day I had before played a massive part, as well as the volume of nutrition I had during the race, that carried me around, I’m sure Andy and the VO2 project would back this up.
All in all, I was on a mega day. I’d literally been the first person to attack and it was raced full on for 100 miles. I was slightly shell-shocked at the severity later that evening but I think that tough attritional racing suits me most, I have some ability to keep suffering which is how I ended up in a likely top 40position. Really cracking race!
