In the front seat with the 'Guardian Angels' of the peloton...

Vittoria Servizio Corse

Well known for their quality tyres, the distinctive white liveried vehicles of Vittoria also provide world class neutral service, most notably to Italy's most celebrated road races, including the Giro d'Italia.

Courtesy of Michael Elson, UK Sales Manager, I was lucky enough to experience a day with 'Vittoria's angels' on Stage II of the Aviva Women's Tour.

Car 1 ready to roll

Of the three car, six person team of drivers and mechanics, we are car one - positioned to roll out ahead of the start. Our job will be to stay ahead of the action until we are called to follow the day's break (providing there is one!!). We roll out of Braintree ahead of the action, effectively at the head of the race convoy, once again the crowds are superb and many wave frantically at us - it feels almost like celebrity status!

Being so far in front of the peloton we are entirely reliant on race radio for what is happening behind us... for kilometre after kilometre this isn't much. A few team cars are called to the peloton for various reasons - clothing, punctures, a minor crash. I begin to think that there won't be a break today! As the longest stage at 138km the initial hesitancy doesn't surprise me.

Eventually, after 31km we hear that there is a breakaway, Vera Koedooder (Bigla) has slipped the bunch and appears to be staying away, she's eventually joined by Sarah Roy (Orica-AIS) and with Vera on the front the two-up break looks like it is the decisive move of the day. We are called forward at last!

More than just tyres and bikes, the first job is to replenish the drinks bottles, which are passed from the mechanic in the back to the driver and to the riders from the left hand side of the car. It is only moments after this that Vera puts her hand up to indicate that she has a problem - a flat rear tyre....

She drops back to the car at the same time as we accelerate to get to her without delay - with the slick efficiency of an F1 team she has a new wheel and is on her way again. Within moment she slips back to the car indicating that her brakes need adjusting... not the easiest job with the car in motion!

Perhaps this chain of events gives the peloton the advantage that it appeared to need as with only 4km to go it became clear that the winner was, yet again, going to come from a bunch sprint. The commissaire had pulled us clear way before this point, so it was under the flamme rouge, into the final kilometre and into the car park by the seafront in Clacton for us. Just in time to see the peloton fly past us and up the finish straight in the Essex sunshine. First over the line - sprinter Jolien d'Hoore of Wiggle Honda. Not going unrecognised for driving a substantial breakaway that may well have stayed away had it not been for the mechanical misfortunes, Vera was rewarded with the YodelDirect Combativity award.

Vittoria's guardian angels have completed another day of professional support. We part company as they are transferring up to Oundle for the start of stage 3 and I am, unfortunately, going back to Ipswich to collect my car and head home, albeit inspired and motivated to get back into my own training.

 

 

Behind the scenes at The Aviva Women's Tour 2015 (Part I)

Bury St Edmunds - the finale of the inaugural tour of 2014 and the start of Stage One of what can only be described as the biggest women's cycling event on the planet - the Aviva Women's Tour 2015.

Race HQ had been a hive of activity for several days before the tour got underway on Wednesday (17th June), with Sweetspot staff putting the finishing touches to many months of solid and meticulous planning. The atmosphere was that of quiet excitement and anticipation, okay overt excitement in my case as it has become my favourite week of the year! Once all the Sweetspot race staff are kitted out, courtesy of Steve Joughin's company ProVision Clothing, my job is essentially done. Time to soak up the atmosphere and catch up with friends from far and wide who can be found working behind the scenes at pretty much every major cycling event across the country.

From the immaculate fleet of Skoda cars lined up ready to have their race accreditation applied, to the arrival of the race staff and Race HQ slowly turning into the ultimate hub of all things cycling, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes the build up so exciting. After all, it is not every day of the week that you are stood in the breakfast queue behind Joanna Rowsell and Katie Archibald and discussing time trialling tactics with Dame Sarah Storey! Perhaps that is what sets the women's pro cycling scene apart from the men's - approachability and accessibility.

I was lucky enough to be able to spend Stage One on the road with the (American) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. The drive from Ipswich to Bury St Edmunds was spent chatting to mechanic Geert, discussing road racing in Belgium, life on tour etc., whilst following the 'big blue' team bus driven by Luc. The team parking area was already busy with expectant fans, young and old, male and female, some with bikes some without. The UHC bus, by far the biggest team vehicle, unsurprisingly, attracted a fair bit of attention, especially with local rider Hannah Barnes on the team.

It was soon time to roll out of Bury and in the privileged front seat of the UHC race car! The crowds were massive and the support on every corner, QoM, Chain Reaction Sprint, village and town was simply superb. Sitting in our place in the convoy, we were receiving regular updates on race radio; two of 'our' riders were in the break - Katie Hall and Coryn Rivera. All of a sudden it was 'stop, stop, stop... enforced level crossing!' This provided an impromptu opportunity to get fluids to the rest of the team while they were held. The break had crossed just in the nick of time, so were now far enough up the road to enable us to move through the peloton to replace bottles and for Rachel (Directeur Sportif [DS]) to let the girls know what was happening behind.

Despite working well together - as was to become customary throughout the tour - the break was caught in the closing stages and formed a bunch sprint, won by Lizzie Arnitstead of Boels-Dolmans. A result which rapidly ended her Tour as she went flying head-on into an event photographer, taking several riders down with her, including both Katie and Coryn. Despite struggling on through Stage two, Coryn later discovered that she had broken her wrist, which also forced her to withdraw, not before she had secured her (Pro Vision Clothing) Best Young Rider's jersey for the second day though!

Part II: On the road with neutral service by Vittoria to follow...

 

UCI UWCT Tour of Cambridgeshire

The inaugural UK qualifier for The World Tour Final

Back in the depths of winter, with the wind rattling around the house, a weekend cycling around Cambridgeshire in June sounded like a great idea... Somewhere different to explore, a goal far enough away to keep motivation high and the opportunity to be a part of the first ever UK qualifying round of the UCI sanctioned UCWT World Cycling Tour dubbed 'The Tour of Cambridgeshire'.

With entries confirmed, the hard work was to begin - a 28km time trial (TT) on the Saturday followed by a 130km racing Gran Fondo on the Sunday - no small task! The fens are well known for making up what they lack in hills with 'wind', generally of the head- and cross- variety, so perhaps the winter preparation was ideal!

Having taken advantage of an early sign-on on Friday evening, recced the course and checked into our hotel, which was slowly being taken over by a strange combination of cyclists and wedding guests, it was time to relax. With the luxury of a late start time on Saturday, there was chance to watch some of the early riders go and listen to some early feedback from the course. Unsurprisingly, this seemed to consist mostly of the fact that it was really windy out there! Out of the arena and straight into a headwind for the first 3 miles or so... at least that meant a tailwind back though!!

The atmosphere in the arena was one of nervous excitement. With 700 starters, the precision of reporting for your timing chip, spinning your legs on the bank of turbos whilst waiting to be called to the start ramp all added to the sense of occasion. A safe exit from the arena without doing anything stupid was the first box to tick! I can certainly vouch for the headwind on the way out, but the focus was definitely on doing the best job I could, making the most of the closed roads and riding the shortest lines possible. Flying down the last hill at 60kph with the wind behind set me up nicely for the final run in to the arena and the finish line. Had I done enough...? I'd certainly done my best!

With the excitement of Saturday behind me, it was time to re-focus on Sunday morning's racing Gran Fondo. In true continental format, this saw a mass start of no less than 1,000 of us in the race pen, with a further 5,000 sportive riders in the pen behind. The wind of the day before had been replaced by glorious sunshine so keeping hydrated was my main concern. Not unlike the day before, the initial worry was rolling off the start line, around the roundabouts and onto the main road in the neutralised section unscathed! "Brutal" is perhaps the most appropriate word to describe the race that unfolded. The neutralised section was frantic, with the top riders setting out their stalls early for a place immediately behind the lead car. I was going into the red and we'd only been moving a few minutes!! The first climb helped to steady the pace; catching a few off guard and splitting the bunch. I find myself amongst a small group and the pace settled a little. Forty minutes later I found myself dropping off the back and shortly after in 'no man's land' - for the next thirty minutes a repeat of Saturday's TT ensued! Head down, pedalling hard with no shelter from the wind as I crossed the old airfield I was questioning my sanity. How on earth could anyone end up on their own in a field of 1,000 riders?! Eventually the 'swoosh' of race wheels could be heard in the distance... a chance to benefit from the shelter of other riders. I found another gear, jumped on the back of the pair of riders as they came past but with fatigued legs from a massive solo effort, just couldn't stay with them. Back to time trialling again...

Finally I was caught by a larger group and the relief was almost immediate! My heart rate plummeted from 180bpm to 140bpm - much more sustainable! We worked well to keep a good pace going and as time went by, my thoughts eventually started to move towards end of race tactics. I'd noted that there were very few females up at the front of the field and the majority appeared to be in my group. I reacted to every move from any of my fellow competitors and eventually the main group had slimmed down to just two of us ladies amongst the men. Familiarity from the TT course the day before meant that I knew the final 5 mile run in to the finish well. With 1.5 miles to go, I upped the pace a little and noted that she didn't respond, with a mile to go I laid my cards on the table and went for it - what little I had left in my legs got wound up for one final effort.

 

Was it enough? It was! The invitation to go to Denmark for the World Tour Final, as part of Team GB, subsequently arrived. Thank you Tour of Cambridgeshire for a fabulous weekend of cycling and the opportunity to make a dream come true. Now the hard work really begins!!