Chateaugiron is another pretty place southeast of Rennes. Club-mates, Daniel Dunot, Yves Oger, Ian Cushway and I arrived in plenty of time for the 09:15hrs start. I’d had to set the alarm for 05:30 in order to meet the team car – yuck! A moderate easterly wind lowered the temperature considerably and I shivered a little in the weak morning sun.
Start: Interestingly, there was a speed restriction of 30kph imposed for the first 30 kms of the course. This safety feature created a few problems as the 300 or so riders remained tightly bunched together on narrow roads that wound through small towns and villages. Every so often the group had to split quickly to avoid an island or roundabout. We had to brake hard every few minutes as the bunch concertinaed together, then sprint hard after the obstacles were passed. It was quite scary at times, and I could see a number of riders shaking and flexing their hands to ward off the cramp caused by the constant braking.
Released: At 30 kms the lead car finally pulled far enough away for the racing to begin. There was one benefit of the speed restriction tough - we were all well warmed up by this stage and the speed ramped up quickly.
We rolled along on lovely country roads winding through woods and villages at a good speed. I had to work hard, but by 55 kms I was still with the main bunch and feeling pretty strong. I could see the damnable orange flash on Ian’s bike helmet just ahead of me; I was determined to stay in contact with him for as long as I could.
I was finally dropped on a long drag at about 65kms. I tried my best, but my quads were on fire by the top of the climb and I simply had to ease off. I found myself in the second group of twenty or so riders, including Yves. We worked hard for the next few kilometres trying to reattach to the leaders, each taking turns on the front, but we were just not strong enough to catch them.
Yves and I took our turns at the head of the group and our average speed crept up as we tried to maintain the pressure. In a worrying moment I fell back on a hill at 85 kms, but Yves passed me and called for me to follow him. I managed to catch his wheel and he dragged me back the group. It was touch and go though, and I only just made it in time for a long recuperative descent.
I don’t quite know where it happened, but after 95 kms Yves was no longer with us, somewhere along the run in to home he had dropped off the group; fatigue and the lack of training miles had taken its toll. Yves is a busy man these days; a young family and running a large business enterprise leaves him very little time to train.
Wrap-up: I managed to attack and pass a few riders on the uphill sprint into finish which pleased me no end. As ‘La Marc Gomez’ is a charity sportive and not an actual race, the organisers haven't published the results so I don’t know my actual finishing position. As for our team times:
Ian Cushway - 3:01:30 (34kph) – Finished with the leaders and was almost certainly inside the top twenty – an excellent result from this strong-man (who cut his cycling teeth on Time-Trials in the UK).
Old Fart – 3:08:00 (33kph) – Quite happy with this result. The course was undulating and predominantly flat, no monster hills, but the wind was tricky in places. I probably finished in the top fifty.
Yves Oger : 3:12:30 – a good effort but his lack of training showed during the latter stages.
Daniel Dunot: He came in some time after us – he deserves an honourable mention for cheerfully driving us there and back in the club car. Merci Daniel.
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