Andrew Griffiths - August Report.

Andrew Griffiths writes:

August has been a very good month probably my best month so far this season. I have done the most races this month and feel I have had the best rides this month as well.

I have been having coaching from my team manager as well which I feel has helped me greatly. I planned to be in top condition for the first interclub of the month Zillebeke- Westouter- Zillebeke although I only placed 62nd I feel my ride in this race was a lot stronger than this. The race was in West Flanders and went over the Kemmelberg and surrounding hills. I rode strongly at the front of the race and got in all the breaks, always over the hills, and on the returning leg to Zillebeke. However when the race came onto the finishing circuits the race blew to pieces and I was in the 3rd group on the road and finished strongly.

I also competed in quite a lot of Kermesse races this month and had some strong rides and finishing positions. In particular the Tielt - Winge Kermesse was a success and I feel I was one of the strongest in the race but I missed the winning break on the last lap and messed up my position in the final sprint however I still finished 25th which I was happy with.

August also brought with it my first race with the professionals Vlaams- Havenpijl. This was 180km and I was really happy to finish in the final selection of riders in the front group. However I feel I did struggle with the fast pace but I was 43rd which I feel was good.

The best result of my whole season was at the Moorslede Criterium. It was a 70 km crit in the wet. However, I didn’t let this stop me taking 8 of the 20 primes and I was also featuring in the front group all the time but a crash on the 2nd last corner (which I was caught up in) stopped me from getting my first podium finish, which I was quite annoyed about as I felt I had a very good chance.

Having all of these good rides in August has proved that I am progressing positively and it has also given me a lot of confidence for the future races.

I am back in England in the beginning of September for the National Time Trial champs which I am feeling positive about!

Thank you DRF for all the help and guidance this season and thanks to everyone who has supported me in Belgium this season so far.

Junior Tour of Wales
23rd-25th August 2008

Mrs.Jo Perrett writes:

Joe Perrett gains podium place and Glendene Team gain third overall (First UK based team) in prestigious Junior Tour of Wales Event.

A hundred of the best young cyclists in the British Isles as well as top teams from Belgium and Norway competed over the recent Bank holiday on the roads and mountains of South and mid-Wales in the RIS Junior Tour of Wales. The Race, the only 3 day junior race on the British calendar, is designed to give the competitors a taste of the tough world of stage racing on their own soil and is considered the blue riband event of the year.

Over the course of the three days our team riders had five stages to contest. Despite pressure from some very strong British teams The Glendene - Biketrax squad held them off to get third place overall behind The Nymark Cycling Team from Norway and Avia from Belgium.

First Year Junior Joe Perrett rode consistently well over the three days and had two stage podium places and the King of the Mountains Jersey for two stages. He eventually gained 3rd place overall and 3rd place in the King of the Mountains category as well.

Special mention must also be made of Josh Edmonson who is actually still a youth rider but has upped his licence to ride in the older Junior category in order to gain valuable experience for next years' races. His promising results and those of the other team members are as follows:-

Saturday 23rd August
Stage 1: 10 km (6 Miles) Time Trial over hilly terrain onto the back of the Tumble mountain climb.

2nd Joe Perrett + KOM Jersey
13th Dave Nichols
22nd Josh Edmonson
28th Nathan Edmonson
29th Joel Davison
67th David Bagdan

Stage 2: 85 Km (50 miles) Classic Road Race from Brynmawr town square on a tough stage via Gilwern heading along the Usk Valley to eventually climb Llangynidr mountain - a 3 mile climb with a last vicious ascent to its highest point.

6th Nathan Edmonson
16th Joe Perrett
18th Dave Nichols
22nd Joel Davison
30th Josh Edmonson
68th David Bagdan

Sunday 24th August
Stage 3: 40 Km (24 miles) around an enclosed 3 km circuit in Bryn Bach Park which has a power climb and fast treacherous descent.

8th Josh Edmonson
16th Joe Perrett
21st Joel Davison
22nd Nathan Edmonson
23rd Dave Nichols
Rtd David Bagdan

Stage 4: 52Km (84miles) Classic Road Race from Nantyglo into Monmouth to return via the Abergavenny by-pass up another 5 mile power clime to the market square of Brynmawr.

2nd Joe Perrett + KOM Jersey
28th Joel Davison
38th Nathan Edmonson
46th Dave Nichols
66th Josh Edmonson

Monday August 25th - 10.30am

STAGE 5 -100 Km (62 miles) Classic Road Race from Nantyglo through Brecon and Abergavenny to finish on the legendary 3 mile 1:10 climb up The Tumble (Keepers) Mountain in Blaenavon.

5th Joe Perrett
18th Joel Davison
21st Nathan Edmonson
26th David Nichols
36th Josh Edmonson

Overall final Placings:

3rd Joe Perrett + 3rd KOM and 18th Sprint Points
18th Nathan Edmonson + 17th KOM
22nd Joel Davison
26th Dave Nichols
32nd Josh Edmonson + 8th KOM and 6th Sprint Points

Vets in Holland and Belgium
3rd-5th August 2008

Colin Mannakee finished 19th and Tony Woodcock 44th in a demanding ICF World Veterans Championship road race against 100 seasoned continentals in Achtmal, Holland.
The next day, at Merelbeke in Belgium, Yorkshireman Sid Barras won for Britain, with Woodcock a fine 4th and Mannakee 10th.
The Glendene men's final race was also in Belgium, at Destelbergen near Ghent, and here Mannakee broke away with two Belgians in the closing stages to take a brilliant second place, while Woodcock almost outsprinted the big bunch a few seconds behind to place fifth. This continental foray thus set Colin and Tony up for their successes at the weekend.

LVRC London/South East Championships
10th August 2008

Glendene CC/Bike Trax veteran stars Colin Mannakee from Braintree and Tony Woodcock from Brentwood each scored a major victory for their club at Blackmore on Sunday in the prestigious London and South East England Regional Road Race Championships. It was their first race on home soil since a successful campaign in Holland and Belgium.

The combined 40 miles race for the over 60s categories had drawn a topclass field to Essex and as the wet, slippery roads around Blackmore, Fryerning and Highwood Woods dried out the attacks from the leading contenders came thick and fast, with the Glendene duo prominent. With 12 miles remaining Woodcock launched a solo chase after pre-race favourite Dick Naylor (Kent) and in less than a mile had caught and dropped his rival.
With Naylor back in the chasing group Mannakee policed each counter-attack to good effect, enabling his teammate to forge a 30 second lead which he held to the line, despite a determined, late solo chase by former professional John McMillan (London) and others. In the big sprint for second place Mannakee led from 250 metres and no-one could catch him, thus scoring a 1-2 for Essex and the local Glendene Club, plus two individual Championships.

Results:
60-65 Championship - 1 Colin Mannakee (Glendene CC/Bike Trax), 2 Dick Naylor (San Fairy Ann CC/Kent), 3 Richard Williamson (South Western RC/Evans Cycles).
65-70 Championship - 1 Tony Woodcock (Glendene CC/Bike Trax), 2 Tom McCall (Surrey), 3 Roly Crayford (San Fairy Ann CC/Kent).

National Junior RR Championship
10th August 2008

Colin Manakee writes:

The Glendene CC/Bike Trax junior team also had an eventful Sunday, but in Buckinghamshire, where they had held high hopes of victory in the National Junior Road Race Championship over 80 hilly miles.
With chilly, gale force conditions, the race turned out to be a war of attrition and of the 90 starters only 27 were strong enough to reach the finish at Long Crendon, near Thame.
Best of the Glendene boys was Ilford's Joe Perrett in 5th place, with Nathan Edmondson eighth and Chelmsford's David Nichols 13th; if there had been a team prize, they would have been victorious!
Schoolboy Joshua Edmondson, only 15 and in his first National Championship at junior level, came a brave 25th.
The new British Junior Champion, after 3 hours 35 minutes in the saddle, was established international Erick Rowsell who finished 15 seconds ahead of pre-race favourite Andrew Fenn, the victor of this year's junior Paris-Roubaix classic.

AND

Mrs.Jo Perrett writes:

'One of the best fields ever seen' was not an idle boast from the organisers, the quality of the Junior riders present at this event was outstanding. The field of 80 riders left the Village HQ at Long Crendon on a sunny Buckinghamshire morning to tackle the 80 mile circuit. It consisted of seven circuits of a very challenging hilly course.
The hills and the strong headwinds took their toll on the field with 50 riders failing to finish and only 26 crossing the finish line on the same lap as the winners.
The Glendene riders all rode extremely well and the first year juniors amonst them show much promise at having a tilt at the national title again next year.

Final Positions:

5th Joe Perrett
8th Nathan Edmonson
13th Dave Nichols
25th Josh Edmonson
DNF Tom Yeatman Joel Davison