Sunday 30th September
Today was forecast to be very wet and windy. Luckily so far only the wind was present and we were hopeful that it might stay dry.
Gabriella Nordin and I turned up for our first race of the day to find, as expected, a small field of 6 girls for the women's race.
We set off and despite our numbers we made sure it was a race, with plenty of attacking early on. With half of our 30 minute race gone, we lapped one rider. With 5 of us left Katharine attacked again. Jo, from team Swift, was on her wheel and went with her. Gabriella was closing the gap but the two ahead flew around the final corner of the circuit and they were away. Karen and I worked together to try to get them back, but I knew that I'd have to try to close the gap myself. I could see them the whole time, and they weren't getting any further away, but I also noticed I'd lost Karen from behind. I was in between the two groups. Katherine and Jo ahead, with Karen and Gabriella behind.
I had to make it across to the front group. It took a lap and a half. The two ahead were working well together but I made it. I sat on for half a lap, before I was forced to the front a little sooner than I'd have liked. But a lap later and I was ok to start taking turns again. We continued to work together and the 3 of us stayed away. By the end of the race we could see the other two at the opposite side of the circuit, and so long as we kept working, they wouldn't catch us.
Bell lap and I came through to do a turn on the front. But that left me stuck there, I was unlikely to get the other two to come through now, not my ideal position. So I slowed it down around the last corner, trying to make one of the others come through. We exited the corner both of the others still behind, but slightly alongside me. The road drags up slightly, into the headwind, before bending slightly to the right for the run into the finish. I knew I was going to have to lead it out, and if I slowed any more, one of them would get the jump on me and there would be no way back.
So I gradually increased my speed. Just before the top of the drag, I decided I had to kick now, get the jump on both of them, before they reacted first. I reckoned they would wait until the road started to level out, where it turned slightly to the right, out of the headwind, where they would be able to see the line.
It worked, I kicked, I got the jump on them and I managed to hold on until the finish, almost forgetting to celebrate!
One race down, 15 points in the bank, one more race to go!
The hour we thought we had, turned out to be more like an hour and 45min, they were running to a very rough schedule! Four of us that had ridden the earlier women's race had decided to stay and race the men's 4th cat too. For Gabriella it was her last chance to make her 2nd cat license. Having been out sprinted by Karen Poole in the earlier women's race to finish 5th, she was hoping to get a top ten finish to secure the 1 point she needed for her 2nd cat licence. For me I needed 9 points, and so wanted to finish 2nd or better to secure enough points for a 1st cat licence.
There were around 13 starters in the men's 4th cat and early on we could tell who was keen to try to break things up. Katherine attacked a number of times. I too tried a couple of times, but was also happy to settle for my chances should it come to a bunch sprint.
Two of the lads, an Ilkley Cycling Club rider and a very young lad, spent the whole race trying to get away. They would get a gap only to be wound in, usually by one of the girls: either Katherine, Jo, or myself.
On the bell lap, the same two lads jumped off the front again. No one was quick enough to react and they got a small gap. Katherine started to shut the gap, then Jo. Not wanting to be the one stuck on the front trying to close the gap, I risked it to let the others try to shut it down, but no one was wanting to try too hard too close to the finish. One of the men came to the front before the last corner. I was second wheel, but I knew from earlier laps that as soon as he hit the headwind he just sat up, every time!
So out of the corner I came out of the line on the drag into the wind, and started to move alongside him. I matched his speed and waited until the same point as in the previous race. I kicked before the others and held on to finish in 3rd place. The two that finished 1st and 2nd were only just ahead, but we had given them too much of a gap to reach them by the line. I was pleased to get another podium finish, but on the other hand knew I maybe could have done better if we had not of let them get away.
Still just 1 point needed now, and another couple of races next weekend! Gabriella got the one point she needed for her 2nd cat licence, despite needing a lap out for a mechanical.
For the last race of the day, most people there decided to try ride the 'Big Bad Eliminator Race!' I finished with a shocking performance, by being eliminated first! To be fair we had literally finished the 4th cat race and went straight into the Eliminator. There were no prizes for anything less than a win and we were racing against 1st to 4th cat men. Gabriella and I had a last resort plan, to race the men's 3rd/4th cat event too if she'd not got enough license points, but luckily no need to resort to that. I think it would have been one race too many, so we called it a day and headed home.
Altogether, a good day's racing for all and we avoided the rain!
Iona
Iona at Peterborough Crit
