June 8th, Oulton Park race review by DL

You know summer has finally arrived when the Oulton Park races are on...

It was the first of the three scheduled TLI races at Oulton Park last night and despite my best efforts to think of excuses not to go the fact the local Chinese is closed on Tuesday's and a last minute call from Will meant I ended up going.

Wills Wheels were already well represented when I arrived, with everyone looking far keener that I was. We had Rob, Young Chris, Paul, Jonathan and I in the under 40's category and Jimmy Frog, Dave Genders and Greg in the race for the more mature/sensible riders. There were also a few other chain gang regulars present to keep us honest Jack Green, BMC man and fellow End to End survivor Rick Johnson.

Somewhat disappointingly we were split into two races based on age, Greg was particularly frustrated as it meant the over 40's had a relatively small field and we wouldn't be able to get a nine man lead out train for him in the run up to the finish. I'm sure there are some laws on discriminating on age, maybe you can mention that to them next time, be sure to take Hugh with you!

As we queued up for the start we were informed that due to everything running behind schedule the race was a bit shorter than usual, only 8 laps. Still I began to realise this might be for the best when the next question he asked was "Now does anybody have tri-bars on"... Thankfully nobody did but it does let you know a little about some of the idiots, sorry I mean riders you get there.

So a little belatedly we set off and in a bit to prevent the over 40's catching us up I attacked pretty much from the gun. It's one way to warm up. Unfortunately I still had the effects of Bole Hill in my legs and the bunch were still keen so didn't get too far and was soon reeled back in.

No sooner was I back in the bunch than Rob was attacking and off up the road, looking to make up for that snapped chain at the weekend. There was still a lot of activity and Jack Green didn't seem keen to miss out so ensured that the chase was on and after a lap we were all back together again but not for more than a second...

As soon as Rob came back I went again and had somewhat of a more successful attempt off the front with another rider. I'm not sure if this other chap kept intending to slow us down every time he went to the front but it happened and eventually the bunch decided to put him out of his misery and catch us.

In what was now becoming something of a game Rob attacked as soon as I was caught but this time he meant business quickly establishing a decent gap. Rob then proceeded to ride his fellow escapee into the ground and drop him to continue you alone. BMC man meanwhile had spotted the danger and rode across. A couple of other groups formed, including Paul and Jonathan and tried to cross to them but Rob and BMC man worked well to keep them at a distance. Eventually two riders did get across to them leaving four upfront.

In all this excitement one guy had decided to savage his bike and have a pretty spectacular off as he attempted to sprint across the gap. Jonathan got the best view and reckoned he snapped his pedal; morale of this story is look after your bicycle and it will look after you... At least he had the decency not to take anyone else with him.

At this point we were pretty much down to 4 laps to go and Phil and I had resorted to chatted in the bunch while we waited in vein for Rob to come back so we could attack without fear of towing the bunch up to our best rider. Young Chris was entertaining himself and riding comfortably in the bunch while Paul and Jonathan were looking to go with anyone attempting to bridge the gap.

The break never got more than 20-30 seconds until the last lap, by which point Phil and I were discussing would Rob beat BMC man. We had faith in Rob's sprinting ability and if there had been a bookie on course we'd have placed a bet. As the break was now clearly staying away we decided to have some fun and put in a few efforts before the final run to the finish.

Up the small climb to the finish straight Young Chris, Phil and I sat up as we wanted to stay clear of any incidents, whilst Paul and Jonathan competed in the madness and got well up there.

So it was that we waited to see if Rob and won and sure enough he had used that youthful speed and dispatched the other 3 breakaway riders with style at the finish. It was a great ride by Rob who made the break happen and rode hard to make sure it stayed clear.

As we were relaxing Jimmy Frog came into the car park waving his arms in the air, we thought a wasp or something was probably attacking him and he continued straight past us. After Jimmy completed his lap of the car park he returned to tell us that he was waving his arms because he'd won... More good news was received with Greg coming 4th.

All in all a pretty good night for Wills Wheels and although there were a few frustrations about the length of the race and the two races being separate they certainly shouldn't take the gloss of Rob or Jimmy's performance.

DL