Race Report: ELV Mott Street HC

As the Hill Climb nationals approach i'm sure all the favourites are planning to take part in a TT the day before? No? Either way I really fancied giving the East London Velo Hill Climb event a shot. Held in deepest Essex on Mott Street, just on the edge of Epping Forest.

Mott Street, as featured in 100 Greatest Climbs book is indeed a good little climb, and one I've only ridden once before. Total length of 1.5 miles with an average at 4%, however the hill climb is held on the final section of the climb, totalling 0.6 miles at 7% average, with a few sections at 13% and the last ramp around 12%, it's certainly a climb with an ever changing gradient, and therefore one where getting into a rhythm is quite hard.

Registration from 9:15am with first rider off at 10am, so Lucinda and I made the 14 mile ride over from Finchley, conditions were not ideal, and the roads were quite damp. Legs seemed to feel fine though so all seemed well. We decided to ride up Mott Street before sign on, mainly because I really couldn't remember what the climb was like... being quite a minor road, with not much traffic the tarmac wasn't in great condition, and was fairly wet and muddy. Conditions which meant that a few psi out the tyres would probably be a good idea to aid with grip.

As the traditional que of riders lined up I managed to get an early spot and was 6th rider off (entry on day only) Number on and off to Mott Street to find a good heckling place for Lucinda to shout at me and do a rep or two to warm up. As it happens I only had time to ride up once more, however managed to assess the right lines and likely gears i'll need to be in at what points of the climb. After the first ramp of 13% there was a small section of flat (ish) this should give me a chance to build up some momentum for the final drag to the top, or at least this was the aim. Time wise I had no idea what I would do, I met Aaron at the top who did a 2:10 last year, and won a similar event on the same course held my Lee Valley CC, So I suspect a similar time around 2:15 would be doable, maybe...

Down at the bottom atmosphere was fairly relaxed and the first 5 riders sprinted off, to the sounds of cheering and cow bells ringing. I was off next and feeling good. 5,4,3,2,1... I sprint in the smaller front ring (39T) and far down the back cogs (closer ratios) managing to build up a good amount of speed, when I hit the first steep section, down a few gears, but the pace was still high, and I hadn't slipped on the wet yet, over the crest and it flattens off, I briefly sit down, aero position and build the cadence up before quickly getting out the saddle again for the final two steep sections, the first of which did catch me off guard, when I took the inside, slightly steeper and wetter line, an error on my part here, and my cadence dropped. Nevertheless a few gear clicks down again and I was back out the saddle and pulling on the bars, around the final corner I could see (and hear) Lucinda and the rest of the spectators shouting, the finish line was in sight. A last dig and I cross the line. Time on the Garmin showed 2:11, official time was 2:08.

As we watched the other riders come in, some looking a little too quick for my liking I studied the rider times I far far I appeared to be second behind Adam French! With Simon Warren off 100 Climbs fame the last rider on the course. he crossed the line in 2:12 and to my surprise that placed me 2nd. Looking back at my run, I think I could have tried harder, but then don't you always say that? Next time, if conditions are better I reckon a sub 2:05 is there for the taking, which was the winning time off the day, and the 4th victory for Adam in as many years, great riding! Overall around 45 riders signed up, so a fairly decent sized field.

Special thanks to East London Velo for hosting the event, the Marshalls, Lucinda for the shouting, Mott Street Church and the bakers for putting on some rather excellent cake of coffee facilities.

Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/209132731

Race Report: Brickendon (F7/10) TT

This Saturday was the inaugural London Phoenix & Islington CC Time Trail. Using the "sporting" Brickendon F7/10 course in Hertfordshire. A course I have done before and ridden on the roads countless number of times, so thankfully I know the course well.  

As Lucinda and I rode to the start it was clear that conditions were not ideal, there was a headwind coming from the West and the roads were damp, not to mention the fact that the Met Office was convinced it would rain from the start time of 2pm. Nevertheless around 45 people turning up to sign on in Brickendon Village Hall, eat cake and drink coffee. I was keen to try and get off early before the weather changed too much, so lined up and was given number 9. Number pinned on and bottle half full it was time to warm up, a few miles up and down the road to get the legs moving again and I then found myself on the start line in a que of riders. 

My form of late seems to be good, even though I am not riding much because of work, and only getting out at the weekend for a few hours on one day. I guess you could probably say I'm well rested, if nothing else. My aim for this event was a time around the 22min mark, I knew I wouldn't be looking at a PB (21:48) given conditions, so anything around this level would be good, and of course depending who was riding would probably place me in the top 5 times of the day. 

The F7/10 course is essentially a 3 miles downhill, followed by a nasty 2 mile flat section due East along Hertford Road, then up Robins Rest, a 1 mile climb, only averaging 4% but this can be where you either gain or loose alot of time. From then it's mainly flat back into Bayford & Brickendon for the final hill sprint finish of 0.3 miles at 5% a real leg burner at the end. Total distance is just shy of 10 miles though at 9.1. Certainly what the CTT would class as a sporting course (hilly)

I was off, and quickly upto speed, holding around 30mph, which as I said above is a gradual downhill certainly sounds more impressive than it is. Still my goal on this section was to be as aero as possible and conserve as much energy as possible, legs obviously now burning, but I felt really good and I reach the junction with Hertford Road having averaged 30.4mph for the 2.8 miles. The next mile was hard, teh headwind and general road conditions were slow, I could see the average speed going down, however I maintained by aero position and ploughed on, at which point I could see a rider ahead, no worries I thought, however there were also two cars behind the rider, and given the nature of the road were finding it hard to overtake in a safe nature. I reached reached the cars which were going maybe 20mph, nightmare! Fortunately I was only slowed down briefly as a gap opened up and I went around. Settled back into my rhythm for a few hundred yards and it was then a left turn onto Robins Nest. The lower "slopes" are certainly the steepest, still only 6% however in an effort to increase my power I was out the saddle and managed to maintain a decent speed, once over the steepest section I was back in the saddle and maintaining the aero position, the worst was over now, and by this point i'd done 6.4 miles in 15:32, not bad, but not a PB time. The last section is mainly flat, and once onto Tylers Causeway I pushed and managed to hold a consistent 27-29mph, final 1 mile and I was into Bayford, I had 0.8 miles to cover in just shy of 2 minutes, a PB could actually be on the cards here I thought! I hit the final Brickendon Hill onto the drops, pulling and willing the bike to float up the hill. I couldn't see my Garmin let along read the numbers, head down, sprinting and hurting, I crossed the line and stopped the Garmin. 21:45! Awesome a PB! 

Warm down and back to the man with a clipboard for my official time. 21:41! I was chuffed, 7 seconds take off my PB and quickest time so far. All riders completed the course and to my surprise I was quickest of the day.

Looking into my data and ride in a bit more detail, I was interested to see where I saved time, and this to my surprise was on the first and last sections of the course. Upto Hertford Road I saved 15 seconds off my previous best time, and this being a gradual down hill was mainly achieved by being as aero as possible. My times on both Robins Rest and Hertford Road were not PBs, but 2nd and 3rd best times, however yet again on the final section into Bayford and Brickendon I managed to knock off another 12 seconds. 

This was on a standard road bike, no aero additions (apart from a skinsuit) normal wheels etc... I reckon with the same set up I can probably go sub 21:20 on a perfect day, and that is indeed my next goal. 

So my first win of the year and a PB, overall happy with my effort and the results. Well done to Neal, James, Nancy and Rachel who also wont their respective categories. 

Special thanks to London Phoenix and Islington CC for hosting the event, all the marshals, the various bakers (the cake was amazing as per usual) and tea/coffee makers and finally Islington Council for the prizes! 

Strava Data: http://www.strava.com/activities/208790282  

Race Report: Catford & Bec Hill Climbs

The day had arrived, the day of the classic Catford and Bec Hill climbs, both located in Surrey, One in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Catford on the infamous 0.4 mile York Hill, averaging 12% with some tasty sections at 25%, with Bec then on White Lane, slightly shorter at 0.3 miles but averaging 13%, and yet again a few sections/ramps/walls at 25%... The Bec this year made even more special by the fact David Millar had chosen this event for his last every professional race, what an honour. What a legend.

Catford
First rider was off at 9am for Catford, so myself and Simon from LP got the train down there, didn't fancy another 40 mile ride from North London. We arrived with plenty of time, however not enough time to have a few practice runs. To add to the fun the ground was surprisingly wet, which meant conditions would be interesting. After a standard amount of faffing, deciding what to wear and cheering on fellow competitors it was time to head down to the start line. We had to slowly make our way down Yorks Hill and well, the top section was steep, very narrow and covered in twigs and stones, so perfect eh? I was off quite early (49) and had no real idea what time i'd do, as I was riding down the climb to line up for the off it certainly felt longer than I was expecting, and also not a constant gradient.
Now in line, and riders were setting off, next thing I know i'm up, and one of the marshalls is holding me up, whilst i'm clipped in, and counting down. 30 seconds to go. It's only 2 minutes (ish) I thought, wont be that bad. I was off, starting in the 39T ring and 4th cog from the top (12-28) allowed me a decent level of acceleration, however that also meant wheel spin! No time to sit down and straight out the saddle trying to pick the best line on what was quite a narrow road, I moved into the middle, where the tarmac seemed dryer, but that was a mistake, instant wheel spin as I hit some loose stones. Back to the left just in time for the first 25% section, my cadence was all wrong here and I almost ground to as stop, I really should have shifted down. Over this section and the gradient eases off (around 11%) I stamp on the pedals and gain some speed, on the steepest section now, the crowd going crazy, shouting and screaming in my ears! Legs and chest were burning now, all I could feel was pain, and all I could see was that chequered board and the finish line. I crossed the line, collapsed on my handlebars and gasped for air. I was done, and that hurt. After sitting/standing there for a minute I collected myself and got off, a quick check of the times so far and i'd done aright. 2:15, 3rd fastest, although that wont stay for long, the fast lads were still to come. I stayed around and cheered on friends, club mates and other fellow suffers and gathered for the final unveiling of times. 1:55 was in winning time to James Lowden, well done that man!

Bec
After a quick recovery cup of coffee it was a short 10 mile ride to the Bec Hill climb on York Road. The ride was an obviously slow affair which resulted in riding up York Road to sign on. Well this was steep... however it was a good opportunity to scout out the road, areas to avoid and lines to take. Unlike the Catford, York Road was quite steep straight from the off, with a gradual ramp upto the peak of 25% and then easing off for the finish line. Again not a hill I had ridden before, so no real idea of my expected time. Registration and number pinning on done I had a quick bite to eat (scotch pancakes FTW) and it was off for a quick ride to warm up. Again, off quite early thankfully, it was down to the bottom, to yet again stand in a line and ask yourself why do you do this? 30 Seconds to go and i'm feeling good, cold, but good. Power straight from the off, standing and pushing the bike from side to side, really trying to build up some momentum on the bottom half of the course. This seemed to drag, there was very few spectators on the bottom slopes and the finish, all 0.3 miles away, still seemed a long time away. I was however feeling strong, the crowd grew louder and louder, and on the flatter section I took the opportunity to sit down (error?) and build my cadence up before hitting the 25% section. I was on it now, legs burning again, face pulling some obviously interesting expressions and the pain rising. I clicked down though the gears, pushed as hard as I could as the course flattened off to line. I crossed the line, for some reason screaming, mainly in pain, maybe a bit in relief that it was over? Yet more collapsing over the bars and gasping for breath I sat my bike down and went to drink some coke. Finish time of 2:10 and fastest of the day so far, again though, all the fast lads were still to come, including that Millar chap. I was pleased though, I think. Winning time for the Bec was Ex national hill climb champ in a ridiculous time of 1:49. (Millar did a 2:03 btw - 21st)

So overall I came 25th in Catford and 34th in Bec. I did want top 20, but I was a little naive in underestimating the competition, which included ex national hill climb champ and a number of previous years winners, as well as some very very quick climbers. Given the prestigious nature of both events though I should not have been surprised.

So things I learnt. As well as power it's ALL about weight, there were some brilliant purpose built HC bikes, fixed, single speed, single ring, chopped handle bars, carbon wheels. All the works. The top riders as well were all rather small, lower 60kgs i'd have guessed, which certainly would have helped.  Whilst both myself and my bike aren't heavy if I want to target hill climbs I need to work on this a little bit. A 2 minute climb is also not my ideal length, 4 minutes is perhaps better suited to my style and power, and i'll certainly be looking for events around this type of length to target. I don't think I would have done anything different, less pressure in the tyres for both climbs might have helped, but apart from that I just need to get better.

Overall i'm loving (weirdo) hill climbs, the traditional nature of a person with a clipboard and the me against gravity nature really does appeal to me.

Strava links:
Catford - http://www.strava.com/activities/206303781
Bec - http://www.strava.com/activities/206432642

Thanks again for reading, onto the next hill now. Where is that hacksaw...