Bizkaiko Bira 2007

Report: Chris Furber, April 2007

Day One

Riders from the GB Para-cycling team travelled out to the port city of Bilboa on the North Coast of Spain for the traditional season opening Bizkaiko Bira Stage Race. Three squad members, Gary Williams LC1, Mark Bristow LC1, and Darren Kenny CP3 were joined by two guest riders from Wales, Russ White LC1 and debutant Simon Richardson LC3. Head Coach Chris Furber and Mechanic Pete "Spike" Taylor completed the group.

Day one began with a road race consisting of 3 laps of a rolling course in the hills above Bilbao between Zalla and Balmaseda and the rider woke to dark skies and heavy rain. The pace started high but the GB riders settled into the early race moves working well together to get Russ White into a positive early break. Simon Richardson rode a good race in his category only losing contention over the last few km to finish 5th. At the front of the race the pace was being pushed by Austrian Riders Manfred Gattringer and Wolfgang Eibeck which caused the main bunch to fragment on the second lap.

GB Debutant Simon "Shirley" Richardson (LC3) at the Getxo Velodrome

Gary Williams and Russ White worked hard together to bridge to the leaders but just as Gary was about the make contact he punctured and lost 30 seconds, he rolled in on his own in 9th place 1 minute 20 down. Behind him several riders rebunched including Mark Bristow and Russ White. Bristow, who also punctured, won the gallop to take 10th and Russ White was 13th overall. Darren Kenny suffered from an upset stomach and was unable to complete the distance. Austrian Manfred Gattringer took the win and Yellow Jersey.

The second stage was over 800 metres or 2 laps of the Getxo Velodrome. The GB riders used their track experience to good effect making some inroads into the morning deficits. Darren Kenny recovered from his earlier problems to take the win in the CP3 category by 2 seconds over old adversary Javier Ochoa. In LC3 Simon Richardson was 4th @ 4 seconds but the most exciting category was LC1. Mark Bristow rode to an awesome time of 1.02.4 to take the lead and then Gary Williams, more renowned for his endurance than his sprint, finished just 0.2 seconds behind. The last few riders tried and failed to topple the GB duo from the top two steps of the podium including current World Champion Wolfgang Eibeck but it was the Yellow Jersey wearing Gattringer who denied the pair finishing with 1.02.1 to take the stage win and retain the lead.


Darren Kenny picks up the Trophy for his Stage 2 win!

Day two

Another grey and drizzly day in Bilbao and the team heads off to what appears to be an industrial part of town for the stage 3 time trial. A quick course inspection reveals a road that leads out past a lake into the countryside for 3km before a dead turn and back. The riders are due to go off in reverse order on GC so first up for Team GB is Darren Kenny who needs a good time to get him back on track. 8:21 is the fastest time of the day so far and Kenny is pleased. Next up is Simon Richardson who is looking to overhaul a 5 second advantage of Venzusalan Victor Hugo. Richardson, who leads the Rudy project series back in the UK, posts 9.23 but Hugo goes 9.17 and now it's 11 seconds that needs to be found.

The LC1's then go off back to back with Russ White up first going 8.24, Mark Bristow goes 8.51 and Gary Williams finishes top Brit with 8.20. With Williams and Kenny so close over this distance it bodes well for the 3km match up that sees them Head to Head at the VISA Paralympic World Cup in Manchester on the 11th May. The Stage goes to Alain Goolaerts of Belgium in 7.47, one of several riders competing who are "classified out" (basically, carrying a disability that does not qualify them to compete at the Paralympics) of IPC events.

Stage 4 is a hill climb, and a good one at that. 4.1km from Ugao to Zollo. The Heavens open again and the decision is made that the trikes should not ride. Again top Brit is Gary Williams, further strengthening his top 10 overall place with a 12.13. Russ White's 12.35 puts him 11th overnight but Mark Bristow drops back to 18th with 13.49 as he conserves his energy for what will almost certainly be a bunch gallop in tomorrow's final stage. In CP3 Darren Kenny comes good with a 12.33 moving him up to 25th and Simon Richardson is just outside the 15 min mark. Diminutive Spaniard Cesar Neira (CP4 and winner last year) rides a fantastic race to take the stage and the yellow jersey in a time of 11.03. He's good and deserves to lead, looking classy on the road - watch out for him at the VISA World Cup.

Dusk descends over Bilbao and the world famous Guggenheim museum can be seen from our hotel window

Day three

The Final day of the Bizkaiko Tour and guess what? It's raining. 28 degrees and clear skies back in the UK. Raining in Spain!! The last stage is a 5 lap bunch race and the GB riders have work to do but Gary Williams is suffering from a bug, possibly the same thing that affected Darren Kenny on day one, he decides to race but it's clear that he's below par and is unable to complete the distance. In LC3 Simon Richardson is fired up to take third from Hugo but Hugo knows where the threat lies and marks Simon for the entire race duration. Simon has to settle for 4th but it's been a good outing for the new "boy"!

At the front of the race it's cagey and exciting as riders find the pace too high to bunch is whittled down to just 10 riders including race leader Cesar Neira, Javier Ochoa, and the 3 Brits, Bristow, Kenny and Russ White. Going into the last lap and the rain is making the course like an ice rink and the riders dice with the road markings and the back markers they are passing. With 5km to go Russ White, who had been highly active throughout, goes down in the middle of the bunch ending his hopes of the stage win. Kenny and Bristow both look well placed as they come into the final 500 metres but they don't quite have enough left in the legs. Bristow takes 3rd and Kenny 5th which gives him his second stage win in CP3 and lifts him to 2nd in his category behind Ochoa, a remarkable comeback after the first stage disaster. Mark Bristow is disappointed but moves up to 9th overall. Russ White limps in at 25th and takes 12th overall.

The race is over and the GB team has had a difficult few days in a race they normally dominate but, the standard of riders in this event has gone up by a considerable margin this year with 14 nations now competing and they'll be back next year with hopes of putting up another good fight. Darren Kenny dedicated his 2 stage wins to Billy the Goat!

Spike was assaulted by a Spaniard with a car door whilst running to the aid of Russ White and has a nastily positioned bruise in a very delicate area to prove it.

See you back in the UK for the World Cup. There'll be full coverage on www.britishcycling.org.uk