Brentwood Town Centre Circuit Races

 

June 10, 2007; Brentwood, Essex

Larry Hickmott report and photos

Brentwood Town Centre Races 2007 (Home page)

 

Reynolds/Michelin Women's Road Race Series

Event sponsored by Brentwood Town Centre Partnership      

 

  

 

A small field of 26 riders took part if this event but the quality was certainly there. Not only was the World Championship Silver medallist for the Womens Pursuit, Rebecca Romero present, but a host of young and talented riders were also on the start line to do battle for points in the Women’s National Series.

 

The race was fast and because of that, there were few attacks able to go off the front for very long and it was riders dropping off the back that saw the field slim down lap by lap. Despite only doing a few of these crit events which is quite far removed from the Pursuit, Rebecca Romero was having no trouble staying out of trouble near the front and was seen doing more than her fair share of the pacing work at the front.

 

 

With National Womens Endurance coach Dan Hunt watching, the field  which contained lots of young riders, battled for the many primes that were on offer and towards the end, as lapped riders were pulled out, the main focus was on whether Corrine Hall would stay clear of the field to avoid being lapped. Lap after lap, the VC Londres rider got the crowd going as she continued to resist being caught.

 

It happened eventually and then the focus of the crowd turned to who would win the race with still a good dozen riders in contention. On the final lap, with 300 meters and the hairpin to go, the field was across the road with Rebecca Romero leading Katie Colcough, Lucy Martin and Alice Monger-Godfrey and the rest looking to pounce. Around the tricky hairpin and it was Alice Monger-Godfrey all the way to the line as she confidently sprinted for the line well clear of her rivals and having time to raise her arms in victory.

 

17 year old Alice wins the Womens event in a sprint finish from Laura and Emma Trott.

 

Reactions

 

Alice Monger-Godfrey: “Rebecca Romero was fantastic and it was inspirational to race against her. She was keeping the pace high which you need to shell out the not so strong riders. I have been ill for two weeks and so came here to do my best and try and get the win which I needed for the series. It was a really hard race and I got the first set of points which I was pleased with as I worked hard for that.”

 

“When it came to the end, I knew I had to be first round the corner and Rebecca had picked up the pace, and I just managed to dive underneath her and get around there first, put my head down and gave it everything. It was fantastic and I am so pleased. This is the one I wanted to win as I ride for Glendene.”

 

For a 17 year old who has been racing only for three years, Alice put in  a very polished performance, and Alice was quick to praise her coach Stuart Blunt. “I came from being a novice bike rider  and in coming to this level, he has had faith in me and it’s the first time he has seen me win a bike race. She also said her trips abroad to Belgium with Bryan Taylor has helped give her the confidence racing at this level.

 

On her aspirations in the sport  “I love the road but also want to do well on the track. It would be great if I could make the under 23 Academy. I just want to ride my bike and get the results I do and set goals as I go along. If I managed to get on a programme, that would be phenomenal”.

 

The field start the sprint to be first into the hairpin on the final lap.

 

Rebecca forces the pace and strings the field out.

 

Rebecca Romero “This is completely different to the pursuit. All my training has been to get up to speed and hold it constant where as this is on off and very sprinty. I have no sprint whatsoever and being bigger and heavier than everyone else, it takes time to get going. I found I wasn’t too bad riding in the wheels but any advantage I got on the straights, I lost on the bends.”

 

“The girls that finished ahead of me, I knew they had a lot more speed out of the corners than I did so I decided with 25 minutes to go to get to the front and drill them as hard as I could and wear them out which I almost got towards the end.”

 

“Me doing these races is not so much to go out and win but it’s a training stress I couldn’t replicate in training on my own. So I approach it in ‘I’ve got to push myself to the limit’ and get as many on off sprint efforts as I can.”

 

“The pursuit is still the main goal. I don’t know if I would be any good racing on the road – in theory probably not but I think I could do okay but to do that I would have to focus on it and I don’t do just okay. I go into events wanting to win. In my first crit race at Hillingdon with guys, if anyone went off the front I was with them because there is no way I’m getting left behind but you can’t be like that in road racing because you blow up and you’re out the back. Another thing I have to do in road racing therefore is learn to read the race and know when to go and listen to my body and how its doing.”

 

Womens National Series Race
1. Alice Monger-Godfrey, Glendene CC/Bike Trax/Specialized 56:07:00,
2. Laura Trott, VC Londres,
3. Emma Trott, VC Londres,
4. Lucy Martin, Team Chance,
5. Rebecca Romero, Science in Sport.com,
6. Jessica Allen, Pinarello RT/Rudy Project/Most/Continental,
7. Katie Colclough, Fat Birds CC,
8. Louise Mahe, Cycles Dauphin RT,
9. Hannah Bussey, Team Luciano/Everest Home Improvements/Bontrager,
10. Sophie Ruderman, Rahpa Condor RT,
11. Jane Kilmartin, Rahpa Condor RT,
12. Charlotte Colclough, Fat Birds CC, @4
13. Corrine Hall, VC Londres, 56:57:00, 1 lap
14. Sarah Byrne, GS Strada/Pinarello/Rudy Project/DMT/Corima , 2 laps
15. Caroline Gammell, XRT/Elmy Cycles/Orbea UK/Ipswich Audi, 2 laps
16. Rebecca Thompson, Evans Cycles RT, 2 laps

 

PHOTOS

Laura Trott (2nd), Alice Monger-Godfrey (1st) and Emma Trott (3rd).

 

 

She may be still a youth rider but Laura Trott was a revelation racing against older and more expereinced women riders.