3rd & 4th June 2017
Myself and Drew set off for this years TOC early afternoon in his T4 campervan, M25 played to form with major congestion for most of the route. Arriving at the Holiday Inn Hotel around 6pm we met up with Rob and his mate Jon. Conditions were damp and we decided to miss the pre-race ride of the course and settled for a drive round instead.
Really nice meal at Vesuvio in Fittleworth (?) and we were set for next days TT.
Saturday was warm and dry with a little breeze made for a good timetrial, my time was quicker than last year but considering the amount of training for the last few weeks I was reasonably happy.
Times;
Me – 42:24
Rob – 40:39
Drew – 41:21
The girls did really well with both Angela and Sarah winning their categories.
Angela – 40:20 ish, Sarah – 42:29, Zoe – 46:00 ish.
Met up with Paddy at the Marriot Hotel for an expensive and bland meal.
Sundays Gran Fondo day was similar weather but a little windier, we all decided to get to the starting pen early to get into the front group. Waited for about 1.5 hours before the start and once off being at the front of the pen worked for my 3 companions whilst I got held up and started off battling to get to near the front. Usual chaos, crashes, near misses, riding in the verge but after awhile managed to work my way through the group. Had a great spell for a while near the front but after getting caught up in another hold-up found myself back from the front group. Repeat from last year, chase with small groups, work hard and then cramp up, big-time! Getting through the cramp took awhile and my legs came back to 80%, managed to catch and pass Drew, and we both just missed out on qualification, whilst Rob and Jon both got through to the final in Albi.
