News

Wow! It was great to see so many members and their families at the 50th Anniversary BBQ celebrations last Sunday. We also had a great turnout at the Bridge for the Anniversary rides in the morning, especially considering the wet weather.

Thank you all so much for coming along and joining in with the celebrations. We hope that you all enjoyed the food in the afternoon, and the whole event in general.

Congratulations to Reece Morancie for winning the £200 bike voucher prize. We hope to hear more about Reece’s cycling progress in due course, and who knows, maybe one day we’ll see him riding with the club? We felt that this free raffle was a great way to help to launch our plans for Go-Ride certification – British Cycling’s junior coaching programme, which we’re working hard on in the background for 2020.

We’re very grateful to West Heath Garage for generously sponsoring the event. Remember that they offer our club members various benefits in terms of servicing discounts, new and used car discounts, etc. Check out the Benefits page in the Members section of the website (you have to be logged in to see this) for all the details.

We also want to give a big thank you to those members who helped to organise and run the BBQ event. Darren Roberts was the main organiser and we can’t hope to list everything he did here, but he spent a lot of time and effort finding the venue, getting a shopping list of food and making sure everything else needed for the day was there, preparing the salad in the morning, as well as running around on the day itself. Darren’s sister provided the wonderful cakes with the club logo. Gideon de Clerq also did a sterling job manning the BBQs all afternoon, providing his tasty sauces for the meat and keeping it all served up for us. Thank you all!

We hope you had a chance to look at some of the club memorabilia that we had on display – club president Dick Poole’s photo albums from his End To End record ride, club trophies dating back to the 1930s, old printed newsletters and more. We’ll be adding photos of some of these to the History section of the club website in due course. Please also do vote for Dick in Cycling Weekly’s “Local Hero” award.

Thank you all again for making this day a big success. If you have any feedback on the event, then please let Jeff know at [email protected]

FCCC President Dick Poole has been shortlisted for the Cycling Weekly Local Hero of the Year Award, voting for which has opened today, having been nominated by a member of Chiltern R.C.

Dick is very well known for his legendary achievement in becoming the first man to complete LEJOG in under 48 hours in 1965 but, more importantly to us in FCCC, for his 50 years as a member and for his tireless work behind the scenes in running the club.

What most members probably won’t know is Dick’s contribution to the wider cycling community. He was a founder member and first chairman of the British Triathlon Association and was appointed as the first RTTC coaching secretary, a position he held for 10 years and helped to form what is now the Association of British Cycling Coaches.  Even now, in his mid-eighties, Dick continues to coach at the outdoor track at Palmer Park, Reading.    

The shortlist was selected by a judging panel consisting of Colin Sturgess (former cycling World Champion), Dani Rowe MBE (Olympic Champion), Brian Cookson (former President of the UCI and British Cycling) and Vern Pitt (Cycling Weekly), with the winner announced on 28 November.

We can’t think of a more deserving candidate for this award and urge you to show your support by voting for Dick on the Cycling Weekly website.  Follow this link to add your support and please feel free to share this post.

Vote now for our 2019 Local Hero

Road Racing Round-Up – August 2019

Main photo: AERO! – Ollie Rastall tucks during a Cat 2 Road Race in August

Apologies for the lateness of this report, though with prime holiday season having been upon us in August, you may have expected to hear that the FCCC Road Race team has been quiet. However, with many seeing August as the “last real month of Summer”, the team continued to race across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, delivering some fantastic results.

Special congratulations to Luke Stratford, Mark Nuttall and Jamie Parkinson, all of whom earned their 2nd Cat licence during the month. This further strengthens and enhances the FCCC Road Race team which now contains a strong number of 2nd Cat riders.

The most notable results from another busy month are provided below:

3rd August – BIG Events, Hillingdon Circuit, 3rd Cat, Mark Nuttall – 4th Place, Luke Stratford – 5th Place, Adam Bassom– 7th Place, Jamie Parkinson – 8th Place

6th August – BC West Thames Series Rnd 17, Hillingdon, 3rd Cat, Adam Bassom – 4th Place, Jamie Parkinson – 7th Place

11th August – Surrey League Road Race – Norwood Hill, 3rd Cat, Mark Nuttall – 9th Place

13th August – BC West Thames Series Rnd 17, Hillingdon, 3rd Cat, Luke Stratford – 3rd Place

13th August – Behind The Bikeshed Racing – Thruxton Series Round 6, 3rd Cat, Adam Bassom – 4th Place, Matt Davies – 9th Place . 4th Cat, Noel Brooksbank – 4th Place.

17th August – BC West Thames League Saturday Rnd 2, Hillingdon, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 7th Place

20th August – Behind The Bikeshed Racing – Thruxton Series Round 7, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 10th Place

21st August – Portsmouth Evening Circuits #21, 3rd Cat, Matt Davies – 1st Place, Mark Nuttall – 8th Place

22nd August – Hillingdon Masters Series #11, Masters 50+, Warren Vye – 7th Place

24th August – Portsmouth Omega Saturday Circuits, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 2nd Place, Mark Nuttall – 3rd Place, Matt Davies – 7th Place

24th August – BC West Thames League Saturday Rnd 3, Hillingdon, 3rd Cat, Adam Bassom – 2nd Place. Note that Adam was led out for the sprint by Matt “two races in one day” Davies !

28th August – Portsmouth Evening Circuits #21, 3rd Cat, Matt Davies – 4th Place

Race Insight: The August race insight is brought to you by FCCC road race team member, Darren Roberts, who provides a snippet into the final stages of his first race during a Surrey League Dunsfold Park 4th Cat race.

You can see your Club colleagues and your family raising phone cameras. The chequered flag is suddenly further away than ever and still the sprint is getting faster. What? You can’t hear anything behind. Are you alone? It’s chaos. Your vision is closing. 25 metres to go.

The wisp of smoke from your last match is close. 30 miles of strategy is about to be blown into thin air. 15 metres. One last dig. You’re line abreast with 5 riders. Where did they come from? Perhaps you’re in the top 10? Who knows?

10 metres. Cheering. Shouting. Groaning. Grimacing. Aaaaaahhhhhhh, push harder. Harderrrrr.

Whoosh. The flapping chequered flag calls an end to the melee. The last lap decided it all. 30 miles of strategy came down to 200 metres of sprint. One for all and then all for no-one. It’s that brutal.

A hand pats you on the back. You pick your head up and look around. It’s over. Bitter enemies in the final metres of sprint, now gasping for air and congratulating each other.

You realise this is what it’s all about. The teamwork, the exhaustion, and the fact that you lost everything you thought you’d gained in the final metres of the sprint. You laugh out loud. That was one of the most confusing experiences of your life. Incredible.

The ‘what ifs’ and ‘should haves’. All of that can come later because it’s just as your Club Secretary said ‘at the finish you’ll be wanting to know where and when you can race next’.

If you’re interested in the idea of road racing, then get in touch with our RR secretary, Warren Vye. He looks after a friendly team with a wealth of experience who can pass on plenty of advice and tips.

No matter how loudly I shouted this at the mechanic in the bike shop, he couldn’t make my front wheel any less egg-shaped. So I took the wheel to master wheelbuilder, Ian Lynch, and it came back round.

Ian – or “Ianardo da Lynchi” as he is widely known, has kindly agreed to entertain and educate us at the next Club Night, 8.30pm on Friday, 4th October at All Saints Church Hall, Chapel Lane, Farnborough GU14 9BW.

Learn about tubed, tubeless and tubular tyres, aerodynamics and wheel components and the basics of truing your own wheels. Ride straight, ride true, never get a puncture again. And if that’s not enough, beer, chips and soft drinks provided as usual.

Congratulations to our 25 mile club champions for 2019, Donna Swindell (Ladies and Veteran Ladies) and Tim Carman (Mens and Veteran Mens), on their winning rides last Saturday 14^th September.

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Donna, who competed on her road bike and crossing the line in 1:17:01, showed that you do not have to be a TT specialist to be successful – well done Donna.

Tim, both a time triallist and triathlete , backed up his impressive time trialling form this year with a time of 57:30, closely followed by Alex Ballinger in 58:37 (on his road bike) and Conor Boyle in 1:03:37

Well done everyone!

The story of an epic bikepacking adventure from Farnborough to Paris and back again, in August 2019, by Terry Holmes, Nick Wood and Walter Bremner.

The Journey – Terry Holmes

The routes came together from a bit of research online. Several sites offered info, maps and gpx files. Somehow I managed to download what looked like the “actual” official route. In any case, we found out en route that looking out for the green signs helped a lot. Nick put together the English routes, there and back. We’d be happy to share all our routes with other club members if anyone is interested.

Monday

Starting at Nick’s place we cycled out to Tongham and Seale on familiar roads, then over to Puttenham, Shackleford and Godalming.

Just south of Shalford we picked up the Downs Link, a 36 mile ex railway line off-road route leading to Shoreham by the Sea. Nick and I were already familiar with this gravel route but had only done it in dry conditions. On this day we had thundery downpours and this meant a very damp and mucky start to the adventure!

Nick had researched a cafe stop for lunch at the excellent Cafe by the Lake, attached to a Camping site near Barns Green. The service and food here were outstanding, and the fish and chips were just what we needed to restore our motivation to get to Newhaven in some pretty dodgy weather.

We were wet and filthy but our spirits weren’t dampened. For the rest of the day we were shower dodging, and boy those showers were heavy!

A well-timed stop for another refuel came at the delightful La Patisserie in Shoreham, appropriately owned/run by a friendly and accommodating lady of French origin.

The remainder of the route was pretty much all along the seafront, using cycle paths and part of NCN2. This part of the route did include an unwelcome rough gravel track on the outskirts of Newhaven, but the concreted coastal pathway (shared cycle and pedestrian) below the cliffs cut out some of the busier bits of Brighton and took us past the beautiful but dilapidated Victorian archways.

After returning to the road and continuing on the long ups and downs of the cliff top rollercoaster A259, we finally dropped down into Newhaven with about three hours to spare before sailing. Our stomachs were telling us it was time for dinner, so we headed towards the Hope Inn for a well earned meal and a pint.

We had a bit of a wait to board but this enabled us to recharge our various devices (phones, Garmins, lights etc) as there were numerous plug-in points in the waiting area. Other cyclists were doing the same.

Departure was 23.59, arrival in Dieppe 04.00. We’d wisely booked a cabin, giving us the opportunity to shower and wash some clothing and attempt to get it dry in a mere three and a half hours!

Tuesday

Bleary eyed and still somewhat moist around the edges, we rolled into Dieppe in pre-dawn darkness. After a little bit of tricky navigating we headed out of town and onto the long straight tarmac Avenue Verte, a superb tarmac’d traffic-free trail that was once a railway line.

Going out of Dieppe the trail has a very gradual upward gradient for many miles but that’s a big plus coming the other way on the return journey.

We stopped for breakfast in Neufchatel en Bray – coffee at a tabac and pastries from the boulangerie opposite.

After continuing a short distance, Walter began to have some concerns about a rear hub squeak and we stopped at the next town, Forges des Eaux, to find some spray lube which seemed to penetrate and do the trick.

Onward to Gourney en Bray for lunch. The sun came out and we were shedding layers. We had left the railway trail and moved onto some quiet roads crossing rolling countryside with a few long but gradual hill climbs. We sometimes saw fellow travellers doing the Paris ride in either direction, often giving us the chance for some friendly banter or at least a “Bonjour!”

Once in Gournay it was pizzas all round, and a well timed stop under the restaurant’s awnings as the heavens opened for at least an hour.

Although not raining all afternoon this changed matters. We’d planned that night to do the first of two nights of wild camping under the stars. I’d even pinpointed an area of appropriate woodland to pitch up. Following the last two days of rain, we decided to ride on to Gisors and chance finding a hotel for the night. Sound thinking, as it turned out, since we had further rain that evening which would have made the camp a tricky experience!

The extra distance to Gisors had also helped reduce Wednesday’s mammoth ride in and out of Paris, which I had slightly(!) underestimated. Accommodation was sorted out, and we had a good meal and a comfortable night in Gisors.

Wednesday

This was going to be a tough day in many respects: distance, terrain (our first gravel sections in France) and not least the labyrinth that is central Paris with its numerous stop/starts, one way streets, pedestrians and contraflow bike lanes. We even had tram lines to deal with. Needless to say we had some busy roads but also some quiet cut throughs in the extensive ‘Parc’ areas around Paris.

We followed the Seine, which gave us quieter options but a longer route to the centre. After a tricky time negotiating the currently closed off (but still busy) area around Notre Dame we finally crossed and followed the Seine, turning into the Avenue de la Bourdonnais and then into the Bassins du Champs de Mars (traditional posing area) for our victorious Tour Eiffel photo shoot.

Walter had already decided that the achievement of getting to Paris was his goal and had decided to make the return on the train. He had acted as our whistle-stop, on the move, tour guide as we’d ridden through central Paris, but on this trip our schedule had allowed us little time to look around the city.

After saying our goodbyes, Nick and I carefully threaded our way through the crowds and queues at the Eiffel Tower in the direction of the Trocadero and began a very gradual climb out of central Paris towards Versailles and Saint-Cloud.

The objective for Nick and I was to reach our hotel in Orgeval before 20.30, while the hotel desk was still manned. We didn’t want any problems accessing our accommodation, especially without Walter’s command of French to get us out of trouble! We didn’t leave Paris until late afternoon and had 25 miles or so to cover. Luckily the route took us through another extensive park area that was largely traffic free. By this time Nick and I were dragging each other along at different stages after a long day in the saddle.

We reached the hotel by 8pm and got a meal in the dubiously named Buffalo Grill next door. As with most eateries in France the food was excellent. Stomachs filled and spirits lifted we crashed out and slept well.

Thursday

We had taken the wise decision to book an “eat as much as you like” buffet breakfast for a mere 6.50 euros. We were going to need that. However, the packets of Emmental we took with us went a bit soft and warm in our jersey pockets!

So, down to the penultimate stage in France, Orgeval to Menerval, with another meal stop in Gournay on the way.

What lay ahead was one of the most difficult days I have ever spent on a bike, chiefly because of the fierce Westerly wind we had to deal with across open rolling country. This was mainly a buffeting side wind but for long stretches we were also going into it head on. By the time we’d reached the highest point on the hills we had been crucified by the wind.

Nick and I were getting separated by the conditions and the long climbs, so at Bachivillers we decided to do our own pace and meet in Gournay. After a brief, but much needed, coffee/sandwich stop in Le Coudray-Saint-Germer, I slogged it out to Gournay not knowing if Nick had in the meantime passed me or not. Luckily at a junction near Gournay Station, where I waited, Nick rolled in less than ten minutes behind me.

We were in the midst of France’s holiday fortnight, and Gournay now seemed as quiet as on a Sunday in November! Fortunately we found a supermarche for water and a delightful patisserie where we stocked up on pastries for the following day’s breakfast.

We had planned to do our second of two wild camps this evening, and it had stayed dry and reasonably warm. We hadn’t come all that way with the gear not to use it at least once!

After an evening meal in Gournay, we then had just enough daylight left to cycle 20km to an area north of Menerval to the proposed camp area where we set up for the night.

The wind dropped but we had the shelter of the fir trees anyway, and the soft forest floor gave us a comfortable pitch. Sleeping in the forest in the moonlight was quite an experience, and gave us an opportunity to test our camping kit.

Friday

The final leg in France was relatively short and gradually downhill once we had rejoined the old railway path.

After a leisurely pack down, bike re-pack and croissant breakfast, we made our way to Forges des Eaux for coffee and were easily persuaded to go for an omelette for top-ups. After yesterday’s Gournay ghost town, Forges was positively buzzing with human activity. Here we bumped into a guy from Ealing who, travelling alone, had been down to Geneva via Paris mixing cycle with train – kudos!

The final few miles were unhurried and enjoyable as we knew we would have plenty of time to look around Dieppe, grab a celebratory beer and evening meal. One or two quayside restaurants were clearly cashing in on their captive travelling audience: fish and chips for 26 euros!

Saturday

We had a pretty rough crossing on the ferry. Nick and I didn’t get much sleep in our allotted 3.5 hours as we were convinced that the lurching boat was throwing vehicles around, and that our bikes would be scattered in bits all over the boarding deck. A night trip to the cabin loo was an interesting experience!

When we disembarked, the crew looked nonchalant and everything was intact. Difficult to believe, but the bikes stood as we had left them.

Setting off into driving rain and a tough headwind in Newhaven was soul destroying after having had virtually no sleep! We made our way down to the seafront path and battled on to Shoreham as best we could, finding nowhere open for coffee and breakfast at that time of the morning, just clubbers spilling into the streets after their Friday night out.

We proceeded North up the Downs Link and were only able to stop for breakfast once we had reached the life-saving Cafe by the Lake, which had just opened when we arrived at 08.00. Phew! A big breakfast and two coffees got us on the way, and we joined roads near Rudgwick for a hilly but scenic route back to Farnborough. Not much left in the legs but we made it!

Tools, toiletries and travelling light – Nick Wood

We all tried to travel as light as possible, and for me nearly everything ended up on the kitchen scales. The consensus struck was for each of us to take two sets of cycling gear, one to carry and the other to wear. For casual appearances we included one t-shirt and a pair of shorts, plus flip flops or lightweight shoes. Our rain jackets were to double up as evening gowns. We each had a small amount of toiletries, like chamois cream and Sudacrem, which had been decanted into small travel vials.

So as not to duplicate, we pooled tools and spares etc. Walter carried a spare G-One tyre. Wanting something a little more substantial than our usual diminutive road pumps, I had bought a Topeak Road Morph which we shared for the trip. After having had to use it several times, I think we all agreed that it was a great bit of kit and well worth carrying. It was like having a small track pump out on the road.

Washing clothes, and more importantly, getting them dry, was difficult. I took a clothes line and pegs and would use them at every overnight stay. This would quite often take over the accommodation. Even so, putting on damp or unwashed gear became part of the morning ritual. By the time we reached home my gilet had been worn for six consecutive days and walked itself into the washing machine.

Having had my GPS fail a few days before the trip, I hastily bought a Garmin Edge 830. Without much time to get to know it, and after having set it to maximise battery life, I can say that it is a great bit of kit and a big improvement over previous models. This was demonstrated on day three, the day we rode into Paris. After nearly twelve hours of use, including navigation, the battery level remained above 50%. It enabled us to continue along our planned routes long after other units would have stopped working.

All three of us took a portable power pack (the excellent RAVPower 26800mAh portable charger) to recharge various devices. This was partly to avoid any rush for the few sockets we would eventually stumble upon. Opting for a large recharging capacity was carefully considered because they come with a reasonable weight penalty. In the end they performed well, recharging phones and Garmins numerous times over with plenty to spare.

With France on a national holiday, cafe stops were few and far between. We could travel all day without seeing anything open and we would pass through villages without seeing anyone at all. This made the rural roads exceptionally quiet. Because of this, ensuring we were nourished and hydrated became difficult at times. On the evening of the camp we had to ensure we had something to eat and drink for breakfast. Finding a supermarket and a patisserie open, we topped my rack up with water and pastries. In the morning we sat on a groundsheet consuming what we had taken, whilst quietly celebrating the fact we had survived the night.

Although we tried to travel light, at one point Terry discovered that his bottle of contact lens solution had become rather lighter than ideal – the contents had leaked out! So as we entered the outskirts of Paris we stopped at a pharmacy. Armed with just the French translation for what we needed, and the desire not to end up with conjunctivitis, Terry’s mission was a complete success. To celebrate, he joined Walter and I for a strong coffee at a nearby cafe where we all sat and contemplated negotiating the Paris traffic ahead of us.

Bikes & Gear – Walter Bremner

We all rode “do it all” steel and aluminium road bikes with 40mm Schwalbe G-One tyres. Nick ran tubeless, which did cause some issues when an early puncture would not seal and so a tube was put in. Overall the tyres served well as the route included a fair bit of gravel, some of it quite aggressive. Gear-wise, Terry had a 2×10 set up while Nick and I ran 1×11. We all used all of our gears. After a particularly wet first day my rear wheel developed an annoying squeak. Without a cassette removing tool it was impossible to get in to have a proper look, but a trip to a supermarket meant we could give it a squirt with silicone lube, which did the trick.

Nick carried panniers and a bar bag while Terry and I had seatpacks, frame bags and bar rolls. We also had top tube bags which we will ditch next time. The ease of access and extra capacity of Nick’s panniers was balanced by their extra weight. Getting used to packing a seat pack and being confident with any wobble caused some concern at the start of the day but was quickly forgotten. The convenience of Nick’s zip top bar bag was great and it ended up swallowing all sorts of kit from us all.

We carried lightweight sleeping bags and inflatable mats. Nick had a one man tent while Terry and I carried tarps and bivy bags. It isn’t until you try to lift your packed bike that you realise quite how heavy the collective weight of all your gear is. We didn’t go crazy on lightweight expense but we did shop around – what you carry and how much it weighs became very important.

We did have some torrential rain and unseasonably cold weather which saw us cowering under trees, searching the sky for glimpses of blue. Strong headwinds as we cycled back from Newhaven to Brighton in the dark at 04.30 were a sting in the tail. As we were expecting to be warm, Nick and I had fairly lightweight shower proof jackets which reached their limits quickly, while Terry had a Gore jacket. We spent a lot of time wet and putting wet kit on in the mornings. We also spent a lot of time with newspapers up our jumpers which had a strange comfort to it.

While Nick and Terry cycled there and back, most of my return was by train. Perhaps I was lucky but I had no problems getting my bike on trains, neither in France nor England (although I was travelling at 05.30 from Brighton). One warning – running up and down stairs in a French railway station trying to make a connecting train, with 4 minutes to do it and carrying a bike the weight of yourself, is not good for your heart!

The club’s ride leaders have made a few tweaks to the social ride groups to bring us in line with what is actually happening on the weekly rides. Principal among these changes is the introduction of a Fast Paced Cafe Ride to be led by Tony Morancie.

We are always keen to welcome other members to act as ride leaders in an official or unofficial capacity, particularly in the case of the FPSR now being led by Tony, so please let one of us know if you can help.

Those who do volunteer will be encouraged to go on the Ride Leader course run by Cycling UK (the cost of which is financed by the club).

The revised groups are detailed on the Social Rides web page, as well as below, and will run with effect from Sunday 25th August:

While we all contemplate our rides this weekend let’s take a moment to applaud club member Keith Griffiths as he tackles the iconic 1,200 km PBP Audax ride on Sunday.  Starting in the Parisian suburb of Rambouillet on Sunday evening Keith, alongside 6,000 other cyclists, has just 90 hours to complete the ride west to Brest on the Atlantic coast and back.  All of this is unsupported with only periodic feed stations and control checkpoints to break up the relentless ride.  Sleep is allowed if you’re prepared to queue and pay for one of the basic “beds” but most riders will be taking respite from the snoring in their bivvy bags along the way in bus shelters, canteen floors or on park benches.

PBP is an event that requires proof of 200 km, 400 km and 600 km Audax rides just to be eligible to enter. It only happens every 4 years and has a long and unique history, starting in 1891 following the first long cycle race, without rest, of 600 km from Bordeaux to Paris when amazingly 3 Brits completely dominated the podium taking the first 3 places.  The French were inspired by this event and the inaugural PBP followed in the same year. A brief history of the PBP can be found here:  https://www.audax.uk/about-us/history-of-paris-brest-paris/

You can join us in following Keith’s progress using the tracking tool here https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/RL6KAVW8

For anyone who is interested in joining the Audax cycling community we’re certain Keith will be very happy to help point you in the right direction when he’s got his breath back.  In the meantime there is a huge amount of information on the Audax UK website here https://www.audax.uk/

This has been a journey of many years in the planning for Keith, encompassing so many different components of riding a bike, from fitness, nutrition and even bike building.  It’s one that we very much hope he’ll be able to share with us all in more detail when it’s all over.

Main photo – That winning feeling! Jamie Parkinson taking the win ahead of the chasing bunch at the BC West Thames Series #13, Hillingdon

Well, what can we say… we are now well and truly at the heart of the 2019 racing calendar and FCCC’s Road Race team season continues to go from strength to strength. July has seen the team entering events across the board from road races, closed circuit races to town centre criteriums. Indeed, picking up on the latter, a big highlight of the month included seven FCCC riders racing in front of big crowds at the Farnham Town Centre Criterium.

Special congratulations to Giles Short, Gavin Lattimore and Joe Naylor, all of whom earned their 3rd Cat licence during the month. This adds to the three FCCC Road Race team members who we mentioned in last month’s round-up as gaining promotion in June.

A special mention also goes for the excellent finishes by Warren Vye and Mark Nuttall in the National Masters Circuit Race Championships held at Hillingdon on 13 and 14 July. A 9th place for Warren and a 12th for Mark are tremendous results in a highly competitive national championship.

The most notable results from a busy July are listed below:

2 July – Hillingdon BC West Thames Series Rnd 12, 3rd Cat, Luke Stratford – 7th Place, 4th Cat – Gavin Lattimore – 9th Place

3 July – Dunsfold Park Surrey League Vets Series #9, ME/MF Warren Vye – 6th Place

4 July – Hillingdon Masters Series #7, Masters 50+ Warren Vye – 10th Place

5 July – Dunsfold Park Surrey League, 4th Cat, Joe Naylor – 2nd Place, Gavin Lattimore – 4th Place, Giles Short – 7th Place

7 July – Lee Valley LE COL/Arcadian Series 2019 – Round 11, C, Warren Vye – 8th Place

7 July – Charters Peugeot Farnham Town Centre Races, 3rd Cat, Mark Nuttall – 6th Place

9 July – Hillingdon BC West Thames Series Rnd 13, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 1st Place, Luke Stratford – 7th Place

13 July – Hillingdon National Masters Circuit Race Championships, E, Warren Vye – 9th Place

14 July – Hillingdon National Masters Circuit Race Championships, B, Mark Nuttall – 12th Place

16 July – Hillingdon BC West Thames Series Rnd 14, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 6th Place, Luke Stratford – 10th Place

20 July – Omega Portsmouth Circuits #4, 3rd Cat, Jamie Parkinson – 2nd Place, 4th Cat – Noel Brooksbank – 3rd Place

23 July – Hillingdon BC West Thames Series Rnd 15, 3rd Cat, Adam Bassom – 9th Place, 4th Cat – Gavin Lattimore – 5th Place

25 July – Surrey League Handicap Series #14, Kitsmead Lane, E1234, Ollie Rastall – 5th Place

26 July – Dunsfold Park Surrey League, 4th Cat, Joe Naylor – 2nd Place

28 July – Hog Hill, LE COL/Arcadian Series 2019 – Round 13, C, Warren Vye – 10th Place

A worthy mention

A result which didn’t produce a top 10 finish for FCCC, but would have made any team’s sponsors very pleased with the media coverage, goes to Mark Nuttall and Matt Davies. In mid-July, both FCCC riders entered the Surrey League 3rd Cat Road Race on the popular Dunsfold 6.7 mile circuit. The below summary is taken from the Surrey League Race Report produced from the event:

The weather was perfect – warm and sunny conditions with little wind. Come race start, 50 plus riders took to the start line for the morning 3rd Cat event and with a strong field present, racing was going to be brisk. Paceline RT brought the biggest number of riders to the race with 8 so they did have the upper hand as regards numbers.

Once the riders joined the circuit (start of lap 1), coming down Wrotham Hill, 2 riders Mark Nuttall and Matt Davies, both from Farnborough and Camberley CC attacked. They quickly gained ground and passing me had a slender lead of around 15 seconds. A lone Addiscombe rider was in pursuit but was dangling just off the front of the steady-paced bunch.

As the leading duo passed me on the second lap, they had gained around 40 seconds lead, but the bunch behind were chasing. The front 3rd of the bunch was lined out with the sole purpose of catching the leading duo.

By lap 3, the leaders still had a good advantage, around 30-40 seconds, but by the reaction from the bunch behind, I doubt this pairing would go the distance. Behind them the bunch was gunning it. 2 riders had escaped the bunch and were chasing the leading duo, but this just created pace in the bunch. Also, the bunch had split due to the pace, but by lap 4 the bunch was together still chasing the Farnborough and Camberley guys.

By lap 5 Mark and Matt’s lead had come down slightly and just as they entered the final lap, they were caught.

If you’re interested in the idea of road racing, then get in touch with our RR secretary, Warren Vye. He looks after a friendly team with a wealth of experience who can pass on plenty of advice and tips.