Womack rides a sporting 21-miler and Lucas He takes on road racing in style

Chris Womack of Velo Club Baracchi had a good ride in the West Suffolk Wheelers & Triathlon Club’s 21-mile hilly time trial on a demanding sporting course on back roads near Risby.

Chris Womack in the event (Photo by Fergus Muir)

Womack said his time of 57:37 was down on last year by 1:09 but he was pleased to have achieved it after having ridden 52 miles with the “Wrinklies” group the day before.  He said, “That will teach me next time when I have a Saturday race to take Friday’s ride at a slower pace.”

He added, “Most of the course was quite fast but the back section of the circuit was into the strong south westerly wind and being mainly hilly made it a bit of a slog. “

Matthew Smith of Team Bottrill/HSS Hire won the event, lopping 1min 35 off the course record with 44:10; around 29mph.

Second was Jason Bouttell of Team VeloVelocity in 46:01, with Stuart Fairweather of the same club third in 48:46. Team Velovelocity won the team prize with the combination of the above times and Simon Jay’s 51:09.

VCB’s junior road racer, Lucas He, took part in the Ipswich CC road race at Gosbeck on Sunday and distinguished himself by some strong and confident riding mid-race.

Lucas said, “I went to the race a bit nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I started the race stuck near the back which made the first half a lap very difficult with a few tight turns and a strong tail wind which made it very fast.”

Lucas He in the Bunch, wearing 26 (Photo by Fergus Muir)

“I just about stayed with the group and managed to get settled in the middle of the bunch where it was much easier. There was a break that went at some point and I tried to help bring it back on the 3rd lap by doing a few turns at the front.”

“Then, seeing the breakaway in sight decided (for some reason) to try and get to it by attacking on a hill but realising quickly that I had nothing left. My legs cramped up badly and was quickly passed by main group.”

Lucas He at full gas (Photos by Fergus Muir)

“I latched onto the back on the descent, but came to a standstill on the next climb. Luckily, I was caught by another group and we helped each other to get back on as the pace of the main group was slow. I managed to hang on for another half a lap where I was dropped on a tight corner. I crawled to the finish and ended up probably last place out of those who finished which was about 30th place.”

In fact, Lucas was so far back that his arrival was sadly unrecorded, with just 26 finishers listed out of the 60.  However, Steve Konrad of DAP CC said of the VCB junior, “He took a massive turn on the front into the wind (maybe too much) on lap 3 and flew the VCB flag like a Champ.”

The top three were Peter Blenkinsop (Fast-Test), Thomas Willan (East London Velo) and Ian Franklin (PCH Racing Team).

John Thompson of VCB rode the “Cambridge Pork Pie” 214km (133.75-mile) audax; a mixture of flat and hilly from Girton, which included a section from Oundle to Melton Mowbray and back in the Leicestershire and Rutland lanes. He finished in about 12.5 hours.