It was starting to feel like summer as Georgie and myself headed off to the race at Ilton on a lovely sunny evening. It was only my second circuit race so my main aim was just to hang on and gain some experience. When we got to the start we noticed we were the only two wearing legwarmers and without any water, making us really feel like amateurs!
The women were all started with the junior A racers to give us a better race and make a larger peloton. Unfortunately about 2 laps in Georgie had a puncture and had to pull out, despite her best efforts to chase back on! There were a couple of attacks that looked dangerous but the group managed to pull them back, no doubt with help from the U16 boys.
The bell rung to signify we were on the final lap and that the race would most likely finish in a bunch sprint, which I had never done before. The pace was upped as we neared the finish and here my inexperience really showed as I started cornering at angles I had never dreamed of! My nervousness meant I wasn't in a great position once we got onto the finishing straight but I gave everything in the sprint, managing to come 8th and grab some points for myself and UOBCC! It was a greatly enjoyable race and I definitely gained some experience and will push myself harder through the corners next time!
Words by Hattie Simpole-Clarke
The women were all started with the junior A racers to give us a better race and make a larger peloton. Unfortunately about 2 laps in Georgie had a puncture and had to pull out, despite her best efforts to chase back on! There were a couple of attacks that looked dangerous but the group managed to pull them back, no doubt with help from the U16 boys.
The bell rung to signify we were on the final lap and that the race would most likely finish in a bunch sprint, which I had never done before. The pace was upped as we neared the finish and here my inexperience really showed as I started cornering at angles I had never dreamed of! My nervousness meant I wasn't in a great position once we got onto the finishing straight but I gave everything in the sprint, managing to come 8th and grab some points for myself and UOBCC! It was a greatly enjoyable race and I definitely gained some experience and will push myself harder through the corners next time!
Words by Hattie Simpole-Clarke