Bill Temme Youth B Crit (12-14yrs) (35 mins + 5 laps)

A great day's racing despite bitterly cold conditions and some snow showers!

Colin Mannakee (for Glendene CC/Bike Trax)

Mrs.Jo Perrett writes:

Beernem (Belgium) Road Race.

16th March 2008

Juniores 77.5km 10 x 7.75km

The second race for the Glendene Junior team on Belgian soil might never have happened since their planned original race was cancelled. However, with local assistance a new race venue was identified that was within travelling distance. So it was with great relief that the five Glendene lads joined a field of 63 riders that had already signed up for the 77.5 km race at Beernem.

Like last week the weather conditions were cold and rainy but with the added complication of gusting winds. The course was 10 laps over big wide roads which indicated that it could be a very fast race. This turned out to be the case, with lots of attempted breakaways and bunch gallops for the primes with Dave Nichols winning one of one of them. On the third lap David Bagdan was again a hostage to misfortune. This time it was a puncture and there were no means for him to get back into the race. Dave N, Nathan, Joe and Joel continued to watch for breaks in the bunch and with about five laps to go Nathan went on the attack with a small breakaway group. However they were caught with a couple of laps to go. Soon after another attack was launched by Dries Vanden Bussche and Joe Perrett went with him. They then stayed away for the remaining 8 km of the race and contested the finish with a sprint. Dries just got the win from Joe by a quarter wheel length. The rest of the team finished in the bunch that followed swiftly behind. Dave Nicholls was 20th, Nathan Edmonsen 26th and Joel Davison 28th. The finishing time was 1 hour 46 minutes, an average speed of 44km/h.

Team manager Bob Downs was pleased with another solid performance from the boys. "Dave Bagdan was unlucky again but this will change. It was a very fast race and with the likes of the Avia and Bodysol-Lotto teams it was a good field. The boys will have learned a lot from today".

2nd Joe Perrett 20th Dave Nichols 26th Nathan Edmonsen 28th Joel Davison DNF David Bagdan

Mrs.Jo Perrett writes:

Koekelare (Belgium) Road Race.

9th March 2008

This was a 77 Km race over 14 x 5.5 km laps. The conditions were very cold and difficult with pouring rain and slippery road surfaces. There were 58 riders that registered with only Glendene representing UK riders. We had a team of 5 and all our boys were in all the first breaks that emerged.

Quite early on David Bagdan was brought down in a very unfortunate incident when two riders lost control of their bikes in front of him. In the time it took for him to get on the bike a significant gap had been made between him and the bunch. After the first lap, Joe Perrett got away to lead the race and rode 5 laps on his own where he took all the bonus prize primes. Eventually he got caught by a group of 3 riders which included David Nicholls and with them stayed away for another 2 laps. A lap later, Nathan Edmonson crossed with two other riders from the main bunch to join the leading break. Now there were nine riders in the break, three of which were from the Glendene Team. This situation stayed the same until there was just over one lap to go.

Nathan Edmonson made a bid to accelerate away but a Belgian rider went with him. They contested the lead whilst David Nicholls and Joe Perrett controlled the remaining breakaway group and prevented them from chasing. With desperate bad luck, Nathan crashed on a slippery bend with 5 k to go to the finishing line. The Belgian stayed upright. Seeing Nathan crash, Joe then gave chase at the head of the break for two kilometres then Dave took over and did a good hard turn for another two. Within one kilometre, Joe attacked to reel in the leader who was 200 metres in front. However the gap was too big, so the Belgian rider came first with Joe second 50 metres behind him. David Nicholls came a powerful fifth and Nathan - having remounted from his crash - a gallant 9th. Joel Davison finished an impressive16th and David Bagdan (having had his early misfortune) a creditable 30th.

Team manager Bob Downs was extremely pleased with the team performance. Only Joe has raced in Belgium before and it is a very different scene to British racing ('much faster' and 'more aggressive' were the comments from the boys). Considering it was the first experience for four of them - the lads did really well to get in all the breaks and finish so far up. However, they must not get complacent for the next race. Anyone can show up over there and the race could be entirely different next week!.

Joe’s Mum

Andy Griffiths in an e-mail to Colin Mannakee reports from Belgium:

Hi Colin,

Sorry I’ve missed your recent calls I’ve been on the bike every time you have called!

I’m getting on well in Belgium and doing a good job of cooking dinner and looking after myself. I think my team are pleased with how I’m racing and my results. I got 30th in Ghent- Staden from 238 starters and 10th in the club championship from 130 starters the week before.

Tomorow I have my next race Brussels- Zeperan .This should be good and am feeling well prepared for it!! I think there’s a few cobble sections as well so that should be good fun.

I train quite a lot with Alex Atkins and Adam Blythe who are living close by so its good getting out training with some good riders and getting in some quality rides.

I now feel that I have settled in and am getting to know the local area a bit so I will start to get in a good rhythm of getting up early and getting out on the bike, then chilling and eating, and getting to bed by 10 o clock. So I hope in a couple of weeks I can start making the most out of the days!!

I am coming back to England on the 16th March and returning to Belgium on the following Friday so I will try to get to the club on that Wednesday evening.

Look forward to seeing you and Glendene then.

Andrew

Colin Mannakee writes:

Racing news from this weekend

8th/9th March 2008

After a tremendously exciting and successful Team Launch on Saturday, our new Junior Team and some of our even newer Youth Team went separately to different events in BELGIUM andscored very well indeed.

Of the juniors Nathan Edmonson (Crest RR winner the week before) was clear in a 2up break with a Belgian when he slipped off on a slippery road, but still remounted to finish 9th, a brave and determined effort! David Bagdan also came to grief in the rainy conditions, but like Nathan suffered no significant injury. Why does it rain so often in Belgium?! Now the really good news ... Joe Perrett rode splendidly to take 2nd place in his first race in Belgium as a new junior, an awesome performance, and David Nichols and Joel Davison took 4th and 5th I gather, to complete a fantastic team result! Bob Downs was delighted with the whole team, as you can imagine.

The youth riders Ollie Rossi (12th) and Jim Lewis (28th) were also in the thick of the action in their race. Jim was 2nd out of the final bend and looking good for a podium placing when he was brought down in the scramble for the line, hence his lower final position: tough luck Jim.

Meanwhile, Jim's dad Paul Martin and fellow new member Justin Browne rode in their Glendene debut in the Festival RC Surrey League event with mixed fortunes. Both rode strongly throughout although Justin punctured near the end and Paul missed the vital move, thus finishing a little frustrated in the main bunch.

Of our senior team, I only have news of Ben Thompson and Steve Griffiths who took part in the 140km Jock Wadley Mem RR at Layer-de-la-Haye, near Colchester. In a testing, windswept race from which Aintree winner Tony Gibb (a former Wadley winner) packed, Ben rose to the occasion by getting into the main chasing group and finally taking a magnificent 5th place (3rd in his group). The overall winner was former Glendene junior star Luke Rowe (now Rapha/Recycling). Steve Griffiths rode well too and managed 22nd place for us. Well done both.

The Vets Team travelled to Towcester, near Northampton, but here disaster struck when in the 40-54 age groups race Phil Thomerson suffered a head-on collision with a car and had to be taken by ambulance to hospital with facial injuries. Keith Gross also went down along with 6/7 others in the resulting melee and ended up in a deep ditch, amazingly with no more damage than a sore backside! Tony Woodcock and myself (in the following 55+ race) both abandoned and stopped to assist until the ambulance arrived. In the circumstances, the race organiser had no option but to cancel both races on the 5th lap and, back at the HQ, the riders took a very sporting, unanimous decision to donate the whole prize list to our stricken teammate (to help towards Phil's written-off frame). Later, Keith, Barry Ryan and I attended Northampton Hospital where, amazingly, we learned that Phil had not broken anything and, after some negotiation, he was able to discharge himself. Brave as ever, Phil vows that he will compete at Dunton next Sunday (albeit on a different bike!). We wish him a speedy recovery.

Mrs. Jo Perrett writes:

Crest Spring Road Race.

2nd March 2008

The day dawned bright and the brisk breeze evoked a sense that there was a job to be done on this, the first day of racing for the new Junior Glendene Racing Team supported by Senior riders Steven Griffiths and Steve Charles. After a quick leg rub of warming oil by team manager Bob Downs the team was raring to go. David Bagdan resplendent in his Hungarian national champion’s jersey led out the bunch for the 5 mile ride out to the start.
The race began and by the end of the second lap, a group of five riders had made a break of half a minute over the rest of the field. This situation stayed the same for another lap but the wind played havoc with lead riders and soon those that had 'good legs' in the bunch began to join the front riders. David Bagdan was one of them and made a strong move to join the five leaders and for five laps drove the pace causing some of his co leaders to drop back.
On the fourth circuit two riders in the chasing group made a move out of the bunch and Joe Perrett went with them. They soon flagged and Joe rode solo to catch the leading group which now comprised of two Cambridge CC riders, two Victoria/Ciclos Uno/PCA CC riders, an API rider and our two Glendene boys.
With 3 laps to go, a lone lead rider appeared at the bottom of the finishing hill with a minute gap. It was Joe Perrett who was now committed to a 25 mile time trial to the finish. With two laps remaining, he had developed a two minute gap and other interesting moves had been made by the Glendene boys behind him. There was now Nathan Edmonson in the chasing group of eight and David Nicholls too was making a determined move to catch them . Steve Griffiths was also moving up with Joel Davison. Steve 'Smiler' Charles was also in touch. In the meantime, the wind was causing many splits in the chasing bunch and there were retirements too, mostly due to punctures.
The 'bell' signalled to Joe that he had one lap to go on his courageous solo ride. However, the wind was taking its toll and his gap had reduced to one minute. Nathan Edmonson was emerging strongly from the chasing group but had Glade CC rider Sean Kilroy with him. It was two minutes to the next group of nine riders and then came the bunch, who were four minutes behind race leader Joe. With the finishing hill in sight, two Glendene riders appeared in the leading positions. Nathan, to quote Joe, 'was going like a train, and powered up the final half mile to take a fantastic win.
Joe finished a valiant second with Sean Kilroy a way behind in third. The Glendene jerseys then continued to cross the line in the top positions of the race with David Nichols fourth, Steven Griffiths fifth - both having overhauled API’s Dave Miller with 50 yards to go. David Bagdan was a magnificent fourteenth having chased down the early leaders and kept stoking up the pace in the leading group. Joel Davison was a very promising fifteenth and 'Smiler' Steve Charles was very pleased that he had finished a 'lumpy' race instead of his preferred flat ones!
All in all, an excellent start to the racing season by the team. It must have been – Bob Downs was smiling!

Simon Parker writes:

Wally Gimber Road Race.

2nd March 2008

The Senior team made a promising start to the season when they lined up for the 49th edition of the Wally Gimber race, held over 63 hilly miles around Tenterden on Sunday.
The race drew an impressive start list with the Plowman Craven, Sigma Sport and Artic Premier squads all taking the line in a field of 80 riders. Ben Thompson and Andri Joubert were representing Glendene/ Bike Trax.
The race started quickly with constant attacks going off the front. However, it wasn’t until the second lap that one of these moves stuck with six riders going clear. This was a dangerous move containing Simon Gaywood and Simon Richardson from the powerful Plowman Craven team, Roy Chamberlain and Glendene second claim member Rik Sykes-Popham riding for KFS special vehicles, as they quickly built a lead of 50 seconds.
Meanwhile on the fourth of six laps, a second group of six riders forced its way clear from the peloton, containing Glendene’s Ben Thompson along with Alex Higham and Neil Colemen policing the move for Plowman Craven.
Going into the last lap, the race situation remained the same, and so it stayed with the final gallop being contested by the lead group of six, Simon Gaywood taking the victory from Rik Sykes-Popham and Roy Chamberlain. Meanwhile a frantic chase by the peloton on the last lap saw the second group being caught ten metres from the line, depriving a disappointed Ben Thompson of a top twenty finish. Andri Joubert completed his successful debut in Glendene/Bike Trax colours finishing comfortably in the main bunch.