Monday 26 October 2015

National Closed Circuit Championships

Full throttle at Thruxton!

After much debate about how long a season I was going to ride this year, I eventually decided that my last race of 2015 would be the National Closed Circuit Championships at Thruxton Motor Racing Circuit, Hampshire.

It's generally accepted that the air quality (and in this country often the weather in general) deteriorates as the season goes on, so fast times are not often seen outside of late August/early September. We were greeted by dry conditions with a chilly breeze blowing across the circuit so I was quite happy with this.

Impressive entrance to the Circuit

I've not ridden at Thruxton before so I was keen to make use of the opportunity to recce the track before racing got underway. I thought it was chilly in the car park until I got on to the back straight of the circuit where it felt like the temperature had dropped at least 5 degrees! After a couple of steady laps I had a feel for the track - an exposed section where there was a headwind, a nice sweeping bend into a faster section and a drag before the chicane which led to the start/finish straight. There wasn't anything too technical but a definite need to pick a good racing line.

I was once again kitted out with the Revolver disc, courtesy of Harry Walker, which has yet to be fazed by any weather conditions. With a performance that exceeds that of more well known brands (ok, we're thinking Zipp here) it really hasn't been an issue when the wind has been blowing this year - and trust me it certainly did in Denmark! Both Dame Sarah Storey and myself rode Revolver discs on this circuit, so it must be a good choice!! It was a first outing for my recently purchased Nopinz Speedbands which are one of Blake's latest additions to his ever growing aero range. They were great - if you've ever had to faff with trying to pin arm numbers on you'll see the benefit of the investment immediately and clearly they're more aero than dragging around some mini sails and half your sewing kit!

My start time was 09:30 which was ideal as I like to get going once an event is underway. Despite waking up with a cold the day before, I was feeling pretty good and ready to execute the race plan - start relatively steady and gradually build up to what would be race pace within the first lap. My heart rate was slow to increase, cue mild panic... pedal harder!

Motoring along... top speed in excess of 35mph.

As the laps clocked up so did my speed, I was seeing a better line through the chicanes and really pushing into the wind on the back straight. I overtook a couple of people who had started before me - always a great feeling. The exhilaration and technical aspects of a closed circuit and ability to absorb yourself totally in your race without having to worry about (vehicular) traffic are the main reasons that I love this type of time trialling. However, being a National Championship it had attracted a strong field of 200 riders which were set off at 30 second intervals, rather than the more traditional minute on the open road. A couple of times I was very quickly catching the rider ahead of me, so a quick shout of "on your left" or "keep right" was necessary to alert them to my approach (I certainly didn't want to upset the moto Commissaire)!

Unfortunately I had a bit of a mechanical. I'd had my saddle position altered ever so slightly the week before and my seat bolts worked loose enough for the saddle to slip back the entire length of the rails (approximately 2 inches). Whilst this didn't stop my race it was enough to affect my power transmission through the bike and potentially provide me with the answer of why I didn't feel I'd gone as well as I'd hoped and my stats suggested I should.

I missed my goal of a top 10 finish by just 6 seconds to finish 11th. It would undoubtedly have been nice to finish the season on a high but you have to take what happens on the day. Dame Sarah Storey retained her crown of women's national champion for 2015 with a superb performance. Indeed five of the first nine female riders were from either semi-professional or professional teams so perhaps 11th doesn't sound so bad in the context of someone with a very full time job/vocation!


Unfortunately it wasn't quite a head to head!
 
So, Thruxton might have brought the 2015 season to a close but when the racing stops the planning starts. It's an unwritten rule that us lycra-clad folk put our feet up for a week or two - not literally of course or the restless genes would have a field day!

I feel there is a lot of unfinished business both on the road and the circuit and I'm really looking forward to 2016. It may not be the road to Rio, but hopefully the path to Perth!


 



 

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