Cadence Junior RR - Hugo Humphreys Race Report
So this weekend was the first round of the Junior National Road Race series, the Cadence RR in mid/south Wales, a race full to the brim with Juniors wanting to test their legs over 110km consisting of 7 laps of a mildly hilly circuit.
The race got off to a very nervous and shaky start what with 100 riders all unsure of where to begin and all wanting to be on the front for the slightest of corners or uphills I ended up sharpening the elbows and squeezing through a good few handlebar-wide gaps but it was not enough as I approached the finishing climb towards the back of the bunch. However, the enthusiasm of many of the less experienced riders in front of me quickly turned to gasps of breath and I snaked my way to the front using as much of the right hand side of the road as possible and rejoined the front echelon before speeding down the descent and onto the flatter part of the course. Here the peloton regrouped enough for a couple of riders to touch wheels before that ever familiar crash of carbon on ashphalt was heard and I found myself swerving through the wreckage as riders seized up and smashed into each other, fortunately most people were ok and only superficial damage was done.
Onto the second lap and the bunch had clearly calmed down as riders filled both sides of the road. I looked up over the mass of kit to see a mate of mine from the Glendene CC, Josh Hannan, just off the front with another rider. Having had enough of the nervous bunch riding I jumped across to Josh and looked back to see no response from the front of the peloton except for two riders who had joined my wheel. I bridged to Josh and the other rider and the 5 of us worked as a group enough to gain a good advantage and pick up the remnants of a small move which had escaped on the first lap, our group reaching up to 9 riders at on point as Ali Slater (Hargroves) and the super keen Alex Peters (CC Hackney) made their way across. Our group then worked together for the rest of the race as we ‘chainganged’ through and, with an average speed above 37km/h, the gap rose quickly to 2 mins 20 seconds.
For the rest of the race, we worked well but the finishing climb clearly took its toll and riders were dropped to leave our group at 6 with two laps to go and the gap at 1 min 55 seconds. By this point my legs were undoubtedly feeling the strain but I think we all knew that the finish was in sight and we got to the bell lap with 1 min 30 seconds adavantage. Normally at this point in the race riders start to think tactically and maybe miss a turn on the front but we were all 100% committed to getting to the finish and the through and off never stopped, this was until about 2km to go when 3 riders (Oli Rossi (Ciclos Uno) Jon Dibben (Hargroves) and Sam Lowe (Raleigh)) made the junction and tactical riding came to the fore until Jonathan Dibben dived across to the other side of the road in full flight, an attack that lead to his win. Our bunch reached the foot of the finishing climb in pieces and all I could do was uselessly fight the cramps on a finish which I felt suited my style to roll over the line in 8th place with a pair of very dead legs. Of course, I shouldn’t be too disappointed, I made the selection and worked well in the break and certainly feel like a contender for a podium place next time.
Thanks to my Dad for driving me to Wales and nervously standing around in a field for just under 3 hours, as well as all the other stuff he does.
Hugo Humphreys