Reuben, Cam and I (apologies if I missed anyone else) had a go at the Tockwith race tonight.
The sun was out and was accompanied by quite a strong headwind down the start/finish straight as previous weeks have seen.
I began the race right at the head of the bunch alongside Cam and tried to maintain my position in the top 15 riders throughout the 25 laps. Several unsuccessful breaks headed up the track. One of about a dozen riders, including Cam and Reuben, looked pretty strong to stay away but unfortunately only managed a few laps before the bunch decided enough was enough. A couple of solo escape attempts were also looking very strong; one guy managed to slip away unnoticed for several laps until about 5 to go when he was chased down by the We[heart]Mountains team.
I made sure I stayed towards the head of the pack for the last lap as the pace upped. Saw one slightly dangerous/scary piece of riding when someone hopped up onto the inside curb on the exit of the chicane and continued to hop off into the side of another rider in the aim of gaining an extra place. Somehow they both managed to stay upright!
Unfortunately, I positioned myself poorly for the last corner: on the outside, so could only sit and watch as a few other riders cruised up the inside of me. On the exit I saw one guy clip his pedal on the floor, which was inevitably followed by his rear wheel moving about a foot through the air. He thankfully stayed upright, but it certainly made me jump and I lost momentum: thats a confidence thing though which will only come through more I guess.
In the end I managed a suprising ninth place, which I was very pleased with, especially with it being only my 3rd race, although I still obviously have the feeling that I could've done better after the antics of the last corner.
All in all, the race was good fun, really enjoyed it
Much less scary than last weeks nervous race. Looking forward to having another go next week
Cheers
