Brighton Mitre Cycling Club

Mitre Hill Climb Result 19th April

Making Robin very happy 21 riders (20 from Mitre) signed on for the first Mitre Hill Climb of 2011.  Next week he might even have to bring the spare numbers.

Greg Woodhouse won with 9:00 and Gina McGeever was the fastest lady with 10:50.

Greg Woodhouse	00:09:00
Phil Allen	00:09:02
Tracy Harris	00:09:08
Mark Mergler	00:09:14
Daniel McCormick	00:09:25
Barnaby Sharp	00:09:27
Chris Twine (WECC)	00:09:29
Rob Quin	00:09:31
Tristan Court	00:09:39
Morgan Lewis	00:09:44
Joseph Saville	00:09:44
Gavin Starling	00:09:47
Sean Scott	00:09:55
Richard Sexty	00:10:09
Bruce Samuel	00:10:38
Gina McGeever	00:10:50
Robin Johnson	00:11:23
Claire Brooks	00:11:50
Claire Edmonds	00:12:11
Abbey Allen	00:12:24
Giovanna Burgess	00:13:05

 

 

45th Lewes Wanderers CC Evening Criterium Series

The “Lewes Crits” is a popular three race series for Cat3/4 the first three Thursday evenings in June.  As well as BC points on offer there is a Series GC with points available from primes and the finish which gives some very competitive racing.

Race 1

A gorgeous summers evening saw 50 riders start the race.  Brighton Mitre and Bayeux Landscapes had strong teams with plenty of road experience but Lewes Wanderers had numbers on their side but possibly a lack of road racing experience.

Straight from the start two Lewes riders (Henry Bird & Jamie Lowden) made a break gaining 20 seconds on the group.  Being early in the race nobody wanted to chase so they stayed away until after the first prime where they were joined by Stuart Fahey, Nick Sky and Duncan Morgan (Brighton Mitre), Mark Markowski (Bayeux Landscapes) and Andrew Comben (Metropolitan Police CC).

Lowden paid for his early work and was dropped by the group after the second prime leaving the break with six men in it.  With the three strongest teams represented in the break there was no organisation in the group to pull it back.

Markowski, who is a seasoned racer but has probably eaten a couple too many pies in recent years, was allowed to sit in at the back of the group without doing any work.  The rest of the break paid for this when Markowski took the win at the finish with a strong sprint.

The GC after Race 1 looked like this:

Henry Bird - Lewes Wanderers - 15 points
Mark Markowski - Bayeux landscapes - 12 points
Andrew Comben - Met Police - 11 points
Stuart Fahey - Brighton Mitre - 10 points
Jamie Lowden - Lewes Wanderers - 8 points
Duncan Morgan - Brighton Mitre - 6 points
Nick Sky - Brighton Mitre - 4 points
Shaun Reed - Bayeux landscapes - 1 point

Race 2

The weather wasn’t as kind for Race 2, colder and windier, but this didn’t affect the turnout or appetite for racing.

"Team Mitre"

No early breaks were allowed to go away this time, with riders from Lewes Wanderers and Brighton Mitre policing the front of the group.

The action kicked off at the first prime, with a good selection of the GC riders from Race 1 forcing a break.  Bird, Comden, Fahey, Sky & Reed made the break and were joined by Craig Pitt (Brighton Mitre) who was the only rider in the break not to be in the GC from week 1.

Points for the remaining two Primes were shared between Reed, Comden, Bird & Pitt.

As in Race 1 the chasing group couldn’t get organised as the three strongest teams were all represented in the break.

The Mitre Riders took control of the break and in the final lap kept attacking the others, softening them up for the finish.  This tactical riding paid off allowing Pitt to take the win ahead of Bird and Comden.

The GC after Race 2 looked like this

Henry Bird - Lewes Wanderers 27
Andrew Comben - Met Police 25
Craig Pitt - Brighton Mitre 19
Shaun Reed - Bayeux landscapes 16
Stuart Fahey - Brighton Mitre 14
Mark Markowski - Bayeux landscapes 12
Jamie Lowden - Lewes Wanderers 8
Nick Sky - Brighton Mitre 7
Duncan Morgan - Brighton Mitre 6

Race 3

Anything could happen in Race 3 as GC points are doubled for the final race.  Brighton Mitre had drafted in some reinforcements including a previous series winner to assist.  Lewes Wanderers were also back to full strength but their only realistic GC contender was Bird.

Ready for the showdown

Comden was riding without any teammates which given his high GC placing was very impressive.

With so much at stake the pace right from the start was very fast with several breaks trying to get away on the first lap but all being covered by the group.  At one point on the first lap Fahey showed his strength and broke free, gaining about 10 seconds, but was joined by Bird as a passenger who obviously was hoping to be pulled to the first Prime.

Fast racing on the Broyle

The group pulled the two escapees back before the first Prime which was taken by Pitt followed by Comden and Bird.  This closed the gap at the top of the GC bringing Pitt closer to Comden and Bird.

The race stayed together for the second lap and the second Prime was contested by the same three riders, this time Comden got it followed by Pitt and Bird (spectators accused Pitt of sitting up). Much mental arithmetic was now taking place on and off the road.

The pattern was now set and the third Prime was a repeat of the first, Pitt then Comden and Bird. It was all going to come down to the finish.

A good crowd waited in anticipation at the finish line for the sprint which was slightly uphill and into the wind.  Although this was a race on open roads the group rounded the corner into the finish with riders spread across both sides of the road showing little consideration for the danger to themselves or other riders.

Pitt had to finish ahead of Comben & Bird to ensure the GC win so timing his sprint to perfection he surged ahead to take the race and sealing the series win. Comden could only manage 3^rd and Bird was 5^th.

Pitt sprinting for the race and series Win

The final GC then was as follows

1st Craig Pitt - Brighton Mitre
2nd Andrew Comben - Met Police
3rd Henry Bird - Lewes Wanderers
4th Mark Markowski - Bayeux landscapes
5th Paul Gosling - Bayeux Landscapes
6th Shaun Reed - Bayeux landscapes
7th Stuart Fahey - Brighton Mitre
8th Jamie Lowden - Lewes Wanderers
9th Nick Sky - Brighton Mitre
10th Duncan Morgan - Brighton Mitre
= Paul Thatcher - Brighton Mitre

This was Brighton Mitres strongest showing in the series for some time, not only winning the GC but with several other riders placing.  This was the result of some great individual riding but also a combined team effort.

####

Photographs kindly provided by Mike Anton - http://www.mikeanton.com/

28/3/10 Goodwood Race Report

A blustery Goodwood saw the first large-scale Mitre turnout of 2010 with no fewer than 12 boys and girls in blue (and pink) in the fray.

First up, the 4ths event featured Dan Fagg, Duncan Morgan and John Philips in Mitre colours for the first time, and all three put on a good show, Dan and Duncan finishing comfortably in the bunch and John squeezing into the top ten having ridden very strongly - and frequently on the front - for much of the contest. Had he known that a Dulwich Paragon and a Southdown Velo had clipped off the front early on, we may have seen a quite different race.

 The bunch sprint in the 4ths with John Philips finishing strongly in 9th. 

In the 4W event, Tamar Vanderhaas pinned on a number for the first time in a road race and looked very comfortable throughout, falling victim to a mid-race split that saw a ragged finish. We'll see her riding at the front before long.

A stealthy-looking Tamar Vanderhaas.

Andy Parle, Claire Leonard, Mike Leonard, Rob Fuller, Morgan Lewis and Bruce Samuel comprised the Mitre squadra for the 3rds event, the outcome of which - as was to become a pattern for the day - was dicatated by a two-man breakaway. Morgan got himself into a promising-looking move on lap three which may have stuck had it not found itself amongst the small field of E/1/2 riders. After a restart, the pair from local rivals Bayeux Landscapes got away, never to be seen again, with all Mitres finishing safely in the bunch.

The 100-strong field of 3rds bears down on the E/1/2 riders, with Morgan busy in the break in between.

The aforementioned E/1/2 race saw a small field battered by first the wind and then a sucker-punch from renowned time-trialist Ben Instone (Torq Racing) who took James Makepeace (Southdown Velo) away with him following a chaotic first few laps. Our own Martyn Potter - seldom described as plucky - had seen enough after five laps, while Stuart Fahey was in the mood for a chase. But Instone was not in the mood for a catch, he and Makepeace building up a lead of almost a minute that was pegged back to around 30 seconds by the conclusion, with Stuart coming home a very creditable 6th in what was left of the chasing group.

With thanks to typo1 and rhyskeepence for photos.  

Alfold 7th March 2010

The temperature was below zero for the start of the 3rds only race, evidence of this could be seen in the large tracts of ice on the roadside. Nick Haskoll, Mike Leonard and Martin O’Brien turned up to represent the Mitre. After a brief discussion in the changing area as to how many more layers we could still fit on, and we were ready to face the music. An initial warm-up ride on the Alfold circuit showed a scarily large number of potholes and road fractures, no doubt caused by the hard winter.

The race was neutralised for half a lap (someone still rode of the front!) and then began in earnest. The pace was quick from the off with several teams including BM being represented at the front. A break of 6 got a gap on the 1st lap and stayed away until the start of the 3rd lap never gaining more than about 25 seconds. In the 3rd lap, a three man break was instigated by our very own Nick Hackoll, but never managed to gain more than 15 or 20 seconds before being caught half a lap later. The race slowed after this with people thinking towards the final kick and sprint for the line. The final lap saw a lone break being reeled in and a bunch sprint being wound up by the few hardy individuals with something left.

In the 2/3 event, Nathan Dye and Stuart signed on with the temperature nudging above zero. A hard race dragged around by monster tester Ben Instone saw Nathan suffer a puncture on the final lap, as Stuart finished in the fragmented bunch.

First Blood To Test Team

Saturday afternoon saw blue skies (remember them?) for the Central Sussex 17.48 mile Open Time Trial.
 
The Mitre team comprised Robin Johnson, Sholto and Thatch. Early season tests tend not to be so popular and a review of the start sheet revealed only one other team: Worthing Excelsior.
 
Pete Tadros scooped the top spot in a good time of 37.26. The Mitre squad managed times of 54:48; 44:16 and 40:50 and lifted the team prize, aided by a DNS from our local rivals. A tenner per rider, bolstered by another £20 for Thatch's 5th overall and 2nd on standard will see a nice chunk of change behind the bar at the Green Jacket tonight.

Surrey League Bletchingley 2/3 - 04/04/2009

It wasn't the warm Spring sunshine that made the Surrey League's Bletchingly race on Saturday memorable.  Nor was it the strength sapping climbs between Outwood and Bletchingly.  The thing that will stick in my mind was the sound of bike hitting car as we raced down Coopers Hill Road at full pelt.  I was riding in the middle of the field travelling at about 60kph.  My head turned instinctively toward the sound which came from several bike lengths behind.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a rider in white kit rolling on the wrong side of the road.  I didn't see anything else because I'd turned my head back to the front and went round the next corner.

My mind immediately turned to Bruce in his white Mitre kit who I knew was somewhere behind me and may well have been chasing hard to stay on the rapidly descending field.  At the bottom of the descent all impetus had drained out of the race.  Riders were asking each if they'd seen what had happened.  Everyone seemed to be waiting.  I was convinced the officials would stop the race because I couldn't believe you could have that kind of sound without serious injury.  And my mind kept returning to Bruce.  I looked around--he wasn't in the main field.

The lead car continued leading and we continued riding.  Gradually, the pace picked up and I knew the commissaire was behind because of the horn which signalled a rider had crossed the central markings.  But I didn't feel much like racing any more.  I knew that it could have been me who had gone a little too wide on that corner and the risk suddenly seemed to far outweigh the thrill.

The next time down Coopers Hill we passed the race ambulance going in the opposite direction.  I stuck close to the left hand side of the road.  The race had resumed in earnest and there were several attacks which eventually coagulated into an organised bunch of a dozen or so riders with representatives from most of the main teams in the race—Norwood Paragon, Dulwich, Addiscombe and Kingston Wheelers.  The pace dropped as the escapees made good their escape and their team mates in the bunch disrupted the chase.

The next few laps saw a number of riders trying to break free of the bunch.  Some, I think, made it but most came back.  Some must also have been escaping off the back because the main field had dwindled to 30ish.  Bayeaux Landscapes were working hard at the front and with 4 laps to go I came to the front to help out ahead of the climb up to Bletchingley.  But when the road started to go up I regretted my actions as I slipped from the front to the back of the group.  I had been on the limit just staying with the main field and my exertions had put me in debt.

I clawed back a couple of places on the short flat section into Bletchingley but when some git attacked on the gentle, big ring climb past the HQ a gap opened between me and the wheel ahead that I couldn't close.  I was aware of another rider with me and continued to ride as hard as I could.  By the top of the incline the main field were 50m ahead.  When the other rider came past to take a turn at the front, to my delight I saw it was big George Higgs.  If you've become detached from the main field, George Higgs is a pretty good guy to work with to get back on.  Even so, it wasn't until the bottom of Coopers Hill that we finally rejoined the bosom of the main field where I managed to stay for the next 3 laps until the end of the race.

Absolutely exhausted, I went straight back to the Bletchingley Village Hall car park, which had been rammed before the start of the race, and was now significantly less rammed because so many riders had abandoned.  I looked for Bruce's bike amongst those propped up against the wall by the entrance, but I didn't see it.  Nor was there anyone back at the car.  I was relieved when he arrived 10 minutes later.  He'd been behind the main field and saw the two guys that went down sitting in the road being attended to by the medic.  It had been a hard day.

See the Surrey League web site for the full results.

Burgess Hill Classic Cyclosportive Report

Report by Mike Bentham

Burgess Hill Classic Cyclosportive. 71 miles of early-season cycling shenanigans in near perfect conditions through Ashdown forest and environs. The ride included Kidds "the wall" Hill, speedy descents, breathtakingly beautiful scenery, and some startlingly steep drags around 60 miles in - an organiser's joke which had my feed station flapjack flapping all the way back into my gullet and me wishing I had fitted compact cranks.

One such hill, let's call it bonk hill, had everyone I could see walking up it. Seriously. Being a cyclosportive virgin I had a sudden addled thought that this might be a weird cyclosportive thing. Was I missing a crucial trick, like the seemingly obligatory saddlebag beloved of cyclosportive enthusiasts? Was there a mandatory rambling element that no-one had told me about? Was I about to be disqualified for daring to cycle up the bonk? As I contemplated the unthinkable, the guy in front of me, riding his heart out for The Sussex Heart Charity, suddenly stopped turning his pedals and keeled over. No irony intended apparently. Thankfully all that was hurt was his pride. And I realised I was looking at the massed ranks of the walking wounded and cruelly defeated. The Classic should come with a health warning!

Fast forward to Burgess Hill at the end of a notably well-organised event. The Mitre mob, who I am happy to say did not include any bonk hill ramblers, were all awarded silver certificates in recognition of their valiant Sunday ride. And I left my winter flab on some picturesque verge. Job done.

Hardriders 22 Time Trial 15/02/2009

I started 2 minutes ahead of Paul, but by the halfway mark on the first lap of the Poyninngs circuit he had closed the deficit and came past me. I heard his disk wheel coming but was still surprised when moments later he announced "on the right". I upped my pace a little but the gap steadily lengthened. On the climb to Albourne I saw him pass Robin and Nick Haskoll, leaving only Stuart to go.

As I descended through Poynings, I was treated to a moment of schadenfreude as I passed Paul who was now walking his time trial machine--the Poyning potholes had claimed it's first victim. I spent the second lap trying to catch Nick who was by now about 30 seconds ahead and could be seen whenever the road straightened out. I focused on keeping my heart rate between 165 and 170 and on the gap between us, but Nick was riding well and I couldn't quite get up to him before the finish.

Results

Pos	Rider	Club	Time
1	Stuart Fahey	Brighton Mitre	1:00:23
2	Nick Sky	Brighton Mitre	1:04:55
3	Nick Haskoll	Brighton Mitre	1:05:53
4	Mike Leonard	Brighton Mitre	1:06:32
4	Robin Johnson	Brighton Mitre	1:16:33
4	Paul Thatcher	Brighton Mitre	DNF
4	Jack Oliver-Blayey		DNF

Hove Park Race 2 - 23.05.08

The second in the Mitre-promoted series of Hove Park road races saw
near-perfect conditions and some impressive riding from juniors and
road racing novices in particular.

The 4th Category event saw a lead group of three form off the front
very early, featuring local MTB stars Jo Burt and Robert Dean
alongside Brighton Mitre's Nathan Dye in his first competitive outing.
Behind this group, most riders faced a personal struggle as the field
scattered all over the circuit, only forming into significant groups
in the latter stages.

Burt did the lion's share of the work in the lead trio, occasionally
ceding the front spot to Dean as Dye conservatively sat in. This group
worked hard enough to hold off the 2/3 Category bunch for the entire
race, with Burt deservedly taking the honours ahead of Dye and Dean.
Mikes Bentham and Leonard and Martin O'Brien filled the next three
slots making for a great night for the local club.

In the 2/3 Category event, most of the action was to be seen off the
back as the regulars rode a fast but cohesive race while Oli Pepper
and Will Thomas fought manfully to stay with the pace. With
Agiskoviner.com's Ishmael Burdeau in a quiet mood, it was left to Paul
Thatcher and Stuart Fahey to attempt to ignite proceedings. Any
attacks were short-lived, however, with VC de Londre's Philip
Glowinski conspicuous at the head of any effort to reel in escapees.
He and Toby Leyton contributed to the evening's most promising effort
to snap the elastic, but to no avail, as the riders decided to settle
for a bunch sprint.

With local wunderkind Felix English in the group, this was to prove a
poor policy for the seniors as he roared away from the bunch to win by
three bike lengths from Glowinksi and the Mitre's Dan Clarke.

Race Results

2/3 Cat
1st Felix English
2nd Philip Glowinski
3rd Dan Clarke
4th Paul Thatcher
5th Ishmael Burdeau
6th Oli Pepper
7th Stuart Fahey
8th Toby Leyton
9th Will Thomas
10th Mike Metcalfe

4th Cat
1st Jo Burt
2nd Nathan Dye
3rd Robert Dean
4th Mike Bentham
5th Mike Leonard
6th Martin O'Brien
7th Ian Craig
8th Bruce English
9th Ben Sherwood
10th Richard Smith

29/04/08 Hill Climb (GH/94) Mill Hill Results

Pos	Rider	Club	Time
1	Nick Sky	Brighton Mitre	08:15
2	Tristan Court	Brighton Mitre	09:55
3	Robin Johnson	Brighton Mitre	12:04