Race Results

18/06/2012 - DERRICK WOODINGS' G CHAMPIONSHIP BLOG

Location :

NETTLEBED, OXON

Results :

LVRC National Road Race Championships
Promoted by G.S.Henley/Athlete Service/Sorbo Engineering
FGH event (6 laps) 46 miles. Weather, intermittent sunshine, cool, with a light southerly wind.
The organiser Wayne Thomas and his team had made this event an extremely well organised and detailed championship, of which the LVRC should be very proud. All the arrangements from marshalling, leading and following cars, judging, HQ and parking etc. made this a really top class event. I think that all concerned deserve a vote of thanks from all of us competitors.
The course based on the side of a ridge in the Chiltern hills just north west of Henley-on -Thames was a true championship course, hilly but not extremely so, with a tough 300 metre climb, where the finish line was sited, followed by a longish mile long drag back up to the top of the ridge. This was followed by an undulating ride to Stoke Row and then a technical and very rough surfaced plunge through the trees followed by a tight right hander to the bottom of the finishing climb.
The field of around 40+ riders set off at a rapid pace once the lead car dropped the flag and we were soon doing 30+ mph down towards Stoke Row. I found myself at the rear of end of the bunch as we plunged down the descent towards the completion of lap 1. As soon as we hit the climb the fuse was lit with a fierce attack from fellow G rider Tony Woodcock, I was informed of this by my travelling companion Mick Allen, later. I was too far back to observe this heinous act. The race literally blew apart, I recovered my composure and started to settle down to climb back up the field, I could see that the front of the race was composed of a fairly large compact group followed by several small groups. I was eventually caught by fellow G Bob Richards and we worked together to catch more riders, passing many others, until there were around a dozen of us now chasing the front group. It was a hopeless task, they literally disappeared. I was again informed later by Mick Allen that this group of 11, all F cats except for star ‘G’ man Tony Woodcock were working hard to put distance into everyone else. Losing two riders, Richard Booth (puncture) and one other (unknown to me) this group, now 9 strong, was the race to the finish. In our chasing group comprised of the remaining G men, Pete Ryalls, Mick Ives, Bob Richards and me plus the amazing ‘H’ man Dave Elliot, settled down to the work of the fruitless task of chasing. One man, Bill Butterworth, took on the role of ‘Bunch Engine’ doing the bulk of the driving. This was the race over for me I was not on a good day and was just going through the motions. Pete Ryalls and Mick Ives were very frisky and on the final descent to Highmoor Cross I was just behind both Pete and Mick to start the sprint for the runner up spots in our cat. This was how it stayed to the line, with Bob Richards following me to 5th G. Dave Elliot of course easily won the H cat.
From Mick Allen my ‘correspondent’ at the front. He informed me that the race for the line started on the descent too. Geoff Wiles attacking hard before the right hand bend, putting 10 lengths into the group. Mick said that he doesn’t know how Geoff negotiated the bend at that speed. However he managed to regain Geoff’s wheel by the start of the finish climb, but Geoff had another gear and just left Mick for dead, to win easily, with Andy Hicks following Mick to take 3rd. spot.
Afterwards, speaking to Tony Woodcock, he, realising that he had our cat in the bag, said he didn’t get in the way of the F cats at the finish. So congrataulations a truly epic ride Tony! Well done. Even Mick Allen, who lost his first category win this year, had the utmost praise for Geoff Wiles’ win