Durham University Cycling Club

Dan celebrates his victory (Copyright Tony Todd 2013)

The last couple of weeks have seen the start of what looks to be a promising season for DUCC (Durham University Cycling Club). At this time of year most of the more seasoned campaigners bring out the ‘too early to start my season’ excuse, preferring to only begin racing a bit later. However January and February is traditionally when local team Velo29 host a winter series of crit races on the Croft motor racing track near Darlington, and DUCC usually field a healthy showing of fine athletes.

With racing categorised into different levels, it’s always a good chance for less experienced riders to get some practice in, either in the ‘Go-Race’ or the ’4th Cat’ race for riders with licences. The action kicked off on Saturday 2nd February, where the highlight was women’s captain and club President Kat Broadbent’s close second place in the women’s race. Unfortunately she lost out in the end in a tactical battle with elite rider Iona Sewell of GB Cycles, but this looks to be the rivalry to watch out for over the coming season. One feels it’s only a matter of time before Kat gets that coveted win; her condition this season appears to be top notch already, despite all that slaving away for her finals.

Two weeks later on the 16th February the turnout was even better however. There was palatinate patrolling the peloton in all three races, so success was always on the cards. The days racing began with the ‘Go-Race’ which is commentated by racing prodigy Ed Nixon:

“Nerves were running high in the clubhouse as the four ‘go racers’ signed up. Alex Reid remained cool and composed having raced the week before and therefore knew what to expect. As for Edward, Chris and Callum, although each of them had trained tenaciously for the race with countless winter miles under their belts, nothing could truly prepare them for race but racing itself. The riders had time to have a quick warm up before the race was underway. At first it the pace was controlled, each rider reading the others, determining who would be the dominant players as the race unfolded. This approach continued with some minor attacks quickly being reeled back in by the semi organised peloton until a defining attack came from the DUCC member Edward Nixon. Thinking this was their chance to shatter the peloton all the fellow DUCC riders followed quickly in pursuit completing the lap in a TTT fashion. Although all members but Chris (who was saving his legs for the sprint) put considerable stints in on the front thus taking the wind, the group was caught by three other riders. The move was still a success, dropping two thirds of the peloton. After the blistering breakaway Edward could no longer keep up with the pace and waved his team through with hopes they could bring in the club silver wear as his chances in the race were over. The race continued with six members in the breakaway for two more laps with no rider willing to make a move, meaning the possibility of a bunch sprint was ever more likely. As the race entered the final half a lap the pace increased significantly but having gone so far, no rider was willing to drop off at this stage of the race. The pace escalated climaxing on the home straight where Chris decided to make his move, with Alex and Callum quickly in pursuit. The finish line was quickly approaching and 1000 watt Chris was leading the pack almost tasting the glory that lay before him with a ‘go race’ victory, but unbeknown to him Jamie Corcoran was locked onto his tail. When Chis began to tire duo to his long sprint down the home straight, Jamie piped him at the line by half a wheel. Although no victory for DUCC in the ‘go race’ results of 2’nd for Chris Mulliner, 4th for Alex Reid and 5th for Callum Stephen was a good yield for a relatively inexperienced team. Hopefully the team can do one better next time and get the win.”

Then it was time for the 4th cat race. We had less riders in this one, but that wouldn’t matter. Dan Bryant is known in the team for his inability to sprint, so he was looking to avoid a sprint finish at all costs. With only a couple of laps completed, he made a daring move and managed to escape the bunch alone. He wouldn’t look back, single-handedly holding off the chasing pack to score his first win on the road, and with it the requisite 10 points to move up a category. Not bad for race 1 of the season.

The Elite, 1,2,3 race would be DUCC’s least successful of the day, unfortunately not managing to place any riders in the top ten. Our best hope was veteran campaigner and former road captain Andy Miles; however despite trying several times to form a breakaway, luck wasn’t going his way, and when the bunch sprint came round at the finish he found himself with no space to manoeuvre.

Elsewhere, the team’s European contingent, led by Ruari Grant in Sicily, has had a slightly slower start to the season. Racing in Italy tends to be slightly more agressive, and so the constant escape attempts can take some getting used to after experience of the often sprint dominated racing in the UK. However   after a 3rd in category result in the season’s opener two weeks ago, the upcoming weekly races provide plenty of competition to build towards.  Visit his blog (here) for more in depth analysis of racing on the continent.

Unfortunately the region’s first sizeable race of the season, the North East Trophy was cancelled this weekend. It usually attracts several fairly big names from the area, and some of more senior members of the team were looking to begin their season there. However it looks like they’ll have to hold off for another week or two until the snow clears!

All told, this has been one of the most successful openings to a season DUCC has had in recent years, so all bodes well for the rest of the season. With any luck this promise will gradually start bringing in more BUCS points; something essential to the club in its ever-present search for funding from Team Durham.

Another busy week of hard racing for Durham Uni – AURA Cycles has lead to some more excellent results for the team. It has also been great to see 10 different riders racing this week, a clear indication of the strength in depth and the progression the club has made this season.

Will Haynes and Andy Miles were again in action down at Croft on Tuesday evening for the TLI pursuit series. A tough race saw both Durham riders in the thick of the action and on the offensive, however with a strong field of riders nothing was getting away. The results were decided in a bunch sprint after a few hectic laps of jockeying for position. Both Haynes and Miles missed out on the top ten but were happy nonetheless with a strong showing and some solid race speed in the legs.

Sam Walsh joined Miles and Haynes for the TLI Newburn Crits on Thursday evening in Newcastle, again run as a 40 lap points race. The Durham riders were well marked throughout after Will’s victory the previous week, and a break never looked likely to succeed. Instead, it was left to the powerful sprinters to mop up the majority of the points, although consistent riding by Haynes saw him pick up a few minor placings throughout the race. Some strong teamwork also contributed to Will bagging the final sprint after a good leadout by Walsh and Miles. A great team performance that saw Haynes finish the race in 4th place, only a single point off 3rd.

On Saturday, the North-East Criterium League returned to Hetton, with a 30mins 4th cat race followed by the 3rd/4th cats. Representing Durham in the first race were Kat Broadbent, Matt Leake, Rory Macleod and Matt Parry. Leake was unlucky to puncture early on, whilst Kat had a solid ride to hang with the bunch for most of the race. In a brilliant sprint up the finishing straight the remaining Durham riders narrowly missed out on the win and had to settle for 2nd (Rory) and 3rd (Matt), two very good results.

Alex Clayton, Pete Hudson, Matt Leake and Andy Miles were racing the 3rd cat race, with all riders keen to get some more points on the board. Durham were attacking from the off, before Miles managed to get away about half way through with Mike Bell of MTS. After working well together for a few laps, Andy then attacked again and soloed to a well deserved victory. Great teamwork from behind saw Clayton, Hudson and Leake blocking any dangerous counter-moves. Pete was unlucky to puncture towards the end of the race, whilst Alex (6th) and Matt (8th) bagged top-ten results in the final sprint.

A strong Durham team competed in the prestigious Ballantyne Memorial Trophy Road Race on Sunday, a very tough 3rd/4th cat race around Northumberland. Attracting some of the top 3rd cat riders from the North-East and Scotland a hard race was on the cards. The four Durham riders racing were Rich Abraham, Alex Clayton, Nathan Edwards and Andy Miles. Edwards suffered a nasty crash early on but thankfully sustained no serious injuries, and worked well in a small group to the finish. Miles rode an aggressive race throughout, initially in an early break bought back at half way, and then in a solo effort to bridge up to the leading break. Unfortunately he didn’t quite make it across and was joined by a select group on the final climb of the day, which included Clayton. This group worked well together to the end, finishing about 1.30mins behind the leading trio. Miles claimed a respectable 5th whilst Clayton came home 13th on the same time. Abraham rode a good race to stay with the peloton until the last few climbs and eventually rolled home about 5mins down.

This week will see riders in action at Croft, Newburn and then a return to Northumberland for a tough Reg. A road race on Sunday. The Durham Uni – AURA Cycles riders will hope to build on this successful week and pick up some more good results.

Today saw our guys in action in both races of the Velo29 winter series at Croft. First, here’s a report from Will Haynes, in the E/1/2/3 race.

It was a handicapped race with the 4th and 3rd category riders heading off with a 2 minute advantage on the 12 or so 2nd cats and 1 lonely elite rider. We got organised pretty quickly and everyone seemed happy to work and not attack until we’d pulled back the lead group.  We caught them on the finishing straight of lap 5 or 6, (can’t quite remember) and from then on the racing really started. The attacks started coming thick and fast and the pace would be up and down from 30kph to 30mph, everyone was watching everything it seemed and there were a lot of fresh legs in the group.
With a strong north easterly wind positioning was crucial on the bottom half of the course and finally at the end of the 12th lap Kit Gilham, the 1 elite rider, drifted off the front and nobody seemed to fancy chasing. So I attacked and got clear of the bunch and got onto his back wheel. We were a group of 2 for about another 30 seconds as a few rider back in the bunch spotted we were extending our gap and managed to bridge across making it a group of 4 with 2 to go. We worked hard for a lap and pulled out about a 20 second advantage over the main group. On the last lap we eased off a little with the sprint in mind but we could see the bunch chasing hard so we couldn’t take it too easy. Somehow I ended up on the front leading out the sprint and having done a lot of work earlier and in the break I knew I just didn’t have it for the sprint and sure enough with 200m to go the three other riders came past and there wasn’t much I could do about it. Pretty happy overall though with it being my first road race in over a year due to injury and with the same injury, (now on the other side), having disrupted my training throughout January and February. I can’t complain.

And Pete Hudson, on the 4th cat race

Rich Abraham, Ben Crone (DUCC alumnus) and myself (Peter Hudson) took the tarmac for the final event of Velo29′s Winter Series at Croft Motor Circuit, near Darlington. The race took place under grey skies with a brisk but manageable 10mph wind following the riders up the finishing straight.

Rich and I spent the early stages of the race in the first few wheels of the bunch, keeping the tempo high and countering the few breaks that we attempted. The pace slowed and then picked up again for the 4th lap prime. We were all fairly boxed in and weren’t in a good position to contest the sprint, but one rider made the most of the briefly broken field and decided to go for the breakaway.

Over the next three laps, the pace was kept high and gradually the lone rider was reeled in. But with a mistake on the official lap counter, what we thought should’ve been the final lap was still marked out as two to go. The pace slackened on the back straight as the peloton decided that it wasn’t the final lap, and the breakaway was safely away again. Coming through for the bell, all the riders were jockeying for position. One man hit the tarmac out of the hairpin in the slightly damp conditions, but the bunch negotiated this safely. Rich did an awesome job on the front preventing anyone from jumping away. Unfortunately I found myself on the wrong side of the track as faster riders came up from behind through the chicane. Avoiding one rider drifting across the bend by taking to the inside of the rumble strips, I went the long way round and started to sprint early. Although making up ground all the way, I only managed 7th – still one point of 3rd Cat!

Billed as a season opener, it was always going to a hard race. Add in the fact that it was open to all categories, had a £500 prize fund and was raced on the pan flat, windy Croft Motor Racing Circuit and you’ve got yourself a really hard race.

A team of 5 Durham University – AURA Cycles riders (Andy Miles, Nathan Edwards, Richard Abraham, Matthew Leake & Pete Hudson) took to the circuit for the race, with Abraham, Leake & Hudson starting first with the 4th cats, and Miles & Edwards 1.5 minutes later with the 3rd cats.

With a cash prime being offered at the 6 lap point the 3rd cat group quickly set to work chasing the first group down. During the first couple of laps the gap stayed relatively steady until a group of about 5, including Andy and myself (Nathan), upped the pace, at one point gaining a gap on the bunch, bringing the front group back within 3.5 laps.

At this point my legs started itching for the prime, and at the end of lap 5 I soft pedalled off the front to chase down a guy whom I thought was going for a long one for the prime, as it turns out he’d gone a lap early, but it left me in a good place in the bunch to prepare for the prime. At the beginning of the last corner, a guy made a move which I immediately closed down, causing him to give up and also leaving me on the front of the bunch with nobody wanting to come round. As it was I jumped a second too late to grab the wheel of the guy who won the prime and had to settle for 3rd. Still, I won my entrance money back! After this, my race was over, I didn’t recover from my effort quick enough to hold on and rode the rest of the race in small groups or alone. Not long later Pete and then Rich joined me in doing so.

Andy & Matt rode well to stay in the main bunch but didn’t have much hope of holding on when the scratch group came through. They both finished strong in the main group.

Saturday saw the first round of the Velo29 Winter Series at Croft Circuit near Darlington. With some members of the club resting their legs for the coming day’s BUCS Cyclocross Championships, this was a chance for those who had never raced before, like myself, to get a first taste of the scene.

The club fielded a strong team of 6 riders with veteran Ed Garrett leading a field of young hopefuls interspersed with the odd triathlete, rower and Durham University – AURA Cycles’ very own Bavarian Bulldozer, Jakob aka Jens. With a good entourage of supporters and team tactics laid down from the night before, we were feeling pretty confident that we could make our mark on the event.

The race would be 8 laps around the 2.1-mile circuit. As 30 other riders assembled for the start, I tried to concentrate on the job ahead whilst cramming in a last minute energy gel, ignoring the guy riding the 3 grand Pinarello who had pulled up next to me… Lesson 1: Don’t be intimidated by other people’s kit.

Pace from the off was fairly brisk and it soon became apparent how much you need to concentrate when riding in a tight bunch, especially around some of Croft’s twistier sections. One small misjudgement could result in a very expensive pile up and a lot of angry people.

Going into lap 3 I got the nod from Captain Garrett to attack a little bit in order to try and up the speed of the race. Perhaps being a little over-enthusiastic in my first race I took off full gas down the start/finish straight imagining the bunch strung out behind me as they tried to hang onto my wheel. The first time I dared look back I was shocked to see I’d developed a sizable gap on the field, although no one was putting in any effort to reel me back in… The public would later describe the attack as “epic and inspiring”, however, the race was not even at the halfway point and I was consigned to the fact that I didn’t have the talent to go it alone to glory. After 1 ½ laps of my breakaway I was back in the bunch. Knackered. Lesson 2: Don’t attack too early, unless your surname is Cancellara.

As the race reached its climax on the final lap the pace was high and attacks were coming thick and fast. At this point the Durham University-AURA Cycles train got into formation and was in its element, Richard Abraham ruthlessly pouncing on any attempts to get away. The team’s aim was to lead out the sprint for Ed, whether he actually needed this is a different question, as he charged over the line throwing his bike to see off the two closest competitors by a tyre’s width. Had he “gone too early”? Not at all, and Ed recorded the club’s first victory in what looks to be a promising season. Special mention also goes to Sam Hatfield who had a strong sprint to finish in 9^th.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and those who were racing for the first time pulled up at the finish with massive grins, still pumping from the adrenaline. The club will be back at the three remaining events in the series to try and get more wins and hone racing skills and fitness for the rest of the season.