Our hero on the far left, going over the line FFS! Doesn’t he not even listen to himself? (Photo: Kieran G Crawford, Bann Wheelers)
By Dave Smith
Lads, lads, lads - some of you anyway; have a word with yourselves.
While the safety of most races is great and almost everyone takes care, I've seen some riders on the wrong side of road into blind bends, with oncoming cars.
They were attacking up the outside, over the white line line, and into oncoming traffic. I’m pretty sure none of them established successful breakaways.
Pretty sure none of them depend on placing in an A3 race to pay the mortgage and keep the kids in private school.
When a motorist in a bar starts railing against bike races on public roads, “riders all over the place, should be banned” etc, what do you suggest is the appropriate response?
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‘Yes but I need one more point to be an A2?’
‘I had to sprint like a twat or a woman in my club might have beaten me?’
There’s no need. There are clear sections in all races where you can move up over the lines, no bother, and pretend to be Ian Stannard on the front, like I do now and then.
But round blind bends on country roads, when you’re probably a shite sprinter anyway? Not big. Not clever. Not worth it.
Rant over, back to racing
Bann Wheelers, take a bow, your GP event on the 21st was brilliant.
It was a cracking circuit, safe, fast, good finish, hard as it needed to be with a 4 mile climb, well marshaled and I hung on to the end.
There were elbows and handbags, an excursion into the gravel and I reckon I was 3rd or 4th non-point scorer.
Then on to Emyvale GP on Sunday - love the circuit, local roads for me, the sun was out now and then and the A1-A2s weren’t allowed to be nasty to us.
I actually did some racing as opposed to hiding all the time.
Felt good, and for the second day in a row I was 3rd or 4th non-point scorer. Quite often I deploy the MCC-geolocation™ method of racing.
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Can I see Chris and/or Conor McCann?
If yes, all is OK. If no, I’m either up the road and about to die, or out the back having already died.
On Sunday I had a 100% MCC-geolocation™ reading as I crossed the line.
I know this is not the route to a WorldTour contract, but I think it is the route to an old guy with no racing pedigree driving home happy.
And one day, when Conor McCann is racing on telly I can bore people about how I almost got on his wheel at the Emyvale GP.
Almost.
Three stages, no juniors. Easy, right?
Clonmel stage race was next, it’s something like one stage spread over three days.
I didn't read the whole info thing but no juniors - what could be easier? Genius idea.
Ah right, three stages on one day. Mountain TT, 50km RR and 25km RR finishing with an 8km climb.
How did I do? I didn't.
Awful TT, only rider dropped in stage two, and sat out stage three. No idea why, until I got home and was sick.
From the front/top, then the lower/rear, then it left the building.
Sometimes the simple answers are the truth – after a long drive home doubting training, nutrition, sunscreen, pillows, deckchairs and warm-up routines, with some self-loathing thrown in for good measure, it turned out that I was just ill.
But what a cracking event, and if I don’t get out of A3 (no really) I’ll be back next year.
Right then, off to Rás Dhun na nGall this weekend and I promise not to be a petulant child to the comms this year over something entirely my own fault. Red mist of racing and all that.
- Dave Smith has been involved in coaching cyclists in all disciplines for more than 25 years. A former GB national and Olympic road coach, Dave has trained Tour stage winners and Olympic medalists, world champions and numerous national champions. In addition he has applied his quirky and counter intuitive thinking to help dozens of regular cyclists, polo players and F1 drivers. He rides about 250 miles a week on and off-road in all weathers.
Website; VelocityandVitality.com, Twitter; @ffflow.
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