Ah Summer!
Q: How do you know it's summer if you are a South East Road Racer?
A: Crystal Palace Crits are cancelled due to rain.
My cycling seems to be dominated by the weather lately with the bank holiday weekend being a write off and evening riding being interrupted by the rain. I haven't raced since the Women's Regional Champs where I came 12th as I have got back into some training and technique work ready for the second part of this month. I'm doing lots of intervals at the moment on the road or the turbo so I'm feeling quite tired. The sessions hurt but I like them. It's nice to have something to think about. I've finally got my provisional calendar together for the rest of the season and it looks very packed kicking off next Tuesday with a 10 mile TT organised by my second claim club, Addiscombe CC. One of my goals this year is to get a PB over 10 miles but to be honest, road racing has taken precedent this year and so far I have only done one TT which was back at the end of April. I'm therefore not sure how the 10 will go and it's probably my worst distance. It's anyone's guess, but the evening 10s are fairly social events in a 'safe' environment.
I was hoping to make my Crystal Palace debut on Tuesday night but rain stopped play for the second week on the trot. In fact, I don't think there has been a race there since my team mate, Adam got a great result coming 7th in the E,1,2 race a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't had much luck on or off the bike since then so maybe we'll both be lucky on our next visit to Palace. There will be a separate women's race which should present an excellent opportunity for good racing for women of all cats. I personally am not expecting to stay in for my first race there as it's a technical circuit and not for the faint hearted. The circuit is apparently tighter than the one used for my first and only race there, the Tour of Britain support race, last September.
On Saturday a group of us headed up to the Smithfield Nocturne in London to see the British riders Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas taking on the home based riders such as Dean Downing, Tony Gibb, and Chris Newton (a particular favourite of mine). I missed the event last year but I'd heard it's pretty spectacular. And it certainly was. Geraint Thomas won the elite event and was in a small breakaway, which included Dean Downing and Rob Hayles. Now part of the British Cycling National Circuit Series, the elite criterium was the second race in this year's competition, featuring racing on a closed 1 km, extremely technical circuit for one hour plus five laps. The speeds were really something else and to be so close up to the riders was really exciting. The race kicked off at speed and only got quicker towards the end. A huge effort by Dean Downing who wanted to win his Rapha sponsored event but it wasn't do be, with Thomas just having the edge fresh from the Giro d'Italia. There was also the Cycling Weekly support race in which I recognised a few familiar faces from Surrey League through the bottom of my beer glass.
Next Thursday, my team are fulfilling our obligation to Surrey League by promoting our first event at Chertsey, part of the Surrey League handicap series. Hopefully, if enough of us turn out to marshal I should be able to get a ride. I've never done a handicap at Chertsey so it will be interesting, if not trouser filling, to say the least. Fourth cats are notorious for crashing at Chertsey and as a woman I will undoubtedly be set off with them.
After a quiet first week, congratulations to Alberto Contador (a particular favourite of mine) for wining the Giro. Now please somebody let him rightfully defend his TDF title. Cav did the Brits proud and Ricco's comments caused amusement. The Dauphine starts today so all eyes on the Tour contenders.
A: Crystal Palace Crits are cancelled due to rain.
My cycling seems to be dominated by the weather lately with the bank holiday weekend being a write off and evening riding being interrupted by the rain. I haven't raced since the Women's Regional Champs where I came 12th as I have got back into some training and technique work ready for the second part of this month. I'm doing lots of intervals at the moment on the road or the turbo so I'm feeling quite tired. The sessions hurt but I like them. It's nice to have something to think about. I've finally got my provisional calendar together for the rest of the season and it looks very packed kicking off next Tuesday with a 10 mile TT organised by my second claim club, Addiscombe CC. One of my goals this year is to get a PB over 10 miles but to be honest, road racing has taken precedent this year and so far I have only done one TT which was back at the end of April. I'm therefore not sure how the 10 will go and it's probably my worst distance. It's anyone's guess, but the evening 10s are fairly social events in a 'safe' environment.
I was hoping to make my Crystal Palace debut on Tuesday night but rain stopped play for the second week on the trot. In fact, I don't think there has been a race there since my team mate, Adam got a great result coming 7th in the E,1,2 race a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't had much luck on or off the bike since then so maybe we'll both be lucky on our next visit to Palace. There will be a separate women's race which should present an excellent opportunity for good racing for women of all cats. I personally am not expecting to stay in for my first race there as it's a technical circuit and not for the faint hearted. The circuit is apparently tighter than the one used for my first and only race there, the Tour of Britain support race, last September.
On Saturday a group of us headed up to the Smithfield Nocturne in London to see the British riders Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas taking on the home based riders such as Dean Downing, Tony Gibb, and Chris Newton (a particular favourite of mine). I missed the event last year but I'd heard it's pretty spectacular. And it certainly was. Geraint Thomas won the elite event and was in a small breakaway, which included Dean Downing and Rob Hayles. Now part of the British Cycling National Circuit Series, the elite criterium was the second race in this year's competition, featuring racing on a closed 1 km, extremely technical circuit for one hour plus five laps. The speeds were really something else and to be so close up to the riders was really exciting. The race kicked off at speed and only got quicker towards the end. A huge effort by Dean Downing who wanted to win his Rapha sponsored event but it wasn't do be, with Thomas just having the edge fresh from the Giro d'Italia. There was also the Cycling Weekly support race in which I recognised a few familiar faces from Surrey League through the bottom of my beer glass.
Next Thursday, my team are fulfilling our obligation to Surrey League by promoting our first event at Chertsey, part of the Surrey League handicap series. Hopefully, if enough of us turn out to marshal I should be able to get a ride. I've never done a handicap at Chertsey so it will be interesting, if not trouser filling, to say the least. Fourth cats are notorious for crashing at Chertsey and as a woman I will undoubtedly be set off with them.
After a quiet first week, congratulations to Alberto Contador (a particular favourite of mine) for wining the Giro. Now please somebody let him rightfully defend his TDF title. Cav did the Brits proud and Ricco's comments caused amusement. The Dauphine starts today so all eyes on the Tour contenders.
posted by Lisa Scarlett at
21:01
