A good compliment of squadra riders lined up at Llandow on Sunday. Mark Stacey, Curtis, Hefin and myself all looking for some hard racing.
Mark took part in the Vets race prior to the 2/3/4 event and displaying the sort of strength we’ve seen so much of, clipped off the front with Gerry Bowditch (CC Abergavenny) with ¼ of the race remaining. Gerry, who is known for his sprint, came in first with Mark a close second. Steve Thomas, Abergavenny RC and friend of the club, brought home the bunch in 3rd, fending off a strong Jif contingent. Excellent work by Mark – a great result!
In the 2/3/4 event we had Hefin (on bouncing form after a week in the Pyrenees and chalking up some good results in recent races) Curtis (strong as an ox) and myself (starting to build back some form). Unfortunately my legs were a little blunted from the 100mile kicking I took from Rhys and Dan the day before but I was looking forward to the race as a chance to regain some fitness. With the race being run over 1hr 15 mins +5 laps we were in for a long day.
As soon as the flag dropped Hefin was off. Presumably inspired by seeing the Tour riders do their thing he was forcing and following every attack, spending more time off the front of the bunch than in it. After 25minutes of this I had a quiet word to try and get him to calm down and save some energy, fearful that he would waste his strength on lesser quality moves but there was no stopping him!
Sure enough as we approached the halfway point the efforts started to bite and a big dig by a Bristol RC rider, (coupled with a genius sitting up by Curtis to disrupt the chase) and a group of 4-5 of us got clear. In there were strong men Richard Seymour (Cardiff Ajax) and some strong Bristol lads. However it was clear that we would need more firepower and shortly after the second prime (duly won by myself!!) a group containing the household names of Richie Harris (Cwmcarn) Ian Bendall, David Bees (Forza) and Hefin caught up to us. We worked well together, never letting the pace drop although the Forza boys were playing ‘let the wheel go’ games, making others chase.
With over an hours racing done legs were getting tired, and some of the early escapees got dropped, the relentless attacks and digs by Harris taking their toll. My legs were getting very heavy now and I was worried about Hefin. He was looking tired and pulling all sorts of faces in the break. I was feeling the same by now, the previous day’s efforts starting to catch up with me. However, following a brief flurry of attacks with 3 to go Hefin found himself 10 metres off the front of the bunch. Seeing his chance, he put his head down and ploughed on. He soon had a handy gap as the others looked at each other. Harris clipped off in pursuit but still there was no catching the West Walian. He soloed in, well clear of Harris and the remainder of the break. A gutsy ride and thoroughly deserved. I came in about 7th, having nothing left in the finishing sprint but happy Port Talbot had got the win. Curtis finished safely in the bunch.
So another win for Port Talbot and showing promise for the end of season races. Til next time…
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The Force is strong in this one...
The Force is strong in this one...
