I've never been great at the Pursuit so this time as it's my last opportunity to do the 3Km distance as next year I go up into the 50-54 age group and its only 2Km so I've been doing a bit of preparation, as well as building myself a starting gate to practice getting going I also did a dozen max HR sessions on the turbo and threshold at 115-120 RPM to simulate the race in the two weeks prior. As the event is on the first day of the Championships and I have a rest day before the distance races get going I can give it an all out effort and try and break the 3:40 barrier, I figure a 3:36 good enough to get into the top 4 and the ride off for Gold, Silver and Bronze but the world record a blistering 3:21 to the American Ken Bostick faster than all the worlds best down to 35 years.
Sure enough two days before the Pursuit I wake to feel a bit under the weather, I stay in all day and fore go my final turbo session but feel a little better on the Sunday so on my way up to Manchester with a carload I stop off to watch the Jonny Helms 2 Up at Congleton, Lots of champions past and present in an end of season event more of a social than a race but the day is a bit wet but fun none the less. Adrian who is riding with his dad Mick (multi National champion from the 50's) decides to come and help me with the pursuit but has to go back to London for work commitments before coming back up for the Thursday the 10Km Scratch race the only event he is entered, I have the 20Km Points race on the Wednesday
Jonny Helms 2 UP - Result
Photos (c/o Cycling Weekly)
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| Getting out the gate |
I still feel a bit under the weather but nothing I can do about it, there is an impressive 16 (seeded) heats and Michael Bevan (RSA) records an early 3:35.187 catching his man and I think I may have underestimated the opposition, a couple of riders DNS including my opposition Steve Clayton (GBR) with a sore throat so the whips put me in with Geraldo Gomes (ARG) as his has likewise scratched. I have finished my warm up so ready to go but its all a bit sudden and I'm sitting in the gate on the line with the clock ticking down from 50-49-48 ............ sweat is pouring off my head onto my visor.................... 29-28-27 .............. I sit bolt upright take a few deep breaths............. ...........19-18-17..................my mind has gone blank..............I look at Adrian and he stares back as if to say "Time to go" the last ten seconds and I push back on 5-4-3-2-1-GO.
My start is fine around the 22 second mark and I settle down for my ride, I do not look across until 4 laps are gone but I sense that Gomez is up, I go through the first kilometer in 1:14 not super fast but workmanlike 17.5 -18.0 second laps is enough I still feel OK but I need to lift it from here to the finish. with 4 to go I can see Gomez a bit and my breathing is feeling out of control, I try to put a bit more into it, I can feel I am lifting it but it feels like more pain than I can take to lift it any more, the last couple of laps I can feel my style going to pieces. At the bell I can hardly see for the sweat and the sheer effort, but I just have to fling my legs around until I cross the line
I know I got it all out but within a few minutes the pain has subsided and you wonder to yourself what all the fuss was about, the time is a personel best 3:40.288 the second fastest to date but not good enough I feel a bit dejected and disappointed, and slope off to warm down, Gomez 3:43.199
Kenji Yano (JPN) and Daniel Casper (USA) record 3:33.835 and 3:33.501 in the next two heats Stephen McNally (IRL) 3:33.663 in the penultimate heat means that they go through with Bevan to the ride off, my ride is good enough for 10th and only 4th British rider so while I have never got a medal at this discipline (the closest I came was 4th in the Europeans) I just do not have the aptitude to go deep enough as I have peppered the 4:40-43 mark with regular consistency just not able to take it further. Best British rider Peter Ettles 3:36.328 in 5th
The final goes to form with Casper slowing to 3:35.416 from Mc Nally 3:36.932 and Yano 3:36 an easy winner over Bevan 3:39, you have to be able to get it all out in that one ride, there is no room to develop during a series of rides like in the past when the you could improve through the rounds, when I have got through to the final four I have been very consistent but at this level it requires a dedication I do not possess and a talent that has thus far eluded me
All that remains is a haltering cough
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