Anthony Jarrett-
Great race report from Anthony, a determined young man I’m coaching. Giving an account of a weekends race report:
Race report from Chelmer 2/3/4 RR.
Weather was looking good when we got to HQ. However it started pouring down just as we got our hopes up. We were told that the motorbike had just gone round and had a wobble on one of the bends. So it was quite slippery!
Alex Cohen and myself were lined up, ready to go. An ex-elite was present and several strong cat 2’s, so I was told by a friend of mine.
Off we went, pace was blisteringly quick, the rain was completely disregarded and people were just plowing through the huge puddles at speeds well over 50kmh. A small break emerged at mile 5, I thought I might try and bridge over, seeing as it had a decent number of people in it.
However with everyone fresh and not wanting the break to get too big, they all galloped and closed the gap. Most of the time I was near the front, with Alex visibly ahead of me. Though I had no awareness of my actual surroundings due to the sheer amount of water being splattered around.
It was about 20miles to go and the bunch had shrunk down to about 30, from 70. Many were due to punctures and people getting blown out the back. Props to Szilard who made an admirable effort by plunging into a very tough race and hanging on for as long as possible. At times I’d thought to myself why I wasn’t going faster and checking to see whether I’d punctured.
Not too long to go in the race, it seemed as though I was effortlessly drifting towards the front, it may have been due to people tiring, but I still felt strong. I think I was in 6th wheel, going down this little descent with a small bend in it. One which you could take at full speed. Then all of a sudden the two guys on the front came down. I thought I could avoid it, but then the rider in front of me lost control of his rear and also went down. I had no where to go and inevitably hit the deck, pretty hard! I felt my head bounce along the ground several times, which left me with a bit of concussion. I looked around me and everyone was on the ground.
I was helped up by a nice Ipswich CC guy (proves I don’t have memory loss). I saw Alex wasn’t far behind and had crashed too, but looking a lot better. I then got a lift back to HQ in the service car. The chaps in the car were saying there was only about a dozen left in the race, which was no surprise.
Bit sore, bit swollen and some damage. But as I say, skin will heal and things can be replaced! Hopefully be ready to race again next weekend.