Cicle Classic

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The Cicle Classic is always a great race which offers lots of excitement over the 180km mixed terrain course. After a great team effort from all riders Alex Paton managed to clinch 12th overall, a report below written by Alex talks us through how it went.Gruff Lewis

Having been excited all week the time had finally come to race Rutland Cicle Classic.  Gruff, Rory, Simon, Stevie, Max and myself we all in for a treat as the weather had been kind enough to stay dry on the day and give ideal conditions for the many off road sectors this unique race has to offer.

180km awaited the 170 or so riders and made for some very fast racing on the opening two laps of the reservoir with attacks constantly going and coming back.  For the first time in a few years, the race headed to the first narrow section and KOM as one very large peloton.  The last few Km into the narrowing was like the run into the finish of most races.  Riding well as a team we all placed well into the first narrow section and avoided the carnage behind.  We soon placed ourselves up towards the front of the race in the mix with the many UCI teams.

As the race progressed though the many varying loops, farm tracks and punchy climbs we still had a good team presence towards the front.  This was a very good position to be in and by half way a very large number of riders had lost contact with the peloton of the race due to punctures, crashes or simply unable to deal with the tough pace and demanding circuit.Peloton

With a small group of 5 gone clear and riders looking reluctant to chase, gruff and I took to the front and tried to start a chase.  A tough challenge with just the two of us, but eventually the pace lifted and people began to race hard again.

Through one of the farm track the front of the race really exploded and soon the lead group was caught.  From this point the race continued to make good progress having formed a lead group of 50 or so.  As more farm tracks came up, more and more riders were lost to punctures, having survived the tough selection, Gruff, Stevie, Max and I were still in the race.  Unfortunately Rory and Simon had not made it, a shame as both have been riding very well in the past few weeks.

Coming into the closing stages of the race the lead group had become even smaller and we had lost Stevie to a puncture and Max caught up with a crash.  With approx. 25km to the finish 3 riders had a small advantage and looked to be progressing well.  The front of the race didn’t seem to be wanting to chase with many riders tiring, including myself.  I took a big gamble and decided I would try and bridge across the gap and prey the group Rory Townsendstays away as it would take a huge effort to make it there.  After a very tough few minutes chasing I had made the group and we eventually extended the lead to 45s at most, eventually getting caught with 7km to go due to One Pro and Madison using their whole team to chase.

Into the final rough section Gruff and I were still in the front group and well positioned.  Unfortunately Gruff punctured along with many others, but still managed to finish in the second group.  I survived in the lead group and with almost no legs I managed to hang on to finish 12th, a very respectable result, but a little disappointing after a top 4 looked possible, but that’s just how it works some days.  I did however manage to win possibly the biggest pork pie ever, which was an interesting prize to say the least.

A very tough race, but one hell of an experience.  A great weekend racing with great support from everyone who came along to help!

On to the next one…….Wilton GP

Tour of the Reservoir report

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Another tough weekend of racing done and dusted at the Tour of the Reservoir. Pedal Heaven’s own Dave Mcgowan finished 13th overall in general classification, a report below explains more.

Stage One

The tour of the reservoir is renowned for its difficult racing conditions and the 2015 tour did not disappoint.

135 riders set off on stage one to tackle eight laps of the Derwent Reservoir, no sooner had the race begun when the race began to split into groups; due to the tough winds the riders had to face.

At the end of lap one a small group of 7 riders escaped the peloton, including Pedal Heaven’s own David McGowan as the only none UCI team representative in the breakaway. A lap later the group would swell to 9 riders and gain almost a four minute advantage.

However, in the final 20miles the aggressive peloton had been decimated by the fast pace and were now closing in fast on the breakaway!

At the finish line it was Madison Genesis rider Eric Rowsell who took the victory, with a slender margin over the rest of the breakaway.

With a small 15 man peloton less than a minute behind it was all to play for on Stage Two.

 

Stage 2

As the race started on stage two, the remaining riders left in the race faced gruelling weather conditions with rain, biting winds and even a snow storm!

The race organisers decided to change the route to a shorten 80mile event, taking on 6 laps of the Derwent Reservoir.Tour of the Res

Many attacks early in the race came to nothing, as the Madison Genesis team controlled the peloton for the Stage One winner, Eric Rowsell.

As the race reached the last lap the weather had taken its toll and there were now only 20 riders left at the front of the race.

As the sun finally broke through the thick grey clouds, Marcin Bialoblocki of OnePro Cycling emerged at the head of the group to take the win on Stage Two.Eric Rowsell took the overall win of the Tour of the Reservoir 2015, with Steve Lampier (Team Raleigh) in second and Andy Tennant (Team Wiggins) taking the final spot on the podium.

Pedal Heaven were well represented despite having difficulties with crashes and injuries during the two day event in Northumberland. With David McGowan finishing 13th, Gruff Lewis 26th and Stephen Williams in 29th place.

Chorley GP round up

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Chorley GP was on the cards last weekend, with this race being the first round of the national elite series things were always going to be exciting. Stevie Williams fills us in with a short report below.

Gruff, Will, Alex, Dave, Max, Dave Creegan, Rob Moore and myself, headed to Chorley last weekend for the first round of the Elite road race series.

As I arrived at the race, nerves started to kick in as I wanted to do well in my first elite race as a senior rider.

The flag was dropped and I knew position was key heading into the bottom of the first climb, as the race got to the climb I positioned myself well and was sat comfortably in 20th wheel, at the summit of the climb myself and Tom Stewart (Madison) attacked and made a workable gap with gained around 2 minutes, unfortunately we were bought back at the 60km mark.

Once I was caught, I had a small chat to Gruff, I ate and drank a lot leading up to the next time up the climb. I positioned well again because I knew the race was going to explode this time, and it did, with 18 riders making the split, I found myself in this lead group and knew the race wasn’t going to come back together as Raleigh, NFTO, Madison, JLT and ONE where well represented.

The next time up the climb I thought about the KOM points and was able to go across the summit second as I knew I was leading this classification along with the sprint classification.

During the last lap my legs started to suffer and I was distanced from the group. I then got myself into a group of five riders and rode to the finish, I was able to take 20th place. With that position and taking the KOM classification I was happy.

A good start for the team as we secured 5th Team and gained ourselves 7 points to the overall standings.

Big thanks to Craig, Tim, Jojo, and Jenine for all the help.

Stevie Williams takes 11th overall at the TotnesVire

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Stevie Williams finished 11th overall in general classification last weekend at the TotnesVire stage race. A short report below fills us in with how each stage went.

Gruff, Dave Creeggan, Mitch Webber, Will Fox, Rob Moore and I attended the Totnes 2 daStevie Williams y last weekend, a difficult weekend with tough competition and poor weather conditions.

Stage 1

It was a grim rainy and windy day, and we knew the terrain was tough and splits where going to happen, with the team looking good at the front if the peloton we went with a lot if moves early on and we were always in the place that we needed to be.

Rob Moore managed to get himself into the break of 8 which was ended by a mechanical.

On the 3rd lap I got into a chase group of three with OnePro and Raleigh riders, we worked well together, and a small group of 8 came across to us. We stayed away until the end and finished 15 seconds behind the break, I finished 9th on the stage. With G and Mitch safely in the group a minute behind.

Stage 2

A couple of hours later it was a closed circuit race, morale was pretty low at this point due to bad weather and fatigue from the morning stage. We picked ourselves up with a few jokes and got into the racing mind-set once again.Gruff Lewis

We positioned ourselves well throughout the race, but it was Rob Moore who stole the show, Rob put in a great effort after clipping of the front staying away until the last lap in which he did a great job of riding solo for over an hour holding off a brutal chase from OnePro. A lot of riders where getting spat due to crosswinds, I found myself distanced in the last couple if laps losing a bit of time to the leaders.

Stage 3

I knew today I was capable of getting myself to a top 10gc finish due to the Haytor finish. With the boys looking after me early on, with 40km to go it split massively and there was a group of 20 riders left, with a break of four up the road Lampier of Raleigh, Mould, Opie and Yanto of OnePro the raced slowed.

I managed to position myself well at the bottom of the climb. And go with the early moves. With the crosswinds on Haytor, climbing wasn’t easy.

Myself and G managed to finish the race 11th and 14th overall.

Second for Rory at the SERRL round 3 Challock

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Rory Townsend finished second behind NUUN Sigma rider Wouter Sybrandy this weekend at the SERRL round 3 Challock, Rory has written a report below which talks us through how it went.

Round 3 of SERRL’s summer series had been moved from Frant to Challock course because of road works. This was a six lap, 120km race finishing up the 2.5km, 7% gradient, White Hill.

Mac, Rosie, JP, Lewis and I lined up for this one, alongside strong teams from Richardsons Trek, Catford Banks, and Nuun Sigma Sport. Richardsons would be the team to watch as they had seven riders, despite their pre-race tactics to follow Pedal Heaven!

It was a relatively slow start to the race, possibly due to the wet and windy conditions, but soon the attacks started. Two riders from Richardsons and Catford got away after a lap or so and quickly built a good lead.Rory and Alex

Just under two laps into the race, a larger group got away including 5 Richardsons Trek riders, Wouter Sybrandy (Nuun Sigma Sport), Rosie and JP. Riders were trying to jump across to the break, so as we turned onto the open cross wind section of road, I attacked taking Lewis with me, using the riders ahead of us as stepping stones.

Once together, Pedal Heaven and Richardsons riders began to work through and off. We were held at a minute to the bunch. After a lap or so, the two origional breakaway riders were brought back, and the minute gap had widened to three.

As we crossed the line for a lap to go, we were all still together. On a faster section of road, two riders slipped away, Wouter from Nuun and Rhys Howells from Richardsons. The four of us were caught out, as JP and Alex were at the front, whilst Lewis and I were at the back. Because we were slow to react, they built a decent lead of around 40 seconds. Rhys was very unlucky to have crashed on a corner, landing in a ditch, leaving only Wouter up the road. There was some confusion in the group as not all had realised Rhys was out, so Richardsons were still reluctant to work. By the time they got involved, the gap was out to a minute.

There was a lack of cohesion in the group and it was clear some people were struggling, so as we passed through the feed zone for the last time, I attacked, again taking Lewis with me, along with two Richardsons riders. The four of us worked well, but with a down hill run in towards the turn off for White Hill, it playing into the hands of the lone leader.Rory Townsend

Richardsons led us onto the climb, and as it began to kick up, one of them attacked, Lewis shouted to me to follow, and as he sat up seeing me on his wheel, I attacked going clear alone with one Richardsons rider chasing. I crossed the line, disappointed with second having felt strong all day. Lewis took the sprint for third, JP came home in 7th and Rosie in 10th.

Mac was in the group behind, having got in the counter move earlier in the day, finishing in 17th.

 

Chris McNamara takes 8th at the Wally Gimber RR

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Last weekend saw the Pedal Heaven RT take on the Wally Gimber Road Race which for the first year has been announced a National A.

The race started fast and every rider was active at the front, attacking themselves trying to make the crucial move and also closing down attacks. There was a break just approaching the end of lap one which looked promising, there were number of riders from Raleigh GAC, JLT Condor, Catford and all 6 of our riders. The race was forced to be stopped due to some riders crossing onto the other side of the road causing dangerous riding, after a strong word from the commissaire the race was restarted with all riders back together.Simon Holt

After the restart a small break was established which was sitting around 45 seconds for a long time, Rob Moore who had been riding strong all race was involved, unfortunately that was bought back after some string riding from the peloton.

After many attacks and a lot of chasing the decisive move happened as the race was nearing the end which included 23 riders and all major teams represented. Three riders clipped of the front half way through the penultimate lap, two Raleigh GAC riders (Karol Domagalski and Steve Lampier) and 1 Richardson’s Trek rider (Jamie Caldwell) and they stayed away until the finish.

With 20 riders left in the group behind it was one last time up the hill which did see some rider’s fall of the back of the group and then a sprint finish.

Chris Mcnamara was the highest placed rider with 8th overall, followed closely by Will fox in 10th and Rob Moore in 12th.

A strong ride all round by all riders!Rob Moore

Results:

1 Karol Domagalski – Raleigh GAC 03:45:14
2 Steve Lampier – Raleigh GAC
3 Jamie Caldwell – Richardson’s-Trek RT
4 Tobyn Horton – Madison Genesis
5 George Wood – Richardson’s-Trek RT
6 Brad Morgan – Raleigh GAC
7 Sam Lowe – Raleigh GAC
8 Chris McNamara – Pedal Heaven RT
9 Joseph Moses – JLT Condor
10 Robert Moore – Pedal Heaven RT
11 Michael Smith – Corley Cycles – Drops RT
12 Will Fox – Pedal Heaven RT
13 Ashley Dennis – Catford CC Equipe/Banks
14 Thomas Bustard – Giordana-Mitsubishi Electric RT
15 Lawrence Carpenter – Catford CC Equipe/Banks
16 Andrew Hastings – Richardson’s-Trek RT
17 Edmund Bradbury – NFTO
18 Martin Ford – BowlPhish BONTRAGER Racing
19 Ashley Cox – CC Luton
20 Luke Grivell-Mellor – JLT Condor

Dave McGowan takes the win at the Evesham Vale RR

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Building on the good form that has so far gained him three top ten places this season, Pedal Heaven RT rider David McGowan took it one step further to take the victory in Sundays Evesham Vale RR over 62 miles, in Worcestershire.

The Pedal Heaven rider sprinted to victory ahead of Team Sportsgrub’s Ben Stockdale and NFTO’s Dale Appleby.

After many of the early moves were ridden down by Pedal Heaven RT, The big split in the peloton finally came.

On the Second of Four laps, a large group of around 18 riders gained a small advantage.

Team Madison and NFTO had the strength in numbers in the break, and it was left to them to push the pace.

After many attacks coming from the riders in the group, the break was eventually whittled down to only Seven and it looked like it could be the bigger UCI teams that might steal the victory.Evesham RR

However, with the help from team mate Harrison Jones who was also part of the breakaway, McGowan followed the right moves to be able to sprint to the win by only half a wheel.

Another great result for Pedal Heaven RT!!

Result:

1 David McGowan (Pedal Heaven RT) 2:30.00

2 Ben Stockdale (SportGrub Kuota CT)

3 Dale Appleby (NFTO)

4 Zach May (NFTO)

5 Adria Moreno-Sala (Velosure Starley Primal)

6 Dominic Jelfs (Madison Genesis)

7 Erick Rowsell (Madison Genesis) all same time

8 Liam Holohan (Madison Genesis) at 10 sec

9 Justin Hoy (NFTO)

10 Matthew Clarke (Wheelbase Altura MGD)

Rory takes the honors at the Peter Young road race

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Rory continued his show of form by winning the Peter Young on Sunday after a perfect lead out from all the guys making it a brilliant team performance. Rory talks us through how it went below.

Foxy, Mac, DC, Mitch, Lewis and I rolled out for this year’s Peter Young. This is a local race for many of us, and is only a 15 minute ride from my house, so I was really motivated to do a good ride. Confidence was high after last weekend at Jock Wadley, but after riding the Roy Thame RR on Saturday, I wasn’t feeling as fresh as the week before.Mitchell and Rory

The race was divided into two different courses which crossed over. The first lap rolled away from the HQ in Cobham and included seven and a half laps in a figure of eight pattern, before turning onto the shorter Staple Hill course for a further seven laps, culminating in a total distance of 87 miles.

The pace was high from the start as Mitch and I tried to split the bunch, but were being slowed by the support motorbikes in front. The bunch wasn’t keen on letting too much go, and with a number of the ‘bigger’ teams like Richardsons Trek, Nuun Sigma Sport, Catford and ourselves having raced the previous day, it discouraged breakaways from going on the larger circuit.

DC and Mitch did a great job at getting in both moves and keeping the pace high. On the last lap of the big circuit, DC infiltrated a strong group of 8 riders, who worked well to build a lead of 40 seconds. We wanted to dominate this race, and with that in mind, Mitch and I hit the front to pull the group back.Rory Win

Two laps in on the smaller circuit, Foxy went away solo on a small drag, about a lap later, a Twickenham rider went across to him. The duo worked well and were holding the bunch behind at 30 seconds. The 5 remaining Pedal Heaven riders were all present at the front of the peloton, keeping an eye on other attacks and staying out of trouble.

 

 

With a lap to go, Foxys gap had reduced heavily and was now insight. The guys had to keep the pace high to deter attacks and keep me in position at the front of the bunch ready for a sprint. 2km out Foxy was caught, and immediately got involved with the lead out. With Lewis and Foxy sweeping either side of me, Mac led us into the final corner and out, then Mitch took over and went really hard for about 300 meters. Finally, DC went for it and I came off his wheel with 200 meters to go, I was over geared on the uphill sprint, and wasn’t sure if I could hold on, but the pictures showed a clear gap and DC managed to hold onto second.

Absolutely thrilled to get my hands in the air after a well-controlled race and perfect lead out from the guys.

Thanks to Hugh McManus for the Photo’sRory Win

Second for Stevie Williams at the Angela Davies Road Race

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Stevie Williams and Gruff Lewis were in action last weekend in Abertystwyth at the Angela Davies Memorial RR. A tough race which attracted the attention of some big teams which added to the challenge. Stevie Williams rode brilliantly and claimed second behind Condor JLT’s Handley. A short report below tells us how the race panned out.

It was a cold start to the day in Aberystwyth, I put a lot of pressure on myself to get a result as The Angela Davies memorial road race is my home race. It was Condor JLT and Madison who were well represented with strong teams which was going to make it tough.

As we rolled out from the HQ everyone was keen to get going, the early move was the key move, with me and Gruff visible at the front of the bunch, I followed wheels and got into the break of the day with 9 riders present which included Scully, Cronshaw, Cuming, Handley, Lloyd, local rider Dan Davies and a couple others. We worked well together and quickly opened a gap of 2 minutes. Stevie

The gap grew to around 3 minutes, until a chasing group was formed behind with a few more JLT and Madison riders and my team mate Gruff. This was good for us as we had a Pedal Heaven rider in the lead group and the chasing group.

As the race went on and natural selection was formed from the lead group only 6 of us remained. As we reached the last big climb of the day, myself, Mike Cuming and Richard Handley distanced ourselves from the break and went over the top of the climb and grew a gap of just over a minute.

The JLT riders had the upper hand on the run in as they were able to attack numerous times. As we got to the final kilometre it was time for a sprint, Cuming was distanced and it was very close between myself and Handley for 1st and 2nd, he narrowly got me in the finale and I was good enough for 2nd on the day.

Good race, organised brilliantly by Ystwyth CC.

Rory Townsend’s takes 3rd in the fastest ever Jock Wadley RR

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Rory Townsend rode with class to take third overall behind Steel Von Hoff and Yanto Barker at last weekend’s Jock Wadley Memorial RR. Rory has written a report to explain how the race went from his view.

Tank, DC, Mitch, Stevie, Holty and I rolled out for the 33rd edition of the prestigious Jock Wadley road race. The 145km race took place in Colchester on a rolling, 12 lap course.

The race bought strong teams out from their winter training, JLT Condor, One Pro and NFTO all had the full complement of six riders and we knew any break containing numbers from those teams would probably stick.

The race started slowly compared to what we’ve been used to late. However the attacks soon came after a lap or so, Mitch and Stevie were doing a great job following the moves whilst I sat back with Holty for cover. DC and Tank were present at the front as always, keeping a watchful eye out.

The decisive move began with approximately 4 laps to go. The front of the peloton began to fracture in the crosswinds over the reservoir. I attacked from the middle of the pack while sheltered from the wind taking a Condor JLT rider with me.Von Hoff, Rory and Yanto Barker

After a minute or so of chasing, we got across to the leaders making a group of 11.  This included two riders from each of the three major teams. We worked well together, riding through and off. Not far behind the group, Stevie was stuck in no-man’s land trying to get across. He held us for lap but couldn’t make it, riding against the full force of the breakaway. In the peloton, the chase subsided and before long we had a commanding lead of almost 8 minutes.

With four laps to go, the attacks started from the One Pro duo of Marcin and Yanto, possibly trying to drop the riders sitting on. A three man move went containing a rider from each of the main teams, I sat back and fortunately they were soon brought back. I then got into the counter move, along with the same three teams. At one point we had a minute lead, so I was surprised when the group behind came back to us!

Yanto attacked up the hill with about 3 and a half laps to go, taking Steel von Hoff (NFTO).  I jumped across the gap to join them. The three of us took equal turns, and established a decent lead. Von Hoff is well known for his sprint ability after winning a stage at this year’s Tour Down Under, and Yanto wasn’t keen on taking him to the line; with 1 lap to go, Yanto kicked off the attacks , Steele caught up to him and then attacked putting me further behind.

Their game of cat and mouse continued allowing me to catch up. I realisedI was going to have to settle for third, and rode the majority of the last lap on the front.

With approximately 2km to go, the games started again and it became more of a track sprint than a road finale. Marcin was chasing behind and there wasn’t much time to mess around from my perspective, so I hit them hard and briefly had a gap, Steele chased back on and attacked over the top, showing his World Tour quality in going clear and taking the win. I followed Yanto in with Marcin not far behind.Podium

In the bunch sprint, DC produced a great ride to get 11th overall, finishing just behind One Pros Jon Mould. Tank also finished within the top 20, with the rest of the team coming home safely in the bunch.

Very happy with what was possibly my best ever result!

Great to be showing off the Pedal Heaven jersey at the front of the big races!