News

Summer BBQ

South East Women's RR Championship

Two of the club's riders made the top-10 in the South-East Women's Road Race Championships at the weekend, with Lise Sorensen in seventh place and Leona Kadir in tenth place. Maryka Sennema was close behind, having spent a lot of the race working for Surrey League team mate and eventual winner Natalie Creswick (Twickenham CC). It's a great result for all, especially since they are relatively new to the sport with Lise and Leona only having raced a couple of times this year.

You can read Maryka's account of the race here, not content with her hard work on the day she went up to town to ride the Smithfield Nocture, all part of her Ironman build up and the path to Kona, Hawaii.

British Cycling Women's Team Series

Maryka in the Surrey League's white colours. Photo: David Nyons

I did the Women's Team Series in Melbourne (Derbyshire) yesterday, writes Markyka Sennema. I finished in the bunch and 15th overall which in retrospect isn't too bad since the five who got away were all Cat 1 riders with the exception of Natalie Creswick who's well on her way to 1st cat! Annoyed with myself for missing the break, I was determined to break a few legs in the final lap by pushing the pace on the climbs, hoping that would make the final bunch sprint more whimper than bang -- which worked as I managed to hold on for 15th place and snag my first point in a road race. A very hilly race in hot conditions which suited me pretty well actually, I must find some more of those! A full report is on my blog.

South-East Road Race Championships

Steve Saunders took eighth place in the South-East Road Race Championships near Tenterden in Kent. A move went clear on the first time up the hill on the circuit with Steve taking part and this was the move that stayed away all day, although more riders bridged across. The race was run on a lot of open roads and there were some strong crosswinds, making the riders echelon across the road and causing Stewie Martin to lose contact on the last lap of the race. A late move to bag some points saw James Beaumont slip the bunch in the closing miles but he was caught by a small group of counter-attackers. Steve Calland (Norwood Paragon) won the race. More from the race soon.

3/4 category support race
Originally down to ride the main race, Luke Wallis entered the morning 3/4th race instead. "Bit of bad luck as I was brought down early on by some gravel and another rider almost locking bars with me, but managed to get back onto the pack and into the race ok. Nothing much happened, tried a few breaks but they were all pulled back. I managed sixth in the sprint, so happy to get a few more points."

Hounslow & District Wheelers 100

I took part in the Hounslow & District Wheelers 100 mile TT held on the Bentley course, writes Phil Ember. It had a large entry field for a 100 TT with almost a hundred riders on the start sheet. I had vague hopes of possibly beating the 4 hour mark, having done a 1.55 for a 50 on this course a couple of weeks ago, but the conditions (in spite of the warm sunshine) were not so favourable today with a fairly hefty cross-wind developing as the morning went on which made the last hour or so particularly hard going. In the end my time was 4.06.00, which I think was about 10th position plus a decent improvement of about 16 minutes on my only other effort at a 100m TT last July. The event was won my Nik Bowdler in an outstanding time of 3.43 something, which I think was almost 10 minutes faster than the next placed rider.

PB for O'Sullivan

Martin O'Sullivan took third place in the Sotonia CC 10 mile time trial, on the P613 course, and got a new personal best of 22.19, the third time this season he's got a PB.

Club 10

On Wednesday 10 June the Club 10 will be a two-up time trial, meaning riders will go off in pairs. So now is the time to give some thought as to who to ride with. Ideally you want to find a well matched rider who not only clocks a similar time as you but will be equal to you on the hills and descents, so you can share the effort. You should find that the co-operation wins you at least a minute, more if you master the pacing and wind direction as you can ride at a higher intensity before recovering for a moment whilst your partner does the work. The feeling of riding that much faster is makes it an enjoyable but painful experience. Alternatively just hook up with a pal and share the work the best you can, either make them suffer or spend the evening hanging onto their rear wheel.

Entries will open on the forum in due time. Note you can ride gooseberry if you like too but you’d miss out on a chance to try a different format.

Southern Counties Cycling Union

Steve Saunders is the SCCU Cycling Champion. The Southern Counties Cycling Union is what it says, a collection of many local clubs and it exists to help promote local races, both time trials and road races. In the Bec CC road race a couple of weeks ago, Steve was the first rider across the line from an SCCU member club and so wins the title. Club mates James Beaumont and Stewie Martin also won prizes from the SCCU as they were second and third on the day.

Whilst Steve deserves the win it, it came as a nice surprise since he finished 16th in the race, normally you'd expect the winnner on the day to claim the title or at least someone further towards the top to collect the title. But you have to enter it to win it and many racing teams aren't members of the SCCU, the Kingston Wheelers as a club does support them, for example this Saturday sees Ali Cigari on early morning marshalling duties for the SCCU 10 mile TT.

This weekend sees the actual South-East of England Regional Championships near Ashford in Kent and Steve will be in action, along with Luke Wallis, Tim Lawn and James Beaumont.

Club 10 Results

Wednesday's Kingston Wheelers Club 10 was won by Steve Saunders with a time of 22minutes 23 seconds, writes Alan Sherman. Many thanks to Frank Cubis of the Kingston Phoenix for timekeeping and also Will Horricks and John Coolahan for putting the warning signs out allowing us to stage the event.

The time trial took place on a dry evening despite the rain earlier in the day. The weather clearing up was similar to the last event, but sadly it wasn't as quick an evening as that one - the wind seemed to be a headwind the whole way around! The results were topped by Steve Saunders and Dan Sibbick with Will Horrocks riding a personal best to come third with a 23.44. Yes, the rest of us were beaten by a 15 year old! Good ride Will. Click here for the results sheet.

Many shiny new toys are appearing this season with Danny Clifford on a nice looking aluminum Ribble TT frame, and Andy Lack on a stratospheric Specialized TT bike. Andy's bike was ridden with what was described as a smooth and aero looking pedalling style - shame this style was used to lap the turn roundabout twice! Also getting a slower than would be expected time was Eddy Merckx. He stopped to assist a fallen rider from the Kingston Phoenix - thanks for stopping to make sure he was alright, I hope others would do the same for me should I fall.

The next event is on Wednesday 10 June, it is the 2-up event so start planning those pairings people. I'll see you there.

SERRL Stage Race

Steve Saunders took a good sixth overall in the SERRL stage race over the bank holiday weekend. The SERRL is a similar organisation to the Surrey League, only based in Kent. Indeed, it used to be known as the Kent League. Last weekend's race was a 1/2/3 category race and it was also a chance for Steve to revisit some of the places where he grew up in Kent. He started well with fourth place in the prologue stage. To read more, click here for Steve's account.

Etape de la Defonce

Luke Wallis was picked for the Surrey League team to ride the Etape de la Defonce stage race in Wales. For third category riders it is a tough weekend taking in the rugged coastline near Ogmore and the valleys behind Cowbridge.

Stage 1
Racing kicked off at 9.00 am on the first day with a 53 mile road race around South Wales, writes Luke Wallis. Stage One was a steady race with a few breaks trying to get going but being reeled back in. Weather was tough with rain and a head wind which got worse nearer the coast. There were also plenty of cattle grids to contend with. A London Dynamo rider and Swindon RC rider managed the break the elastic and got away from the bunch, staying away. The Surrey League team worked hard on the front along with the other teams to try and bring it back, but it was too late to have any effect. Swindon RC took the stage win putting them into the lead. James Bowtell got the highest SL finish with a seventh place. I was just behind him in ninth. Mark Clothier finished 25th and Drew Holmes 31st. The headwind, rain and the long drag up to the finish tested a lot of people legs with the thought of the TTT in the back of their minds also. Surrey League fourth overall GC after the first stage and Swindon RC holds the leaders yellow jersey. Time to dry off and try to stay warm and get ready to do it all over again in the TTT.

Stage 1a
Stage 1a consisted of a 9.7 miles team time trial on a drag strip style course, 4.8 miles out, 4.8 miles back. The course was fairly flat with the last mile a slight gradient of 3-5%. It was obvious we were going to loose time in this due to some of the teams having some very good time trialliasts but also full aero TT set ups, skin suits and aero helmets galore. We had a little bad luck getting the worst of a rain/hail storm making it hard to keep the pace up high. We finished in 24.09, 2.55 down on the fastest time of the TT from London Dynamo who were now in the race lead with the yellow jersey. We now sat at sixth in the GC. Again time to dry off again, and get ready for the final stage tomorrow!

Stage 2
Stage 2 was the final stage which saw us ride a 45 mile race in and around the valleys of South Wales taking in some longer climbs along the way. The Surrey League team started with a rider short as Drew pulled out due to illness. The stage started much faster than yesterdays, almost immediately 2 riders clipped off the front early on just before the first proper climb of the day and stayed away for the whole race. The Dynamo were working hard to pull them back and it was begging to show on the first climb with the yellow jersey having to do a lot of work on his own. At the first climb the bunch starting to shrink, and again a similar theme on the next climb. I attacked on second climb of the day and broke away from the peloton to try and bridge across to the two break away riders that attacked earlier in the race. I stayed away for a while maintaining a 30-60 second gap until I got caught by two other riders who had also bridged across after me just before the last climb of the day and the final hill prime. I sat in for a few miles until we sprinted for the Prime and contested 3rd gaining a 10 second time bonus. A small consolation as I had hoped to try and stay away to take third place for the stage as it would of helped the team a lot in the GC. We were joined shortly by the peloton. I sat in for much of the last 10 miles towards the front of the pack trying to save some energy for the bunch finish... I finished the stage in 12th, with my legs feeling the effort from earlier in the day. Mark finished close behind in 14th and James who had a puncture earlier in the race, losing a lot of time waiting for the service car in 38th. The Surrey League team finished 6th overall.

Committee Meeting

Minutes of the latest club committee meeting are available to members. If you'd like a copy, send in an email.

Club TT Standings

Ben Elliot has been collecting maximum points in every round this season and so leads the series. The next round is the Team Axiom 25 in mid-June to think about entering this soon. For the full rankings, click here.

Dislocated Shoulder for Saunders

Steve Saunders disclocated his shoulder in an unlucky accident at home, coming soon after getting "doored" on top of Box Hill. For more from his blog, click here. Get well soon Steve.

Tour of the Milburys

Stewie Martin and James Beaumont rode the Tour of the Milburys mini-stage race held on the South Downs not far from Winchester. Stage 1 was a four mile time trial, almost all uphill and held in very windy conditions where some riders struggled to maintain control of their bikes. James was 13th with Stewie in 21st place, with Richard Prebble (CandiTV – Pinarello) taking the win.

The afternoon saw a 70 mile road race held on nine laps of a hilly and exposed circuit. On the first lap James punctured. “My first puncture in a race for 15 years. I got a quick wheel change but it was a killer effort to get back to the bunch in the strong wind.” Meanwhile wily ex-pro Rob Hurd (DH Cyclesport) had taken off and was never seen again, an impressive performance given the conditions. Hurd benefited from strong team support as every move to counter-attack was quickly neutralised and it wasn’t until later in the race when a strong attack from yellow jersey Richard Prebble managed to break the deadlock, the former national time trial champion powering away to chase the threat to his overall lead, catching Hurd but it was Hurd who took the stage win.

The stage had started with 60 riders but the tough circuit and flint covered roads meant the bunch had shrunk to about 25 towards the end. At ease on the hills but struggling in the wind James had a couple of tries to go clear but maintaining any advantage in the wind was very hard and the DHC team kept a tight lid on things. The remaining riders came in for the bunch sprint but there were problems judging the finish. James was placed equal 12th with nine other riders, including Stewie. ”I counted six riders ahead of me on the line and the photography from the race confirms this. It’s a shame to spend the whole day at a race and not get your correct finish position.” But this didn't impact the overall, where James finished 11th overall, with Stewie in 15th place. The final overall win went to Prebble.

Wallis picked for Surrey League

Luke Wallis will be riding in Surrey League colours for this weekend's Etape de la Defonce stage race near Cowbridge in South Wales after getting the selection call for the Surrey League's Keith Butler. It's a three stage event, with a hilly road race along the rugged coastline first, a team time trial on the Saturday afternoon before Sunday's "mountain stage" in the valleys for some serious climbing.

In his first season Luke's been riding plenty of races and not afraid to mix it with higher category riders. The Surrey League team often put in a good showing, they won the team prize last year. Many moons ago your webmaster rode for the Surrey squad and won the King of the Mountains jersey whilst helping a team mate to win first overall. Best of luck to Luke and the Surrey lads.

Summer BBQ

The club will be hosting a summer barbecque, open to all members and their family and friends. The provisional date is Monday 6 July but this is subject to confirmation as we're trying to book the venue at the moment. Full details in due course.

National Youth Circuit Series / London Regional Tri

Henry Dawson (riding in Hillingdon Slipstreamers colours) did a great ride at the National Youth Circuit Series, the third round at Hillingdon, to clinch eigth spot in the mass sprint finish for the Under-12's, writes Nicola Wadham. It was a very close race that saw every move marked and suffered with a late crash. Photos are on the BC site. Riders from all over the country, including the Isle of Man, participated. The race was won by Harry Lock of the Maindy Flyers. Anthony [Webmaster: Anthony Anderson, son of Nicola] managed a win in the U-10's and has three rounds with maximum points to his credit so far this season.

Both boys were also out on Sunday for the second round of the London Regional Championship Triathlon series at Hatch End. Anthony won the Tristar1 category with five meters of waterproof tape strapped round his battered knees, whilst competing under the Thames Turbo team colours. Henry Dawson came second in the Tristar2 Category in Kingston Wheelers colours. Both owed much of their respective success to strong bike sections as you would expect.

Martin Dawson and I also sploshed, pedalled and cantered round the seniors event for the greater glory of the Kingston Wheelers, recording respectable times each according to our ambitions. Not quite enough to be selected for the Kona Ironman (yet) - but it’s a start.

Newport Track Weekend

Another successful club event at the track involved two races over the two days, writes Russell Seekins. On Saturday, it was the standing 250. Favourite John Coolahan, riding a larger gear, managed a 22.14, with Luke Wallis an impressive 22.04 and, riding his own machinery, Ben Wardle close behind. However, Sam "the windmill" Hodgson showed outstanding leg speed to win it in 21.84. On Sunday it was the flying 200. Sam weighed in with an excellent 13.09, but this time John put his big gear to good effect, with a winning 12.67. A great time had by all, and a special mention for Cathy Clifford, who clearly demonstrated her enjoyment of pain by choosing the event to celebrate her birthday. Next event provisionally planned for November. Watch this space.

Standing 250m

Sam Hodgson	21.84
Luke Wallis	22.04
Ben Wardle	22.09
John Coolahan	22.14
Glen Gilbert	23.02
Damien Breen	23.21
Chris Hathaway	23.23
Russell Seekins	23.87
Ian Humphreys	25.02
Danny Clifford	27.31
Cathy Clifford	29.34

Flying 200m

John Coolahan	12.67
Sam Hodgson	13.09
Ben Wardle	13.50
Russell Seekins	13.50
Luke Wallis	13.68
Damien Breen	13.98
Chris Hathaway	14.14
Glen Gilbert	14.62
Ian Humphreys	14.78
Danny Clifford	15.10
Cathy Clifford	15.89

Charlotteville CC 50

There three Wheelers in Sunday'sCharlotteville CC 50, writes Andy Lack, run on the Bentley course as always: me, Phil Ember and Ali Cigari. Conditions were good and so a big hand to Phil who posted an outstanding time of 1.55.57. I think that's a PB by about six minutes! I was trying out my new Wheelers skinsuit and also managed a PB of 2.00.41, three minutes off last year's time, but still not under that elusive two hours. Hopefully the new TT bike will see to that. Ali came in just behing on 2.01.09, no doubt feeling a little tired after yesterday's 10 run on the same course.

BEC CC Road Race

Stewie Martin, Steve Saunders and James Beaumont lined up on Sunday for the latest round of the Sigma Sport Road Race Series, the BEC CC road race on the hilly Edenbridge circuit. Steve was starting following his "dooring" last week. As the race got underway James got in first break of the day but this lasted only a few miles. Steve and Stewie were looking strong throughout the race and joined a couple of moves, as did James.

But with two of the five laps remaining the race passed two horses and they bucked and jumped into the road, causing some evasive action from the bunch, with a few riders hitting the deck. This split the field but the race continued to some confusion, as everyone was expecting the race to be stopped and restarted. But this didn't happen and after some discussion the riders took it upon themselves to neutralise things and it was Stewie who dropped back to the chief commissaire to demand the race get stopped and restarted. But it meant the race was neutralised or under a "go slow" for a good hour and the race proper didn't begin until half a lap to go, meaning two times up the main climb were done piano. "It was a frustrating day, I was enjoying the long climbs but it was just one of those things, the horses got scared and at the same time the cars in the race convoy couldn't contact eachother. A pity though as it's a great race on the calendar", said James.

Farnham RC 10

Martin O'Sullivan and David O'Donovan set new PB times in Saturday's 10 mile time trial at Bentley. Martin's new best is 22.55 and David clocked 25.55. You can see their new times in the club's TT Hall of Fame. Ali Cigari was also in action and reportedly got a low 22 minute time.

Marshalls Needed

The Southern Counties Cycling Union is an umbrella organisation that puts on several races a year, both time trials and road races. The club is not a member club at the moment but members often take part in their events. The SCCU needs help for the SCCU 10 on Saturday 30 May 2009 near Rusper, "it's an early morning event so you'd be home by 10.00am" says club TT secretary Naz Peralta. If you can help, email him.

Missing In Action

Cycling isn't without its accidents and injuries but this year has seen several of the club's racers sidelined with injury. After dominating the time trials last year, including setting new records, Adam Page has been sidelined with a knee injury. Adam "Tikka" Currie spent the winter training hard and was in impressive form at the start of the season only to see injury flare up and he's gone to ground since then. Club member Andrew Bye, racing with Sigma Sport RT, has also seen his season affected by a persistent knee injury.

Now it's Steve Saunders' turn, but this time with an accident after he got "doored" at the top of Box Hill. Several others have been injured too. To end on a more positive note Damien Breen made his return to racing last weekend after snapping his collarbone at the end of February.

Club 10 - Entries Open

Entries are now open for the next Club 10 on Wednesday 13 May, visit the forum to add your name to the list. Please use the forum only to register.

South-East Women's Road Race Championship

The Kingston Phoenix are running the Women's South East Regional Championship on Saturday 6 June at 1.30pm and to date they have only received eight entries. Get your entry in the post and you could be rated as one of the top-10 women in the South-East. On the Ellen's Green course, it is 35 miles. Entries to: Simon Mitchell, 23 Fulford Road, West Ewell Surrey, KT19 9QZ (si@kprc.org.uk). £14.00 in advance, £20.00 entry on the day and cheques payable to: British Cycling SE Region.

Twitter

You can now follow the club's news via Twitter. Some members were asking about an RSS feed for the news page - there's one for the forum already - and a version of the website rejigged for mobile phones but both of these ideas involved a lot of headscratching for your simpleton webmaster. In the meantime this might prove a workable solution, it'll be on trial for a month to see if it's useful or too much hassle.You don't have to be a subscriber to view the entries, just follow the messages above or use http://twitter.com/kingstonwheeler

If you are new to Twitter is a sort of blogging service to post information and where you can follow the posts of others.

Surrey League

Steve Saunders took fourth place in the Surrey League's Thursday night handicap race on the Staple Hill circuit. Visit Steve's website for the full story. These races are great fun and good training whether you are an elite rider or fourth category. Give them a try.

Introduce Yourself

A candidate for May is needed. If you'd like to have a go, send in an email to get the questionnaire.

Hell of the North

Thorsten Klassen was a regular racer with the club, along with his wunderkind son Cedric. After moving to Hamburg for a new job, he started riding again and then racing. You can read an account of his time with the club here.

First of all let me apologise for my quick departure from the UK and the Wheelers, writes Thorsten Klassen. As few of you might know old company has been taken over and for the London workforce a 50%-60% redundancy was expected. Fortunately I have some contacts in the bank which did the takeover and had a new job lined up almost at the time the old assignment finished. That meant as well starting the beginning of January while I was still commuting back to London for the weekends and did the one or two Hillingdon races.

The new job is quite interesting although it is not exactly what I was hired for. One of the other managers resigned the end of last year so there was some slight pressure for me to start and it was a somewhat steep learning curve. Consequently there wasn’t much room for cycling... plus having tried a couple of club runs here (OK, every time I either missed it or simply nobody showed up). I do miss the Kingston Wheelers. Additionally none of the local clubs has a web page that is as up to date and interesting as the Kingston Wheelers one!

Well after a couple of months and the weather getting nice and cosy I couldn’t resist to start riding again. And while I am at it why not do a little racing since the races were around the corner. All right the first two attempts weren’t that great but last Saturday it was time for “The Hell of the North”

Yes, cobbles! Probably not as bad as the original in the North of France however with a length of 2.5k, in a 6.5k, loop and a portion of it uphill. Difficult enough. Cobbles and uphill: we were lucky it didn’t rain. After the start of the race the field was split in multiple groups and groupletts on the first pave section. I had to close a gap of a rider in front of me who wasn’t fit for the job. At the top of the hill (the Felt arch in the picture) I found myself in a four rider chase group behind an eight rider head group.

Our group worked very well and one by one we caught the riders back but on. At the same time we constantly lost riders because of weakness or because of mechanicals. In the end it was just a two men sprint with not much sprinting since the both of us were pretty exhausted after chasing for most of the race. I took second place in the race and was surprised by a nice winners ceremony which included a rose and sparkling wine.

Weekend Racing

Les Ingman Memorial Race
Steve Saunders and James Beaumont rode the latest round of the Sigma Sport South-East Series, the collection of top end races that are combined to form a season long competition. The 85 mile Les Ingman Memorial was run by the Norwood Paragon on the hilly Bletchingley circuit. Both riders look to have made the top-20 and points but await official results. It was a frustrating race at times, "I saw the break forming mid-race and was tempted to jump across but like all previous moves in the race, expected them to get reeled back in within a minute, especially as they weren't pulling away", says James, "but they got away and stayed away, partly because a couple of stronger riders jumped across to give them extra power. But on the final lap the bunch had pulled the lead break to within 30 seconds and on the last climb and then the descent I tried a few pulls but only one rider wanted to chase with me, we couldn't get them. Everyone else had sat up, anticipating the sprint. Frustrating but I still enjoyed the race, it is one of favourites thanks to the uber-hilly route and mileage. Thanks to Adam Page for coming out to support Steve and I and pass up water bottles".

Steve Saunders has a more full account of the race, to read Steve's full report, click here.

Surrey League, Dunsfold
Several club members did the Surrey League races on the motor circuit at Dunsfold. Jim Ley too tenth place to bag his first road race point in the fourth category race. Following some strong riding, he seems set to get more results. Leona Kadir took eighth place in the women's race but didn't seem to enjoy it. You can read more on the races here.

Club 10 - A Beginner's Guide

The club has a series of ten mile time trials with the first round coming up on Wednesday. You can find all the dates on the club calendar. A time trial is a solo race against the clock, you set off and complete the course - in this case 10 miles - as fast as you can. As a time trial, there is a race to clock the fastest time on the day but most often people like to aim for a personal best time, the "PB" and often club mates have some fun rivalry, for comparing yourself against a fellow beginner or someone you know from the club run. These are fun events, a quick test of speed at the emphasis is on having fun as a club, you will find the evenings are easy-going instead of fiercely competitive.

You don't need a special bike. Like all forms of cycling, the more you're interested in it you can buy more kit but just a working bike is enough to start with. If you're new to it, you'll set a PB time anyway. The course is on the A24 south of Dorking, it is a dual carriageway road and so the traffic passes you at speed but ride predictably and the course is safe. You ride out to the first roundabout and stay straight on the A24 to the second roundabout where you turn back on the roundabout to finish roughly opposite the point where you started. A tip is to ride steady, don't set off too fast.

To take part, you must enter in advance. Email club TT secretary Naz Peralta and he'll add you to the list, alternatively register via the forum. You pay a couple of quid on the evening before the ride to cover the admin costs. Entries open a week before each event. Space are limited and if over-subscribed priority goes to club members who have helped the club in some way, such as marshalling at a race. You can help at the Club 10s too too.

Club Kit - It's Arrived

Contact the club's kit distributors Keith Griffin and Martin Anscombe for the kit. Glenn Chamberlin is doing the kit admin, handling the order with the suppliers and the payments but Keith and Martin are the two contacts for kit. Please use email or the forum "private message" system to contact them, it allows them to pick up the messages and respond to them at a convenient time.

Bear in mind that the boxes have just arrived and they need to be sorted. It seems one box has gone missing in the shipment, so your item might not have turned up but this is being sorted. A Liquigas rider somewhere is pulling out a blue and white jersey from his kit bag.

The new kit has a few changes to it, the sizing is slightly different and the order, payment and collection process has been altered. So visit the new club kit page for full information on sizing, pricing and more.

Anthony Anderson Wins

Racing in the National Youth Series at Hyde Park in Tameside, Manchester, Ant Anderson racked up another win. The BC website describes the race: "The first race of the day was the Youth D and E event. The distance was seven laps of the 1 kilometre circuit. The flag dropped bang on schedule at 10am and the 19 riders got themselves underway. There was a small coming together at the start but all riders crossed the finish line fine at the end of the first lap. Once the race hit the climb for the second and third time, the race was began to split and it was Anthony Anderson (Kingston Wheelers) and Thomas Mein (Hetton Hawks) who were making a name for themselves at the front of affairs. As the laps went by, the field split up even more and by the time the riders took the chequered flag, it was race long leader Anthony Anderson who took the spoils from Thomas Mein. Third place in the Youth D category was Brad Dransfield (North Midlands Youth Squad)."

Sid Standard Road Race

Maryka Sennema joined the Surrey League women's team to race in Kingston... upon Soar. This was the first round of the British Cycling Women's Team Series, the Premier Calendar of women's racing.

The race started out fast with several riders on the front driving the pace and controlling the attacks, writes Maryka Sennema, but after four laps when it appeared that no cohesive break would stay away and the bunch was whittled down to 30 or so riders, things settled down a bit. On the sixth lap as we approached the main climb on the course, a little 500m 3% affair, I found myself at the front and decided to take a run at it and see what happened. I hit the climb hard and didn't look back 'til I got to the top - much to my surprise, the bunch was more than 50 metres behind me! Unfortunately I was now descending into a crosswind so I tucked down and did my best, but after two kilometres the bunch came back (note to self for next time: if the motorcycle pulls in front of you, you've been caught and can stop working now). The legs felt good though, so I stayed near the front of the remainder of the race, hoping a late break would still materialise. Not to be, as the flat finish meant a bunch sprint, where my skills are not particularly well-suited. Being a bit scared off by the argy-bargy and generally poor bike handling of the field in the final lap, I did not try to contest the sprint and instead just stayed safely out of trouble, finishing 23rd overall. The race was won by Laura Trott, the up-and-coming and talented junior who placed quite well at the recent Kingston Wheelers Dunsfold third cat road race.

Archer Spring Race

Steve Saunders took ninth place in Sunday's race in the Chilterns. Featuring a very hilly route including the infamous Whiteleaf (probably harder than Whitedown) three times, the course was one of the best in South-East England, with barreling descents and a variety of interesting roads. "I wish more races used courses like this with selective climbs in them, as it removes some of the guesswork out of tactics. Even then however, there is still this hurdle of working out how to win a race from a winnable situation to get over!" writes Steve.

James Beaumont and Luke finished further back, with Luke collecting a hill prime for being the first rider over the first climb. Click here for Steve's full report.

The Club Run

The club run is one of the cornerstones of the club. To help make it safer and more fun, we have some rules, click here to read them. It's worth familiarising yourself with them if you're new to the Sunday rides and they're just seen as helpful, the Sunday rides are not meant to be military drills. That said, it takes organisation to keep riders grouped and cycling safely.

Please remember it's not a race and if you fancy a harder ride, join the faster group. Trying to ride the slow group off your wheel just makes you look like a chump, it's a lot more noble to struggle on the back of a purposely fast group than to disrupt a calm ride. Of course if you fancy a real challenge, get in touch and ask about racing.

If you're a club member and know the Surrey Lanes, don't be shy to lead a group, it's all about passing on the knowledge you've picked up and sharing it with others, whether on the route or just how to ride effectively as a group.

And if you're not a member then note that you're welcome to try the club run a couple of times but if you like it and want to ride more, please join us as a member.

Sigma Sport Surrey League Easter 3 Day

Click on the photos for more images from the Easter Weekend

Stage 3
My tactic was essentially defensive (or negative depending how you look at it) - make sure that nothing got up the road that threatened my place on GC, writes Stewie Martin. There was never any realistic chance of attacking the yellow jersey because of the strength of the Dynamo team (nine riders with three placed in the top 10). A break did go early and managed to get two minutes on the bunch. A shout from the loyal Kingston Wheelers following (see piccie) gave us the time gap and prompted Glenn and I to put the hammer down on the front. The break was reeled back in within 20km at which time I agreed with YJ that we were happy to let a break go - but not to get out of sight. Dynamo took over the chasing and Glenn and I could relax a little. It ended in a extremely sketchy bunch sprint but neither Glenn nor I took part in the action having misjudged where the finish line was. We did, though, avoid a nasty crash at the back of the bunch that brought down seven riders with one carted off to hospital.

So it's a story of twos: second on final GC, two second places in stages and I move up to second cat.

E/1/2/3Luke Wallis and James Beaumont finished in the bunch to finish the weekend's racing, with Luke claiming 22nd overall. No results as such but Luke's riding has been very promising and the consistent mileage at a hard pace will have done both riders good.

The race was won overall by Steve Calland (Norwood Paragon), ahead of London Dynamo's Richard Hoult. Hoult attacked on the first day to take the stage win and time bonus, Calland took the second stage to pick up a time bonus. In the final day some solid team work by the Dynamo boys saw a threatening breakaway reeled inbut Hoult used up energy in this chase, letting Calland take second place on the stage, and the time bonus give the Norwood rider the final overall.

Stage 2
Stewie Martin repeated his performance again with a fine second place around the hilly - and this time muddy - Cutmill circuit, once again breaking away with yellow jersey holder Martin Williamson (London Dynamo). Williamson took the stage win but Stewie was spotted leaving the race HQ with a large Sigma Sport rabbit soft toy tucked under his arm, normally the stage winner's prize. "Martin was doing all the work, I couldn't outsprint him", said Stewie. Could a gentleman's agreement have been struck over the rabbit?

E/1/2/3 Race
There's less news to write about there. But Luke Wallis finished in the bunch after another hard day's racing. Luke had also finished with the main group the previous day. Now, finishing in the pack is normal stuff but Luke's probably done no more than 10 road races altogether. Not this season but in his lifetime. So it's exceptional stuff for a novice third category rider to be able to last the distance with the first cats on some of hilliest circuits used by the Surrey League.

It has been as effortless for Tim Lawn and James Beaumont. Tim dropped out mid-way on Stage 2 and James has been plagued by cramp mid-race forcing him to lose time each day. "I often cramp in early season races but if it's cost me results in sprints in the past, this time I'm getting cramp a lot earlier.".

Stage 1
Another successful start to the Easter 3 Day. I finished second on the first stage, writes Stewie Martin.

A break went fairly early on in the 100km stage but although it yo-yo'd between 10 and 45 secs they were never really allowed out of sight. I can claim much of the credit for this as I spent a fair bit of effort chasing on the top of the circuit. But I was happy to do so as I knew that this would be inflicting some damage on the riders who had been struggling up Milland Hill and were working to get back on. Eventually the pack came back together with about three laps to go and then there were a few half hearted digs off the front none of which came to anything.

I had decided to ride the hill as near to the front on each lap as I could: keeping out of trouble by avoiding stalled riders and making sure that I did not get caught the wrong side of any split. I did the same on the penultimate ascent and suddenly found that I had slipped off the front and had a few seconds on the dwindling and tired bunch. A Bayeux rider jumped across and encouraged me to press on. I was initially hesitant and wondered whether I might be better betting on my strong hill finishing. But I went for it and together the pair of us put about 20 seconds into the pack as they sat and watched us head up the road. Two other riders saw the danger developing and jumped away from the pack to chase us: Martin Williamson (Dynamo) and Niall Digby (Sigma). They caught us and the four of us worked hard to keep away from the pack that was now splintering completely.

We made the final junction with some 15secs gap and hammered towards the final hill. Digby - a good time triallist but a bit heavy for the hills - blew, and Williamson attacked. I could not go with him, but held on for second place nine secs down.

Hats off to Glenn who punctured just before the last lap but after a wheel change from the neutral service car managed to regain contact with the lead group. Tarik and Mickael finished behind the main bunch I think.

Tour of Flanders

Several club members made the trip to Belgium for the Tour of Flanders weeekend, to ride the route of the classic race as a cyclosportive on the Saturday, recover with beers, chip and mayo, then to watch the professional race on Sunday. Click here for a gallery of images.

Photos: Dunsfold Racing

More photos have been added. Click on the photo to launch the picture gallery.

The club put on two road races last Sunday. Using roads around Dunsfold, riders tackled 53 miles in the morning and 59 in the afternoon. Both races featured hard racing and both had deserved winners who were supported by excellent team work. In the morning race, George Brent (Addiscombe CC) spent much of the day in the leading breakaway before attacking with Martin Hulbert (VC Meudon) and club mate Sylvain Garde. With the race finishing up Wrotham Hill on Dunsfold Common, Brent just took the win ahead of Garde. In the afternoon, a breakaway also went clear and again this time it was two London Dynamo riders who got clear of their fellow escapees, working together effectively until the final uphill finish when Cameron Austin sprinted clear of Richard Simmonds, with Roger Smith (Wildside RT) coming in over a minute later to complete the podium.

A mention should go to Maryka Sennema, who finished in the bunch in her first race on the open roads. Luke Wallis also in his first race beyond Hillingdon and Chertsey took 13th place in the afternoon race, a great ride considering he only moved up from fourth category a short while ago.

Well done to the racers and also to the club members who helped to put on a safe race. There were two crashes in the afternoon event but rider mishap seemed to be at fault. One innovation for the race was the use of timing transponders. Club members Richard Williamson and Naz Peralta managed the electronics on the day and the system expertly placed all the riders as they sped across the line. "Many thanks to everyone who helped on the day", says race organiser James Beaumont, "it was great to see so many people pitching in to help make it a safe and fun day for all the riders."

Full Results
One additional novelty on the day was the use of electronic transponders to mark the riders as they crossed the finish line and the system worked very well. Full results can be downloaded here (Excel spreadsheet), you can even see the timing of riders, with some places being decided by milliseconds. For example club member Mickael Métayer finished 11th, narrowly missing out on a top-10 place by 0.3 seconds but he was just 5 milliseconds faster than the 12th placed rider.