A dry, blustery, overcast day welcomed Adam, Andrew and
Berni for their visit to Stockbridge to compete in the regional championship
veteran’s race. All 3 riders feeling suitably senior and of an age to safely
avoid the championship race proper!
Berni’s description of the 13 mile circuit as “testing” was
something of an understatement. It was horrible! Nearly 300 metres of climbing
per lap and the major 2km climb leading out of Stockbridge and up to the finish
line.
The race started just after 10am (following the departure of
the main event) with a 2km neutralised section running from Test Valley school
– race HQ – to the bottom of said hill, when the race went live. Straightaway
the pace went up in parallel with the gradient. The peleton held together for
the first lap but on the 2nd visit to the climb it started to
fracture, which was to be the pattern for the rest of the race. Not
surprisingly, Andrew was one of the first to go and was soon riding with a
small group of similarly ejected riders!! Adam suffered a similar fate soon
after.
Berni, however, managed to stay with the group and was able
to contest the uphill “sprint” to the flag. Despite a grey face and some
grimacing, he came over the line in 5th place. A fine result for his
first race outing of the year, and more points for CCB. Well done Berni!
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