Month: June 2016

The annual event is a highlight of the Condor calendar. Our ambition is to make the Condors a 50/50 cycling club, so this year we were particularly excited to be taking two women’s teams alongside our two men’s teams. 

After many weeks of training hard, learning how to ride a tight paceline and perfecting our calls, the garage was abuzz with nervous energy on Friday night. There was time for a few practice laps of the course, as we familiarised ourselves with the corners, and learnt how much further we could tip the bikes on the smooth tarmac. Rollers and turbos whirred, riders wrestled with their pink latex Velotoze overshoes, and we nervously watched the clock tick round.

At twenty past seven the four Condors teams lined up in the pit, and team by team we moved up to be held by the start guys, clipped in, and waited for the count down. And then we were off, launching ourselves up the ramp and out onto the course.

Racing at Silverstone is a fantastic experience, and with little wind and good weather it was a great evening. The teams worked well together, held the lines tight and worked hard, dropping riders only in the final few miles. And it was a night of triumph, in various ways.

The women’s B team stuck together until near the last corner, with the leading riders sprinting over the line with a final time of 28:55. The Men’s B showed that the training had paid off, holding a tight line for most of the race and coming in with the fastest Condor B time yet – 25:00 dead. And the Men’s A overcame a disastrous start – when one of the pit-lane holders dropped Rob just before the ‘go’ – to finish 14th with a time of 23:16.

But the champions of the evening were undoubtedly the Women’s A who took a podium place with the third fastest time of 26:58:00. The Condors had some other important business to attend to, and unfortunately we were all on the road back to Oxford before the podium places were announced — so we could hit the Cowley Road and celebrate another great Silverstone and our fifth anniversary as Oxford’s pinkest, friendliest club!

As always, there was a great Condor support crew joining us in the garage and cheering on the home straight. When you’re head down, gripping the drops, staring at the tarmac and willing your legs to go faster, the sound of ‘go Condors!’ really gives you a lift. So chapeau to all of our racers and all of our supporters!

And a huge thanks to the team at BMCC who put on a great event every year!

The Tour of Cambridgeshire is a combined time trial, closed-road race and sportive taking place over two days with several thousand riders entering.

Saturday saw Aimee, Kristen, Tyra and Kat launch themselves down the ramp to complete the 16.9 mile Chrono time trial.

A surprisingly hilly course for the fens plus headwinds made for a tough ride, but the women really showed what Condors women can do, racing home with great times. Aimee showed her training’s paid off by coming 6th in her age category and qualifying for the Gran Fondo World Championship which takes place in Perth this September.

 

The Chrono hadn’t completely sapped Aimee’s or Kristen’s legs though, and on Sunday they joined Dave, Chris, and me (Jon) in the Gran Fondo road race. If Chris was going to join Aimee in Australia as more than just soigneur, he knew he had a tough day ahead.

It was 84 miles of fast and punishing racing, with little to protect us from the winds scouring Cambridgeshire’s flatlands. The great thing about the ToC is the combination of different events, so while the six of us were battling to stay in the bunch, taking turns to tow a paceline, or fighting to get back on the back of a group, Cheryl, Natasha, Ian and Kirsty were close behind in the sportive. It was a great event – cheered on by locals as we battled round, and with Kat and Tyra waiting at 20 miles to give us a boost.

Battered, sun burnt and weary Condors collapsed on the grass, nursing sore legs and rehydrating with much needed pints.

But there were more medals to come – in fact all of the racing Condors qualified! Both Dave and Aimee made it a double, Dave qualifying for a second year in a row (he represented team GB in Denmark last year) and Aimee qualifying in the Fondo adding to her Chrono medal the day before.

Not bad for a weekend’s riding.

Results

Chrono

Aimee Fenwick – 0:44:06

Tyra Rivkin – 0:50:11

Kristen Lovelock – 0:51:03

Kat Young – 0:53:55

Gran Fondo

Chris Jones – 3:23:53

Aimee Fenwick – 3:50:27

Dave Dyer – 3:51:29

Jon Harle – 3:54:05

Ian Lockwood – 4:07:44

Kristen Lovelock – 4:18:03

After a feed station stop or two…

Cheryl Reid – 5:20:36

Kirsty Tizzard – 5:28:07