Brief Race Report from Ali

Ythan CC APR
Sunday 30th March 2014

It was freezing cold, I started in Group 3 of 6 with many strong riders. The race was 3 laps of 11 miles, with a 14% climb in the middle. As always in the cold it took me a lap to find my legs. I was chewing the bars for most of the first lap – I really should have worn knee warmers, my legs were like blocks of ice. Our group split on the climb and 5 of us got away. We were caught by Group 4 in the second lap and then we split again on the climb. This time my legs were better so I made the split. On lap 3 we were caught by Groups 5 & 6 just after the climb and we rode full gas to chase the front group which was still off the front. We never caught them, eventually rolling in 51 secs behind.

Happy to finish in the bunch in my first road race for nearly two years. Felt stronger as the race went on, but would have been better with warmer legs. Also didn’t drink enough or even take a gel on board.

Results are available on the British Cycling Website.

COG Velo