We have a family habit of listing in December things we want to do in the year ahead. Write this article, read that book, visit this place, try that food. The whiteboard stays there for the whole year, and we cross things off as we do them. As this implies, I am a planner. I like targets, and I like being able to work methodically towards them. If there’s one thing better than achieving a target, it’s following a meticulous plan in order to do so.
But the thing planning can’t do is take the plunge and just enter something. There’s always a reason to be a little better prepared to try racing: I could wait for my power to reach a certain number. I could lose a bit more weight. I could stretch out that little niggle. I could wait for nicer weather. I could find a friend to do it with. I could sign up after the screamers have started again. All of these things are excuses that arrive dressed like sensible reasoning.
So, on Wednesday night, at the last possible moment, I entered the first Winter Crit at Abingdon, slightly taking myself by surprise.
Saturday comes around and I have slept badly. The ground is just wet enough to be slippery. It’s about 4 degrees. And there is a 20mph wind and 40mph gusts. My stomach is churning. I sign on. Number 13, of course.
Now I’m at the start line. There are two other Condors, Dave Dyer and Brendan Schofield, among forty or so riders, so I’m not lonely. Pete Smith and Kristen Lovelock are at the side of the course: my first race is not the isolated experience I was nervous about.
As the race starts I make sure I’m near, but not at the front. It’s a pleasant surprise that we don’t set off at a lick. It’s a pretty steady pace, almost an anti-climax after my nerves. I was sure I was going to be dangling near the back of the pack, and it’s slower than a dev ride.
I do not touch the front for 45 minutes. I am never further back than seventh or eighth, and work as little as possible for as long as possible. I can sit in my kitchen and work on threshold power. My objective here is to learn to ride in the bunch and work on positioning, and that’s what I’m going to do.
This means I see the two man break go early in the race and do not think for a moment of following it. There are fifty minutes ahead, and forty riders: these two must be mad. It turns out that they’re not. They are strong and aggressive and they eventually cross the line first and second.
Not knowing this at the time, however, I settle in to the pattern of the race, which is that every time we come on to the back straight, we push a bit harder and see what happens. It turns out that what happens is that half of our pack disappears very quickly, cutting us down to thirteen riders who aren’t working cohesively to bring back the two escapees. Sadly, then, this tactic hurts us more than it does the breakaway pair, and that’s how they stay away.
Nevertheless, I concentrate on filling gaps and being assertive, and despite the wind there are no scary moments or near misses. It feels safe. Another worry crossed off.
I notice as the laps pass that my competitors take the corner onto the back straight as tight as they can and end up in the middle of the race course. This is the shortest route, so probably feels like good sense. But it also leaves a huge space for riders to sit in one’s shelter, forming an echelon across the runway. I think it’s a mistake. By contrast, I take the corner wide and look for the cones, making sure I’m wedged on the far left so nobody can sit in my draft without leaving the course. I know it’s working when I see the smallest rider of the group struggling to squeeze in there, hitting cones and weaving off the course. Riding behind me is usually like sitting behind a bus coming down the High Street. I suspect some Condors would like to have an armchair installed behind me, it’s usually so comfortable.
On the last lap the back straight is the same as ever, with stronger riders pushing hard but from the middle of the course. Half way down I sprint from about sixth, staying on the hard left of the course where I know they can’t get shelter. I don’t look back until the final bend, when I see that there’s nobody with me. I don’t know where they are, but I’m not going to risk having a proper look. I come in a few seconds ahead for some points. Cat 3 is only five points away.
First race done, I’m struck by the difference from my usual efforts: this wasn’t sustained or regulated. It was calm, measured, with a few surges and a short maximal effort at the end. It was nice to do my first race and not feel like I was hanging on for grim death. I realise that I was lucky to be a big rider on a flat, windy course, and that I probably helped make the same experience hard for other people. But I wasn’t especially prepared, haven’t ridden in a group since about October, and still did OK.
Condors descended down on Dalton in force this morning! With the standard Dalton weather lined up of freezing temperatures and a lot of rain (would you expect anything less) we knew the race would be tough.
The Cat 4 line up bolstered a relatively inexperienced group of racers but contained some strong work horses! David Holland making his racing Debut and Luke Lorenzini learning how to race in the typical English weather. The senior Mark Robert Glendinning providing experience in the pack and Poll Pollard and Young pup Stephen George Johnson bringing the Watts in. All was left was for me to keep the guys on the game plan!
The plan was simple… Attack using the strong lads of Poll and Stephen the aim was to get them in a breakaway. Sadly at Cat 4 not many other riders want to put their chips on the table and jump in.
The race started at a steady pace with riders looking after each other in the treacherous conditions. Early on I teed things off with a little dig at the front to remind people we are racing! This was quickly shut down then a member of the VC venta team jumped up front and we flirted for a-bit but nothing to deep went off the front. As we was all brought back coming out the following corner Stephen jumped out the pack and flexed his muscles. With Condors packing on the front of the group to disrupt the chase Stephen made some ground but importantly it forced the rest of the group to work at bringing it back.
With Stephen getting caught it was Polls turn to flash the pink and black at the front… same principle again made some ground but it kept the chase working hard to bring it in. Mark marshalled the front and disrupted the chase which gave some much needed recovery for me and Stephen in the pack.
More attacks followed from myself Stephen and Poll to keep the race animated. With the clock striking the half way and Stephen, Mark and Poll keeping control of the front of the pack, it was time for Debutant David to show his TT prowess. With a huge dig off the front and settling into his tempo, David stayed away for 2 and a half laps and made the chase group really suffer.
With the race approaching final laps and the guys aggressive strategy not quite giving us the breakaway we wanted… it resorted to us getting lined up for the sprint.
Good work from Poll and Stephen kept Condors at the front until the last lap. Poll got disengaged through a corner and lost ground with Mark and David. With a big effort though they worked through the field to find their way near the front going into the last corner.
Stephen led the Condors through the last corner and went really early (a country mile from the line) with me stuck on his wheel, digging deep and managing to hold his position right up to the line. Picking up a solid 3rd place and some pocket money with it. A 5th place for me and Poll, Mark and David opening up their sprint to finish solidly in the group!
Great racing in nasty conditions!
Finally a massive thank you to the support we got from the Condors on the side of the road!
Photo credit: Matt Darby
Women’s Cat 2/3/4 by Aimee Jones
A sold-out field of brave women took to the start line on Saturday morning to endure 60 minutes of freezing cold rain. The only time I’ve been that cold was after the same race two years ago, seemingly long enough ago to have forgotten the pain and to think racing in February is a good idea.
Luckily I had several equally foolhardy Condor ladies at my side with the goal of looking after me and getting me to the final sprint if that’s what it came to. Cyndi rose to the role of road captain like a natural, all I had to do was stick to her wheel. I was never exposed on the front thanks to her and Becca (who totally threw down in her first ever race). Kristen should get special mention for her amazing attack that lasted solo for 4 laps as the bunch struggled to chase her down, and then still having enough in the tank to finish in the top 10. A further special mention must go to Mimi Harrison for hanging in for the entire race despite carrying an illness.
By the last few laps most had lost the ability to change gear because of numb hands, and bad timing meant that the men’s race overtook ours just at the last corner into the finishing straight. I was in the wrong position coming into the final sprint, and definitely not firing on all cylinders. I managed 4th place, which I should be happy with for my first race of the season and in terrible conditions, but I can’t help feeling annoyed that I couldn’t do better – especially as the team had performed so well.
Overall, it was a good day out for the Condors. Three ladies (Jennifer, Becci and Becca) completed their first ever races, Cheryl smashed a crit PB and looked right at home in the bunch, and we had two top 10 places. Not a bad start to the season, and our first proper team effort with plenty to learn from for next week. Oh yes, we get to do it all again next Saturday – please don’t let it rain!
Photo credit: Matt Darby
My First race! by David Holland
I have finally managed to make it to my first race. After entering 3 races last year and not making it to any of them I was starting to think I would never race.
However, the day came for the first round of the ART winter Crit series and there I was on the start line Freezing my arse off in the pouring rain. Now I could say I didn’t know what to expect but as shown with all my planning I’m a massive nerd, so before turning up to the race I had read every blog, watched every video, listened to every podcast and talked to every Condor I could find to glean every piece of advice and information I could before going into my first race.
I was a little worried about how hard it would be having read many accounts of people getting dropped in their first race, but my fellow Condors had assured me I would be fine and getting dropped wouldn’t be a problem so I had some confidence going in.
Well the race got underway and this was it I was finally in a bike race and to my (pleasant) surprise my fellow Condors were right, I was fine. I spent the first 5 minutes waiting for the pace to be upped and to start working hard but it didn’t come so I settled in and as per all the advice I spent the first ¾ of the race sitting on the wheels in the top 10 or so riders never putting my noise in the wind (which probably explains why I was finding it easy going).
All the other advice was going through my mind and I concentrated on trying to practise all the things I had read about, slipping into any gaps that opened, moving up whenever I could, taking corners at speed, keeping my line, trying to use as little energy as possible and just getting used to riding in a bunch that big and so tightly packed.
We had decided before the race we were going to attack to try and wear down the other teams as we had quite a few strong riders in the team (I had been exempt as it was my first race), which my team mates had been doing well while I had been sitting in taking it easy.
So as it got to about ¾ into the race and I was still feeling quite fresh I decided it was my turn to have a go (also I was freezing cold and needed to warm up a bit), so I put in my first ever attack just before the corner into the long straight with a headwind (Maybe not the best place). I went from about 10 riders back and took as much speed as I could round the corner in front of the pack, put my head down and pedalled away trying to keep it powerful but even expecting at any point for the bunch to come past me, the first lap went past and I still seemed to be on my own, then Stephen came up to join me with one other guy (who quickly disappeared) we worked together for another half a lap and as we crossed the start/finish I looked back and the bunch were right on our heels so at that point I gave it up and slid back into the pack, my first ever breakaway was over and I loved it! Definitely going to do that again.
Just as that was over we were given the 3 laps to go signal and I moved back into my sheltered position and waited for the end of the race, at this point it all started to get a bit hectic with everyone trying to get to the front and the pace getting upped, I had also lost feeling in my feet and hands making breaking/shifting especially hard. The last lap was especially hectic and I spent most of the time trying not to get ridden into or pushed right to the back. However, coming around the final corner I managed to keep with the front group and finished in 12th, not bad for my first race I think.
At this point everyone was thoroughly drenched and freezing someone helped me pull my gloves of as I was unable to, and we all rushed off to get changed and warmed up, I think it took about 30 mins until I stopped shaking.
I think if I had entered this race on my own it would have been a very different experience, but having the support of my fellow racers before, during and after the race (Pete, Mark, Poll, Stephen, and Luke), and all the Condors standing on the side cheering us on in the pouring rain it was an amazing experience despite the conditions and reminded me how fantastic it is to be a part of the Condor family.
I am now very much looking forward to my next races in round 3 and 4 of the ART Winter Crits.
But I’d like to share some of my racing experiences from the lower end of the spectrum. Because success can be measured in lots of different ways, not just podiums or BC points 🙂
I’ve done a few cyclo-cross (CX) races now over the last couple of years. For those of you who don’t know what CX is, think knobbly tyres, mud, grass, sand and sweat. Some have been in the summer (dry and scary), others in the winter (muddy, cold and scary).
For a long time I’ve been the lanterne rouge, which is the fancy way of saying ‘last person to finish’ aka ‘slowest rider’. And for the most part I don’t mind. It’s quite different to a crit race where the pack zooms off without you and you spend the next half an hour time trialling (with an occasional spurt when passing some spectators, especially if they are wielding a camera). It’s a bit soul destroying when you turn up and are immediately dropped like a hot potato. But with CX I don’t mind. Because I’m so busy trying to just stay upright, or not hit that tree root, or heave myself up a hillock, that you don’t have the time to worry about anything else. It is totally ‘living in the moment’ and just praying to hear the final bell before you run out of steam.
I’ve fallen over lots of times, bottled scary things and conquered scary things. You can probably sense a big theme for me is fear! It’s actually not that bad, I just get afraid quite easily in those situations.
So anyway, back to racing. Here are my recollections of 2017 with some landmark moments and massive improvements!
The Circle, New Year’s Day, Newbury
For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to kick off the year with a cross race. It meant driving back from Portsmouth at the crack of dawn after a great NYE at Spinnaker tower. It was a fun, informal setup, so I donned my Spongebob Square Pants outfit (as you do), barged through the wall of foam and had a go at the three challenges. The scratch race (20 mins, felt so awful), the sprint time trial (25 seconds, could have walked quicker) and the elimination race, which I was first to be disqualified from because I went too slowly and put my foot down. But what great fun and a brilliant way to start 2017!
Battle of the Bowl, Winchester
This was an Open race that anyone could enter. It was billed at 20 miles / 5 laps. I didn’t realise how enormous this ‘bowl’ was and it took muggins here 1 hour and 40 minutes to do 4 laps at which point it finally ended. It felt horrible from start to finish and I got seriously trounced by the other 2 ladies that turned up. But as there were only 3 of us it meant I came third and, to my utter astonishment, ended up on a podium holding a trophy.
Banjo Cycles Summer CX Series, Newbury
The first few races at Newbury I’d pootled around at the back, doing my own thing, wearing sleeveless. But in Race 5 something different happened.
I’d been to London that day to celebrate a friend’s birthday, so had a couple of drinks. I was feeling quite tired and wasn’t planning to try very hard. But some new ladies turned up who had never ridden CX before. So I thought, hmm. Maybe I’ll give it a go.
When the whistle went and the pack sped off, I put my foot down and found myself right behind someone. I had to work really hard to keep up, but I was there on her wheel. There’s a big hill on the course which the route took you up twice per lap so I’d dig in deep and recover on the way down. After about 30 minutes, she started to get tired but I still had something in the tank. It occurred to me that I might be able to overtake her. I had never been in this position before and it was a complete novelty. How scary! How exciting! Oh my god I’m actually racing! Where should I do it – on the hill or on the flat? What happens if I go too soon and she catches me up? But I thought it was worth the risk and on the last lap I put my little hammer down and managed to hold on. It was the best feeling. I even managed to overtake another couple of ladies, I don’t know where or how. It’s all just a happy blur!
The same new ladies turned up the following week and so I decided to go hard right from the start and managed to stay away. KTFU.
I can’t remember much about these except they were great fun and I could now get up the steep mounds that I couldn’t the year before. This was a big step forward for me.
I’d been so worried about falling off and disrupting the race for other people around me that this particular hillock turned into a bit of a monster in my mind and took a lot of courage to even try to ride it. But I gave it some welly on the practice lap and somehow I managed! This was a huge achievement and meant I didn’t lose lots of time trying to walk myself and my bike up, clinging onto foliage and relying on spectators to push me from behind.
Here are my Strava ride titles from that series:
nailed that hilly sh*t
having to work hard with Lucy Wicks breathing down my neck!!
loved every minute of that! felt strong and didn’t fall off
stayed upright, overtook a small child
Wessex CX League
Now we get to the business end of CX – the local winter league. It’s all well and good riding on dry grass but it’s a different ball game when the weather turns….
Droxford
This was a motocross course so lots of interesting technical bits. Big patches of mud here and there. On one climb I picked a bad line, ran out of momentum and slid back down the hill. Still, I managed to fare better than some others and one lovely lady gave me some great advice about unclipping for a tricky corner. A good day out. Result: 30/36
Basingstoke
I can’t remember much about this one because it was the night after the AGM. Probably stayed upright. Result: 34/37
Sparsholt
I got a fright on the sighting lap when I turned the corner and saw a steep climb I knew I wouldn’t manage. Got off, dragged myself up but the descent was just as awful. I could just about walk down, let alone ride down. This really threw me and for some reason I the tears started flowing. Managed to get round the rest, which wasn’t too bad, though there was one more muddy climb I had to dismount for. I very nearly went home but by the time I got back to the start the race was about to begin. So I thought sod it and carried on. Spent the next half an hour crying (!) but then cheered up towards the end. Result: 31/31 (lantern rouge)
Harcourt Hill
Got off to a good start and only stacked it once in the ditch. I bottled both the log and the mini boards as I was too afraid of falling off. I also got stuck in an epic race with Lucy Wicks again – I had a slightly bigger engine on the day but she had way better bike handling skills and beat me on the line. So proud of us both – never worked so hard and legs were totally shredded! The post-race Leffe at Condors Corner helped ease the pain. Result: 34/40
Southampton
Took it easy because my legs were tired and the course was totally covered in mud. When it’s quicker to get off and walk than it is to ride through you know it’s bad. Managed to stay upright and got round two laps. Also managed to ride the steep descents which I found quite terrifying, thanks to a kindly Vet who encouraged me on the sighting lap. The laps were taking me so long (20+ minutes) that I really didn’t fancy doing a third so waited near the finish line for the Vet male leader to come past and take the win. I learned a new word that day – sandbagging! Result: 34/34 (lanterne rouge)
Droxford
Again, legs were tired so didn’t put any real effort in. Focussed on my cornering and managed to get down a tricky s-bend descent twice. Unfortunately there were no Condors present to witness those attempts, they only saw me bungling it, but it definitely did happen! Overall another great day. Result: 38/38 (lanterne rouge)
Wantage
Legs felt fresher and did really well! The course was flat but really bumpy with a lovely long section through the woods. Don’t know how I managed to pull that result out of the bag. I even ended up sprinting against someone for the finish line! She beat me of course, but I still had a smile on my face for days afterwards 🙂 Result: 18/27 (hurrah!)
Dalton
This was the Regional Championships for anyone holding a Central license. After double checking that any Tom, Dick or Henrietta could enter (yes, phew) I put my name down and got ready to face the course I’d got round successfully during the summer, with the infamous hillocks. Would I manage it in winter in muddy conditions? The answer is YES. After a few nervous moments on the recce lap, and fighting a short spell of nausea (possibly caused by being out on the sauce the three previous nights) I managed to get round a slippy course, only coming off once because someone else stopped in front of me on said hillock. I even ended up in a battle with Kristen Lovelock (!) and we had great fun fighting it out on the last lap. Taking a risk, I went for a big sprint and overtook her before the technical section in the woods. I managed to stay away and even pick off another rider. Amazing! Result: 5/8 senior ladies, and 13/20 overall (hurrah!)
Photo credit: Richard Raynor
The most important thing I haven’t mentioned
The support from other Condors at the CX has been amazing. They’ve listened to me worrying and moaning, cheered me on during great moments and cheered me up when it’s all gone horribly wrong. In particular, I’d like to thank Andy Haines, Brendan Schofield, Tim Jones and Pete Smith who’ve been there for large chunks of my journey. The ladies have been great as well – big love to Val, Lucy, Kristen, Becci and Kat! – but most of the year I’ve been out there on my own with the chaps for company. They have been brilliant. Thank you so much.
I am also very grateful to all the organisers who put these events on for us and everyone who has helped with skills sessions. So much hard work goes on behind the scenes, and I hope one day to give back when I have more time on my hands.
So, what’s the moral of the story here?
Racing can be fun!
You don’t have to be a strong rider to get involved
Battles at the back are just as important as battles at the front
Until you try, you have no idea what you are capable of
If you keep doing it, you’ll get better
Condor supporters are the best
Cross is Boss
Come join us!
I’ll be kicking off 2018 again in style at The Circle – Monday 1 January, register here. Fancy dress encouraged!
Loads of Condors have already entered the final round of the Wessex League – Sunday 21 January, enter here or come along and cheer us on!
If you’re on the fence, please just give it a go. Even if you’re the slowest you will definitely have fun, and you might accidentally end up on a podium 😉
Sunday’s road race at Oakley saw the curtain fall on the 2017 ORRL series. This year has seen unprecedented results for the condors – in short, we absolutely smashed it!
Women’s:
Overall club champions
Overall individual winner – Aimee Jones!
Half the top 10 overall were Condors, with Helen Keay (4th), Katie Greves (5th), Helena Coker (8th), Mimi Harrison (9th) all contributing
Outright wins in round 1 (Katie Greves)
Men’s:
Overall individual winner – Greg Fitzek!
2nd ranked club!
Outright race wins at Dalton (Greg Fitzek) and at Woodstock (a dominant 1-2 for Andy Wilde and Greg Fitzek)
Top 10s overall for Ben de Wet and Andy Wilde
Round 1:
A grippy early season 36 mile hilly TT at Charlbury set the tone for the rest of the year: a storming ride from Katie Greves eclipsed the rest of the women’s field for a comfortable win. Greg Fitzek also made a strong start to the season with 2nd place in the men’s race, and Matt Thomas, Tim Jones, Aimee Jones and Helena Coker also picked up some handy early season points.
Round 2 (men only):
Strong rides on the lumpy Great Shefford road race course saw Ben de Wet (4th), Tim Jones and Rob Freshwater pick up points in the sprint. The only downside was Nick Sanderson being forced to into some impromptu MTB’ing, with catastrophic effects on the integrity of his forks.
Round 3:
A mixed night lapping WoTG in nobody’s favourite event – the 25 mile TTT. The women’s team took 2nd, losing out to the other pink club for the only time all season (not helped by Aimee’s puncture at mile 1!). An understrength men’s squad only took 6th, despite the best efforts of Greg Fitzek to make everyone go faster. Special mention to Dave Dyer for stepping in at the last minute and to Rob Freshwater who pulled out the whole range of Voeckler-esque pain faces to make sure we arrived at the line with the necessary 5 riders.
Round 4 (men only):
Seven laps of the Arncott circuit (and seven times up Panshill) on the hottest day of the year so far provided some great racing, with both Andy Wilde and Greg Fitzek in the break of the day. When that was pulled back, Ben de Wet attacked to take 2nd atop Panshill with Greg still managing to pick up 7th in the sprint.
Round 5 (men only)
A fast pace ‘kermesse’ race round the Kirtlington circuit saw the condor’s missing out on the break for the only time all year. Andy Wilde picked up 7th place in the final sprint to keep the points coming in.
Round 6
The women’s race was a tactical affair, with Aimee Jones, Steph Foster (Mickey Cranks) and Sabrina Harris (Outdoor Traders) all marking each other closely throughout. A few breaks were attempted but in the end nothing stuck and it came down to a bunch sprint – Aimee narrowly missing out on 1st place by a tyre-width. In the men’s race a break succeeded for the first time on this course in ORRL history, in no small part due to the efforts of eventual winner Greg Fitzek, who went on to clinically dispatch all his main rivals (and a number of sneaky 2nd cats) for a proper strongman’s win!
Round 7
July 9th saw the Condors’ ORRL round on the rolling Woodstock circuit. In the first race the Condors were aggressive throughout, with Andy Wilde eventually getting away in what seemed like a doomed solo move with 3 laps to go. With the condors controlling the bunch the move started looking less doomed, and when the gap finally dropped Greg clipped off, caught Andy, and then rode with him for a memorable 1-2 on the line!
In the afternoon the temperature continued to rise resulting in very hot conditions for the women’s race. The racing was full gas from the start, leading to splits throughout the peloton. Aimee and Mimi stuck with the second group on the road, finally sprinting it out for 8th and 10th place overall, respectively.
A brilliant day all around, made possible by the efforts of Tyra Rivkin as race organizer and all the Condors who helped out on the day.
Round 8 (men only)
A tight and technical crit around Wallingford town centre saw some exciting racing. In the men’s race Thomas Nightingale forgot it wasn’t CX season and tried to jump the fence at the first chicane. Ben de Wet was the best placed condor on the night, picking up a solid top 10.
Round 9 (men only)
A return to the Thames Velo course for the Oxonians race saw Greg Fitzek pick up 3rd place among the league riders to cement his position at the top of the table, with Tim Jones and Rob Freshwater also putting in solid rides.
Round 10 (men only)
A late summer 62 mile race around the Oakley circuit saw a depleted condors’ squad, with Arran, Matt and Ben marking Greg’s only rivals for the overall out of contention. A spill in the sprint taking all the condors out of contention was a poor way to finish what had been a brilliant season, but mission achieved in the end.
We are delighted to announce that our Condor Ladies A team won the Bicester Millenium 9-up Team Time Trial at Silverstone last night. Zappi’s ladies had previously taken the title every year but with their absence the title was wide open and competition was fierce. Battling against several other womens teams including Lovelo and the Crankettes, our ladies worked well together and dug deep to get results. Our Ladies B also did extremely well and came 4th, as did our Men’s A team coming 7th with the Veterans in at 10th! Well done to all the teams racing at Silverstone.
For the first time we were allowed to enter 5 teams, which meant we are able to take 2 men’s, 2 women’s and a male veterans team. It was a very proud moment to see 45 Condors lined up at the start, representing the club in a sea of ‘pink & black’. With strong winds and tough competition from other clubs, our riders all worked really hard and earned their drinks at the post-Silverstone knees up. Chapeau!
Battle of the Ages
The hotly contested battle between the Mens B team and the Veterans was decided by a mere 2 seconds, with the Mens B coming out on top. Depending on who you spoke to afterwards, 2 seconds is either a tiny or enormous margin.
2017 Results
Mens A: 23 min 37 sec Matt Thomas (captain), Andy Ruane, Nick Sanderson, Joe Kang, Ali Cigari, Andy Wilde, Paul Boden, Rob Freshwater, Arran Curran
Mens B: 25 min 23 sec Peter Smith (captain), Jamie Kirby, Berwyn Jones, Matt Wicks, Philip Ross, David Holland, Dennis Wan, Andy Haines, Alistair Harrison
Ladies A: 26 min 30 sec Aimee Jones (captain), Cyndi Goh, Tyra Rivkin, Cathy Kirby, Helena Coker, Mimi Harrison, Kristen Lovelock, Helen Keay, Maxie Scheske
Ladies B: 28 min 44 sec Kat Young (captain), Jackie Robbins, Josie Eade, Lucy Wicks, Harrie Drage, Eleanor Law, Inês Rahtz, Ruth Corrigan, Jess Reynolds
Male Veterans: 25 min 25 sec Chris Jones (captain), Will Pepper, Ludovic Phalippou, Mark Glendinning, Stephen Tearne, Martin Crane, Joe Graystone, Nick Green, Alistair Goodall
Historical records of Condors results can be found here
Thank you to BMCC
We would like to say a very special thank you to all the volunteers at BMCC who take the time to organise the event. From the 18+ pushers, to the time keepers, scrutineers, photographers and everyone helping with admin and finances in the background – it is a big undertaking and you do an excellent job every year. On behalf of all the Cowley Road Condors, thank you very much. Hope to see you again next year 🙂
The annual event is a highlight of the Condor calendar. Our ambition is to make the Condors a 50/50 cycling club, so this year we were particularly excited to be taking two women’s teams alongside our two men’s teams.
After many weeks of training hard, learning how to ride a tight paceline and perfecting our calls, the garage was abuzz with nervous energy on Friday night. There was time for a few practice laps of the course, as we familiarised ourselves with the corners, and learnt how much further we could tip the bikes on the smooth tarmac. Rollers and turbos whirred, riders wrestled with their pink latex Velotoze overshoes, and we nervously watched the clock tick round.
At twenty past seven the four Condors teams lined up in the pit, and team by team we moved up to be held by the start guys, clipped in, and waited for the count down. And then we were off, launching ourselves up the ramp and out onto the course.
Racing at Silverstone is a fantastic experience, and with little wind and good weather it was a great evening. The teams worked well together, held the lines tight and worked hard, dropping riders only in the final few miles. And it was a night of triumph, in various ways.
The women’s B team stuck together until near the last corner, with the leading riders sprinting over the line with a final time of 28:55. The Men’s B showed that the training had paid off, holding a tight line for most of the race and coming in with the fastest Condor B time yet – 25:00 dead. And the Men’s A overcame a disastrous start – when one of the pit-lane holders dropped Rob just before the ‘go’ – to finish 14th with a time of 23:16.
But the champions of the evening were undoubtedly the Women’s A who took a podium place with the third fastest time of 26:58:00. The Condors had some other important business to attend to, and unfortunately we were all on the road back to Oxford before the podium places were announced — so we could hit the Cowley Road and celebrate another great Silverstone and our fifth anniversary as Oxford’s pinkest, friendliest club!
As always, there was a great Condor support crew joining us in the garage and cheering on the home straight. When you’re head down, gripping the drops, staring at the tarmac and willing your legs to go faster, the sound of ‘go Condors!’ really gives you a lift. So chapeau to all of our racers and all of our supporters!
And a huge thanks to the team at BMCC who put on a great event every year!
The Tour of Cambridgeshire is a combined time trial, closed-road race and sportive taking place over two days with several thousand riders entering.
Saturday saw Aimee, Kristen, Tyra and Kat launch themselves down the ramp to complete the 16.9 mile Chrono time trial.
A surprisingly hilly course for the fens plus headwinds made for a tough ride, but the women really showed what Condors women can do, racing home with great times. Aimee showed her training’s paid off by coming 6th in her age category and qualifying for the Gran Fondo World Championship which takes place in Perth this September.
Condor women warming upKat ready to launch off the Chrono ramp
The Chrono hadn’t completely sapped Aimee’s or Kristen’s legs though, and on Sunday they joined Dave, Chris, and me (Jon) in the Gran Fondo road race. If Chris was going to join Aimee in Australia as more than just soigneur, he knew he had a tough day ahead.
It was 84 miles of fast and punishing racing, with little to protect us from the winds scouring Cambridgeshire’s flatlands. The great thing about the ToC is the combination of different events, so while the six of us were battling to stay in the bunch, taking turns to tow a paceline, or fighting to get back on the back of a group, Cheryl, Natasha, Ian and Kirsty were close behind in the sportive. It was a great event – cheered on by locals as we battled round, and with Kat and Tyra waiting at 20 miles to give us a boost.
Battered, sun burnt and weary Condors collapsed on the grass, nursing sore legs and rehydrating with much needed pints.
But there were more medals to come – in fact all of the racing Condors qualified! Both Dave and Aimee made it a double, Dave qualifying for a second year in a row (he represented team GB in Denmark last year) and Aimee qualifying in the Fondo adding to her Chrono medal the day before.
Race Secretary Dan has launched a monthly Condors race news sheet. It might be early in the season but we’ve scored points at Abingdon and Enstone crits, our club time trials kick off soon, and we’re getting ready for the Thames Velo and Banbury Star road races. Head down to Rick’s or Beeline Bicycles to pick up your copy!
In preparation for my 4th ever CX race last Sunday, I confidently spent Saturday cleaning my bike and getting ready to go get smashed and heckle at the Condors AGM…
The start was perfect – I was glued onto Andy’s wheel, so the plan was to just relax and hold my position up the first gruelling climb of the course. The climb immediately split everyone, with Andy and me settling into a group of 5 or so.
The first two laps were fast! Really fast (sub 7 min laps) putting me in a strong racing position. Then something terrible happened… I cracked, like the novice I am.
I hadn’t eaten properly the day before (cleaning bikes was all the prep I needed, yo) and I had consumed so much alcohol the night prior, that doing star jumps on the roundabout on the way home was, by far, more important than the looming race the next day.
The third ascent of that climb saw me drift backwards with welling feelings of nausea, I watched Andy’s group soar off into the distance. My lap times got longer and longer, peaking at 7 min 46s (a long way off 6 min 35 s for the first lap).
The next 7 laps were lonely, only broken up by me catching/lapping the odd rider and more frequently, me being lapped by the big dogs. Fortunately my dedicated fan club (Becci Curtis) chose not to inform me that the gap between me and Andy’s group was growing at each lap and I fought on in the deluded belief that I could get back into this race. I didn’t. I would have crossed the line alone if it wasn’t for the decency of a Pedalworks rider to catch me in the last 100 m and initiate a sprint finish… which I lost.
Cyclocross is hard, really hard. There is nowhere to hide like in road racing and it’s almost impossible to pace yourself like in a TT. It’s just all out big engine and technical handling, of which I currently have neither. However, I am improving! I felt better in the corners and more confident than my previous CX races, and my remounting is improving vastly, so much so I can pretty much do a full running remount and still hope to have children.
Despite not having the best day in the saddle, I’m still glad I raced and can’t recommend CX highly enough – it is good fun, honestly.
Pete Forsyth 26th, Brett Kamino 28th, Arran Curran 29th,
Dave Dyer 45th, Ollie Jaques 46th
V40-49 Men & Junior Men: Tom Woodforde 65th
V50+ Men and Women: Becci Curtis 69th, Cheryl Reid 71st
Race Report by Becci Curtis
Disregarding one big mistake of a mountain bike race in France last year, my first time racing cyclo-cross was also my first race event on a bike, and my first ever race as a member of the Condors since joining the club in July.
Start-line to finish-line, I don’t really know how I got to be there. It was a series of unfortunate events that led to the number being pinned on my jersey, and I’m fairly certain that I entered the race ‘by accident’. I blame my fellow Condors – they made me do it – and here’s how:
What started off with an innocent, non-committal remark that I ‘might quite like to try cx one day’ was twisted into ‘Becci definitely wants to be in the cx race this Sunday’.
1st Rule: You do not talk about racing
‘But I don’t have the right kind of bike for the race!’, I said. ‘Does anyone have a bike that Becci could borrow for the race?’, they said.
2nd Rule: You do not talk about racing
‘Yeah sure, Becci can borrow my super amazing mountain bike and I will even drop it around to her flat so that she can’t wiggle her way out of it’, Wiley Wicks said.
3rd Rule: If someone says “you can borrow my bike” the fight is over
‘I’m so glad you’re racing Becci, otherwise I would be racing on my own’, Prezza Chezza said.
4th Rule: The President never races alone
‘Oh wow, loads of Condors are racing on Sunday, let’s all go and support’, they said.
5th Rule: The Condors are watching you
If I was a serious contender, the size of my tyres would have certainly disqualified me from the race. Fortunately, my broken hi-vis commuter helmet, flat pedals, running shoes and mistakenly ordered, child’s size crop-top jersey, saved me from any embarrassment.
6th Rule: Any tyres, any jersey, any shoes will do
Having been warned by the muscle at Beeline to ‘watch my shins’ the day before, I realised that I had gotten myself in too deep. The morning of the race was moody and silent and the hill up to Harcourt, an unwelcome surprise. Number on, practice lap done, a fellow competitor on the start-line was reassuringly cheerful and relaxed, telling me that the first time she entered a cx race she unexpectedly finished in the table. With Condors-disguised-as-Oxonian marshalls close-by, looking back, I wonder if this woman’s smiles weren’t masking something shadier.
After quickly gaining prime position (at the back of the bunch), the first set of barriers (where the Condors-disguised-as-Oxonians were taking photos: coincidence?) caused the first of many pedal-shaped shiners on my legs. The course, so green and flat at the beginning, turned dark and muddy as the course entered into the woods. Back wheel sliding beneath me, I came off my bike and onto hands and knees in the ankle deep sludge. After the third tumble, I stopped counting; impaled by branches, whipped by brambles, same old, same old.
7th Rule: Races will go on as long you can get back on your bike
As I came into the final two corners of the last-lap, I caught-up with one of the male veterans. Shouts of ‘Take him Becci, take him!’ issued from the side-lines. The rider looked at me with sad-eyes, so I let him take the finish, being careful not to let the gap open too much (viz. 5th Rule).
8th Rule: If you haven’t yet raced with the Condors, you have to race.
If you do, they will give you beer, feed you sweets, shower you with compliments and watch you pick mud out of your ear without judgement. If you don’t, they will come for you.
