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Tour of Cambridgeshire
A Gran Fondo Day Out
Half way through the Apache Brave Racing season saw the team take on the challenge of the Tour of Cambridgeshire (TOC); an 84 mile fully closed off road race and sportive event, TOC also happens to be a world qualifier for those that achieve a finish in the top 25% so there was a little more to fight for on the day.
TOC had over 7000 riders taking part so just to get out of the start
gates was a challenge enough but once out on the road rider were quickly
able to get up to speed. We start can see riders averaging mid 20pmh
even though the first 30 miles are hilly. The hills help to separate
many of the weaker riders and a flow soon starts to help riders of
similar speed group together. The first 20 miles saw many crashes and
the ambulances made for a stop start beginning for some of the team
hampering their times and speed.
With longer rides and at the
quick pace that had developed it was vital that the team took on
valuable nutrition with the aid of gels, protein bars plus energy drinks
,
there were feed station along the route if needed but it was important
that the team had food and drink at hand as a rider could easily burn
off 4,500 calories on such races.
Once past the hilly section and
a good 39 miles in to the race saw the riders hit the flat lands of the
fens, a welcome release you would think, but the fens of Cambridgeshire
take no prisoners, yes they are flat but they also come with strong
winds and no shelter from they either. It was important to stay with a
group enabling the riders to draft and take some relief from the harsh
winds. The fens section would last a good 35 miles and you just preyed
for the hills to return.
A welcome sight is the first village at around 65 miles; you know that's
the end of the fens and wind, with just a few steep hills to conquer
before the first is in sight. A final steep hill bring the riders back
out on the main roads and a familiar sight of the starting point, the
Peterborough show ground is now within reach for the riders, a quick
turn round the final roundabout and the riders are on the final straight
to the finish and across the finish line.
A great event and a
challenging course, the highlight of the team was lead rider and road
racer Steve Ingram grabbing a time of less than 4 hours which qualified
Steve for the World Champs later in the year.
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