At 8'o'clock, 1500 cyclists departed from Brands Hatch, with a unique start for a sportive being one lap of the famous Brands Hatch track. I started in the second group, with 60 riders leaving prior to our bunch. As we began, a chap to my right in a Saxo Bank jersey made off at lightning pace, and I followed in tow.
I soon decided to hold back, not wanting to waste too much energy so early on, and he went out of sight shortly after. The lap of Brands Hatch was over very quick and we were soon out on the roads and countryside of Kent. I went in search of a group where I could stick on a wheel, and once found, I was joined by another Redhill rider, Dave Willsher.
On his TT-bike, Dave made the most of the downhill sections, taking the lead, with the rest of the bunch eagerly sitting on his wheel. Everyone took it in turns at the front of what seemed a fairly fast pace. The group stuck together until a tough little climb broke it apart. I managed to find another group shortly after consisting of around 10 riders. I stuck with this group until around the 35 mile mark, where a car pulled out on us and I ended up being separated from them and I struggled to gain ground. I gradually bridged the gap, but as soon as I found the wheel of the back rider, 8 out of the 10 peeled off following the signs for the long route. It seemed like a wasted effort as the other two and I turned to follow the mid. However, 5 miles later, the 3 of us caught a small group with a familiar face – the chap wearing the Saxo Bank jersey – and I was pleased that I’d managed to catch him.
This group began moving at a considerable speed, and Mr Saxo Bank did not want to budge from the front, I certainly wasn’t going to complain. Gradually this group started decreasing in size, one by one people dropped off the back as the pace continued to motor on. Around the 50 mile mark we hit a downhill section that was littered with pot holes. An on-coming van edged out onto our side of the road to avoid potholes, and in turn I nudged left to be safe, but in doing so made contact with quite a harsh pothole, and instantly I could hear the horrid sound of air gushing out my front tyre.
I’d recently bought a pair of Vittoria Rubino tyres, but what a mistake this was, as they are the tightest fitting tyres I have ever come across. They were quite a struggle to get on and in the end I stopped for near on ten minutes, watching all the people pass that I’d worked so hard to overtake. Looking at my time and knowing that I had 20 miles to go, I knew I had to work hard to achieve the gold. I set off as fast as I could without letting my H/R jump too high.
Things were going great until the monster that was Exedown hill. I found this tougher than Ditchling Beacon and I did pass a few cyclists walking up the hill with their bikes. At the top I was back on the big ring and down on the 11, pushing hard on the downhill sections and flats. I turned into Brands Hatch, posed for the photographer and crossed the line. The stats: 70 miles in 3hrs 53mins and 2 seconds finishing only 2 seconds outside of the Gold Standard (absolutely gutted would be an understatement).
Dave Willsher completed the long route, of 106miles in 05:51:10 James Trigg completed the mid route (70miles) in 04:26:30 Next up for me is the Anthony Maynard sportive which is run by Reading CC. It’ll be nice to have a few more Redhill Riders taking part!