Super6 6 'A' race - Wanlockhead 5th September

[calumm]

The race started on the road from Edinburgh to Wanlockhead!  Lesson 1 - don't try to collect a hire car from Herz on a Saturday morning - I queued for over an hour!!

Tim Blathwayte and I got to Wanlockhead JUST in time, and saw race regular Alastair Mcnichol raring to go.  Today's Super6 A race had one of the best quality fields I have ever seen in a Scottish race.  No less than 12 Elites on the start sheet, and an equal number of 1st cats, not to mention quite a few 2nd cats too.  We started the race with a sense of realism!!

The race circuit involved one of the most potholed descents I have ever had the displeasure of racing down.  Not only was it almost impossible to dodge some really dangerous potholes (we're talking some areas of about 4-5 feet width of really rough and pock-marked tar) much of the art of the race was avoiding the flying bottles which littered the route particularly on that first crowded descent.  Subsequent descents had the advantage of a somewhat split field.

After the descent a long very gradual ascent/flat ride followed with a fair amount of head wind, and then the long slow, windy climb back up to Leadhills.  It was a very different circuit from last week, even though it was so close in geography.  It was a windier, more gradually climbing circuit.

Inevitably in the course of laps 1 and 2, the winning 10 or so riders moved off the front.  the rest of the contenders stayed fairly much together until lap three when a few attemps at breaks formed.  Alistair McNichol followed one of these - and it just wasn't one I was well placed to join, so I had the luxury of sitting back for a bit and letting others do the chasing (rather ineffectively!)

The speeds on the last rises of each circuit just before the long descent were FAST, and the descent was quite hair-raising, given the treacherous road surface.  

Ali's group managed to stay away to the end - and he got a creditable - very creditable in that field - 22md place.  I was a fair few places behind, but near the front of the following group.
First place went to Endura's Gary Hand.  Last week's winner, Davie Lines came in around 6th I think.  Alex Coutts was 7th.

Tim - in his first race after his collarbone smash in June, had a bad fall.  We still don't know exactly what happened - the fall wasn't on the descent, but just at the end of lap one.  Ali and I knew nothing about it until we finished the race, to hear that Tim had been concussed, and was at Dumfries Hospital getting stitched and checked.

So, I left the scene of the race very promptly and headed to Dumfries to collect our unlucky rider.  They weren't keen to release him, but Tim was determined, so we sped back to Edinburgh - a really unfortunate almost end to the race season.

Calum

[bigtim]

i don't have much to report on the race as i wasn't in it very long and for the time i was i don't remember so sorry but thats my report....
if anyone from the other teams/clubs/race assistance crew is reading this and recalls seeing the incident in which i apparently catapulted for no reason onto my head i'd be grateful for any light to be shed on this...
also a big thanks to calum for collecting me from hospital and all the race crew who looked after me so well while the ambulance tried to find its way to scotlands highest village - unfortunately i start my new job next week so i'll be looking like a beat up one eyed idiot for that - oh well...
see you next saturday at the lammermuirs?
bigtim

[Bird]

Callum seems to have covered everything pretty well, but here goes anyway...
Weather report-freezing
Road report-crap (but not as bad as people make it out to be)
Having seen the start list of 24 E/1st cats and 24 2nd cats I gave myself a serious reality check and convinced myself that just getting round would be fine and a solid bunch finish would be cool. But I then realised that nobody expects me to win it so I might as well give it a good go. The neutralised rollout took us down the worst of the descent and onto a flatter section where the pace kicked up to ~40mph and 2 riders got away before we hit the cross/tail-wind section running alongside the M74. On this stretch 2 more riders jumped off the front and as nobody responded I headed after them, we were joined by a Sportscover rider, Kev Barclay, a Wheelbase rider and Paul Rennie. We stayed away for around 4 miles and at one point had a decent gap but Endura chased us down due to being slightly under-represented. Lap 2 the big break went and I wasn't in it, on lap 3 a break dragged itself clear of the bunch. We worked well (yeah right!) for the next 10miles with Gordon Murdoch doing no work whatsover on the back (we weren't going to catch his teammates so why he didn't man-up and do some work is a mystery.) On the 3 mile climb towards the finish Ali Watt from Granite City RT jumped away and I followed shortly after, I was literally 15m behind him till the line, he couldn't go faster and I felt like I was riding through treacle.  As always you wish you'd done this or that differently during a race and there are of courses points where I wish I'd been nearer the front (like when the break went) but I can say I'm pretty pleased with the result as all bar one of the riders who finished ahead of me were E/1/2s. Just got to keep trying and one day it might just stick.

[Colin]

Impressive stuff Ali and Calum.
Hope you're ok Tim - best  wishes.

Cheers
Colin