Bottom Gear Shocker!

I had a bit of a shock when I got in from my Saturday ride, a face contorted & fixed with staring eyes and a menacing grimace from my hall floor. No warning or explanation for which I have seen other magazines placed on the top shelf and in opaque bags! The face of a man only 15 yards from the finish line of a World Championships not a person i recognise

Was this really the month for the SWRC magazine to get all up to date and be posted out in a clear poly bag? It must have been a shock for all those poor posties who had to sort and handle it to the members doors So I put out a few less stressful pictures of the week when the SWRC got itself a World Champion o7ò

A solid 8th in the Pursuit (Pic Steve Walton)

Scratch Final (Pic Steve Walton)

The race is always ahead (Pic Steve Walton)

Canadian sandwich

Flowers, Medal & Jersey for Colin Parkinson o7ò

Podium is the place to be (with Ian Emmerson) o7ò

All smiles o7ò

Pushing to take the lap

Second place, second medal (Pic Steve Walton)

Silver - to go with my Bronze & Gold (Pic Steve Walton) o7ò

 Approaching the last lap in the Cossavella (Pic Steve Walton)

Lap it up!

So you get to bed at one O'clock and rise at six after the most momentous day of your racing career, thinking you have no more to add but I still have a point to prove.

Steve Clayton takes some points in one of the
ferocious sprints o7ò

The Points race is my favourite event and with the confirmation from my brother that he had never seen me win a race in the style of the night before. Phil had spent the last lap thinking I had blown my chance victory would slip by once more. Thanks brother! No heats in the morning so we could all slope off to get a bit more rest, Adrian was not riding, he was off after almost grabbing a World medal, with no racing for ten weeks and a chest implant and other undesirable interruptions to his season he had finally diagnose a heart fibrillation issue he has had since childhood. He has the satisfaction of heart surgery to come and the knowledge he will be back stronger next year

Going for broke in the break

The reality was that I got ten minutes lie down before the evening session and only ten minutes on the track Claire (Hands on Recovery) gave my legs a rub in her new occupation as a masseuse, the last time we met I was screaming down the A50 in the BDCA '100' "Go Claaaaaaaaaaaaire!"

It's ten O'clock at night before the twenty four riders take the starters gun, I have only one plan wait until the last third of the sixty lap race, ignore four of the six sprints and then go for broke and gain a lap. A lap gain is worth ten points and that might be enough to get me a medal, last year I had seven points the same as the third place rider, but he had gained a lap in the race. I figured after last night I would be marked out the race, so it was "Shit or Bust" (it's a plumbing term!) as my dad would say, I always go better at the end of the race. The first two sprints are red hot anyway, I just have to mark the breaks and make sure nothing gets away so I roll through a few times to make sure the speed does not slow.

Result!

Past the middle of the race, my legs are getting twitchy and I go for some points with twenty to go but I only place fourth and with a rider ahead I strike out, this is my time to go and it takes me two laps to find a lull in the pace to break from the pack and get up the 'road'. I catch two riders Gerry Cross (Manchester Whs) and Nigel Stephens (Finchley RC - Adrian's heart consultant, always good to know there's a doctor on board!) I know I cannot take a lap on my own so I pitch in with them, we do half laps but its a bit slow, I'm chomping at Gerry's heels every turn but i have to bide my time, we have a third of a lap and getting onto the next sprint. I lead out for a full lap and take the points, we almost have the bunch at a third of a lap and I begin to calculate can I get across the gap on my own before the end, the bunch will speed up with three to go and we will not bridge the lap so I have to go soon. But when?

Final Sprint - (Pic Steve Walton) o7ò

The bunch splits ahead and they draw away, I think I have to go, then it comes together and we are in the same straight, one more turn and we are on, five to go, I have my lap now I need to get up for the final sprint, my place may be down to how high up the finish I am so I head straight for the front just as the wind up for the final sprint begins, I have no time to gather my breath or thoughts at this stage its truly 'eyeballs out' Toth my lucky Canadian leads again (Damn! he's good) I come over the top, over Ettles the European Champion and I place second, a couple of riders up the track but I've done what I set out to do, I have absolutely no idea who has won, where I am placed?

My breakaway companion Dr Stephens
 Bronze and Silver for GB o7ò

As I circle the track brother Phil holds up two fingers, is it second? it is second! UNBELIEVABLE! Perfect tactics, from me and only last years Champion has beaten me, Stephane Le Beau the Canadian, he went for the lap just before me and mopped up the points ahead of me, he gained a lap on his own! And then attacked at the end to get second at the finish What a rider, What a Boy.

My position last year Gerry Cross 4th place o7ò

The Doctor has taken the Bronze by virtue of one more point on the penultimate sprint, Gerry is 4th he did a valiant ride but loses out this time. We are the only ones to take a lap, all other activity in the race is as if nothing, this race was won (not lost) in the last 20 laps, I think Le Beau had the same tactics as me but he can do it on his own, he is supreme in this respect.

The Podium - Parkinson with Le Beau (CAN) &
Dr Stevens (GB) o7ò

Stephane was second in the Individual Pursuit an event he won last year, he and I pass pleasantries at the podium, we both have a Gold and Silver (he went on to get Bronze in the team Pursuit) I'd like to think my 8th in the Individual trumps his 18th in the Scratch but I'm happy to share top billing in this age group with this superb athlete, even more so when he tells me he goes up unto the 55-59 age group next year.

Silver smile o7ò

The British riders have done well, two medals here and two in the Scratch (six in the top seven) We miss out in the Pursuit Ian's 4th one down on last year Adrian Dent (Team Terminator) holds our end up in the other events with Silver in both the 500m TT and the Sprint (Gold in the Team Sprint)

I was convinced to ride the Cossavella 10 mile race to finish the Championships on the Saturday, it was a super fast race with all the best riders from the week in every age group. I just tried to keep well up but at one third distance one of the Argentineans (of which there were a few!) made a somewhat sudden and unusual blocking manoeuvre while one of his team mates was away and brought one of the Americans down, unfortunately I could not avoid him coming down the track and he took my back wheel away, I was sent tumbling into the infield in a heap. I got up quickly and was back in the race in no time after straightening my bars and finished with the main bunch after leading out the winner John McClelland to the bell as there was a genera consensus that we did not mind who won so long as it was not an Argentinean! Job done! o7ò

All Photo's Larry Hickmott - VeloUK

VeloUK - Day 6

I had a Dream.............................

When you do a bit of sport, whether you do something with a passion or a passing interest, when you talk with your mates about what to ride or aim at. Do you ever dare to dream? Of course you do, but you might not share it with your friends for fear of what they might think, Failure? Cost? Humiliation? Delusions of grandeur even!

Two to Go  (Photo's Larry Hickmott - VeloUK) o7ò

I had a dream to win a World Championship on a bike, I had it from being a kid, I stopped dreaming it in my twenties and I only started again in my late forties, I'd got fit enough to race at a good level, raced on the road and in time trials, won a few medals, little dreams but what about the big dream I even talked about it with my pal Adrian, he loves the track, he's 'quick' and smart. "Let's ride the Track Nationals", 'The Masters'  we shared it together. I won a couple of medals (never Gold!) Adrian won a medal we were close but it was still a dream.

The bell- Peter Toth the defending Champion o7ò

When people say when you lose something "Why are they in the last place you look"?  Dreams are like that, they do not come true until the last moment, they remain lost, in terms of a race they remain unwon until you cross that line. As the finish hovers up into view approaching you at speed there is still time for you to wake up and then like crossing into another world, like stepping through a mirror, a reflection of your own life but one that exists with you as the Winner! , so when the line was getting closer and in all my other dreams when a rider comes past me and the reflection gone. At about ten thirty last Thursday night the line came up and passed under my wheels

The Finish - Parkinson wins World title, Adrian 4th o7ò

Sure I won a European Masters Gold! It was a nice feeling but like all dreams when you wake up you just want to slip back under the covers, enjoy the detachment, the warm cosy world of altered reality, the realness of winning in a real race is cold and harsh. Last year my best chance I went up an age group away from most of the riders who beat me year after year in the British title races. And even though I was the best Europe could offer I came up against others, Canada, Russian Australia and America, a bronze seemed like a brilliant success, I gave it my all and two! Canadians beat me in both races.

Parkinson celebration (Photo - Steve Walton) o7ò

Another year, another tilt, the Canadians are still there but so are all those Brits Aaah!, Second and fourth was all I could manage at the Nationals, consistent but not dominant, I can't even win a British title! How can I win a World Title? The Europeans are also in the UK this year, good practise but I need to focus and I put all my eggs in one basket, Its the Worlds or nothing, I train in isolation, I do not step on a track but I do believe. Belief is a hunger but it is also an itch, it's inside and outside you, all you can do is eat and train, drink and breath and rest.

The Pursuit is much the same as last year, I am so well rested but I am out of touch with the feeling of competition its hard to know if its good or bad, in the end I decide its nothing. Back at work months of preparation float in the air and I pace through it with purpose but like all big moments they start with small waves, ripples that you feel in the middle of the night, on your chest and at your finger tips. I go around at work cleaning the door handles, am I turning into Howard Hughes? I sit down when I brush my teeth, does it all adds up to a World Title? I've done it for years, a devotion to the line, my own genuflection to myself, the dogma of winning, strangely I do not consider I am not a natural winner, its not pathological with me, it's not a necessity and sometimes it does not feel right I have to make it a methodology, I feel unwell

Podium with Michel Lacouline (Can) Parkinson & Scotland's Ivor Reid (Clachnacddin) o7ò

My 'niggle' has developed into a sore throat and I wake up at six O'clock, Adrian and I are sharing a room in basic hotel near the track, I have lain awake most of the night, I have learnt to rest without sleeping, the days events will be the test, rest has no place there. We get on the track to warm up and wait for the heats to be drawn, both in the second heat, so we can watch and learn, only six to go out but the tension of the heats are worse than the final, some are paralysed but Adrian and I go through in the confusion as the American Tolson laps the field and the judges get the lap numbers wrong, but you have to be prepared for everything, Ian Greenstreet is out, the Pursuit taken more out of him, an Argentinian is relegated for riding on the Côte d'Azur letting in the Manchester rider Jerry Cross

The man and his 'Iron' o7ò

We line up for the final in the central pen, the Whip insists my steel bike is weighed, the scrutineer does not even put it on the scales, "No weigh it" I say "What does it weigh"? 1.5Kg over the 7.6Kg, most have spanners taped on or chain down the tubes, 400g the most I found. So were on the track 40 laps, its ten O'clock at night, the day like no other has lasted longer than my longest race but that is track racing, you eat and drink, you rest, you warm up and down, you shower and you eat again and you try not to dream, we go back to the hotel to rest away from the fuss of the track but you do not allow yourself to sleep because you know if you dream you might wake up and there is nothing here to be gained from that, not now at least

Parkinson Wins! The Result

Back at the track the race is fast, no chance to get away let alone gain a lap, I balance at the back of the bunch, observing the group, I trail riders up through the field, I follow Tolson and then Peter Toth (Can) he moves with such purpose like a shark in a shoal of smaller fish, he is defending Champion but I have two other Canadians to observe as well, you can only choose one so Toth is my man. Its ten to go, this is my zone, my time of the race, my throat is dry and 'claggy' the suspense is only held at bay by sheer excitement and panic. I trail riders up the track once more in one last effort to find my opportunity but there is none, I move to the back again high on the banking scrubbing off the speed as I climb higher and then in a split second Toth makes his move, I have to barge Ivor Reid off his wheel and chase him over the group, a split second decision to go over a stray rider as Toth goes under I almost come a cropper but it gives me the height I need to latch onto him

Phew! I'm exhausted o7ò

Toth is on the front from three laps out, he does not glance around or ease up, he does not waver in his intent, I admire his certainty he has taken the race on, the mark of a Champion, I have now been dealt my hand, this is not the way I would plan it but you have your cards and you have to play them. I was certain as I ever was to take the race on early, Toth had not faltered but hesitation would hand the advantage to others, there are plenty faster (quicker!) than me but Toth had handed me two aces, the front and the speed, with 300m to go I begin to pass and take the front, I have not looked over my shoulder (mistake?) I'm on the front with a lap to go and I play my own aces. The last lap is just as fast as I can make it, I'm still expecting a rider to come past, still expecting the dream to end, as I pass over the line, I have become a World Champion..........................o7ò

World Masters - 50-54 Pursuit

Champion - Monthier (Fr)

First up the 2000m Individual Pursuit, I have to do my stretching at 10 O'clock the night before after driving from Leicester but I managed to get some sleep although waking with a flat phone battery caused a mild panic until I was able to confirm it was only 6.00, too late to go back to sleep, so I had a leisurely breakfast in my room

Qualifying

Twenty five minutes warm-up on the track before the session is all the riding I'm going to get on my Time Trial bike that doubles for Pursuiting but the position has to pass UCI regulations for dimensions and weight so the position always feels a bit weird compared to my other bikes. My alloy P2SL Cervelo makes for a lovely light bike but Its a good job I left my sensors on (UCI says No! to computers) as its only 8 grammes over the 6.8KG weight limit, I didn't realise it was that close otherwise its cutlery down the seat tube time.
Formalities over I just managed 10 minutes on the rollers before my ride, it's so hot in the velodrome that any more leads to over heating, sitting in a pool of sweat on the line with it streaming down the inside of your visor a tad distracting before an all out effort so just get over to the waiting area

Silver - Le Beau (Can)

I'd done a final session with the starting gate on Saturday evening and it was fresh in my mind so no need for visualisation just keep it all together as practised, 22.1 is better than last year 22.7 with 100.6" (97.4" 2012) and the whole ride goes to plan. With me up against closely matched Steve Clayton (Litchfield RC) in the 7th heat I'm up at the start then loose a bit over the next few laps then come back with my usual fast finish to beat him by a slim margin 2:27.203, I would so like to get inside that 2:27 but without track time it seems I'm stuck at the same speed a fraction down on last year at 30.4mph Av.

Bronze - Dardi (It)

Fastest is recent Euro winner Pascal Montier (Fr) 2:20.197 (31.9mph) from reining Champion Stephanie LeBeau (Can) 2:20.956 although I think he eased up on the last lap when he knew he had enough over third man Roberto Dardi (It) and Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) keeping up the British end less than a tenth apart on 2:23.793 and 2:23.810 respectively. I am placed 8th as last year and 3rd British rider.

Ian goes to the start

During the break in the middle of the day we are treated to the GB squad tuning up for the impending European Championships going through their sprinting and TP drills, its a fine sight and the riders watch in rapt awe as the new generation of riders with some of the established stars (Trott, Barker & Tennant) show what they can do

The finals in the evening go to form, Le Beau not able to turn the tables on the Frenchman as he did last year and slipping back to 2:21.34 while Monthier moves up from the Bronze in the 45-49 age group to take the title in a faster time 2:19.292 In the bronze ride off Ian after leading for all the ride slipped back over the last lap and a half and Dardi won out marginally slower in 2:24.973, he's a big rider and I've no doubt he will pose some problems in the other races as will all these riders. o7ò

Result

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Worlds Time Trial - Tony Martin - Three in a row

 

Result & Report here 

BBC

PB(3)10 ~ 0.184 < 30 x 1/1207 = BC

Hutch (In-Gear) 18:01

My final TT of the season Team Swift Charity '10' (I forgot to enter the Manchester Whs '50') and I just have a two week build up to the World Masters now but it was good to finish on a personal best ride my second over this distance and third in a month

I made a special concession in removing my bottle cage and I can report that it's worth exactly a second over the ten miles though where I saved it I cannot tell, compared to a month ago my splits were almost the same for the out and return leg (10:02 & 10:05) with the first incorporating the tricky turn that cost about 10-15 seconds but I cannot see where I would have done it better.

Nick Frewin (Bournmouth Jubilee) 20:49 on a 92" fixed (105RRM)

On the day. My HR was at its max for the year 150 Av. and 157 Max (somewhere it has not been for a while) so maybe the Turbo session in the week did the trick. I was pleased with my cadence 90 Av. and 110 Max  although 94 on the way out and 87 on the way back as I began to suffer and resort to the bigger gears but apart from the finish I don't think I used top gear (56 x 11) and mostly it was the 13 & 14 where a month ago I 'bossed it' but only managed 85 RPM but I have been doing allot of speed work for the WM and no need to change tack now

Burns (Manchester Whs) 8th 19:21

So only a second, I would like to think its the fastest ride ever off the No1 position, I'd not started from there before and usually (traditionally) it's taken by a rider from the promoting club but I don't think having somebody to chase affected my ride, In these uber fast events you are unlikely to catch your minute man (although some did) and the only down side was I had to leave the house before ten to get to the event alongside the River Humber for my lunchtime start.

Perkins (Zenith) 2nd 19:00 (on a steel frame)

Conditions were better than before with a less strong South wind but as one local wag pointed out "It'll be slow because the tides out" the thinking being that the wind over the water would be at the wrong height but I could not see it myself and on that thinking we should be burning witches at the stake and using leeches for all manner of ailments! It was warmer than we had the right to expect at this time of year so after a furious 20 minutes on the rollers I had a furious five mile ride to the start where the Mrs (lady) timekeeper was positioning herself on the grass verge (no jokes about women drivers but she had to have a couple of goes at it!)

PB  20:07- Taxi for Mr Parkinson

I caught the marshals off guard at the turn as I don't think they were expecting anybody along nine minutes after the start but I knew the routine and I was beginning to puff by now having kept a lid on it with my wonder footwork on the way out. Nothing to save and I just went all out for the finish. the wag who said the tide was crucial said the final drag would be tough as well as the road comes around into the South but I found it not so and the few ounces I'd saved were all but gone by the time I hit the line in 20:07.8 with the hope that delayed reactions and the timekeeper gave me the benefit of the doubt

Perhaps I did not go hard enough from the start but I was only eight seconds slower to the five mile point and although I came back slower I felt that the couple of drags that could slow me down I dealt with better this time and It's only by using bigger gears that I'm going to get that Club Record, It's only 20 seconds but at this rate I'll be claiming my pension before I break it. 31st place does not sound impressive until you think there were three riders on 19:52 and 19:58 a few seconds ahead of me and another four on 20:03

Michael Hutchinson was in imperious form after having to defend his crown taking a few direct hits in recent weeks from Matt Bottrill AND young pretenders, he stormed around in 18:01 (his 3rd fastest) 13 seconds faster than last time to win. Back to his best local Midlander James Perkins (Zenith) was a big PB by over 30 seconds with 19:00 and Andy Jackson from the promoting club 19:15 a bit disappointed as he's been inside 19 minutes three times already this year on this course





Result Here

Photo's here