First place for Steph!

Steph competed in the Southern Cross-Country Championships, held at the Wasing Estate on Sunday and won the Expert Category race.

Congratulations!



(Photo courtesy of Joolz Dymond)

Bedford 2-Day Stage Race

The Bedford 2 day event was never going to be easy, with a strong field of riders and some well-drilled teams. On a personal note I anticipated a particularly tough couple of days having just emerged from four weeks off the bike due to a tenacious throat and chest infection that had required 2 courses of antibiotics to shift and had left me considerably weakened.

Unfortunately, I was not the only Squadra Donne rider hampered by illness; Sarah was unable to compete due to a nasty virus and Vicky was affected by the high pollen count, which restricted her breathing. Nonetheless, Iona and Steph were both in good health and riding well, as was our guest rider Gen Whitson, who had been racing in Holland/Belgium the week before.

Race headquarters for stages one and two was Keysoe Village Hall, situated 1 km from the end of a 10km demanding team time trial course characterised by several undulations and – on race day – by a vicious headwind.

It was our first time riding together in a team time trial. As a result of excellent communication, we managed to get the requisite four riders finishing together to register fifth team out of seventeen overall.

Stage two was at a blistering pace but despite several attacks the peloton remained together to finish in a bunch sprint. Four of our five team members competed in the sprint finish, with three of us finishing in the top 20.

Stages three and four took us to the fantastic Millbrook vehicle test track. A constant strong wind made conditions tough but sunshine helped to relax riders between the two stages.

Stage three – silly helmet time – was the individual time trial. Two circuits of the bowl at Millbrook seems a long way when there’s such a wind but creditable performances all round for the SD riders. Gen decided to change the rules and compete with her time based on only one lap of the bowl… But having enjoyed it so much she had a second go, this time complying with the 2 lap rule ;-)

The final stage of the event was an 80km race around the test track, incorporating a loop of the bowl and a couple of vicious climbs. Two thirds of the race completed in the leading group and my body succumbed to the ravages of my recent illness; I pulled out of the race.

Iona, Steph and Gen all finished well, with results in the GC of 24^th, 29^th and 22^nd respectively. Vicky did not compete in the final stage.

All this would not have been possible without Jon’s impeccable organisation of the event – efficiency personified. Steve, as always, was a much appreciated constant source of support.

Let’s hope for some illness- and crash- free races in the near future for all the team.

– Tamina

(Photos courtesy of Darren Hague)

CDNW Women's Road Race and National Junior Women's R.R. Champs

We set off for 12 laps of the Bashall Eaves short circuit. The circuit has plenty of sharp bends and I was praying the rain would hold off.

Within the first couple of laps I attacked and found myself off the front. A couple of other girls joined me but we were quickly brought back.  Second lap and Charlotte Colclough attacked up the slight hill (well we'll call it that for the purpose of this race, but it was more of a very short incline). I jumped and went with her, but we were brought back.

Things continued with attacks coming all race long but with no one managing to stay away for too long. Then with 5 laps to go Lucy Garner of Motorpoint had a dig and was chased down. I saw my chance and attacked again on the short incline of a hill. I checked behind, hoping to see a couple of others come with me, but no one was there. I had a gap and I was on my own. I was committed now. All I could do was keep going. After one lap I had 55 seconds on the bunch but by the second lap my lead had decreased to 20 seconds and second time past the start-finish, I had just 15 seconds.

Great photo here!

I was eventually caught with 3 laps to go, after spending just over 2 laps out front on my own. With 2 laps to go, the rain started. The sharp left hand bend after the finish proved the difficult one, with several riders coming down. I then had a chase to get back on, being the wrong side of the crash.  Then with the bell lap everyone seemed to be extra cautious of the slippery conditions and moving up proved more difficult. I found myself in the middle of the bunch as we rounded the last corner. I made up what places I could, coming past several people, to eventually finish 18th.

Iona