Results tagged “4th Cat”

It sits there in the hallway, untouched. It pleads with me every time I pass it, but I ignore it.

I ignore it as long as I can. But there comes a point where you have to take the bike out of the box and reassemble it.

Out it comes, number still attached to the centre of the bars, dustier than I remember. The frame sticky with a coating of sweat, energy drink and road dirt.

It's almost a week since the Etape and it's the first time I've looked at my bike since packing it away for the journey back. I've ridden the 4km to work a couple of times without thinking much about exerting myself and that's as much as I've concerned myself with riding a bike.

What are you meant to do after you've achieved a goal as massive as the Etape? There's no reason to go out and ride it again. (There wasn't much reason other than the "because it's there" one in the first place)

Mentally there's no next step to take. Physically my body craves rest and complains when I so much as suggest exertion.

I take myself down to Hillingdon on Tuesday for the first ride since the Etape. People say how much they liked my video piece while I fret about my handlebars not being on straight.

It's the usual 4th Cat routine, so I try my legs in the first quarter hour to see how they feel. Sore, no snap when I click up a gear and push the pace.

So I do what I always do: wait for a slight lull in the pace, then increase the effort and move off the front.

My breathing is steady but I can feel the pain rising. Nobody will come across the gap, they'll just drag me back within a lap or two.

Then there's suddenly someone across and we're two away. He's pulling harder than I can manage and every time I try to come through my legs choke, forcing me to drop back into the wheel.

A few more riders come across but I can't hold the wheels, my legs are numb. I need to let this one go. So near to making that magical break happen.

Shuffle back through the pack, I've done my turn.

Wait for three laps to go and the watching to begin. There'll be a drop in pace and that's the time to go hard.

There it is. Bit too far back but I'm going anyway. Pace hasn't dropped as much as I thought and there's still two to go.

Another Dynamo follows the counter and goes away. That's the ticket: attack in pairs or follow the chaser and use them.

He's away, I'm spent, sit in the back and let the race go away from me.

Don't see the finish. Wonder where and when I'll find the courage to stop making excuses for not getting up there in the sprint.

SPRINT! DAMN YOU! CORNER, DON'T TAKE ANYONE OUT! SPRINT! CORNER! BRAKE... NO DON'T BRAKE! PEDAL HARDER! HILL!!!!! PEDAL HARDER! *SPORZA COMMENTARY VOICE* "OY-OY-OY-OY-OY!" BREATH DAMN YOU LUNGS. (REPEAT X25)

And that's pretty much how it goes for roughly an hour. Fun, yes? HELL YEAH!

Hillingdon, you go for the tea and cake and pottering round trying not to get knocked off on an entirely innocuous circuit where you don't need to brake if you're riding it properly and there's only one corner of any difficulty.

You hope to get lucky in a bunch gallop and probably spend most of the race waiting for the three laps to go board. It's all good stuff and if you attack enough it amounts to a decent workout. It's a bit like waiting for Bon Jovi to play Livin' On A Prayer.

Crystal Palace on the other hand is like AC/DC: deafeningly loud, relentless hit after hit. No sneaking off to the back for a rest because if they're not playing Thunderstruck, it's all Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, Back In Black, you name it.

Let's take a trip round the lap...

180 degree left-hand hairpin round tree with metal post exactly where you'll end up if you don't get round.

Sprint out of that and up to a sharp downhill right hander running away down the hill and about the only place you can get any recovery.

Touch of brake then blind, flat out 90 degree left hand round a bush with tree and grass bank to fall down if you get it wrong.

The hill doesn't look much but when you ride round it before the race. Then you hurtle through the left-hand corner at race pace on the first lap and every part of your body laughs in your face at the folly. Big ring, little ring, it all hurts like hell and it's a fight to get on top of the right gear.

Recover across the top section while trying not to let a gap go and then it starts again.

I think I lasted all of three laps before I got shelled out the main bunch and joined a small grupetto that enjoyed its own race within a race up until they pulled out the lapped riders. I think I got lapped at least twice, maybe three times.

I say "I think" because frankly I was a dribbling mess just trying to keep going. And the worst thing is I know I'll be back, work permitting, to take another beating. Damn you Stu for persuading me this is a good idea.

It works out quite well as the ride there and back plus race works out at around a 3 hour ride. Perfect midweek stuff really.

The final race of the series which has been incredibly well organised in trying conditions, both meteorological and logistical.

The former has come on the form of snow, torrential rain and freezing gales. The latter in the form of crashes and riders who don't always do as they are instructed.

OK, that's me filibustering to avoid having to write about getting dropped. Shouldn't have happened, simple as that. I left myself out in the strong headwind for too long and paid the price.

Nor should me ambling off the front at a gentle pace for the first lap. All I did was roll off the start and down the righthander. Looked around and nobody had come with me.

Got to the final 90 degree corner before the bunch reappeared just as I hit the block headwind. Weird experience racing with no one for company. Note to self: avoid individual time trials.

Back to getting dropped. It was one of those slow but predictable affairs, like watching a child's 99 slide off the cone on a hot day. I slid through the group, clung on a bit then the engine room went for a tea break and I was off the back and hurting (pride more than legs).

I got back on when I was eventually lapped and had no problem staying in. I even offered to drag Lance Woodman up to the front towards the end for want of some excitement before sitting out the sprint.

Why do I do it given my ridiculously mediocre record? Because it's fun and it keeps me motivated to ride. Martin Porter sums it up when he says

"I may never get a point but it is nonetheless rewarding"

In fact his post is a really good read about why the winter series is good to do and should be supported.

I'd like to offer a massive thank you to Doug, Lucy and the rest of the Collins gang who put themselves through the misery of having to deal with riders who just want to race. Organising something like the Winter Series is a massive commitment which few in cycling have the energy to do well. Those few should always be appreciated and celebrated.

When the sun comes out Hillingdon is always busy and everyone seems to wheel out their sunny day bikes (expensive carbon frame, top-end groupset, deep section wheels). Either that or we're getting towards the end of the series and the beginning of Spring.

(Photo by British Cycling on Flickr)

So the 4ths set off with a big field. That usually this guarantees a bunch sprint and a slightly twitchy atmosphere as everyone sits in and saves themself for the final three laps.

I've been on antibiotics all week which has somewhat limited my training. Sadly I can only use that as a stand-in for "not having done anything about improving my fitness" temporarily.

But I did get in one attack which was nearly the death of me. Cold air is heavy air and hitting the front hurt like standing on a plug: avoidable and stupid, as well as darned painful.

The only regular variable in the 4th Cat race is how much effort people put in before the cavalry charge. This weekend there was plenty so the race clipped along at a fast but not brutal pace with little attacks getting away now and again until a dangerous one looked like sticking late on as legs tired.

Tired legs usually means tired minds and that always heightens the risk of a crash in a finale. Or as Lance Woodman puts it

"The trouble often happens late when tiredness impairs judgment and ambition outstrips common sense ('I can win from the middle of the bunch')."

(Lance is currently sporting a magnificent beard which meant he was all but invisible to me in the bunch. Funny how you learn to recognise your fellow riders solely on the basis of the lower half of their face as you can see it out the corner of your eye.)

Sure enough with one lap to go there was a touch of wheels and a scattering of the pack as several riders went down hard. One chap was wheeled off to hospital with a suspected collarbone fracture. Speedy recoveries all round I hope.

As ever, I was behind the crash but managed to get round it unscathed. My teammate Rich was just ahead of it and had his back wheel clipped but not by enough to bring him down or stop him storming to 5th.

Richard Gearing's perspective on finishing in the points

And there's usually someone who gets a puncture. This week it was the Cycling Silk, Martin Porter:

Martin Porter gets a puncture but still finishes well

(Photo by Lucy @ Imperial RT who organises the Winter Series)

There I am, another futile attack, this time trying to go after the mid-race prime. Went too early in pursuit of my friend James Curry (on the right of shot), both of us reaching our limits well before the line and were swamped by the field.

So I've no idea what the prize was. I'm now determined to find out before the end of the series. It seems like a reasonable alternative to trying to score points. Priorities? Yes, I know.

The rest of the race consisted of throwing a couple of digs in and trying to work on keeping myself positioned in the middle to front third of the bunch which always feels like the least safe place to be in a 4th Cat race.

The back third is of course where the real trouble and on the last lap someone had "a moment" in the middle of the bunch and squirted off across the U-bend at the start of the lap. Cue scattering riders heading onto the grass and hauling on brakes in desperation.

Yes I was behind it, no it didn't affect the likelihood of me scoring points. I rolled across the line in the stragglers. Next week, there is always next week.

Well that was a pretty miserable and frustrating experience for me. How was it for you? I look forward to the Imperial Winter Series as motivation to see me through the winter, but it got off to a mediocre start as I made all my usual mistakes:

• Not holding my position and drifting back through the bunch
• Getting stuck behind dodgy handlers
• Relying on my cornering skills to stay in touch with the bunch
• Losing concentration at key points
• Getting caught the wrong side of splits and wasting energy closing gaps

Net result = Got dropped at some point and rolled in a lap and quite a bit down.

Really frustrating as I'm not feeling that out of shape and didn't feel like I was struggling until the bunch started going away from me. I wasn't alone in going out the back though, James Curry and Lance Woodman, two other habitual 4th Cats like me, both slipped off the back. James and I tried some through-and-off to try and make the most of our time by getting some extra training in.

Lance's analysis is pretty accurate in citing the point at which we got lapped by the 3rd Cat race as where the problems started for the both of us. The Cycling Silk, Martin Porter also reckons this as the bit of the race that created difficulties.

The problem as I saw it was that instead of sitting up and neutralising our race when the 3rd cats came past, the riders at the front lined it out meaning that it took nearly a lap for the whole of the other race to pass us. This wasn't helped by a split in their field and the annoying habit of shouting at our race to keep left and then diving across the front of us rather than staying on the right.

So I got caught behind that split and couldn't move up while burning matches as our race upped its pace to chase riders who'd jumped on the 3rds, despite being told not to.

It's bitterly frustrating getting dropped but better it happen now when I haven't been putting in any effort rather than come Spring. In all honesty I need to ride a decent amount more than the once a week which is all I seem to be able to fit in at the moment.

I can't make it next week so need to get my motivation up for the third round on 19 December. I'll be wearing the bright yellow 68 until I can muster the ten points to move up to 3rd cat (how long have I been saying that?).

To be honest there isn't one and I really couldn't have cared less last night as I was freezing my paws off in the 4th Cat race. A hill might have been good, it might have meant a respite from the windchill and broken things up a bit. Perhaps I should try and race at Crystal Palace more often.

As per the well established formula I didn't score a point and tootled over the line well back having sat up after trying to go the long way round the long bend before the final sprint. I'll get it right one week and go flying up that last 200 metres to a win.

Throat is feeling a bit sore which is probably down to the cold but my legs don't feel at all bad. I rode pretty well apart form the last bit where I tried to go for a long one on the last lap. It never works.

Still, first week of Hillingdon and I actually feel like I might get out of the 4th Cats this year if I can screw my head on right and get over my fear of the bunch sprint.

Back into the groove of Hillingdon criterium racing this week. None of the youngsters were about so I thought I'd use the opportunity to have some fun and put in some big digs.

Let a few people wind it up a bit for the first few laps then went for the jump when I heard the shout from the commissaires that the E123 race would be coming up on us on the next lap. It's a proven tactic that seems to work for most breaks. Effectively you jump and then go like a pig in a storm to put as much distance as you can for the E123s to fall into as they pass the main bunch of the 4ths who will have to sit up and let them pass thus consolidating that gap.

It usually needs at least two of you to go and ideally four. Unfortunately only my friend Robin jumped across with me and I didn't have the legs to get up to him when he came through me. We stayed away for a couple of laps before sitting up and dropping back in to see if anyone else would go.

After I'd got my breath back I went again and, yet again, nobody came with me. Perhaps it was too early. I had a third dig off the front to no avail and that was countered by the chap who steamed away to solo to victory when I drifted back for a breather. I really should have paid attention and stayed nearer the front but needed to catch my breath badly and have a drink.

Eventually the three laps to go led to the usual caginess as everyone tried to jockey for position. I'm not a fan of this bit and I think it's rather dangerous to have everyone backed up coming into the last bend. So on the last lap I put the hammer down, shouted Robin to get into my wheel and did my best to string it out.

I got it though to the last big bend and swung off, knowing that if I had tried to drive it up through the last bend I would have been in the way when I came off the front/ran out of legs before the line.

Robin was in the right place to take advantage and bagged a tidy third place, not bad for a self-confessed "old git", albeit one whose got a pretty handy sprint in his kitbag. I rolled in off the back but happy enough to finish all the same.

I do need to start mixing it in the points if I want to move up before next season but it's also the time of year when people start to get desperate for points so it could be a bit fierce. Next Tuesday I'll be looking out for myself and trying harder to concentrate on getting a point or two for the first time. I need to be a bit more fearless when it comes to the sprint bit but I always worry that I'll come off through no fault of my own. Perhaps I'll try for a long one or a break then.

Never trust the weatherman, not even one that is electronic and thus beyond human error. Otherwise you might turn up expecting a dry race and get a wet one. Or, as happened on Sunday, a really sodding wet one. Usually it's the spray off the wheels that soaks you, but it was so wet I gave up entirely on worrying about where it was coming from and just concentrated on pedalling.

To be honest my target was to just finish the race: all eight laps and be in the main bunch, which is what the provisional results can confirm. Here's my name among the massed ranks of 12th=:

http://www.surreyleague.co.uk/results/results2007/mar2007/mar4-4.htm

What it doesn't convey is how well I felt I rode. I got up at the front from the start and made sure I stayed there, or thereabouts for the whole race. Just about every lap I was up for attacking, putting in a little dig and making sure I was up the little hill in touch with the leaders. I was shouting when someone tried to go on a break and chased down a couple myself, although somehow we all managed to miss the decisive break when two riders went clear.

We had 11 riders from London Dynamo in the race and we all finished, most of us in the bunch sprint. It was quite impressive to be able to move through the group of 40 or so riders and always be able to pick out a clubmate to tow up to the front or sit on the wheel of. Which is probably why I made the slightly foolhardy mistake of trying to ride a leadout on the sprint. Yes, it was quick but unfortunately it both came a bit early and failed to take one of our team to the line first.

But blinkity flip did I enjoy coming off that last bend and winding it up. The sensation of shifting up, getting down low and then just giving it everything was amazing. I can't tell whether I popped or just got swamped but I remember letting out a huge roar as I hit my limit and riders started to come past me. There were still about 100 metres or so to the line and if I hadn't decided to lead out I might have stood a chance of being in the points.

But points will come I guess and I'm in no hurry to make the leap up the ladder quite yet. I've still got plenty to learn and I'd like to enjoy doing so. Really, at the moment, racing is just a good way for me to get some intensity training done without sitting on a turbo trainer or trying to motivate myself to do intervals.

I do hope there's some pictures at some point because I reckon it must have looked mighty "Belgian" with the rain coming down and a huge peleton whizzing round. Only thing missing were the cobbles.

Time for me to go and rest my weary legs now and dream of Flanders, which is only a few weeks away now.