The tale of the crit and the...errr, crit

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BY: Niall Frost

Published: 24th June, 2010

Having dived back into normal life after my French holiday I was keen to get some racing under the belt.  Unfortunately with the UK short track champs not running (shame, I was really looking forward to it) I was feeling slightly short of mtb events.  So for a wee change I piled up at Croft Crit on Tuesday night.

As Croft is pan flat (and actually below sea level!) there weren't quite enough gears on the Superfly so the road bike was called into action.  I have done a fair bit of crit racing at the Milton Keynes Bowl back in 2008, but it's amazing the skill and confidence you lose after such a short time.  It was a shock to the system on the first lap, with echelons forming in the cross wind and I kept getting stuck on the wrong side!  The next lap round if I was going to suffer in the wind, why shouldn'''''''''t everyone else?  I stuck it in the gutter, so no-one else could get any shelter and tried to force a break.  HR up to 190 odd and just 40 odd riders on my wheel, plan 1 didn't work.  Gave me a sore lung though.

I settled back into the normal rhythm of through and off and working in the wind and really started to get the hand of the bunch shelter (no I wasn't wheel sucking!).  Come the final lap and the pace had picked up ridiculously and one rider came past down the back straight really pushing on.  I was on 3rd wheel and decided this was a better option, through the chicane and I was being vindicated then 600 yards to go and the rider pulls off.  I'm left with a headwind finish to lead out, great... what a schoolboy!

550 yards later and I'm steamrollering to the line (I don't sprint, I charge) but got swallowed by 3 others on the line and finished 4th.  It only took a whole other lap to stop pedalling in squares.

A quick recovery on Wednesday and I travelled over to Otley for the Otley Classic Town Centre race.  About 100 starters and I was feeling quite intimidated, especially as I got pushed to the back.  Never a great place to start when the roads aren't that wide.  The Otley races are quite prestigious and draw some big crowds and we were the warm up act for the professional seniors immediately after.  Still a lot of people were taking it very seriously, not least Lizzie Armitstead who was resplendent in Cervelo Test Team colours.  The first few laps were fast and furious and I was just focused on staying with the bunch.  Every lap riders were being shelled out the back and I just hung on into the bunch.  With 6/7 laps to go a big crash on the last corner saw riders disappearing into the crowd but fortunately I managed to avoid the carnage (more by luck than judgement, still being at the back....).  Every time something like that happens it's a mad chase for those at the back to get back on, but we did, just.

Then with just over 2 laps to go, a mass pile up on the back straight sent riders sprawling, I think I ran over someone's leg, woops (I think he was more concerned by the smashed carbon that was his bike and expensive wheels...).  The front 15 or so disappeared and our group never got back on despite my heart rate reach upper 190s.  Eugh.

I put in a wee effort down the finish straight but by this time it was all over.  A winning group of 2 had escaped to win.  The fellow riders in my group were just happy to finish, such was the pace.  Despite this, it was excellent training and a fantastic event to ride, I just wish I had more practice and confidence to force gaps.  The pro's race was won by ex mountain biker Ian Wilkinson, with a classy attack on the penultimate lap.

See you at Dalby.

Frosty.  

Thanks to Gary Fisher, Exposure and Accelerade for the help this season.