Summer - Norwood Paragon
Summer - Norwood Paragon Summer - Norwood Paragon
www.NorwoodParagon.co.uk Summer 2008
- Page 2 and 3: WARNING! Riding into the side of a
- Page 4 and 5: A whole load of TOSH The Tour of th
- Page 6 and 7: It was to be three years before I b
- Page 8 and 9: Tuesday May 20, Stage 3 Claremorris
- Page 10 and 11: immediately. Their reward for worki
- Page 12 and 13: e too short notice for my body to a
- Page 14 and 15: Norwood Paragon Results 27th April
- Page 16 and 17: Distance Half-Ironman event in Corn
- Page 18: www.NorwoodParagon.co.uk 18 Summer
www.<strong>Norwood</strong><strong>Paragon</strong>.co.uk <strong>Summer</strong> 2008
WARNING! Riding into the side of a van can seriously disrupt your<br />
racing season. I discovered this the hard way on 1st July, the result of<br />
which was a broken shoulder. So far I’ve had one operation to rebuild<br />
me and with another to look forward to I’ve had plenty of time to watch<br />
every mile of the Tour de France while I convalesce and with the<br />
Olympics coming up, I should get to watch this too!<br />
This editions cover picture shows a few of our members travelling out<br />
to the alps to compete in various cyclo sportifs such as the Etape or<br />
Marmotte. And while some of us get to travel by road others are<br />
fortunate enough to journey by private jet, which is nice.<br />
While sportifs are a relatively new and exciting branch of cycle sport,<br />
we haven’t been moving away from the more competitive side with our<br />
members racing regularly gaining the fine results that we’ve come to<br />
expect. This issue has a very informative and amusing member profile<br />
to read along with an interesting diary from Chris Moores detailing his<br />
experiences in the Milk Ras.<br />
Should you have any articles or content for BLAH then please pass this<br />
on to me.<br />
Stephen Roach July 2008<br />
_________________________________________________________________<br />
Surrey League Handicap Championships Our next club promotion is on August<br />
31st and if you’re not racing and are available then Nigel Carpenter (the organiser)<br />
would like to hear from you as these events always run best with lots of help.<br />
British Cycling's Chief Executive, Peter King, will be the guest speaker at our<br />
annual Prize Presentation & Buffet on 8 November. This is an event not to miss<br />
where we can celebrate another year of our club and catch up with each other in<br />
relaxed surroundings. Further details will be in future ‘What’s Parag On’ and on our<br />
website.<br />
www.<strong>Norwood</strong><strong>Paragon</strong>.co.uk has had its content updated greatly of late thanks to<br />
Pete Ansell, so do make the most of this resource. Right now the homepage shows<br />
Andy McKie - clear winner of the MOD 3rd Category RR on12th July!<br />
www.<strong>Norwood</strong><strong>Paragon</strong>.co.uk 2 <strong>Summer</strong> 2008
Comment by Johnnie Dennis<br />
Reading through your racing report of May 12-18 warms the cockles of the heart! That's the stuff for the Club to<br />
retain its top status, and your work to cover such a range of events is to be commended.<br />
If I have any misgivings its the fact that only one man was racing on the track, but he did get a second place. Reflecting<br />
on past glories it must be remembered that the <strong>Paragon</strong>'s strength at Herne Hill in the 50s was due to the<br />
fact that there was no real road racing at that time, just a few circuit events. So many of the riders of that day<br />
would, by today's standards, have been racing and probably winning on the road if the races had been available. A<br />
few of us did travel to Manchester, Coventry, Paddington and Southampton and numerous grass tracks around the<br />
country but of course none of us had cars so it made travelling away a different experience when compared with<br />
today's conditions.<br />
The wide variety of racing opportunities today is much to be envied. Mountain bikes, cyclo cross and event triathlons<br />
were all unheard of 50 or so years ago, and ironically track racing is the discipline that has suffered most<br />
largely due to the absence of suitable modern velodromes.<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Les Ingman RR 2008<br />
A field of just under 60 riders tackled the Les Ingman Memorial Race on the tough Bletchingley circuit.<br />
The <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> promotion attracted a strong field, undeterred by the hills or the threat<br />
of rain for the afternoon. The race split early on with a group of about 15 riders breaking clear on<br />
the first lap up the long climb. Five other riders, including two London Dynamo’s and two <strong>Norwood</strong><br />
<strong>Paragon</strong>s bridged across to the leaders leaving the trailing bunch to chase for the remainder of the<br />
race.<br />
With seven laps to go, the front break settled into a good rhythm punctuated by various attacks.<br />
Chris McNamara (Wildside) was part of a strong move of 6 riders which broke clear for a few miles,<br />
but this was reeled back in. Likewise Medway Velo’s Gareth McCullough made a spirited move together<br />
with Marcus Brueton (<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>) although this was also in vain. The evergreen<br />
Steve Gowar put in a solo bid for freedom on the 4 th lap and stayed clear for almost an entire lap,<br />
however he was caught as the hills took their toll.<br />
It was McNamara who instigated the key move on the main climb during the 5 th lap. In a blistering<br />
attack he rode clear of the break with only McCullough, Chris Moores (<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>) and Steve<br />
Hone (Twickenham CC) for company. This quartet proceeded to work well together, although their<br />
lead remained at only 20 seconds for quite a while. Various riders attempted to jump across with<br />
London Dynamo’s Paul Delahunty proving the only successful candidate whilst Hone dropped back<br />
to the chasers unable to match the pace being set by the leaders.<br />
True to form the weather played its part and soaked the riders, causing many of the fragmented<br />
bunch to pull out and whittling down further the chasers behind the front break. Entering the final<br />
lap, McNamara’s group was comfortably clear and the pace was slowing on the hills for the chasers.<br />
Dulwich Dynamo’s Kevin Knox made a plucky move and rode away from the 2 nd group on the climb<br />
up to Outwood Common following a crash on the previous lap. Meanwhile the leaders rode the hill<br />
one last time to Bletchingley before descending to turn and off the circuit to the flat finish. Delahunty<br />
(London Dynamo) made an early move in the sprint and took an impressive victory comfortably<br />
ahead of Medway VC’s McCullough with McNamara and Moores settling for 3 rd and 4 th respectively<br />
.<br />
Knox’s gamble paid off as the chasers got to within 10 seconds of him, then foolishly sat up as tactics<br />
came into play ahead of the final sprint. Knox took 5 th place whilst Medway Velo’s Ivan Jordan<br />
lead in the chasers half a wheel ahead of <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s Marcus Brueton and Andy Davis (Fit-<br />
For). Justin Lomas (<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>) lead in the next group to take 19 th place whilst TSN’s Adam<br />
Cotterill lead in the last main group on the road bringing to a close a challenging day’s racing. The<br />
final <strong>Paragon</strong> lineup at the finish was Chris 4th, Marcus 7th, Mike Hawkins 12th, Justin Lomas 19th,<br />
Jason Humphries 32nd, Anthony Chandlen 36th and John Masters 37th.<br />
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A whole load of TOSH<br />
The Tour of the Surrey Hills (TOSH — get it!) is a 110km Audax event held each<br />
August starting and finishing in Shere, near Guildford.<br />
Marcus sent a few emails to the club about the event and having pulled out two<br />
years previously due to mechanical failure I thought it was about time I ticked it off<br />
the list. Prior memories of the event were of James Shrubsall “riding it like a<br />
25” (his own words!) off the front. The rest of us left him dangling there until he<br />
was wound back in to become a shadow of his former self. That day saw Wozza &<br />
Ed Pickering leading the field home, but of course it isn’t a race is it.<br />
In timely fashion I sent off my entry two days before the event and arranged to<br />
meet Marcus in Reigate on the morning of the ride so we could pedal out to the<br />
HQ. However, overnight rain and a grim forecast caused me to drive down. I<br />
passed Marcus and John Masters on the A25 pedalling along looking decidedly<br />
moist but happily chatting away for a change. I felt mildly guilty for not riding with<br />
them but these feelings soon left me as the spray from my car obliterated them<br />
from view.<br />
Audax events do draw in some interesting types so it was nice to have spare time<br />
at the HQ prior to the start to people watch while I feasted on coffee and biscuits.<br />
A damp but smiling Marcus, accompanied by John Masters and Kevin Davey soon<br />
arrived and before long it was 0958 and off we went. The event literally crisscrosses<br />
the Surrey Hills, never getting too far from the HQ, but with all the steep<br />
ups and downs along narrow, wet and twisty roads it soon became a real test of<br />
bike handling and fitness. Fortunately navigation was easy as we knew the course<br />
very well and thankfully the rain eased off which made the conditions far more<br />
pleasant<br />
.<br />
As the miles were eaten up and the fatigue drew in the effort became harder with<br />
the final few miles becoming a modest test of attrition. 65 miles isn’t a great distance<br />
for a <strong>Paragon</strong>, but with lots of up and down it proved tough enough for me<br />
and the final haul up over Ranmore had me staring at Marcus’s back wheel and<br />
willing myself to hang on. Thankfully it was only a few minutes of suffering and we<br />
were soon whizzing downhill towards Shere and the finish.<br />
One of the best parts about of an Audax event that I’ve seen is the food at the<br />
end. I’m not sure if it’s the same at all events of this type but the savoury spread at<br />
the end meets a cyclists needs spot on. Sandwiches, pork pies, quiche & even<br />
jelly..… the list went on and on, and really hit the spot.<br />
This event is well worth doing for the training, the view, the company or simply the<br />
consolation of seeing your clubmate suffering on your wheel.<br />
Regrettably, I won’t be riding this year but I trust there will be some <strong>Paragon</strong>’s in<br />
the event on Sunday 17 th August.<br />
Stephen Roach<br />
www.<strong>Norwood</strong><strong>Paragon</strong>.co.uk 4 <strong>Summer</strong> 2008
Member Profile—Alan Bristow<br />
First cycling memories and other sporting endeavours<br />
Riding a tricycle in the streets in the Lordship Lane area of Dulwich aged about five in 1942. Going to Herne Hill<br />
track asking to see my father who was officiating and getting in for free, this was about 1945/6.<br />
About this time I had my first two-wheel bike with my mother trying to teach me to ride it in our passageway. I kept<br />
on leaning against the wall, not having the confidence to do otherwise. My mother decided that sterner measures<br />
were required, so out into the street we went. Me riding on the pavement, her holding the saddle.<br />
I sensed when she let go, the next challenge was to turn a corner and this was accomplished. I then entered a new<br />
world, the next couple of hours spent riding the streets of Greenwich.<br />
About age 11 or 12 my mother brought me a Philips-Vox-Populi blue frame with dropped handlebars. The first day<br />
out I went down the middle of the tramlines, fortunately with no damage.<br />
I then decided to venture further afield, setting out for Rochester with pocket money and sandwiches. I pressed on<br />
past Rochester, eventually turning left to the Isle of Sheppey; this must have been around 1950 (age 13) and several<br />
years before the new bridge was built. The road across to the Isle of Sheppey in those days meandered, now<br />
the A240 steamrollers its way to Sheerness, not so attractive.<br />
Pushing on I reached Sheerness, the legs protesting. Having eaten all my food and spent my money on the slot<br />
machines I turned for home in Greenwich. The Sags were now in evidence. Those last miles along the Rochester<br />
Way (A2) were agony, I was nearly in tears finally reaching home having taken seven hours to cover 38 miles.<br />
I had a go at other sports. At school I was persuaded to enter a boxing contest consisting of three one-minute<br />
rounds. I landed with a haymaker, my opponent was not impressed and proceeded to give me a boxing lesson —<br />
he was taught to box while I’d never had a lesson in my life. I could not get near the bastard and lost on points.<br />
Played cricket, highest score 7 — a slashed 4 another slash for 3, then bowled next ball. Believe it or not I was the<br />
team’s highest scorer and we lost heavily.<br />
Took up judo at 15 but gave up after being thrown around by some gorilla. Football; they put you in goal if you were<br />
no good so that was where I landed up. One match we were one down at half-time with the wind and rain on our<br />
back. The second half, facing the adverse conditions, they scored nine. We hardly got out of our penalty area, it<br />
was like Custer’s Last Stand without the horses. Worst of all, the goals had no nets; I must have walked miles retrieving<br />
the ball. I never got the call from Charlton Athletic!<br />
What got me into cycling<br />
It was the name of Louison Bobet, winner of the Tour de France in 1953. His name conjured up something magical,<br />
so I blame it all on him.<br />
I then decided to join a local cycling club, the Catford CC. I mentioned this to my father, his expression registered<br />
6.5 on the Richter scale. “You don’t want to join that crowd,” he said. He paid 12/6 (62½ pence) junior fee and took<br />
me down to the Gun Tavern in Croydon where I was introduced all round and also to a certain Keith Butler. This<br />
was in September 1954.<br />
I had brought my first ‘real’ bike from R.O. Harrisson whose shop was in Peckham. The frame was black, nothing<br />
fancy. Went out with the club, they seemed to ride up hills just as fast as on the flat.<br />
In 1955 I joined Brian Newcombe on cycling tour of Scotland. Brian said the first night’s stop was Lancaster. About<br />
11.30 at night, in the middle of nowhere, pushing our bikes up a hill, I decided to sleep in a field with Lancaster<br />
miles away. After a restless night we managed to get to Lancaster for a hearty breakfast. We took £10 each, some<br />
digs costing 10/- (50 pence), averaging 125 miles per day over 10 days and one day only riding 12 miles. We<br />
ended up in Fort William. Such was my introduction to touring.<br />
Arrived back in London just about skint. I took a ride to Sheerness and back, this time no problem, aged 18 — last<br />
time I was 13 and suffered.<br />
First race and most embarrassing moment<br />
My first race was a disaster. The Kentish Wheelers novices’ ‘25’ on the G9 Cherry Tree I caught two or three riders<br />
and reached the turn gaining confidence, when at Crawley roundabout it happened — hunger knock, slower and<br />
slower, riders passing me. I got off at Salfords, finish at Earlswood Lakes. Finished in 1-20-58. There were two riders<br />
slower than me so god knows what happened to them.<br />
The most disappointing aspect was that I was on for a 1-6, which would have got me in the winning team. However,<br />
the lads beat the Redmon by nearly four minutes, with Keith Butler, R. Chittenden and C. Paxton doing the<br />
business.<br />
Best cycling moment<br />
Was in the Kingston Phoenix RC 2nd class ‘25’ on the Portsmouth Road. I had a one-minute handicap which indicated<br />
I had a good chance of winning something. Full of confidence at catching three riders, second fastest to the<br />
turn by one second into a headwind, nearly four minutes faster on the return, losing some 18 seconds to the eventual<br />
winner D. Sexton (Kingston Rd CC). Him 1-4-03, me 1-4-22. I was second leading the winning team and sharing<br />
first handicap. I was backed up by Ron Stempfer and Len Saunders.<br />
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It was to be three years before I beat Len Saunders again. I also won £3-5s (£3-25p) I received a post card from St<br />
Ives from Valerie Taylor (nee Butler) congratulating me on my ‘benefit’. I still have the postcard, Val.<br />
Went on a cycling tour of Wales with Keith Butler, Chris Gray & Tony Davey. None of us rode gears. It was the first<br />
time Stan Butler had sold four single free sprockets in one day. We had gears of 64’ on one side and 72’ fixed on<br />
the other. Ever drank five milkshakes one after another We did, trying all the flavours at 1/- (5p) a time.<br />
Got into a top-class ‘50’ on the Southend Road with riders of the calibre such as Ron Jowers, Brian Wiltcher, Alf<br />
Engers, Jon Finch and Bob Addy, also an up and coming Mick Ballard riding, in those days for the Dartford Wheelers.<br />
Jowers equalled Comp Record with 1-53-56, Wilcher<br />
next 1-54-17, Engers 3rd 1-56-18. This was<br />
Engers’s first time under two hours — he caught<br />
me for six minutes, dropping me for nearly three.<br />
With 15 mins handicap I earned £1 for 3rd place.<br />
My 2-5-15 was a PB but well down the field in 54th<br />
place.<br />
Alan Sturgess managed 2-1-18 and Chris Gray,<br />
now with the Festival, 1-59-13. I had my knuckles<br />
rapped by the committee as I had entered independently<br />
and not through the Open TT Secretary.<br />
In 1962 I began to travel the world — got as far as<br />
Denmark. Worked for the Danske Maelke Compagni<br />
in Copenhagen stacking up crates of milk,<br />
and had a go at selling easily constructible small<br />
warehouses. Successful at the former, not so good<br />
at the latter.<br />
1965 saw me at Herne Hill to assist with the club<br />
track championship and they asked for more riders.<br />
I said if a bike could be found I would have a<br />
go. A bike was found so no turning back.<br />
Came nowhere except in the 500 yards handicap, which I won on a long mark. Alan Sturgess and Les Black were<br />
busy keeping an eye on each other, by the time they realised what I was up to it was too late.<br />
My very last event was a club ‘25’ — my 1-7-49 was way behind Les Black who won with a 1-2. I always gauged my<br />
times against the winners. My best ‘25’ was nearly six minutes adrift and my ‘50’ almost almost 12 minutes, so I was<br />
clearly outclassed.<br />
I did try some massed starts but was no hill climber. One event down Portsmouth way on a flat circuit there was a<br />
prime every other lap. I ‘won’ a lap but it was not a prime lap, talk about using your brain!<br />
There was one event which always had a top-class field, the Worthing Bash. Robin Buchan and I were both on 68’<br />
fixed, the rest on gears, and he said to me that we might be in for trouble, fortunately the action did not start until the<br />
climb out of Horsham. The Worthing bridge was narrow in those days so you had to be careful when sprinting for it I<br />
won the sprint with Keith Butler obligingly making a mess of his gear change, LAUGH. This epic occurred about the<br />
late fifties.<br />
My top tips<br />
• One quote from Eddie Wingrave. Miles bring fitness and fitness brings speed.<br />
• Ride your bike wherever possible.<br />
• If riding to work make sure you can take it inside and not locked to railings.<br />
• Take up track riding, it teaches bike handling and really opens up the lungs.<br />
• Keep your articles as short and succinct as possible, think of the editor.<br />
Career Highlights<br />
1956: Open team Medal 2nd class event. 1st counter. 2nd place. Shared 1st handicap<br />
1958: Club Purley-Brighton. 3rd place. 2nd handicap. Open team Medal, 3rd counter.<br />
1959: Medal for completing club reliability 100 in 6 hours.<br />
Club Purley-Brighton 3rd place<br />
Personal best 25. 1-2-05.<br />
Club standard medal for 25, 1-3-20.<br />
1960: 1st club 30. PB 1-17-07.<br />
4th best placing in open ‘25’<br />
Open 50, PS 2-5-I5. 3rd handicap.<br />
1965: Track. 1st 550 yard handicap<br />
I still have the result sheets when Alf Engers got under the hour for a ‘25’ and two hours for a ‘50’. He was charismatic,<br />
controversial and one hell of a rider. I would like to meet him one day. My all-time favourite rider was Jacques<br />
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Anquetil, we were both the same height (5' 7") and that is where the comparison ends. Favourite track rider Dave<br />
Rickets (Polytechnic CC). He always seemed to win. I like to think it was yelling him on as a 10 year old. I never<br />
spoke to him personally, I wish I had.<br />
____________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
MILK RAS<br />
The Rás Tailteann (aka the FBD Insurance Ras) is an annual eight-day international stage race,<br />
held in Ireland in May. Our very own Chris Moores was selected to ride as part of the Surrey<br />
League team for this year’s event. Well done to Chris for getting round, and let’s hope his entertaining<br />
account of the race can inspire other <strong>Paragon</strong>s to go for selection in subsequent years.<br />
Sunday May 18, Stage 1<br />
Navan to Ballinamore (142km)<br />
After an introduction to the gathered public, and a bearable walking pace parade through the<br />
town centre, we rolled to the outskirts of Navan, a little bit outside of Dublin.<br />
Pity the poor soul whose tyre blew as the flag dropped. It wasn’t ridiculously frantic, but a favourable<br />
wind meant we covered 98km in the first two hours. I heard he was unable to regain contact,<br />
although credit where its due — he rolled in less than half an hour down, after a day at the<br />
coalface.<br />
The bunch was incredibly fluid, and it was hard work to maintain position. I spent most of my<br />
time in the back third. A couple of crashes kept me on my toes. The Pezula boys were flying,<br />
and nailed it on the front for the best part of an hour, successfully reeling in the break. It got a bit<br />
grippy near the back on a couple of small rises in the last 10k, as the pace wound up at the front.<br />
A sizeable crowd was waiting at the finish town, bigger than the average Tuesday night at<br />
Hillingdon for sure. They even needed to be kept behind barriers. I snuck into the top 100, with a<br />
place to spare. Team support had a fine spread waiting for us. Top marks there.<br />
Myself and Andy Bye had to bunk down in the back of the team’s stickered-up transit van for the<br />
short transfer back to the hotel. Pitch black, we were crashing around against all sorts of tools<br />
and trickery. I’m sure behind the tinted windows of the Rapha people carrier we’d find Messrs<br />
Newton and House in a similar state of distress.<br />
Monday May 19, Stage 2<br />
Ballinamore to Claremorris (167km)<br />
Yesterday was the longest race I’ve ridden. Today was longer, just over a ton. I had to force<br />
breakfast down. Not likely to be the trickiest part of the day, but unpleasant nonetheless. In the<br />
face of common wisdom, I usually don’t eat until mid-morning.<br />
The schools on the race route line up the pupils, hand them flags, and tell them to make as<br />
much noise as possible as the riders pass. We passed several schools today. Equally impressive<br />
are the crowds as we pass through the town centres en-route. The towns grind to a halt, the<br />
shops and pubs empty, and people stand on the pavements and clap. No throwing of missiles.<br />
Special mention to Dean Downing, who punctured just after a big group of riders had congregated<br />
off the front, having shot off in small groups. He flew through the bunch, heading straight<br />
on up the road. Super smooth, he made it look easy on his way to winning the stage.<br />
A category-three climb over a ridge at half-distance cemented the split, and the bulk of the race<br />
conceded more than seven minutes to a group which contained all the big hitters. Bye had a<br />
solid ride to finish in the lead group of 14. I clipped off the front of the second peloton with a few<br />
miles remaining to salvage a couple of minutes. The podium girl was rather attractive. Should<br />
have tried harder.<br />
I decided to warm down by riding a hundred or so 50m laps round a small green, getting dizzy in<br />
the process. Job done for the day, we were rewarded with a stay at a very tasteful hotel. Little to<br />
do except nap, and have a paddle in the pool.<br />
www.<strong>Norwood</strong><strong>Paragon</strong>.co.uk 7 <strong>Summer</strong> 2008
Tuesday May 20, Stage 3<br />
Claremorris to Lisdoonvarna (133km)<br />
On paper, a short stage. But we were warned that the wind would play a big part in the race, and<br />
the last 40k, on lumpy coastal roads would make for a pretty uncomfortable run-in.<br />
The first two hours were into a fierce headwind, along a main road several lanes wide. The motorcycle<br />
marshals do a fine job of stopping oncoming traffic, insisting they park up on the side of<br />
the road. The race surged, lining out, and bunching up. We belted along for spells, 140 riders in<br />
file.<br />
What motorists who are pulled up on the verge make of a line of cyclists a quarter of a mile long,<br />
riding straight at them on the wrong side of the road, and flicking round at the last possible moment<br />
— when there is 20m of empty tarmac on the other side of the road, I don’t know.<br />
Gaps would open, as riders popped. Temporary relief came every once in a while as riders<br />
spread across the road as the pace slowed.<br />
Rounding a headland, the scenery was ace. A geographer by trade, the raised beaches, and<br />
limestone pavement were fine case study material.<br />
A couple of wild horses bolted, and ran into the middle of the peloton. They joined in for a while,<br />
keeping a steady but slightly slower speed. Someone at the front had the sportsmanship to ease<br />
the pace, panic over.<br />
A category-three and a category-one climb were the sting in the tail of today’s stage. I was<br />
swinging a little, and was at the back. The collective groan at the back of the peloton as we<br />
turned a 90 degree corner to be faced with a one-in-five nearly brought us to a standstill. Cresting<br />
the top, there was a five-metre gap to a big group of riders. I didn’t have the legs to slip it into<br />
the 11 and jump across, so was consigned to cover the last 5k in a small chase group off the<br />
back of the peloton.<br />
Team-mates Chris McNamara and Andy Bye made a break of around 20, hot on the heels of<br />
stage winner Chris Newton and Ireland’s David McCann, a fine ride by them.<br />
Wednesday May 21, Stage 4<br />
Corofin to Tralee (156km)<br />
The forecast on Tuesday evening showed the whole of Ireland covered under a giant raincloud,<br />
with a strong south-easterly wind. Morale was poor as soon as the curtains confirmed steady<br />
rain. The short transfer to the start town was sombre. It called for some ravey davey trance music<br />
to lift the spirits. Definitely one of those mornings when you wonder what you do it for.<br />
Trusty directeur sportif Keith Butler, he of several years as a pro, was good for some support. He<br />
could see I was as grey as the clouds, and assured me that everyone else would be feeling the<br />
same thing. Someone quipped at sign-on that the stage had been cancelled. If only!<br />
While fiddling around before the start, one of the motorcycle commissaires spotted from our<br />
sticker that we were team car number four — the positions in the chain of cars being dictated by<br />
the highest rider on GC.<br />
“Oi, Surrey League, have you cut the first digit off!”<br />
The rain eased soon out of the start. A few guys slid out on an early roundabout, but the roads<br />
soon dried out. We were under instruction to be as close to the front as possible approaching<br />
Limerick, as the race was to pass through eight roundabouts. In the wet, this could have<br />
stretched the race to breaking point. I nearly got caught out several miles prior, as we joined a<br />
dual carriageway and the race went straight into the gutter. A large gap opened up 10 wheels in<br />
front. Just as I got ready to stump up the cash, a giant of a man took the task, and we were soon<br />
back on.<br />
The yellow jersey had a nasty crash, which led to a welcome spell of twiddling. He rejoined for a<br />
few miles, but soon withdrew. What followed was an hour and a half of riding on the limit, in the<br />
right-hand gutter, in driving wind and rain.<br />
In point to point racing, if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, it tends not to relent. The<br />
race exploded. I was fortunate. I made the crucial selection, and a depleted peloton of 50 riders<br />
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turned off the main road into the final 25k, up a third-category climb, then down a twisty descent<br />
into the finish town.<br />
Once over the hill, I thought it would be straightforward to finish with the bunch. A small group<br />
were a minute up the road, and it was eyeballs out. Chris Mac, Wouter, Andy and myself all lost<br />
contact on the treacherous descent, and were frustrated to lose precious seconds so carelessly.<br />
Thursday May 22, Stage 5<br />
Tralee to Skibbereen (141km)<br />
Legs felt very weary. The short ride into town to the start was almost a chore, despite the following<br />
wind.<br />
My bike propped up outside signing on caught the eye of some local kids. They couldn’t believe<br />
how light it was. More used to the full-suspension variety I suspect, but they weren’t poking fun.<br />
This was something that was beginning to surprise me in the whole circus around the race. The<br />
interest that the locals were showing – in Ireland, this bike racing lark isn’t such an underground<br />
sport.<br />
Big day today. Five categorised hills. A break went from the gun. This wasn’t my ‘race plan’, so I<br />
let it be. In reality, I didn’t see them go. I was so far back. I was only told at the end of the day<br />
that this is when the attack went.<br />
It quickly became apparent I had overdressed. Any lingering suspicion of rain soon disappeared<br />
and the sun bore down from overhead. No need for that long-sleeve base layer. Not possible to<br />
call a ‘time-out’.<br />
The second climb of the day was a biggie. Up tight, twisty roads, the gradient kept changing. Out<br />
of the forest, and onto barren slopes, a proper climb! The pace was steady. Uncomfortable, but<br />
bearable. Over the top, and relax.<br />
Disaster struck; a design defect with my crank meant that as I passed over a bumpy surface, I<br />
shipped my chain, and it got caught between the crank arm and the chainring, having slipped<br />
past an inadequate safety rivet.<br />
Neutral service leapt into action, brandishing a wheel. Insistent that I needed a new rear, it was<br />
all I could do to divert attention to the drivetrain! It took minutes to fix. A short chase, and I was<br />
onto the laughing group. Thirty or so warriors who had found the pace of the first climb too hot.<br />
The pace was easy, and I thought we had haemorrhaged time.<br />
Through one town, the road had been reopened to traffic, and we had to overtake a funeral procession.<br />
As it was, we lost only 12 and a half minutes. Frustrating, as I slipped to the lowest GC position<br />
out of my team-mates, and out of the top 60, but by no means a catastrophe.<br />
Friday May 23, Stage 6<br />
Skibbereen to Clonmel 180km<br />
The longest stage of the race. No leisurely start. It went from the gun. Tight lanes meant I didn’t<br />
see the front of the race for a while. All day as it happens.<br />
By the time I’d worked my way up, a move had gone up the road, and Rapha, who had missed<br />
the move, were chasing. The first hour and twenty was ballistic. The men in black had called<br />
Hammer-time. Then in unison, they cracked. The game was up. If they had been instructed by<br />
their earpieces to drift to the back and look shattered, they heeded. Dean Downing was labouring<br />
up every rise. A giant. A hero.<br />
The penny dropped there and then. These guys can really suffer too. At 50 miles I was really<br />
swinging, and could feel cramp coming on in the legs. I’d put my concrete shoes on. Crap. How<br />
much time could I lose if I pottered in on my own Quick arithmetic; 62 miles, I’d have an extra<br />
hour to play with. I think others felt the same.<br />
At forty miles to go we were still ambling along. The Irish national team had been on the front for<br />
two fruitless hours, trying to minimise the time lost by their man in yellow. Thirty miles out, the<br />
time gap at six minutes-plus, the peloton sprang to life. Two of the Irish guys went out the back<br />
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immediately. Their reward for working like Trojans Losing 30 minutes.<br />
Coming into town, I gave up trying to hold a position near the front of the marauding bunch. It<br />
was getting increasingly cunning, besides, the legs had begun to ignore commands.<br />
Saturday May 24, Stage 7<br />
Clonmel to Roundwood (177km)<br />
Treetops were horizontal. Worse, they were pointing in the wrong direction. A severe headwind<br />
all day. Bloody great. Two category-one climbs after 140k were the cherry on top. Today was the<br />
king stage.<br />
I lost my reserve as we were re-introduced to the people of Clonmel on the startline, relieving<br />
myself while the opportunity presented itself. Note to self; learn how to wee while riding.<br />
There were many tired legs today, gaps were opening, the elastic was on a knife edge. The<br />
stage was unbelievably draining. Full-on, then sit up. Over and over again. Mid-way through, a<br />
dozen people flung themselves up the road in pursuit of the early break, which included the yellow<br />
jersey. This time, there was no reaction, nothing. I looked around. It was every man for himself<br />
today.<br />
I chased the next small move up the valley, 10 miles before the first climb, but couldn’t make the<br />
junction. I rode steadily, until I was absorbed into the next small group half way up. I was quickly<br />
hanging on, staring at the hub of the wheel in front. A Ksyrium ES, in case you wonder.<br />
We swept up a number of big guns who had sacrificed themselves, or forced the pace for a fraction<br />
too long. I was in and out of the saddle, even though the pace on the second climb was<br />
steady. A huge crowd at the top. More than at the day’s finish. Much like one of the end of season<br />
specialist hill-climb events.<br />
The run-in was along an unfinished road surface. Sapping, each mile felt like three. Several<br />
rises. One after another. I was at the end of my tether. Good job I’d put as much food into my<br />
jersey as the pockets could handle.<br />
Sunday May 25, Stage 8<br />
Newbridge to Skernries (130km)<br />
Sunny, but a blistering headwind, and cold. On the start line I stood behind Stephen Gallacher,<br />
the yellow jersey. Several camera and TV lenses were pointed in our direction. I will concede,<br />
this was more for him than me.<br />
The usual start. Uncompromising, until a break went up the road. As usual, I wasn’t involved in<br />
the posturing, and the break’s make-up was fine by me. None of the four posed any threat whatsoever<br />
to my position on page two of GC.<br />
Ninety minutes in, several miles of newly built bypass. It was exposed, the wind whipped across<br />
from the side. Vegetation had not had time to grow. A drop of about six feet was to the immediate<br />
left of the tarmac. Following Dave McCann’s wheel was no good. He was no more than a<br />
couple of centimetres from the drop. Not a spot of shelter.<br />
I moved out, into the firing line, to try to force my way in further up. I made three bike-lengths,<br />
and was on the limit. Had to get back into line. I copped a few swear words. No matter; desperate<br />
times, desperate measures. I could feel the legs going. I admit.<br />
I was counting down the miles today, big time. Kept playing games with the odometer. Must wait<br />
until it says 50 before I look again, etc. Onto the finishing circuit, the pace was wound up. Single<br />
file line, head on the handlebars. On the rivet — I’ve heard that somewhere before!<br />
First lap through the finishing straight in the seaside town of Skerries. Great crowd, fantastic<br />
support. I heard someone shout “Chris” over the barriers. I was getting delirious. The categorythree<br />
climb on the finishing circuit was an all-out sprint. The gradient eased up, but did not level<br />
off for another k. Gaps everywhere. It was all I could to hold the wheel in front.<br />
The next two miles were a frantic chase. A line of 40 riders in front of me, I could see team-mate<br />
Sybrandy; his colossal frame leading the charge. As luck would have it, the front of the race sat<br />
up. All back together, except the four still out front. Those guys must be superheroes to ride into<br />
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such a wind all day. I didn’t hear a bell, but I was sure we were to pass through the finish only<br />
twice before the real finish. I asked another rider. His assurances weren’t enough; I asked one<br />
more.<br />
My fuel gauge was on empty. “C’mon Chris!” I heard the shout again. No chance of picking a<br />
face out in the crowd. I tried to get some shelter as we passed along the seafront again, but it<br />
seemed that however closely I rode to the wheel in front, I was pedalling too hard for the legs to<br />
recover. A sharp left, under a railway bridge. A frenzied squeal of brakes. Everyone wanted a<br />
good position before the selection was made on the hill.<br />
It started well enough, I was making up places, others were grinding to a halt. Trouble was, the<br />
rise seemed endless, and I was fast beginning to crack. A voice instructed me to hold a wheel.<br />
The wheel came and went. I was 10 metres off the back of a large group. I charged round a corner,<br />
damn, 11 metres. I couldn’t close the gap. I was stuck in no-man’s land, adrift. Riders came<br />
past, in threes and fours, I tried to accelerate, to hang on to their coattails, anyone, anything, but<br />
it was no good. I threw in the towel. Slumping over the bars, I moved to the side of the road.<br />
For a moment I stopped pedalling. I could pedal no more. This was it. The game was up. The<br />
hungry cavalcade needed no invitation. Showing no mercy, cars, some with riders attached to<br />
their rear bumpers thundered by. The glamorous Surrey League team car, which had been<br />
punching well above the quality of the two spare bikes on the roof all week came past, emitting<br />
a small bleat of encouragement.<br />
It was a lonely run-in. The whoosh and fizz of the peloton replaced by silence, punctuated by<br />
bouts of commiserating applause. I lost two and a half minutes in 5k. Not long enough for the<br />
crowd to have gone home. Head bowed, I slunk up the finishing straight alone. I stared at the<br />
floor, embarrassed. The place perhaps, but not the time for a Le Tour-esque victory salute.<br />
Over the line, I re-joined my team-mates. Can of Coke, perfect. My brother shouted my name<br />
again from across the barriers. He’d flown over from London for the day. What a man. Mind you,<br />
what a race!<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Track Attack by Simon Warren<br />
A couple of months ago after weeks of terrible road race results, crashes and bad luck I needed<br />
a new focus for my season. I am too competitive to take failure and fully aware of my physiological<br />
limitations I needed a challenge that was within my grasp. I needed a target I could have<br />
more control over, focus on and achieve. I was looking at the records section the the club handbook<br />
and the 4km pursuit record of 5.14 caught my eye. Set by A P Sturgess in 1964, maybe<br />
this was within my abilities; surely I could get within a minute of Bradley Wiggins! I guess Mr<br />
Sturgess was quite an athlete, as in 1964 there was no indoor velodrome in Britain (or was<br />
there) and certainly no aero bars, low profile aero frames or disc wheels. I kept a lid on my<br />
ambitions so as not to end up with egg on my face so set about SECRET training.<br />
This is what I needed to do:<br />
4000m = 8laps + 400m.<br />
Target time 5.14 = 314 seconds = 35.325 seconds a lap @ =45.86 kmh = 28.47mph.<br />
I went down the track an hour before the track league, strapped my stop watch to the handlebars<br />
and set about trying to time myself over 3 laps. If I got close to the 35 second mark then I<br />
would give it ago. In that first test I was lapping around the 38 second mark but it was hard. I<br />
considered this close enough so the record attempt was on. I talked the judges and timekeepers<br />
into running two 4k pursuits on consecutive Wednesdays at the end of July. They were keen to<br />
promote the events and there was reasonable support from the riders, with 10 of us signing up.<br />
I now needed a pursuit bike. As I’ve never used a low profile bike of any sort I figured it would<br />
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e too short notice for my body to adapt to a new riding position so I just decided to change the<br />
bars on my standard track bike. I took an old pair of road bars, flipped them over and cut them<br />
down. Dug out my circa 1990 fluorescent yellow profile tri bars and stuck them on. For two<br />
weeks I had trouble with the bars slipping in the stem but I managed to jam a piece of rubber in<br />
and eventually it gripped. I stuck my disc in the back, a £100 purchase of ebay that I’ve spent 18<br />
months restoring with the help of a lot of epoxy and the services of a machinist to make me a<br />
new solid axel. After crushing 3 sets of bearings we finally got the set up sorted.<br />
Each week I came to the track 30 minutes early to get used to the position and ride 6 laps at<br />
speed, I tied my watch on and at the end of each lap glanced down to see how I was doing.<br />
Each week I just wasn’t quite hitting the mark but I was getting faster. Finally the week before<br />
the first race I was almost there, now I could tell a few other people. This would have the effect<br />
of putting pressure on me to do it and avoiding failure.<br />
Race day: Wednesday 23rd July. I’d raced the club TT the night before and had a nightmare<br />
with a stupid mechanical and was feeling down, but had to pick my self up. I spent the day monitoring<br />
the wind and although it was no ‘float’ it was reasonably still. For the event, I stuck on my<br />
shoe covers, covered the hairs on my arms with arm warmers and even sewed up the holes in<br />
my skin suit left over from crashing. I put 150 psi in my tubs and was ready to do it.<br />
Here we go, 8.75 laps.<br />
Start hard, accelerate to 90% then float, do not push it, keep some in reserve. You get the first<br />
lap for free as you get up to speed and the body consumes its adrenalin. The second lap also<br />
floats by as you enjoy the speed but then you hit the third. At this point your body knows fully<br />
well what you are trying to do to it and it starts to hurt. You cannot slow down though, but you<br />
cannot go faster. The next 5 laps must be ridden at 90%, a fraction inside maximum. There’s no<br />
down hill to pick up speed, no traffic to pull you along, just follow the black line. This leaves the<br />
last two laps, it’s now all or nothing. The second to last needs to be ridden at 97% then on the<br />
bell you have 450 meters to empty every last ounce of energy from the legs and cross the line<br />
seeing stars.<br />
First result, my first pursuit: 5 minutes 18.64 seconds<br />
4.7 seconds off, that’s half a second a lap, so close. I had one more chance.<br />
Second attempt, Wednesday 30th July. It was now all or nothing, I’d become quite anxious and<br />
this had made my breathing quite tight. My legs were in good shape but I knew my breathing<br />
would affect me. For this final attempt I’d borrowed an aero helmet of Mike Hawkins, this had to<br />
make the difference. Wind was slightly up from the week before but my legs were fresher as I’d<br />
not ridden an 80 mile Road race on Sunday and I had the special helmet.<br />
My first lap was a shocker, I reacted badly to the gun and for a few seconds lost focus. By the<br />
second lap I was back in the groove and set about riding a more conservative first half than the<br />
week before to avoid tying up. I was paired with a slower rider this time and by lap 5 suddenly he<br />
was slowing and within a lap I had caught him. The catch however took over 20 meters, a bit too<br />
much energy and I ended up going quite wide and away from the racing line. I now just had 2<br />
laps and I buried myself. When I crossed the line that was all I had, that was the limit of my athletic<br />
ability. Sure there was a bit more the body could have given, but at that moment, during that<br />
ride, there was no more pain I was able to take.<br />
Second result: 5m13.75s<br />
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I had done it by .25 of a second, the blink of an eye. That was all I wanted. Whether this can be<br />
a proper club record is up to the club, I was slightly secret in my task as I know faster riders<br />
would do a faster time and I was trying to ensure my place in the spotlight for just a few seconds.<br />
But so far as setting myself a task and completing it with the resources at my disposal, I did it<br />
and can be happy with that.<br />
Next time, get a coach, get to an indoor track, get a pursuit bike...the list goes on.<br />
THE FACTS<br />
4000m = 8laps + 400m of Herne hill velodrome.<br />
Target time 5.14.00 set by AP Sturgess in 1964 = 314 seconds = 35.325 seconds a lap @<br />
=45.86kmh = 28.47mph.<br />
My actual time 5.13.75. A new club record by .25 seconds.<br />
____________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Club Pictures<br />
Our members at a club social event<br />
Marcus (far left) in the sprint for<br />
minor places at the Les Ingman<br />
road race<br />
Chris Moores<br />
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<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> Results 27th April - 12th May 2008<br />
The <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> has seen a flurry of good results over the last few weeks as well as promoting two<br />
challenging races in the region. Alex Mackmin enjoyed his first road race victory at MOD Chertsey, the<br />
<strong>Paragon</strong> time triallists took won team prize in the Robin Buchan Memorial 25m TT and Kaye Paton narrowly<br />
missed out on victory in the Gorrick 40m MTB enduro.<br />
Andy McKie was the first <strong>Paragon</strong> home at the Kitsmead Lane handicap on 1st May where he finished 6th<br />
on a very wet evening. The following weekend several <strong>Paragon</strong>s raced in the Gorrick MTB enduro in<br />
Bracknell Forest. The majority rode in the 5 lap (50mile) race although Kaye Paton chose the 4 lap event<br />
having recently completed weeks training camp in Mallorca. Paton was flying and took a comfortable<br />
second place in the ladies’ race finishing behind elite endurance racer L Gould (Torq Kona) after over four<br />
hours’s of racing. Nick Ffoulkes, Steve Watkins, Dave Mascall and Marc Ravetto raced in the 5 lap event<br />
with fellow <strong>Paragon</strong> Paul Davies riding in his Aircom colours. They set off well with Davies in the top 5<br />
and the rest working their way through the field towards the top 20. Davies finished in 6th, with Mascall<br />
13th, Ffoulkes (21st) just pipped Watkins (22nd) on the line to beat him after chasing for most of the final<br />
lap.<br />
On Sunday 4th April Mike Hawkins, Rudie Marais and Dave Kennett raced at Cutmill in the 2/3 63m<br />
race. Agiskoviner’s L Atkins won the race whilst Hawkins finished just inside the points in 13th place<br />
with Kennett 33rd and Marais came in behind the bunch. Meanwhile in the morning 3rd category race<br />
Stephen Roach, Andy McKie and Anthony Chandlen all rode with McKie finishing 17th followed by<br />
Roach in 21st and Chandlen 22nd.<br />
On the same day <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s Rob Douglas rode the Charlotteville CC 50m TT at Bentley. After<br />
a strong start, Douglas suffered in the second half of the race to post a time of 2.01.17 which was still<br />
enough to place him in the top 20 overall.<br />
Last week saw various members racing in the evening road races at Crystal Palace, Dunsfold, Eelmore<br />
and South Nutfield. They netted a string of top ten finishes demonstrating strength in depth as Moores<br />
and Hawkins added to their points tally for the year.<br />
Hawkins and Calland raced at Dunsfold with Hawkins successfully getting in the lead break and finishing<br />
3rd. Calland won the bunch sprint for 8th place.<br />
At Crystal Palace Chris Moores and Andy Waterman rode in the E/1/2 race whilst Stephen Roach, Jason<br />
Humphries and Anthony Chandlen rode in the 3 /4 race. Moores rode conservatively in his race saving his<br />
efforts for the last 2 laps where he calmly moved through the bunch to finish 3rd in the sprint placing him<br />
6th overall. Waterman finished in the bunch as did his fellow <strong>Paragon</strong>s in the 3/4 race which was the first<br />
experience of Palace for both Humphries and Chandlen.<br />
The following evening both Hawkins and Moores were back in action, this time at Eelmore circuit race<br />
where Moores was back on the podium in 3rd place and Hawkins in 14th.<br />
Thursday saw several <strong>Paragon</strong>s racing in the Surrey League Handicap race at South Nutfield. Nigel Carpenter<br />
and Mike Hawkins rode in the scratch group with Kennett, McKie, Chandlen Simon Hazeldine and<br />
Kevin Davey spread across the other groups. It proved to be a fast night with the scratch group only<br />
catching the front group halfway round the last lap. Hawkins was the first <strong>Paragon</strong> home in 4th place, followed<br />
by Carpenter in 10th, McKie 15th and Davey 16th and the others safely in the bunch.<br />
Saturday’s racing at MOD Chertsey featured several <strong>Paragon</strong>s in the various races. Alex Mackmin and<br />
Anthony White rode in the 4th category 28m race with both <strong>Paragon</strong>s riding strongly. The race came<br />
down to a bunch sprint which Mackmin cleanly won to claim his first road race victory whilst White finished<br />
in the bunch. Roach, McKie and Hazeldine rode in the 3rd category race with Hazeldine finishing<br />
16th and Roach and McKie in the bunch. Hawkins and Marais rode in the E/1/2 event finishing 15th and<br />
Marais 21 st respectively.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s open 25m TT promotion – the Robin Buchan Memorial TT - took place on Sunday<br />
11th May. There was a strong field of just under 110 riders battling it out on the G25/53 course from<br />
Broadbridge Heath. It proved to be a fast day with many personal bests (PB) being set. Agiskoviner’s L<br />
Harding won in an impressive 51:17 whilst Kennett was the fastest <strong>Paragon</strong> in 54:31 (PB) placing him 6th<br />
overall. Calland also set a PB of 55:53 whilst Hawkins finished in 57:44 despite a late start penalty. This<br />
was enough for the <strong>Paragon</strong> to net the team prize. Humphries (58:56 PB) and Roach (59:54) also finished<br />
under the hour whilst Mascall set a new PB of 1:00:57 and Justin Lomas was set to comfortably go under<br />
the hour until he punctured at 21miles resulting in a time of 1:04:18. In addition to the team prize the<br />
<strong>Paragon</strong> also won one of the age categories with Roach’s time in category E.<br />
Lastly and by no means least, special mention should go to <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s Simon Warren and Chris<br />
Moores who raced in the Premier Calendar event the Lincoln Grand Prix on Sunday. This classic race at-<br />
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tracted almost 150 riders including international riders plus the crème of British road racing and proved a<br />
tough test for both <strong>Paragon</strong>s. Warren worked hard and stayed in the race for longer than last year, but was<br />
pulled out after losing contact with the main group on the finishing circuit. Meanwhile Moores stayed in<br />
the main bunch finishing 34th overall and 4th man in his group’s sprint.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> Results 12-18th May 2008<br />
The <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> were riding strongly throughout the week, notching up some more podium places<br />
both in the mid-week races and at the weekend. Steve Calland set the standard on Tuesday 12th May at<br />
Dunsfold Park ably supported by team-mates Dave Kennett, Graeme Gardiner and Niall Pugin. Calland<br />
sprinted strongly at the end of the scratch race to take 3rd place with Gardiner 12th overall and 4th veteran<br />
whilst Kennett and Pugin finished mid-bunch.<br />
Also on Tuesday, <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s Jason Humphries, Nigel Carpenter and Andy McKie raced at<br />
Hillingdon in the E/1/2 race whilst fast-improving 4th category riders Ian Vincent and Alex Mackmin rode<br />
in the cat 4 race. Humphries finished in the points in 15th place (2nd in his category) whilst McKie was<br />
safely in the bunch. Mackmin was unfortunately involved in a crash damaging his bike and putting him<br />
out of the race with Carpenter also pulling out to help his team mate. Vincent stayed focussed and<br />
sprinted strongly to finish 4th.<br />
It was a busy night for the <strong>Paragon</strong> with another five members racing that Tuesday in Epsom CC’s evening<br />
10m TT at North Holmwood. Simon Warren, fresh back from the Lincoln Grand Prix, showed his<br />
class by beating all comers to win in 23:03 with Stephen Roach 4th (23:56) and Simon Hazeldine 5th<br />
(23:58). Marcus Brueton recorded a time of 24:27 and Kevin Bailey recording 27:27 using the event to<br />
test his legs ahead of the weekend’s half-ironman event in Cornwall.<br />
On Wednesday Rudie Marais represented the <strong>Paragon</strong> at Eelmore criterium race where he rode strongly to<br />
finish 18th. Warren chose to ride the track at Herne Hill that evening where his best result was 2nd in the<br />
scratch race.<br />
Thursday evening saw Humphries back in action on the road, this time at Dunton Circuit in Essex. Once<br />
again Humphries was riding well featuring in several moves although it came down to a bunch sprint<br />
where he finished 5th in the 3/4 category race. Cambridgeshire based <strong>Paragon</strong> Justin Lomas was timetrialling<br />
on Thursday on his local sporting 10m TT. He took another victory there – his second in as many<br />
weeks – with a time of 25:36 despite the rain. Lomas set a new personal best the previous week with a<br />
time of 25:17 which was only thirteen seconds shy of the course record.<br />
Humphries raced at Hillingdon on Saturday as well, where he rode strongly in the 3rd category support<br />
race for the National Criterium Series. Humphries was vigilant throughout the race staying near the front<br />
and getting involved in various attacks, but the race was decided in a final bunch sprint where the <strong>Paragon</strong><br />
took 3rd place giving him not only a podium finish, but also the necessary points to gain promotion up to<br />
2nd category.<br />
Andy Waterman raced in Essex on Sunday in the 130km E/1/2 Andrew’s Trophy Road Race which had a<br />
strong field of elite and first category riders. Two groups of ten riders broke clear in the early stages and<br />
Waterman got into a third chasing group which eventually caught the leaders to form one large break<br />
ahead of the bunch. Eleven riders broke free and stayed clear to the finish with Waterman biding his time<br />
amongst the chasers. With one lap to go Dulwich <strong>Paragon</strong>’s K Knox drifted clear of this chasing group<br />
and Waterman quickly jumped across. This duo worked hard for the last 10miles, staying clear for Waterman<br />
to take 13th place behind Knox.<br />
Conditions for the Tour of Sussex support race for third cat riders were good – a cool start, no wind and<br />
more importantly, very little traffic. The race pattern was set early on with John Heaton-Armstrong of<br />
Mosquito Bikes making an early break, which he never lost! As the laps wore on the bunch was thinned<br />
out on the long climb up Beachy Head. Alex Mackmin was unlucky to puncture in his first 3rd cat race<br />
while Stephen Roach left the bunch (from the rear) with a couple of laps to go finishing 24th. Kevin<br />
Davey rode strongly on this tough circuit to finish 13th in his first proper race of the year.<br />
Three members of the <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> represented the Surrey League in stage races further afield.<br />
Chris Moores went to Ireland on Saturday to start the FBD Insurance Ras 8 day elite stage race in Ireland<br />
(see separate article), whilst Dave Kennett and Andy McKie went to Wales to race in L’Etape de la Defonce<br />
2 day stage race in Glamorgan.<br />
Kennett rode as part of a four-man team over the 3 stages which comprised two road stages and a team<br />
time trial. It was the team TT which highlighted the Surrey League’s strength as they finished 2nd behind<br />
Cwmcarn <strong>Paragon</strong>. Kennett finished 26th on stage one, 14th on stage two and 4th overall with the team<br />
finishing 1st overall with McKie in 28th overall.<br />
Several of the <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>s triathletes were also in action over the weekend with Paul Davies racing<br />
in the Eton Supersprints and Nic Ffoulkes, Kevin Bailey and Fraser Dawson racing the Marazion Middle<br />
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Distance Half-Ironman event in Cornwall.<br />
Davies raced on both Saturday and Sunday in the Supersprints where he was 2nd in his category on day<br />
one and 5th on day two, posting the fastest times for the bike split on both occasions. The Marazion Middle<br />
Distance featured a 1.9km open water swim, 85km bike section and a 20km run which Dawson covered<br />
in 4:38:40 to finish 4th overall and first in his Vet40 category. He was closely followed by Bailey<br />
(4:47:56) in 8th place and second in the same category. Ffoulkes (5:10:47) 33rd overall and 4th in his<br />
category.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> Results 19-26 May<br />
On Tuesday 20th May at Dunsfold Steve Calland rode in the E/1/2/3 handicap race on the closed circuit.<br />
Calland rode scratch and the race came together with 5 laps to go, then a lap later seven riders broke clear<br />
leading to a sprint from this group which Calland cleanly won to take the victory. His teammates Niall<br />
Pugin and Graeme Gardiner finished in the bunch.<br />
On the same evening Jason Humphries and Alex Mackmin rode for the <strong>Paragon</strong> at Hillingdon in the E/1/2<br />
race which came down to a bunch sprint won with Mackmin 23rd and Humphries 33rd.<br />
On Thursday 22nd May seven <strong>Paragon</strong>s raced at MOD Chertsey in the Surrey League Handicap E/1/2/3<br />
event. Nigel Carpenter, Rudie Marais and Marcus Brueton rode in the group before scratch with Kevin<br />
Davey, Simon Hazeldine, Andy McKie and Niall Pugin in the other groups ahead. The race came together<br />
after 10 of 15 laps with several attacks following on. The sprint was keenly fought with Brueton<br />
benefiting from a good lead-out courtesy of Davey and McKie which helped him take 4th place. Marais<br />
was close behind, finishing 7th whilst McKie and Hazeldine came in together in 20th and 21st respectively<br />
with the others finishing safely in the bunch.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong>’s Simon Warren, Andy Waterman and Mike Hawkins took part in the SERRL’s 3 day<br />
stage race over the bank holiday. Stage 1 at Fowlmead Country Park saw Hawkins get away in a chasing<br />
break of 3 riders in pursuit of 4 riders ahead. They caught 2 of them and then Hawkins rode clear to finish<br />
ahead of his group in 3rd place. Warren was also in a chasing break for most of the race, but was disrupted<br />
by a couple of crashes and finished in 35th with Waterman 22nd.<br />
Stage 2 featured a 10m time trial. Hawkins was drained from his efforts the previous day, but nonetheless<br />
finished in 6th place with a time of 22.07, whilst Warren did 22.45 (14th) and Waterman 24.18. Gomersham<br />
was the location for Stage 3 on a hilly circuit with a big climb to the finish. Several attacks went<br />
away but were all brought back, leading to a final surge up the hill at the finish which blew apart the<br />
bunch. Warren climbed well to claim 7th place, followed by Waterman in 14th and Hawkins 16th. Hawkins<br />
was still in 5th place overall with one more stage to go. The fourth and final stage took the riders<br />
over the tough Tenterden circuit for 70 miles. Warren rode aggressively and was away in one break for<br />
over a lap, but nothing stayed clear until the latter stages of the race when two riders escaped the bunch.<br />
However then chaos broke out when the race was confronted with a fallen tree in the road. The leading<br />
duo plus one other crossed the tree and thus passed the lead car - this leading to their disqualification<br />
though – leaving the re-started bunch to fight it out over the last 3 miles! Two riders immediately broke<br />
away closely followed by Warren and Knox (Dulwich <strong>Paragon</strong>). They caught one of the leaders although<br />
Warren was also caught by some of the pursuing riders resulting in 4th place for the plucky <strong>Paragon</strong> and<br />
10th place for Hawkins. Waterman was less fortunate having to retire following a crash. In the final classification<br />
Hawkins was 5th, Warren 19th and Waterman 24th.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> Results 16-21 June 2008<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> had another brace of good results last week, ahead of the Surrey League 5 Day Jaunts<br />
and the Mountain Mayhem MTB races. The action started on Tuesday 17th June with Steve Calland and<br />
Dave Kennet racing at Dunsfold Park. Calland got into the lead break and out-sprinted his colleagues to<br />
take the win, whilst Kennett finished 19th.<br />
There was also racing at Hillingdon and Crystal Palace on the same evening. The <strong>Paragon</strong> was represented<br />
well at both of these venues, with Nigel Carpenter breaking away with two others at Hillingdon<br />
where he came 2nd. Jason Humphries and Alex Mackmin finished safely in the bunch. Chris Moores delivered<br />
another podium finish for the club on the Tuesday when he took 3rd place at Crystal Palace.<br />
In addition to the road races the <strong>Paragon</strong> also had their club time trial on Tuesday which was held on the<br />
Bletchingley circuit. There was a reasonable turnout of ten riders with the top three spots going to Simon<br />
Warren (27-18), Marcus Brueton (28-05) and Jon Masters (28-41, 2nd claim member).<br />
The following evening featured track racing at Herne Hill and circuit racing at Eelmore. Simon Warren<br />
represented the <strong>Paragon</strong> on the track where he won the team sprint and took 2nd in the points race.<br />
Moores rode at Eelmore in what proved to be a tough windy race. Moores didn’t manage to get in the<br />
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winning break, but rode away solo from the remaining bunch for the last half of the race to take 10th place.<br />
Thursday provided the third consecutive day of racing for Moores who rode with Andy Mckie, Kevin<br />
Davey, Simon Hazeldine, Ian Vincent and Carpenter at the Surrey League Charlwood Handicap race.<br />
Moores and Carpenter rode in the scratch group which caught the rest of the field with over a lap to go.<br />
The <strong>Paragon</strong>s maintained a fast pace towards the uphill finish and Moores just missed out on the win, finishing<br />
second. Four other <strong>Paragon</strong>’s made the top ten with Carpenter 5th, McKie 6th, Davey 9th and Hazeldine<br />
10th. Vincent was not far behind in 16th place on what proved to be a successful evening.<br />
Rob Douglas was back on the TT circuit at the weekend with a fine ride in a sporting time trial in Essex.<br />
He rode the SPOCO 10m event in Maldon which was beset by strong winds to make the course extra<br />
tough. Douglas recorded a time of 24.11 to finish 15th with Gary Poole (22-18) posting the fastest time.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> Results 27/5/08- 15/06/08<br />
It’s been another busy few weeks for the <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> with the riders reaping the rewards from the<br />
pre-season training camp in Mallorca as several members have been getting onto the podium and the team<br />
rode well in the Divisional Championships.<br />
Rob Douglas rode the North Road Sporting 25 Guilden Morden on 24 th May where he finished 8 th in<br />
1.01.56.<br />
On 27 th May Steve Calland, Graeme Gardiner and Dave Kennett raced at Dunsfold Park where Calland<br />
was outsprinted for the win taking 2 nd place with Gardiner in an impressive 8 th and Kennett 22 nd .<br />
Later that week several <strong>Paragon</strong>s raced in the Surrey League handicap at Wivelsfield Green where there<br />
was another 2 nd place for the club as Marcus Brueton came in behind Fit-For’s A Davies. Kevin Davey<br />
(13 th ), Alex Mackmin (15 th ) and Ian Vincent (23 rd ) also rode that evening. Meanwhile Jason Humphries<br />
raced at Dunton on the same day in the E/1/2/3 race where he was 3 rd in the bunch sprint to take 7 th overall.<br />
The Divisional Championhips took place across the country on 1 st June with the majority of the <strong>Paragon</strong><br />
riding in the South East Region event plus some representation in the Eastern and Central events too.<br />
Chris Moores was the best finisher for the club taking 5 th in the SE event after a strong lead out by Calland<br />
and assistance from fellow <strong>Paragon</strong>s Brueton, Kennet, Mike Hawkins and Stephen Roach. Warren made<br />
top twenty in the Eastern region where he finished 17 th and Justin Lomas in the bunch. Humphreys was<br />
24 th in the Central Region race.<br />
Whilst the roadies were battling out for divisional honours, two of the club’s triathletes took part in the<br />
Beaulieu Half-Ironman Triathlon where Nic Ffoulkes was 3 rd in his category (45-49) and 58 th overall and<br />
Kevin Bailey was 4 th in category (40-44) and 16 th overall. Ffoulkes has now qualified for the European ¾<br />
Ironman Championships and will be representing Great Britain in August at Almere in Holland.<br />
Just to cover all disciplines, the <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> was represented by Simon Warren on the track at Herne<br />
Hill on 4 th June. He rode strongly in the various races with his best result being a win in the Points Race.<br />
<strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> fielded three teams in the 2008 Surrey League 4-up Team Time Trial Championship on<br />
the Petworth circtuit on 7 th June, They rode well despite a late start for the A team which finished 3 rd .<br />
London Dynamo A won the event with <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> B in 7 th and <strong>Norwood</strong> <strong>Paragon</strong> C in 8 th place.<br />
Davey and new member Chandlen were accompanied by Vincent and Mackmin at Barcombe for the Surrey<br />
League 3 rd Category 54m race. This was on a tough hilly circuit where Davey’s climbing skills were a<br />
distinct asset. Davey finished in 7 th with Chandlen 11 th and Vincent and Mackmin safely in the bunch.<br />
Last week’s racing saw a well-deserved win for Moores who rode strongly at Eelmore in the E/1/2/3 criterium.<br />
Moores got into the winning break of 12 riders and attacked four times in the last two laps until he<br />
was clear for the win. Moores is now the 3 rd highest ranked 1 st category rider in the country.<br />
Last weekend the <strong>Paragon</strong> had a strong team of eight riders in the Giles Ree Memorial 1/2/3 road race at<br />
Handcross. This was a tough hilly race with a lot of aggressive riding and several <strong>Paragon</strong>s got into breaks<br />
throughout the race, however it came down to a bunch sprint for the finish. Calland benefited from some<br />
stong teamwork not only in chasing a key break, but also helping his lead-out for the sprint. Calland duly<br />
delivered finishing in 2 nd place, just pipped on the line by London Dyanmo’s P Delahunty.<br />
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