Thetford WS1 – Shane’s Race Report; The first round of the Thetford winter series was my first 4 hour event since February and my first ride for Team CCN. Reports out on the course were that it was fast, dry and flowing and the weather looked to have held out for a perfect beginning to the series. With conditions as good as this; the race couldn’t start soon enough. After 30 minutes of holding a starting position in the cold on the front of the grid. The nerves were setting in as I fell on the 2nd corner of round one last year and had to fight my way back through the field. I was determined not to make the same mistake this year. The pace from the gun was blistering. I kept close to the front trying to avoid a spill on the first few corners. The leading group had already opened a gap on the rest of the field by the first section of single track. The group held for the first 2 miles of the lap before Stephen James and Paul Ashby opened a gap on the rest of the group. Not being able handle such a high pace I settled in to a pace which was more sustainable for full 4 hours, losing a number of places as a result. By 3hrs I had pulled myself back in to the top 5 places, working with Mark Wingar in the 4 hour 40+ category. By this point the intensity of the first lap had started to take its toll. It was going to be a matter of suffering through to the end. On my 7th lap, I came in just short of 4 hours. Unsure how far behind my closest competitors were, I used my final gel and continued through for another lap. Every short climb was a big effort and with very few riders out on the course at this point it was difficult to focus on what was ahead. The only thing I could do was focus on finishing. I crossed the line in 4th just behind team mate Richard in 3rd Place. A great event, on a fantastic course. Looking forward to Round 2 at Santon Downham. Thanks to our sponsors City College, Torq, Chain Reaction and Nuflex!
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 08:08:52 +0000
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