This race was put in my calendar months ago when it was first publicised, and a long time before it was added to the National Series. So I was targetting it as a key early season race with ambitions of doing very well. I managed to persuade Jo to come and join me, while the other girls were still enjoying the sun in Sicily. I had previously ridden most of the course as part of a triathlon and also went out to pre-ride it last weekend in preparation. It wasn't super-hilly but with prevailing winds whipping down the reservoir it was going to be a tough race.
We all lined up in the square in Blanchland just before 9 on Saturday morning - about 60 women took to the start line. We did a couple of nervy neutralised miles then the racing started. Epic - Scott with 9 riders in the race were always going to be the dominant team and so it turned out right from the flag dropping. As always there was a lot of fighting for position in the early kilometres and I thought I had done ok getting up to the front quickly, but found myself swamped going into the big climb for the first time. No one pushed the pace so the whole field was bunched up. I had an inexperienced rider in front of me who was making me nervous. I was proved right when she wobbled and fell into the verge right in front of me, leaving me nowhere to go. I fell as gently as I could, stayed calm, picked myself up, popped my chain back on and off I went again, with the whole field up the road ahead. I chased hard, catching up and overtaking the back-markers quickly, but then started to struggle in the crosswinds on the top. A few others were around with me, and together we managed to get back on just before the road turned into the headwind. I moved straight through the field back to the front ready to watch and cover any moves from Epic - Scott or Matrix.
The next lap and a half saw the field gradually being whittled down, and at the end of lap 2 attacks were starting to fly off the front only to be caught again. I was there and feeling comfortable (although hadn't realised that Jo had been having mechanical problems and had been dropped) when disaster struck. On the descent into Edmundbyers Hayley Jones (Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International) lost her wheel on the slightly greasy road, sliding out right into me; nothing I could do to avoid hitting the tarmac very hard and sliding across it for what felt like an age. Then I felt someone else go right over the top of me. OK, is anything badly hurt? No, I don't think so, but a quick decision that I wasn't going to carry on any further. I picked me and my bike up to see who else was down. As well as Hayley and me, it was Mel Brand (Epic - Scott) and Liz Malins (Fusion RT). Everyone else was looked after by team cars but after a quick check over by the paramedic I was left on the side of the road in pain with no extra clothes and an unfunctional bike.
Having sent one spectator to go and send a message to Mr Red Riding Hood at the feed zone, another very friendly spectator lent me his coat and let me sit in his car until I was picked up. By this time I had realised that there was very little non-painful movement coming from my left shoulder. Mr Red Riding Hood (my knight in shining skoda) eventually arrived a whole lap later with Tom and Eve's dad also in the car. I got bundled in while the bike was put in the boot, and we drove round to the finish.
By this time in the race, a 2-up break of Alexie Shaw (Epic - Scott) and Nikki Juniper (Pearl Izumi Sports Tours) had gone clear, and with Matrix seemingly lacking fire-power in the bunch the gap was never going to close. Jo was storming through the tail-end of the now disintegrated peloton, having sorted out her mechanical problem. On the final sprint Nikki outwitted Alexie to take an impressive win. But as always Jo was our hero, having pulled herself back up into 25th position. Here she is crossing the finishing line.
This new race on the calendar was a great success. Hopefully next year the girls will get to do the full two-day race that the men do, which will certainly sort out the women from the girls.
And just in case you are wondering, the shoulder is not broken, but it has a visit to my very friendly shoulder physio tomorrow to see what is wrong with it!
