Glendene CC/Biketrax
Brentwood Town Centre Criteriums
Sunday, 4th of June;
Sponsored by Crest Nicholson plc | Brentwood Town Centre Partnership |
| GKN Chep | Brentwood Leisure Trust
ELITE CIRCUIT SERIES EVENT
Post Race Reactions
With the winner not speaking English, or at least he didn't at the Archer GP, the first rider we spoke to was Rob Hayles who had just come back from Luxembourg where he helped an Under 23 GB Team win the yellow jersey. A week which he said was fantastic working with a team of riders he had a lot of fun riding with.
He was however pleased that he was a lone rider in the race at Brentwood where he could ride for himself and not get in the tangle that PCA got into at the finish as James Taylor explains below.
"I'm having fun playing off everyone else" he said despite being disappointed not to have won it. The day before at Hillingdon, when he was off the front of the race, he had a mechanical and was made to go back to the bunch which ruined his chances of a high place there (he was sixth), but second at Brentwood showed that despite the long week in Luxembourg in the wind, rain and big hills, Rob still had some form for the crits.
With three quarters of a lap to go, Rob attacked hard out of the final turn - was he going for a long one or just testing the legs? Going for a long one he explained, then adding "I was really tired at the end as my legs are still sore from last week. I needed a bit more of a run up to get a bigger gap. It was horrible jumping in and out of these bends. I'm so tired, I don't know whether to race or train!" We'll see what he decided when we catch up with him at Crawley.
James Taylor: A former winner, James was third in a race where two of the PCA riders dominated the breaks off the front, first Tony Gibb and then Freddy Johannson. I felt really good today and managed to stay near the front the whole race James told us. I covered a lot of moves and it seemed to be Tony's today. He was riding really strong and its his type of course. Then at the finish, I thought Freddy had it before he lost his legs.
That caused me a bit of a problem because I had banked on going round Rob and suddenly Freddy was in the way so it didn't quite go right for us. So disappointed with the finish but then Mariusz is flying.
I asked James if the standard has improved as much for him as a rider as it appears to have from the outside? The standard is a lot higher, definitely. Three years ago when I was second to Simon Gaywood, there were only 10 finishers, and although 19 today is still not loads, having that many hurtling around those final five laps, it was pretty full on for everybody. It felt good. Without a doubt the standard of racing in the UK has gone up.
Four or five years ago I'd be able to get around a Premier Calendar without really training for it, and now I'm still not training for it, I'm not getting round. This is my type of racing and what I want to do. Talking about the upcoming race at Crawley on Wednesday, he wasn't sure how he'd be going due to work commitments. Hopefully the rest will do me good because I have been pretty full on the last week. We have a good team this year and are going to hit these races enmass. We have a really good sponsor and Simon Barnes is a nice guy. It's his enthusiasm that has got eight good guys together and hopefully we'll have a good season.
Talking us through that final lap from the time Hayles attacked, James says Rob attacked, and I looked around and no-one wanted to move by the look of it so I jumped really hard and got onto him halfway down the back straight and sat there. I think he saw me there and resigned himself to the fact it was shit or bust really. So coming around the bottom turn, I was thinking its going to be a 1-2 (Freddy and James) and that's going to look good and then I see Freddy looking like he'd hit the wall. It was like, oh dear, so I went to go one side of Rob, Mariusz came through before I could and stuck me back onto Rob's wheel and then Malcolm came up the inside and we all kind of jumbled up on the right hand side which was a shame.
That's bike racing.
Freddy Johannson: It was an attack by Jamie Newall that kicked off a two up break with Freddy Johannson, who had already been in a break during the race. The young 20 year old Swede who is over here staying in Wales with Magnus Backstedt, then went it alone after Newall sat up as the bunch were within seconds of catching them.
"I caught up with the guy in green (Jamie) and when I caught him, I thought we can swap around and then suddenly he disappeared. I think the bunch were almost on us so I then think I can go from the front and when I did they let me go. I decided to ride hard and see how it goes and it went good for two laps on my own but then as I approached the bell lap, I was thinking I am going to die on this lap. My heart rate was up to 205 and it is a long time since I have seen that. Those last two laps I was like 'beep, beep - beep, beep, in the red zone!"
"I totally died on the last lap" he explained to us. I didn't know where they were behind me and then they caught me with 50 metres to go so I was really disappointed. But I give it my best shot."
Having seen Freddy's name a lot in the results, but as yet no interview with him to find out more about his goals, I asked how he found racing in the UK? "I really enjoy the racing here because the cycling here is bigger than it is back in Sweden. You have a lot more guys who are strong. In Sweden you have maybe three teams who can fight out the victory and then maybe 50 riders who ride in the bunch. Here everybody races and that is a big difference. I am really enjoying being on my bike again and having fun".
He is hoping to have better legs at Crawley as he builds up his form for some important races in Europe. "I really love being in Wales. The training roads I do with Tom Smith (young PCA rider) are really good too."
Story of the race in Pictures below:
Podium for the Elite Race; Rob Hayles, Mariusz Wiesiak and James Taylor.
No doubt about the victor as Mariusz Wiesiak crosses the line ahead of Rob Hayles (behind Wiesiak) and James Taylor.
Flag is raised ready for the off...
Riders get away at the start of a punishing hour circuit race where the pace of the race saw riders being dropped in the few first 10 minutes.
One of three dead turns made this race a hard one and there was more action at the back as riders dropped off one by one and two by two whereas breaks off the front were few and far between due to the quality in numbers in the group.
Martin Forde in one of his many digs off the front.
Tony Gibb looks back to see who is on his wheel as he has a dig with Jamie Newell right on him whilst behind the bunch splits.
Tony Gibb in the most promising break of the race which failed to stay away.
Tony Gibb and Dean Shannon are chased by eventual winner Mariusz Wiesiak.
Chasing Tony Gibb and Dean Shannon is a group of four including Mariusz Wiesiak, James Taylor, Diego Garavito and Freddy Johannson.
Team Milton Keynes Columbian import, Diego Garavito pulls the bunch along in pursuit of Newell and Johannson.
Freddy Johannson from Sweden in his lone attack. He joined Jamie Newell in the closing five laps of the race and when Newell sat up as the bunch closed in, Freddy kicked again but unfortunately for him he died in the closing straight and was swamped by the bunch.
RESULT
1. Mariusz Wiesiak, Team Nippo 1:08:01
2. Robert Hayles, Team KLR
3. James Taylor, Plowman Craven RT
4. Malcolm Elliot, Plowman Craven RT
5. Fred Johannson, Plowman Craven RT
6. Karl Freeman, Team Milton Keynes/Phil Corley
7. Warrick Spence, London Dynamo/Cycle Fit
8. Ross Muir, Evans Cycles
9. Martin Form, Team Lloyds TSB
10. Diego Garavito, Team Milton Keynes/Phil Corley
11. Perez Brett, Rapha Condor
12. Tom Smith, AW Cycles.co.uk,
13. Dean Shannon, Heron Cyclesport
14. David Clarke, Team Nippo
15. Chris Doel, Pacific Racing
16. Craig Butland, Plowman Craven RT
17. Jamie Newall, Evans Cycles
18. Andy Lyons, Heron Cyclesport
19. Ben Hallam, Glendene CC/Bike Trax.Specialise
