Guegon - Randonee - 26th June 2010 - (91kms)

After the hammering I received at La Crouais (see my last blog), I came down with a bit of head-cold so I’ve been out of the game for the past couple of weeks. As a result I missed the race at Questembert on 12^th June, which was out to be a real shame because the course is flat and would have been ideal for me. As it happens a chap finished tenth at Questembert that I actually beat at Lizio – ho hum. Missed out there I think.

Vay (44): I thought I’d shaken off the cold by the time I’d entered a PC at Vay but what a disaster it turned out to be. The circuit was short (32 x 2kms), very fast, and it was blowing a gale. I was well and truly destroyed. Overtaken by the seventh lap, I was waved off the course (in disgrace) by the marshals. I eventually managed to convince myself that the bad performance probably down to the remains of the head-cold - easy to fool yourself isn’t it?

After another week of recovery with only a few cycle miles in my legs, I entered the ‘gentle’ Randonee at Guegon again this year (Ref: Guegon Rando Blog - 2010).

Start: As is the way for Randonee’s, the less competitive riders had been setting off for about an hour and were already spread wide along the route on a gloriously sunny and still morning. The more serious riders set off at around 08:40 with a race car lined up to show us the way. So, there would be no straining to look for race signs, and no getting lost - yeah!

A couple of dozen riders grouped at the start including eight of us from the Taupont Cyclisme club. These included my mates Ian Cushway (he of the strong legs and garish orange flash on his cycle helmet), Andy Shaw and the luckless Loic Guimard (who crashed out at Lizio and was only just returning to form). Bob Jones fresh from competing in a PC the previous day was also in the group (a real glutton for punishment is our Bob).

We took it quite steadily most of the way round a course that was completely different from 2010. I was able to keep towards the front with the leaders all the way around the course until we hit the big hill at Plumelec. We reached the hill after about 65kms so we were well a truly warmed up, but what a sod the hill is! Not monstrously steep, but long; bloody long.

I put in some real effort on the preceding descent and led the way onto the climb. I was trying to limit the damage that I knew the climb would cause me but it was of little use. I was soon being overtaken by: first Ian, then Andy, then a chap from AC Pontivy, and finally by Bob. Curses, my plans foiled again!

By the time I crested the top of the climb the leaders were out of sight.

I tried to console myself that I was nominally in fifth place overall at this stage, but a Rando is not really that competitive. In actual fact, I was pissed off that once again, I’d been seriously lacking on the climb.

I didn’t really have time to dwell on things because I was being chased down by another club-mate, Vincent. I allowed him to catch me after a few kilometers; honestly! We spent the rest of the ride taking turns at the front, trying without much hope or expectation, to catch up with the leaders.

Finish: Guess what? Remember I said the race car was showing us the way? Well, not only had I been dropped by the race leaders, but they had also taken the lead car with them and, yes, you’ve guessed it! Vincent and I had our heads down. We were concentrating on trying to chase down the lead group and missed a signpost. We took a wrong turn!

We ended up cutting about 6 kilometers from the route and actually found ourselves back at start in Guegon before the leaders! We spent a few minutes searching for them before we realized our mistake. So, what did we do?

We went out again to make up the lost kilometers – well, we’d signed up for 91kms and were determined to complete that distance. By the time we returned to Guegon, the others had returned and we explained out mistake, much to their obvious delight. We’d averaged around 30 kph – not bad for ‘gentle’, but hilly Rando.

Next week the Sportive “La Coeur de Bretagne” at Malestriot (130kms)

Le Crouais (35) – Pass’Cyclisme (4.1kms x 16 laps)

Start: Twenty-nine of us lined up for the 14:00 start of this dedicated D3/4 race. A light rain had been falling off and on through the night and the bad weather meant that only ‘serious’ racers (and I), had bothered to turn up. I knew right then that I was in for a tough ride. 

The course was pretty flat overall, but the middle third contained some very slow corners on gravel-strewn and narrow roads. To make matters worse the light but persistent drizzle increased in intensity during race making the course more and more treacherous. 

To my absolute horror I was dropped in the middle of the twisty section on the very first lap. I simply failed to negotiate the sharp turns with any degree of skill and soon found myself alone at the back of the race. I thought about dropping out at the end of the first lap, but decided to carry on regardless. What the hell! I was already soaked through and I certainly need the training.

As it happens, I managed to catch and overtake a couple of riders during the next two or three laps which gave my confidence a bit of a boost. When I passed the podium at the end of lap five I noticed a couple of riders had already called it a day and pulled up. 

What do you know? I’d moved up four places in five laps and I could see another rider about five-hundred metres ahead; I had another target. I set off in chase but this guy was made of sterner stuff and it took me the next five laps to reel him in. After that, the two of us spent the remainder of the race together, taking turns in front. I can’t be certain, but it felt like I did the majority of the work, especially on the gentle uphill section on the last third of each lap. However, I am sure if you asked the other guy he would say that he had pulled me around the course – perceptions hey?  

In the middle of lap twelve we were finally caught and passed by the leaders. Being lapped was a real blow to my morale. I had hoped that the two of us working together would be enough to keep us away - fat chance! Once passed, the two of us carried on swapping turns in front until the final lap. 

I attacked on the final lap. I took my chance just after the uphill section, even though I’d led for a previous few hundred yards. I must have surprised him because I took the line quite easily in the end. Maybe his heart wasn't in it, we were, after all, a long way behind the rest of the race. Perhaps he was acknowledging my work at the front, or the fact that I’d managed to catch him in the first place - I’ll never know

Overview: I was hugely disappointed to have been dropped and lapped, but at least I finished; some riders didn't. 

Result: I finished 19th; average speed 32.2kph.