Tom MacDonalds race report for the We Love Mountians Racing Team at the East Yorkshire TLI Road Race League, Sproatley 30 miles, on the 26th April 2012
This Thursday night was the first of the East Yorkshire Road Race league. The race was a 7.5m 4 lap circuit around Sproatley and the surrounding villages.
Six members from the We Love Mountains RT took to the start line Tom Macdonald, Simon Pickering, Lee Coulson, Steve Coates, Ben Ives and Nick Coupland.
Tom set off in group 1 and they set a good pace over the opening lap, with Simon in group 2. |They set off in pursuit off the first group catching them within 1 ½ laps as the heavens opened this made for a much larger group and caution had to be taken
Lee Coulson and Steve Coates riding in group 3 found the pace that little bit quicker, but more even, than in group 2 last year. All but one of the riders were riding through and off pretty smoothly considering the conditions, there was a bit of echelon formation riding going on due to the spray being like a hose down at times behind other riders. Fun in a sick way and sick in a fun way!
On the last lap group 3 caught groups 2 and 1, as planned Lee and Steve rode hard through straight off the front and tried to breakaway. Tony Goundry of Active/CP Cycles and another rider had the same idea, but despite some hard effort sharing the work the now huge group wouldn’t let it go.
Nick and Ben riding in group 5 had an almost impossible task with a 8 minute deficit to make up on group 1, despite this being the strongest group on the road they managed to catch group 4 on the third lap making a larger group but with only a few riders forcing the pace to try and make up the now 1 ¾ minute gap to the first groups.
Ben took the bit between his teeth and showed the rest off his group a clean pair of heals when he decided to make a solo chase. This unfortunately proved to be in vain as the main group still had a 30 seconds gap.
So the sprint came about, after a good deal of fast riding as positions in the bunch were defended, 200m out Steve heard a plea from Lee to try to make space, but unfortunately there was none and Lee took to the verge but stayed upright somehow. Others were less fortunate and a number of riders crashed in the middle of the group as those that could got out of the saddle and tested their nerve sprinting in the rain. The inside wasn’t the roomiest place but Steve stuck it out for 8th, coming away with 3 points for his league standings.
Tom Macdonald
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