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Awesome effort illy!
amazing for Nic to grab a top 10 position too. -
Thank you for the good wishes! It was a really tough day in the saddle. I'd been determined to get into a breakaway, so was pleased to get in the chasing group, but it was such a long, hard race! Those final few miles really finished me off (as the picture shows!). Thanks to the forumengers who came down to support the race.
Could he look any more 'pro'?!
That's what it is all about!
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Illy and Nic Hutchings contest the Hounslow RR again.
This year we are very pleased to have help from some CS Grupetto members with the large amount of work in putting this event on. Many thanks are due for this.
**Hounslow and District Wheelers Road Race Preview (2012) **
Next Sunday (18th March) sees the 42nd edition of the Hounslow and District Wheelers Peter Young Memorial Road Race.
This is one of the biggest sporting events in the Surrey area, and one that can be watched for free just by standing at the roadside. The status of the race and the quality of the field seems to increase every year, and for 2012 there is a full field of eighty riders (plus reserves) which includes twenty seven elites (i.e. professional standard), twenty seven first category riders and twenty six second cats.
While it’s impossible to predict a winner, there are some names to watch out for. Marcin Bialoblocki (Node 4 Giordiana Racing) who carries race no. 1 was second in the event last year, but could so easily have been the winner, since it looked as though he was going to dead-heat with his team mate Jeff Williams who was actually given the verdict. In 2011 they were both riding for the Motorpoint team, run by former champion Phil Griffiths, which dominated the race. This year the Node 4 team is another Griffiths outfit, but Bialoblocki has only one supporting team mate, so outright domination seems less likely. However, Marcin’s form is good as he showed by coming second in the Jock Wadley Memorial Race last Sunday.
Nic Hutchings (CS Grupetto, race no.5), made a good showing last year against the strength of Motorpoint. Without team support he did a lot of work at the front of the chasing group and finished honourably in eighth place. He also has good form at the moment having taken fifth place in the SERRL road race two weeks ago. He has Matthew Theobalds (6) as team support.
The Hounslow will be hoping for a good performance from their second claim member Wouter Sybrandy(63). Wouter is always a strong contender and brings with him a powerful five man team from Team IG - Sigma Sport which includes Simon Gaywood(59), another rider who has had a number of good placings in this event in recent years. Wouter commented: “This race, with its deceptively demanding course, is hard to win. It’s difficult to get away on the big circuit, but equally difficult to be fresh enough to do much on that tough finishing circuit.”
Two outsiders, Davids against Goliaths, are Gabriel Martinez (VC Meudon, 8th reserve) and Flavio Zappi (Zappi’s CC, 80).
Martinez has recently been notable as a time triallist, and generally it’s roadmen who are successful at winning time trials rather than vice versa. However, so far this year Martinez has ridden two time trials and won them both: clearly a man pinging with fitness. Surely the doyen of this field, Signor Zappi came back into cycling in 2008 after a *twenty five year* lay off. He is a former Italian pro and one time bearer of the green jersey in the Giro d’Italia – he lost it to a French guy called Fignon. In spite of a bad crash last year he is still scoring British Cycling road race points and hopes to regain his first cat. licence this year. Let’s all raise a glass of his native Tuscan wine to wish him good luck!Full details of the course, which lies between Chertsey and Chobham can be found on the club website: http/www.hounslowanddistrictwheelers.co.uk
Go to ‘open events’ and click on Peter Young Memorial Road Race. -
Always a great race to go and watch - nice small circuit so you get to see the action plenty of times.
Matt had a strong race last year and gained a few SKHMA points
There's normally a few LMNH'ers racing as well and it's pretty easy to get to by bike
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a full field of eighty riders (plus reserves) which includes twenty seven elites (i.e. professional standard), twenty seven first category riders and twenty six second cats.
Nice rule of thirds.
Go Illy!
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First I'd like to give a vote of thanks to the Grupetto members who helped us with the marshalling. I've just come back from our clubroom meeting where there was a general feeling that good will had been created.
Illy was very disappointed to fail to finish - he just blew up in the last few miles. On the face of it this meant he'd done less well than last year, but I don't believe this was true. As far as I can remember, last year Illy maintained his place in the bunch but didn't really see much action. This year the race was very different with an early break containing members of the major teams, which meant that those teams were under an obligation not to work, whereas the minor teams needed to chase. From my position at the roadside it looked as though the two Grupetto riders were certainly doing their share of the chasing with Nic and Illy either on or near the front much of the time. I do have a picture which shows this, but you'll have to wait a bit longer for it since it needs editing before it will load.
In a nutshell, I think Illy's problem was that he'd worked too hard. Anyway here's my report:
**The Peter Young Memorial Road Race **(18th March 2012)
This 87 mile Hounslow promoted race was won with an impressive performance from Andy Griffiths (Team IG-Sigma Sport).
What appeared to be a suicidal break, formed with about 75 miles left to ride, proved to be the decisive race winning move. On the second time up the modest Kitsmead Lane climb Griffiths attacked, got away and was quickly joined by six others: James Moss (Node4 Giordana), Pete Vincent (Mid Devon CC), Andrew Hastings(Metaltek – Scott), Tim Elverson (Pedal Heaven), Alex King (Loughborough Students) and Douglas Coleman (CC Luton).
No one at the roadside expected such a long break to succeed: past experience of this race led us to expect any successful move to take off, at the earliest, within sight of the finishing circuit. However all seven contributed to the effort, and with the break including a man from each of the four of the stronger teams, their team mates still in the bunch naturally did not chase with enthusiasm. The gap stabilised at around one minute fifteen seconds.
On the finishing circuit it suddenly became clear that Wouter Sybrandy (IG Sigma Sport) had been holding something in reserve. He skipped away from the peloton to join his team mate in the break – a manoeuvre which was completed in just one three mile lap. He took Ashley Cox (Team Corley) with him, and there’s no doubt that Cox made a contribution to the chase, doing some turns at the front, but the spectators saw this episode as being mainly a display of Wouter’s time trialling ability.
James Moss opened a gap on the break at the bell for the start of the final lap, but Griffiths and Sybrandy gave him only a brief moment of freedom, and on the final ascent of Staple Hill it was Andy Griffiths, the initiator of the break, who gave the victory salute, still 10 seconds clear, with Sybrandy second and Moss third.
The winner’s time was 3 hours 27 minutes 57 seconds.
Although roadmen do not always look on time trials with great respect, Griffiths, in conversation after the race, mentioned his fifth place in the recent North Road Hard Riders 25 (won by Sybrandy) as an indication that his form was good. However perhaps a more significant bit of preparation for the day’s work had been a 200k (125 mile) Belgian race the IG Sigma Sport team had ridden the previous weekend; so while most of the competitors were stepping up to their longest event of the year so far, the IG Sigma Sport team could regard the eighty seven mile Peter Young Memorial as a relatively easy day!
**Result: **
- Andy Griffiths (Team IG-Sigma Sport)
- Wouter Sybrandy (Team IG-Sigma Sport)
- James Moss (NODE 4 Giordiana Racing)
- Ashley Cox (Team Corley Cycles)
- Pete Vincent (Mid Devon CC)
- Douglas Coleman (CCLuton)
- Andrew Hastings (Metaltek-Scott)
- Alex King (Loughborough Students CC)
- Marcin Bialoblocki (NODE 4 Giordiana Racing)
- Simon Gaywood (Team IG-Sigma Sport)
- Chris McNamara (Pedal Heaven RT)
- Nic Hutchings (CS Grupetto)
- Andy Griffiths (Team IG-Sigma Sport)
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great stuff Matt, well done.