One of the best day's weather of this year so far, (well apart form Malta, if you don't count the rain storm!) and Brit, Linda and myself arrived at Forge Valley Community School in Sheffield for today's crit. I arrived early, this was a new circuit so was keen to see what it would be like given that this was a school, and so went to take a look. It reminded me of Prissick in Middlesborough, long straights with plenty of twisty more technical sections. It looked like a great circuit and so it proved to be!
With 10 mins to spare before start of race, there was still no sign of Linda! Just as we rolled up to the start line with 5 mins to start Linda rolled up! Bad traffic and a mad rush to get to the start meant very little if no warm up for her.
13 starters for the Women's race and the 3 of us lined up on the front. We had hoped to split the field and get of the front! Annie Simpson (team Hope) had turned up, so we knew the likely hood was that there was little chance of getting rid of her. This is what happened first lap I led off and within the first lap it was myself, Brit and Annie off the front.
The race went on, with the 3 of us slowly reeling in the bunch. At about 1/2 distance, I had been on the front when Annie attacked form behind. Brit on her wheel, I got distanced slightly by a bike length or two. I closed the gap a lap later and once I reached them I kept on going, with Annie on the front I attacked back! Forcing Annie to close the gap! I got away brifly but by this point we were almost about to lap the main bunch. I caught the bunch, Linda was at the front driving it. She asked what she should do (don't sit on my wheel I tried to say.) As at that point in time I realised that if they didn't let me go off the front of the lapped bunch, that was, that then Brit and Annie were going to lap the bunch too and so once in the bunch, and they had effectively brought any attack back! Annie and Brit did indeed jump on back of bunch and so now I was dragging the entire field around!
Back to stale mate and the 3 of us were sat on the front of the lapped field! A few laps like this and I tried to break things up again. Not wanting the others to get mixed up in the finish. It worked and Brit, Annie and myself got a gap again, but when trying to get Annie to come through, we then ground to a halt, no one wanting sit on the front, to drag the other around!
By this point 2 or 3 of the bunch behind then caught us again and Linda came straight to the front to work for us. 5 laps to go, i had one last go at splitting things, before deciding that best action to take was to allow Linda to lead us out for the finish.
I messed the finish up, I was 2nd wheel behind Linda. We had agreed before that Annie can sprint and she would probably go for a long one and that's exactly what she did. She attacked last lap into the headwind before the last corner. You need to be first into last corner. Annie went one side of Linda I went the other (first mistake not getting the jump first, second going the wrong side.) Brit was on her wheel. Annie won, but Brit was closing on her in the run into the line! I ended up battling to get around a lapped rider into the finish who slowed me down into the final corner! Overall a good new circuit and a good race, despite my annoyance at my finish! Brit 2nd, me 3rd, Linda 5th!
By Iona.
Iona at Peterborough Crit
