Yes, that’s right, there are two club runs this month, and both off-road. On Sunday 17^th, we are joining in with the CTC Rough Stuff ride, starting from Woodbridge RFC, Bromeswell at 10, cost £2.

Then on Sunday 31^st, we’re off to Thetford for a play in the mud there, meeting at the Brandon car park at 10.30.

September Club run

Despite promising to set the route, Becky was “unwell” after a party the night before and was hiding in a dark, quiet room! There was a good group out in the sunshine and we had a very pleasant wander around the Suffolk countryside dropping in to Butley Barns for tea, coffee and cakes, watched closely by the two Labradors. Refreshed, we meandered back to Framlingham via the Benhall ford (which some brave souls / idiots rode through) for more cake – well, it was Trevor’s birthday!

Club Annual General Meeting

This is an advance notice that the club AGM will be on November 17th at 8pm at 22 Naverne Meadows, Woodbridge.

Official notice will be given about two weeks before. Nominations for officers and/or proposals for the AGM will need to be with the Secretary no later than Wednesday 10th November to be included in the Agenda.

Club Kit

Although we expect to do another clothing order sometime around Christmas (watch this space), we do have a number of club jerseys in stock and available now.

The jerseys are all short-sleeved, have a short zip and three rear pockets and are £37.60 each. There are three small jerseys (approx 34-36 inch chest) and one large jersey (approx 40-42 inch) available on a first come, first served basis. Contact Steve if you are interested.

National Track Championships

After upgrading to Junior category, Becky Figgitt was allowed to enter the Senior Championships at Manchester at the beginning of October. With hard tracks being few and far between in this part of the world Becky saw this as an opportunity to get some invaluable track experience against different opposition.

The first event, the 500m TT, saw Becky trying out double disc wheels for the first time. She looked visibly nervous and not relaxed during the ride and this showed in her time of 40.4s, the first time she has gone slower than 39s and over a second slower than her pb. Still she finished 10th from a field of 25 riders.

The sprint qualifying was on Friday morning so it was an early start to the velodrome. Becky was not feeling too good, sniffling and sneezing, we decided against double disc and used Rob Cotton's front tri-spoke. She was sitting by Vicky Pendleton who was also quite obviously full of cold. Becky was 4th to start and was hoping to at least beat her pb of 13.0s to make up for her 500m ride. It wasn't to be, she got on top of her gear well but visibly died over the last 100m to finish with 13.9s. This was still good enough to qualify her 8th. In the first round she was up against Emily Forde, an experienced rider from Team Caledonia, in Scotland. Emily started quickly, hugging the black line, almost a repeat of what happened at the Youth Championships in August. This time Becky had the confidence to hang back and ride up the banking. Emily wasn't sure what to do and eventually jumped in the back straight. Becky was quickly after her and came swooping down off the bank, getting alongside Emily and then just in front as they came into the last 30m. Emily, startled by Becky suddenly appearing alongside her, panicked and moved off her line, taking Becky up the track. This was enough and Emily won by about 1cm. Even though this happened right in front of the commissaires, Becky didn't protest and nothing was said. Emily had won. Becky had a second chance to get through via the repechage but again missed out in the last few metres.

Becky was angry with herself but she came away happy that she had the chance to practice the correct tactics, she just didn't have the legs this time!

She is now in bed trying to recover from what appears to be flu ! Or perhaps sitting alongside the likes of Rob Hayles, Paul Manning, Vicky Pendleton, Ross Edgar, Chris Newton, the Downings, and Craig McLean was just too much for her !! The occasional glint of silver and bronze was just too dazzling !

Trevor

Becky at Rev5

Whilst at the Nationals last week, Becky received confirmation that she has been invited to ride the Revolutions 5 International Track Meeting on October 23rd at Manchester. This is a continuation of last year’s successful series but this one will also be a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the velodrome at Manchester. The meeting is being called "The Olympic Homecoming" and will star many of our Olympic heroes. For further information go to:-

http://www.cyclingrevolution.com/

Tour Of Britain

Valerio, Gary and Steve headed to a sun-scorched London to see the finale of this year’s Tour of Britain. Apart from the various public transport systems not wanting us to get there (no thanks at all to One trains or London Underground), it was a very good day.

Of course the weather helped, and we arrived just before the start of the support race. There was a huge field for this, including some of the pro team managers, like Sean Yates (CSC), Brian Holm (T-mobile) and Frank Van Heysel (Navigators).

This race exploded from the start, and anyone unlucky enough to start towards the end of the field was soon pulled out by the commissaires. A couple of crashes around the back of the course resulted in another batch of riders being pulled out, while at the other end of the race, Yates was one of several riders to who kept trying to breakaway. The Team Persil and MG/recycling.co.uk riders were always present near the front, and ensured that no move ever gained more than a couple of seconds over the fast-moving field, and so it came down to a bunch sprint down Whitehall.

After this, there was a break until the main event - enough time to wander around the pits and get some photos as the pro riders turned up. There was lots of interest around the Quickstep team, with Tom Boonen amongst the favorites for the stage win.

As the riders signed on, the double act of David Duffield and Hugh Porter waffled on over the PA and interviewed a few riders, before introducing Eddy Merckx, who was presented the jerseys before the stage. Big Eddy had certainly lost a lot of weight since the last photos I saw of him!

The race was led off by a group of yellow jacketed London cycling police for a gentle first lap, as the Old Bill were wearing full kit and on mountain bikes. As they pulled off, the race was on. The first few laps seemed fairly processional, with the Choc Jacques team grouped at the front around the race leader, Ardila. By now the crowds were huge and giving the riders great support every time they came round.

It seemed a truce had been called, as none of the GC riders seemed to try to challenge Ardila, despite his slender 12 second lead. A few opportunists were allowed to try for the stage win, with Charly Wegelius and Russ Downing featuring in an early break, which was brought back just after the first bonus sprint. The next serious attack was by Brad Wiggins and was greeted by huge noise from the crowd. Joined by three others, including GB team rider Kieran Page, they worked well together and eventually got a 35 second gap, enough for the Mavic car to come out of the pits for a couple of laps. But as the bunch scented the finish, the Quickstep and Barloworld teams joined forces at the front, chasing hard and finally catching the break with just one lap to go. Barloworld’s work paid off, as their sprinter, Degano, took the win, ahead of Wiggin’s teammate Julian Dean. However, the biggest cheers of the day were reserved for Wiggins as he rolled in alone almost a minute later - the crowd saluting his brave break, as well as his Olympic achievements a couple of weeks earlier.

Foxhall Track

After missing deadlines for the last couple of newsletters (my own fault), there’s a fair bit to catch up on. Ah, memories of summer…

30th July

The senior timetrial was the battle of the two Steves, Mr J just bettering Mr B by 9/100th of a second. Stephen B, John Vidler and Neil all set new PBs, Neil's sub-40second lap being all the more impressive that it was on a full suspension mountain bike!

In the youths, Anna took a more comfortable win over Lawrence, while Joshua's new racer helped him lower his PB by 6 seconds to take 3rd. Aaron and Curtis also lowered their PBs, both by 8 seconds.

In the unknown distance race, Anna attacked at the bell and held off Curtis and Lawrence. Anna also won the youth devil, from Jack, and in the sprints, Anna, Joshua, Curtis and Aaron all won various heats to progress to the final, where they finished in that order.

In the senior unknown distance race, Adrian led out most of the last lap and a final desperate "throw" at the line was enough to edge out Steve J and Jim. The two Steves broke clear in the devil with a couple of laps to go, with Mr J having the better kick off the final corner.

Finally team sprints - two juniors and two seniors per team. Aaron, Anna, Jim and Adrian set the target time of 2:48, which was too good for Curtis, Lawrence, Neil and Stephen B. Last to go, Jack, Joshua, John and Steve J squeezed underneath, with 2:47 - probably due to ace lead-man Jack giving them a 4 second advantage after the first lap!

6th Aug

In the youth division, Natasha took a narrow win over Lewis in the unknown distance, before Jordan, Curtis and Lewis took the laps (and the edible prizes!) in a chariot race. Natasha beat her brother again in the devil, with Josh in third, although Lewis got his revenge in the sprints, taking all three rounds of his heat, while Jordan and Curtis shared the spoils in the other heat.

In the senior racing, Paul took both the unknown distance and the devil. A points race next and it started with some early good-humoured jostling as the rest tried to box Paul in, but to no avail. Paul (8pts) won from Steve and Julian (both 6pts) with Daniel the only other rider to take a point.

The team sprints took place in rapidly fading light. Aaron, Lewis, John Coles and Paul recorded 2:48, which was shattered by the team of Joshua, Natasha, John Vidler and Julian, with 2:35. The last team, Curtis, Jordan, Daniel and Adrian shuffled their order to try and gain an advantage, but it went horribly wrong as large gaps appeared in the line. All three teams had an average speed of over 21mph for the four laps (one mile) from a standing start - quite impressive when you remember that half of each team are under 12!

20th Aug

In the youth time-trial, Natasha beat Lewis and Joshua. Newcomer Blair (15) did a respectable time of 50.3s, while Neil continued to impress, with another 38 second lap.

Blair won the handicap race, in a very close finish with barely a bike length between first and 5^th, while Natasha won the youth devil.

In the senior time trial, Paul was quickest, while Julian pushed Nathan into third place. The unknown distance race was an easy win for Paul, who attacked at the bell, ahead of Nathan and Julian. Paul also took the devil, while Julian and Nathan swapped places behind him.

As is becoming the norm, the final event was the team sprint, over 3 laps. First up were Blair, Alan, Angela and Paul (Alan and Angela each doing half the 2nd lap) with a time of 1:58, which was well beaten by Joshua, Natasha and Julian, with 1:52. The scratch team, of Lewis, Neil and Dan went close, with 1:54, but not quite close enough, so Joshua continued his amazing run in the team sprints - he's still unbeaten!

27th Aug

A small turn-out for the start of the bank holiday weekend saw Paul break the 32 second barrier for the first time, with a lap at 31.8 seconds. Julian just did enough to keep Daniel in his place, while Natasha and Joshua kept the "junior" flag flying. Joshua won the handicap race, while Daniel got revenge on Dad by taking second. In the first "kilo" of the season, Natasha recorded a very respectable 1:53.6 (31.7 kmh, 20mph). Dan's time was 1:27.6 (41kmh, 25mph), but Julian was the clear winner with 1:21.8 (44kmh, 27.5mph) - a new circuit record.

3rd Sept

Wow - word of the Foxhall sessions must be going around the schools!

A massive turnout of 16 (yes sixteen!) under-18 riders. Unfortunately we only had time for one race after the time trials - an 800m (2 laps) scratch race, two heats and then a final for the younger riders and a straight final for the seniors (plus Paul W, Neil and Dan).

And I don't know if it was the sunshine or the huge support that the riders gave each other, but a huge number of personal bests were set. Two rides of note - Jack did justice to his new bike, going over 2 seconds quicker than he'd been before, and Paul W improved his best to 31.7 seconds, now just a whisker behind the all-time lap record. Also setting new PBs were Lawrence, Jenny, Natasha (for the fourth week in a row!), Josh, Olly, Michael, Blair, Stephen B, Jim H, Julian, Angela, Neil and Alan W.

In the junior scratch race, the first three from each heat went through to the final. Some clever riding saw newcomer Andrew through to the final along with regulars Jenny, Jack, Anna, Joshua and Natasha. The final was tactical, but quick, as Natasha powered away at the start of the second lap, chased by Jenny, with Joshua hanging on for 3rd place.

The senior final went more or less as expected. Paul was a clear winner, but there was less than half a wheel covering the next three, as Stephen B just got the verdict ahead of Julian and Jim H.

10th Sept

It was good to see most of last week's new faces return for another go. The rapidly shortening evenings meant that the time trials were missed out, as the youths went straight into a 2 lap handicap, which Chris Vane won easily, doing the two laps in about the same time as his time trial lap on his earlier visit! Simon Burrows was 2nd, while brother Ed just managed to hold off a fast finishing Jack for 3rd.

The youth devil was run in two heats, with the first heat going to Michael Nash, ahead of Jack and Chris, while Lewis led home in the second heat, ahead of Natasha and Josh.

In the unknown distance race, the only senior event, Neil rode well against the more experienced opposition. He was riding comfortably with them for the first few laps, was dropped during a sharp attack by Steve J, but managed to claw his way back to the group just in time to hear the bell and, with the others, watch Paul's rear wheel as he jumped away for a reasonably easy win.

17th Sept

A limited program, due to the light (or lack of). The youths started with an unknown distance race, won, after 4 laps, by Natasha from Lewis, with Jenny in third. Blair took the handicap from Anna and Natasha, then doubled up by winning the slow race as well. The final event of the season for them was a devil, which Natasha won from Jack, with Jenny third.

The senior races also started with an unknown distance race, with Paul’s kick at the bell decisive. Julian was best of the rest, with Dan just pipping Jim for third and Neil close behind. Jim made the most of his headstart in a 2lap handicap, finishing ahead of Paul and Julian. Their final event was a one lap scratch, unsurprisingly won by Paul, with Dan just sneaking ahead of his dad on the line.

And that was the end of the outdoor season.

But it’s not totally over yet….

Foxhall Winter Sessions

Now that it’s too dark and cold to ride outside, it’s time to go indoors. But this doesn’t mean the end of the Friday sessions. The stadium management have kindly found us some space indoors to set up the rollers (which have been renovated over the summer), so it’s time to improve your leg speed!

All are welcome (although some of the smaller bikes might not fit on the rollers - but Valerio and Steve are working on a “cunning plan” for that). The sessions are on Friday evenings, from 7pm until about 9pm (unless you’re really keen), at Foxhall Stadium.
Please note that because of new gates near the turnstiles, we’re now using the pits entrance to the stadium, down to the left in the car park

Eastway

Various Plomesgate riders decided to extract full value-for-money from their TLI licences and headed down to Eastway for the last few races of the Ciclos Uno series in September

Matt went down on the 12th for the All Cat race, which was quite a hard race due to the presence of a few 2nd cats, a couple of 1st and even an Elite rider. Despite this opposition, he still came out with a decent placing at the finish.

Work prevented a re-appearance the following week, so Steve and Valerio were left flying the flag. A bit weird, this race. A 3-up break got clear after the prime, and no-one seemed to want to chase them. There was plenty of noise and shouting, but not much action. Steve moved up to help in the chase a number of times, while Valerio concentrated on staying in the bunch. There was no co-operation at the front, so the break still had over 30 seconds lead with two laps to go. At this late stage, the pace suddenly picked up, as a number of people woke up. The break stayed away, but was just 7 seconds clear at the finish. Steve managed to get 10th in the bunch sprint, with Valerio a couple of places behind.

Matt and Mark provided reinforcements for the last race of the series on the 26th, and Alex, the 14 yr old who’d won the previous week, tried to go away from the start. This time he wasn’t going to be given a 30 second headstart, and Steve was amongst those chasing him down. It was quite a fast race, with various shortlived attacks, including a couple by Mark, while Matt blocked for him behind. Matt then managed to bridge across to a good looking break, but that didn’t last much more than half a lap, much to his disgust. A few laps later and someone had managed to slip off the front and had a 15 second lead. Steve and Matt both moved to the front, got a chase organised and closed the gap in about half a lap.

With the “5 to go” board out, Matt was looking strong, so the rest of us tried to do what we could. Valerio was first to attack, with 4 to go, to start the softening up. As he was brought back, it was Steve’s turn and after getting a gap, one of the many Edwardes riders in the bunch had a blowout and went down. A rider sprinted across the gap and told Steve to sit up, to allow the ambulance onto the circuit. The entire bunch rode neutralised for two laps while the crash was sorted (he was OK) - well everyone bar one, who attacked. He was chased down by two Edwardes riders and Matt, all of whom, umm, “registered their disapproval” at his actions.

The race restarted with 2 to go, with Matt and Mark near the front, and Steve and Valerio still recovering at the back. Mark attacked, while Matt soft-pedaled to allow the gap to develop. It looked like a solo win was possible, but he was caught on the last lap. In the bunch sprint, Alex got the jump, and despite closing on him fast at the end, Matt was still a wheel behind at the line. Although a win would have been a nice way to end the series, second place isn’t so bad. Steve, Mark and Valerio all finished in the top 20.
When you consider that a year ago, club riders were struggling to finish in the bunch, to end this season with a podium position, and all four riders in the top 20, shows much how we have progressed. Roll on next year!

Dates For The Calendar

	Plomesgate Cycling Club
	www.plomesgate.co.uk