GYCC teammates (L to R): Seth Houlgate, Tristan Swindells, Ben Turner, Dan Swindells, Rowan Baker, Matthew Baker, Harrison Charlwood and Zak Coleman

John Swindells was first to taste the rapid and agressive racing and finished at the end of a bunch but with a big smile – i am sure it was a smile…

Jon Swindells (right) powers through the last corner

The u10′s and u12′s saw young Tristan Swindells ride to the end and Rowan Baker finish a strong 11th from an impressive U10 field. Seth Houlgate maintained his great record in these events and also finished 11th which is even more impressive as he has only just moved up to the U12′s age group.

In the U14′s event we had a bigger collection of riders. As the race started the rain fell and the tight and twisty circuit became an even bigger test of skill, fitness and nerve as the rain greased the bends. The young riders, unlike their parents, seemed unfazed. Now riding for national racing team Inverse Racing, Zak Coleman hung onto the lead group despite a heavy cold. Staying with Zak was Patrick Manning who worked strongly in the group and his lack of circuit racing experience did not slow him down – although maybe his racing colleagues allowed him to do too much of the work and he blew with a couple of laps remaining. It was a brilliant ride from Patrick and he is learning every race – well done. Behind this bunch saw Matthew Baker and Ben Turner battling in a group of boys and girls who looked more like 18 than the age 12 of our two lads. They worked hard, displayed grit and stamina and dropped several riders from the group with Matthew just beating Ben to the line. Next up were Dan Swindells and Harrison Charlwood who took a real battering in the early stages. Dan dropped back to try and help Harrison but it was in vain. Harrison bravely carried on and fought to the finish and Dan finished between Ben’s group and Harrison.

Despite the rain, a mix up with the formal results and the chilly wind all the team enjoyed their day’s racing. The regular coaching sessions at the Great Yarmouth Stadium are improving the team performance with every race (see www.greatyarmouthcyclingclub.co.uk). Well done GYCC and well done Ixworth.

The outward leg was easier than the return thanks to the cold and swirling wind but Chris was close to his all-time personal best with a great 23:22 (25.6mph) – his fastest of the year. Neil was confident at the start having ridden the TT league Thursday on a heavy tandem and his solo bike seemed very light and speedy – enough for him to set 21:42 (27.6 mph) which is just outside his personal best and the club record he set last year. Neil was delighted and took 6th overall. The event, predictably, was won by Joe Perrett in an amazing 19:42 (30.5mph!!!!).

Hmmmmmm, next time you see Wiggins on the telly in a Tour de France Time Trial that means Neil could be just 3 minutes behind Bradley Wiggins and Chris about 4.5 minutes behind if its just 10 miles and pretty flat – not too shabby for a pair of veterans from the Norfolk Riviera!!!!

click here to see Chris’s start >>>>>>>>>>>>>>Chris Roberts ECCA 10 5.5.12

It was great to welcome young Harry Devon on his first race who recorded a 28 – there is obviously more to come from Harry, well done chap!

Harley improved his course PB by 50 secs but it was not enough to win the round as Lee continued his awesome form and beat Harley by a mere 7 seconds.

Let’s look forward to seeing more riders this Thursday and some sunshine…….please!

The results>>>>>>http://lvycc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Summer-Series-2012-results-Race-2-5-May.pdf<<<<<< (copy and paste in address bar)

By Ben Turner

Despite getting out of bed at 4:00am, the drive up was okay.  Not much traffic!  Paul, Clive and myself signed in and got changed.  The thermometer in the car said 6.5 degrees C.  Winter gloves; yes.  wooly socks; yes.  Overshoes; yes.  Long sleeves; yes.  Long legs; yes.  Following the basic truism that the smaller the distance to travel; the later you are, the boys from the Travel Lodge rolled in at 8:00ish.  By 8:30 we were all assembled and ready for the team photo.  I think there were eleven of us at that point.  By the time I’d had my time chip scanned and rounded the first bend there were ten; Larry sure was on a mission!

I think we were about half an hour in when the rain started and didn’t stop.  We were quickly wet through.  Water and mud lay all over the road making bike handling tricky.  I charged down the first large descent and fairly terrified myself trying to keep control as I attempted to reduce speed.  The more I braked, the more the front wheel oscillated wildly; a combination of water, mud and cross wind, coupled with a twitchy frame and, if I’m honest, a less than perfectly true wheel.  I didn’t allow myself to reach that speed again on the ride.  I tried hiding behind man mountain Tim Amphlett for a while but the constant face shower from his back wheel made drafting less appealing than usual.  There were certainly some tough hills.  One, signed as 12%, seemed to test my gearing to its limit as I zig-zagged across the slope in an attempt to take the edge off.

After a while of this fun and games the group stopped to wait for Lee, who had punctured.  Once stationary it became obvious that some of our group were getting pretty uncomfortable although everyone put a brave face on it.  I remember thinking how grim this would be on my own.  We got going again and slogged away.  “I want my mum” admitted Kev Coman.  He was joking but many a true word is spoken in jest!  He confessed that his hands were numb.  Stuart Burdett had come down from Leeds, his new base, in the hope that southwards the conditions would be improved but his knees looked pretty blue in shorts.

After about three and a half hours, Kev said that the first feed station was coming up and, sure enough, it came into view.  We bundled into the small village hall and were met with a pretty squalid scene.  The floor was awash with water and every horizontal surface was strewn with flapjack and High Five powder.  There was a very interesting smell.  The cyclists within could be split into two groups; those that were cold and wet, and those that were shaking violently from head to toe.  A few folks really didn’t look like they could cope with more than the same again (we were 44 miles into a 100mile route).  I overheard lifts to headquarters being offered by the organisers and gratefully accepted.  To cut a long story short, I don’t know who offered the idea first but we were soon looking at options for cutting the trip short.  Our map suggested that we could be home and dry in 10 miles by the direct route so that’s what we did.  Under the circumstances it seemed to be the sensible choice.

As we made quick progress home, we had two nagging doubts.  Firstly, several of our party were ahead of us and so could not be told what was going on.  Secondly, the rain was now easing, were we wimping out?  We got back, showered, changed and then sent a text to tell Paul what we’d done, before saying our goodbyes.  Unfortunately, Clive and I had to dig in for a long wait while Paul, relying on us for transport home, finished the full 100 miles.

He even had the nerve to say he enjoyed it!

Us that wimped out give full credit to those hardy souls that saw the enterprise through to the bitter end:

Larry Colby, Paul Anderson, Mark Drake, and Rob Anderson.  Well done.

Also to get into Lotus you need to be registered at least 5 days before your first event. You only need to register once and it’s free but you do need your licence number!! This is done on the LCCRS website here: http://www.lotuscycleracing.org/registration/

You enter each race on the day: £10 Adults, £5 youths. Racing starts at 19:30 so make sure you are there with time to warm up.  If you fancy car sharing to Hethel, want any more details, or even if you want to discuss team tactics, you can speak to Lee lee@greatyarmouthcyclingclub.co.uk

What a morning.  Around 30 riders signed on to contest the club inaugural hard track championships at Great Yarmouth Stadium on a bright and cheerful morning after a week of grey and damp conditions. The track, which is used by the club 26 Saturdays of the year to offer the only traffic-free coaching this side of a four hour car journey, was in tip top condition and its smooth tarmac surface provided some close and exciting racing thanks to the continued generousity and community spirit of the Stadium management – thank you Nigel and team!

The championships were split into 3 categories: under 12′s, under 14′s and the seniors. The championships were run as an omnium (aggregate of the finishing positions) of three qualifying events.  A flying one lap time trial, the keirin, and the elimination race; all Olympic track events. The Championships demanded individual event skills, techniques and the ability to be consistent.

The time trial was the first event to test the riders. The key to this event is to hit the start line at full racing speed, hold that speed through the first bend and then squeeze a little more speed on the back straight before a final push through the final corner and straight to deliver a full-out exhaustive effort. All in around 30 seconds!  Whatever the Haslam family had for breakfast seemed to be working as father Cliff (25.7secs) and son Christopher (29.7 secs) broke their respective course records on the way to victory. They were very popular winners against stiff opposition. Patrick Manning won the highly competitive U14 race by over half a second, delivering an U14 course record with his hugely impressive, smooth pedalling technique. Over the last six months his potential has shone through almost as much as his desire and will to win. The club now has many female riders and Grace Hockold looked to have enjoyed herself as she gave the lads a good run for their money. Grace is a true competitor and is closing in on the lads each week as she learns and improves.

The second event was the kierin. This event is fast and furious and the signature event of Olympic hero and World Champion Sir Chris Hoy. The first 2 laps are controlled by a pace rider who gently lifts the pace before pulling off with around one and a half laps remaining. Riders are forced to choose their strategy of going immediately or holding back and following a rivals attack. With up to 12 riders in each race it’s a hectic race and very exciting for the spectators. The Senior race was taken by Track regular Clive Bond with only inches separating Cliff Haslam and the fast finishing Steve Baker. The U14 race was again a close affair with Zak Coleman just getting the better of Patrick  Manning the hard way – from the front! Patrick just could not come around Zak who proved too strong and tactically experienced. Dan Swindells beat Matthew Baker in another close shave which needed a video replay for 3rd. In the U12′s Joe Drake confidently won from Seth Houlgate and Rowan Baker in a ferocious last straight battle.

The podium places for each age group were too close to call, coming into the last and deciding event – the Elimination race. This race is a challenge of endurance, tactical skill, raw power and speed. Each lap the riders have to sprint for the finishing line with the last rider over the line being eliminated from the race. The key tactic is to save your energy in the early sprints and use all your reserves in the final stages. With such a close field though we saw some surprising early eliminations as experienced riders misjudged their competitors ability. “I just misread the sprint and have blown the whole championship” said a frustrated Ben Turner who was unusually eliminated first in the U14 race while challenging for 3rd overall. Zak Coleman displayed no such misgivings though as he again beat Patrick Manning, Matthew Baker, Josh Tedstone and Dan Swindells. The U12′s saw Joe Drake again outsprint Seth Houlgate, Rowan Baker and Christopher Haslam. Haslam senior, Cliff, just failed to beat the experienced road racer Ian Sandall who proved too  strong tactically and physically for the senior racers bunch.

With the points totalled from the three events, it was very close in all the categories but there has to be a winner. Joe Drake (U12), Zak Coleman (U14) and Cliff Haslam were crowned the club champions for 2012 after a fantastic morning of racing. The  excitement, passion and skill of the riders was evident to all to witness and the dedication the regular riders have put into a winter of training was equally clear to see. Well done to all the riders and a big thank you to the organising team and volunteers. Roll on the British Schools Cycling Association championships in a couple of months time!

The final word has to go to Trudie Coleman and her enthusiastic band of young U10 riders.  After a morning of technical coaching, which Trudie always delivers in an engaging, exciting and challenging style, the young guns finished the racing programme with an exhilarating race which saw Elle Turner, Emily Haslam, Edward and Oliver Leary, Sam Sutcliffe and the amazing 6 year old Honeysuckle show what they are  capable of.  All gave everything they had!  Watch out U12′s; you have the next generation chasing you hard!

Click here for the full results breakdown>>>>>>> club tracks champs results

U12 Champion Joe Drake

U14 Champion Zak Coleman

Senior Champion Cliff Haslam

Pictures thanks to John Swindells – see swinny.net for more pics and videos >>>http://swinny.net/Cycling/-4268-GYCC-2012-Club-Track-Championships

Lee was on fire and recorded a brilliant 1hr 5mins 10secs while chasing him all the way was young Harley Matthews who stopped the clock with a time just 18 secs slower. This was a huge chunk of both riders’ Personal Best performance and both the boys were delighted afterwards. Its going to be an interesting battle during the season. Lee and Harley have regularly rode the club Sunday training rides and attended the Tuesday Night Sufferfests with great enthusiasm and it appears to be paying off brilliantly – well done boys!

It was a disappointing turnout for the Bungay club as many riders made their way down to the ultra fast e2/25 course in Newmarket for a superquick dayon the dual carraidgeway course. Regular Sufferfest rider Chris Womack (who has recently retired from work) rode a blinder for a time of just over 1hr 1min – awesome Chris!

Neil was well chuffed with a 58.46 in his first 25 of the season. Riding solo (after son Ben chickened out of a tandem ride) Neil set a target of breaking the hour and was pleasantly surprised with his early season form.

The Godric event was lit up by young Matt Ellis from Norwich. He rode on a beautiful Specialized Shiv Time Trial bike and did it fantastic justice with what I believe is a course record with a 55.35. We where all deeply impressed and even more so when we found out Matt is a European Championship Triathalon Medalist. Glad he is too busy to ride with us all the time!!!!

Click below to see what happened!

normal version>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtZcVJfmpYE&feature=youtu.be

or a version for phones and laptops etc

lite version>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3NVK6hUjXM&feature=youtu.be