WXCRL Cove Road Race 05/09/2010

“I Like Very Much.”

On a day best described as ‘changeable’ and on a distinctly lumpy course, Marcin Bialoblocki took a win for the Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas team, breaking away with a team mate and Ross Adams of Red Kite and pulling out well over three minutes over the rest of the bunch. This was one of the Wessex League’s two National B events, open to Elite level riders and catering for those elite and first cat riders that fancied something in between airfield circuit crit racing and getting a pasting in the Premier Calendar. The course included two short, sharp climbs, one out of Winfrith to Durdle Door and the other out of Lulworth Cove and both into a strong headwind.

Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas had turned out in force, while most of their elite level competition were riding for themselves, while further town the grid a fair smattering of lambs to the slaughter local riders looking to test their mettle against the big boys filled out the field. All rolled out later than scheduled, the start having been delayed by the removal of a large amount of grit on one of the corners. Washed down by the recent rains, it took a full 45 minutes of shoveling and then sweeping by course marshals to get the road cleared but the race got under way only 10 minutes late. Happily, by this time an early rain shower had stopped and the roads had dried by the end of the first lap.

It was a nervous first few laps, with plenty of attacks but no one willing to commit themselves this early on.

“It was all stop start.” Said Ross Adams of Red Kite. “I’m used to mountain biking, which is start, go hard and then finish but with this I tried to get something going but nothing was really working.”

This went on until the fourth lap, an hour and a half into the race, when Bialoblocki decided to make his move. The Bristol-based Polish Premier Calendar rider attacked down the hill into Lulworth Cove, taking team mate Chris Spence and Ross Adams with him and “going steady for a few laps”. In actual fact they had pulled a full minutes and twenty seconds out of the bunch on the climb to Lulworth Camp and continued so until they were three minutes clear a lap later. By this time, Chris Spence (Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas) had blown up on the climb out of Lulworth Cove, going straight on to the HQ for an early bath, days work done. The remaining pair’s epic lead now had a substantial amount of traffic, including a double decker bus, between it and the rest of the field.

Back in the bunch, there were more problems for Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas. They had been doing a good job of controlling the race but Mark Perry had a flat. Team mate Ben Lapthorne gave up his wheel and, with both temporarily out of the equation, several riders saw their chance. Harry Furniss (Wyndymilla Maxifuel), Gary Chambers (Southforkracing.co.uk) and Chris McNamara (Team Corley Cycles) put in a successful attack. In fact Harry Furniss tried to go it alone but suffered a problem in the style of an Andy Schlek.
“I was planning an attack out of Lulworth.” He said. “But as I changed to the little ring, the chain came off. The other riders waited for me and, after that, I couldn’t really attack, could I?” Contador would have but that’s another story.

By the sixth lap, three hours into the race, the rain had started again. A short, heavy shower, actually coming as more of a relief to the riders on what was still a quite hot day. The pace had settled down, with the two leaders two and a half minutes ahead of the three rider breakaway, which was another two minutes ahead of the bunch. Up front, Ross Adams (Red Kite Cycles) was suffering a little.

“He was a little tired.” Explained his co-escapee Marcin Bialoblocki. “He does mountain biking and his longest race is two hours. I could see his in face he was tired.”

“I’m not used to racing for three and a half hours.” Ross Adams agreed. “He’s a lot stronger than me and, by the end there wasn’t a hope in hell that my legs would do anything. I just stood up and pppffft, nope.”

So, Marcin Bialoblocki took the win with Ross Adams of Red Kite Cycles ten seconds back in second place. There was a three minute, four second gap back to the next group, who would rue their act of charity to Gary Chambers (Southforkracing.co.uk) as he outsprinted them up the hill to take third. Chris McNamara of Team Corley Cycles got fourth with Henry Furniss of Wyndymilla Maxifuel a lucky fifth after riding most of the final lap in one gear after his derailleur broke. This was as well as arriving for the race 15 minutes before the start. And riding in pink kit.

The final group came in six minutes and eight seconds behind the leaders but still racing hard. Martin Ford of Team Goldtec lead them in for sixth place, with Marc Perry of Wilier/Big Maggys/Prendas in seventh and Roland Tilley of Ride Team eighth. Mark Baines of Spirit Racing Team got ninth while Dexter Gardias of Team Zappis finished off the top 10. Full results are here.

Next week, the Wessex League returns to its staple diet of 2nd cat road racing, with Bournemouth Jubilee Wheeler’s Autumn Road Race on Sunday September 12th, based out of Holt football club. Enter here. Course map here. For this one we guarantee you won’t have any premier calendar regulars rip your legs off. Promise.

Photos Graham Robins.

Races For September

‘Oh **** is that this week?’ Said our Mark the other day, in reference to the Cove Road Race. Yes indeed, The Cove Road Race on Sunday 5th September. The Dorset Tour was so good we thought we’d let all the elites and first cats have a go, using the same hill as stage 3 of the DT but in the other direction. That is to say downhill. Top riders were hitting 50 mph last year… There’s another downhill plummet into Lulworth Village, plus too short, sharp climbs. If ya go down, ya gotta go back up again, its not like there’s a chairlift or anything. Course map here. Riders do this seven times, over 122km and on the 7th time up the hill to Durdle Door, who ever’s first across the line wins. But if you haven’t worked that out by the time you get to elite level then there’s no hope for you.

So yeah, the race is open to Elite, first, second and third cat riders. Last year we had a couple of guys from Rapha Condor, limbering up for the Tour of Britain but don’t be scared, its a great course and it’ll be a great race. And if you are scared, why not help us out by marshalling? You get five – count ’em – Wessex League points for basically sitting by a road junction for a few hours and sticking a flag out every 20 minutes. Do this often enough and you could get yourself a decent position in the overall standings without barely having to turn a wheel in anger.

Entry closes the day before (Saturday 4th Sept) with the race starting at 10.30. EOL is probably going to be available at the HQ in D’Urberville Hall in Wool but will be a load more expensive.

Then, a week later, on Sunday 12th September we have The Autumn Road Race. Which is much the same as the Summer Road race, except later in the year. That’s the one with the hills and the cattle grids – and now cows roaming free on the Heath. Its a Regional A race open to riders up to 2nd cat and is run over 90km or 4 laps of the course, starting at 10.30 and based out of Holt Football Club. Yes, Holt has a football club.

No surprises but we’re after marshals for this one too. We’re ALWAYS after marshals. Tell you what, have a look here, find yourself and check how many people are 5 points above you. You can beat ALL of them, merely by helping out. Incredible, really. Well, unless they’re going to be getting top placing in the race, in which case you’re better advised try and beat them the old fashioned way.

There’s more at the end of the month that we’ll get to that in another post.

The WXCRL Cove Road Race

 

Less than a fortnight after the end of the Dorset Tour, the Wessex League were back in d’Urderville Hall in Wool for another race around the Purbecks, this time for Elite level riders. 38 riders had braved the completely new course, featuring two climbs and the same again in descents. “We added it all up.” Said race organiser Don Standhaft. “And, over 114km, there’s about as much climbing as in an ascent of the Col du Galibier.”

Amongst the field were Tom Southam and David Lapthorne of the Rapha Condor team, using the race as a warm up for next week’s Tour of Britain. Also out in force were premier calendar regulars Sports Beans-Wilier, as well as multiple national mountain bike champion Oli Beckinsale. The pedigree of the field may have kept away many lower-category local riders, though some braved it: “It’s good to do a race of this level a couple of times a year.” Said Stephen Crutcher of Off Camber. “It makes 2^nd and 3^rd cat races feel a lot easier!”

A combination of this broad spread of ability and the tough course had the field split into three groups by the end of the first lap, with Tom Southam putting in a dig up the hill. Four riders went with him and the lead group of Southam, Marcin Bialobloki of Sports Beans-Wilier, Richard Cartland of Corley Cycles, Oli Beckinsale of Giant Racing and Robert Willcocks of Somerset RC had got them selves a good minute’s gap by the time they came round again.

“We were driving hard for the first couple of laps.” Said Richard Cartland. “We didn’t ease off until we were sure we were clear.” They were, with a second group of six hanging about sixty seconds back, consisting off David Sinclair of GWR, Ross Adams of Red Kite Cycles/Torq Bar, Blake Bond of Southfork Racing, Gareth Hewitt of Sabbath-Claytan, Darren Lapthorne of Rapha-Condor and Grant Bayton of SprtsBeans-Wilier rounding off the top ten. Further behind were the chasing pack who dropped a few minutes each lap although, judging by the number that wilted under the pace, were not hanging back.

The course, with its short, sharp climbs and long descents, and with a strong windblowing inland from the sea, did not encourage escapes and the three groups seemed content to work together for much of the race. Only Lapthorne and Bayton tried to bridge the gap between the first and second groups, but wilted on the final climb out of West Lulworth and dropped back to the chase group. The rest kept their powder dry until the final ascent out of the village of Winfrith Newburgh, where Oli Beckinsale made his decisive move.

 “I had a go on the first little kick up but got pulled back, so I had a go again.” This one stuck and he crossed the line 45 seconds clear, out of sight of the rest of the field. “I was here for a good workout, really.” He said afterwards. “Andif I got a good result out of it then so much the better.” Behind came a group of three, with Bialoblocki coming second ahead of Tom Southam and Richard Cartland. Robert Willcocks rounded off the first group in sixth, with the chase group now several minutes back and the rest of the field further still. Full results are here.

All riders, from the first group to the last, agreed that the circuit was a tough one, with the pace, the hills and the wind all combining to test their resolve and, given this, it was perhaps unsurprising that the win went to an Olympic level off-roader. Richard Cartland went further, to describe the course as one of the most picturesque that he had raced on. Not that he had had much time to look at the scenery. He, like many others, hoped to be back again if the race is run next year which, with the race judged to be a success, is very likely.

Photographs by Graham Robins. Several hundred more to look at if you click on the link.

Preview: The WXCRL Cove Road Race

There are some things you just can’t get enough of, and one of those really has to be racing on the Isle of Purbeck – barely a fortnight after the Dorset Tour, we’re back in the d’Urberville hall in Wool, having found yet another way to race around it! Even better, this time we’ve let the elites and first cats come along and play.

So, making use of another two climbs that the DT somehow missed, the racing begins just before the level crossing on the A352 road from Wareham to Weymouth and continues west along a main road that can be best described in the context of this course as ‘the flat bit’. However, we can guarantee that their will be wind of some sort on this section, though whether a tail, head or side wind we cannot confirm at present. Then, crossing the roundabout by where Dorset Police used to be based, then passing the now decommissioned nuclear power station (that’ll be the enormous turquoise cuboid thing), the route takes a sharp left just past the Red Lion pub (lucky the marshal that gets stationed at this corner) and into the village of Winfrith Newburgh. At this point, the road stops being pan-flat and rises in fits and starts. This fairly gentle climb, not that ‘fairly gentle’ is something that you usually associate with E/1/2/3  National B level races, tops out at Durdle Door, then drops down into West Lulworth village. And we do mean drop, it’s steep. Then, sticking to Newton’s law that what goes down must come back up again, a left turn in the village sees you climbing the short, steep clamber up to Lulworth army camp and back down to Wool. Remember that long, gruelling climb on the DT’s Sunday stage? Well, this time it’s a long, downhill hurtle with a sharp left off the nice, wide, straight road and onto a narrow, lumpy little one. They even stuck another climb in the middle of it but its very soon downhill again and then back out onto the main road.

You do that seven times, over 114km with the finish at the top of the final climb out of Winfrith Newburgh. The first one over the line wins, though you probably already worked that bit out. The entries are piling in fast, including some fairly serious riders getting some racing in their legs before the Tour of Britain. And, if that worries you, then you can always help out, either marshaling or joining the fleet of lead and chase cars. Did we mention that you get league points for that?

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