Dave Peck Memorial Road Race (Women's Team Cup Rd 1), 23 Apr 2023
I was on the reserve list and got called up the day before the race which was exciting but also not the best preparation. I was determined to give myself the best chance possible so having mis-read the race briefing instructions I turned up to register an entire hour early, before some of the marshals had even got their high-vis jackets on (that's one point to me, right?) WIth over 70 women on the startlist there was almost always a queue for the three toilets so my extra hour disappeared disconcertingly easily. After pinning a number on without being stabbed in the bottom by four pesky safety pins it was time to warm up - and by this time there was a gentle drizzle so keeping balance on my now damp rollers was interesting. A last minute panic ensued when everyone else assembled ready to go and I discovered a pin had come loose so my lovely teammates tried to reassure me as they kindly re-attached my number.
The bunch slowed and accelerated a lot in the neutralised zone and I quickly appreciated how cars have much better grip and brakes than bikes. A few rear-wheels skids later and me and my bike were no longer on speaking terms. Like a classic scared new rider I drifted to the back where the "rinsing" is most intense and after a grand total of 20 mins got rinsed out of the back of the peloton. The kindly race cars asked me if I had a mechanical and I had to explain that no, I am just slow.
The next two hours were better! I spent some time riding solo and then caught some other stragglers and got us together in a vaguely reasonable paceline. As these 6 women now know, when nervous I talk. A lot. So I encouraged (or demanded) that we work together and loudly pointed out all potholes and declared to the group when I was braking. Captain safety right here? My approach paid off and we caught another bunch of stragglers, including a couple of my teammates! After a few laps working together nicely there was a mini attack and I followed - we had our own tiny breakaway of 4, leaving the other 10 or so stragglers behind. After a glorious few minutes we were promptly caught again, but it was fun! Our group was stopped by marshalls multiple times to allow the main peloton to pass and it was demoralising to see any chance of catching anyone steadily leak away.
I'm proud of my sprint finish, coming 2nd out of the lovely bunch of stragglers (that's 47th overall out of 70) and I'm pleased to have achieved the goal of not crashing. Of course I'm disappointed to have been dropped quite so promptly but the tenacity to hang on in the characteristically cold English drizzle with minimal prospect of placing anywhere exciting speaks of a bomb-proof mindset that's going places. Or at least that's what I tell myself!
Lizzie Fox