Nadine Spearing. Race 1 Learning Curve

There was a big turnout for round 1 of the Milton Keynes Season Starter, of around 30-35 women. Milton Keynes Bowl was the venue for the road crit race of 25miles, equating to 35 laps round the bowl. I was sure I'd get really bored going round in circles, but actually there was enough going on in the race to keep me occupied and switched on.

The startline (I'm on far left):

The race was run as a handicapped race, with the Elite/1/2/3 cat riders setting off 10 second before a large group of 4th cat riders and having to catch the 4th cat group to be on equal terms. I got a front row start in the E/1/2/3 group and the pace was high with a lot of shouting and a sense of panic in the group as we made an effort to catch the 4th cats up. We caught them pretty quickly with some good through and off, losing a few riders from the group in the process.

Somewhere in the bunch:

The pace slowed down a bit midway through the race, which was a welcome relief. No-one seemed to want to dictate the pace and the laps ticked by. Before the race I had a plan, which I largely stuck to for the first half. Then in the second half things got more interesting as people started making attacks, trying to beak free from our 12 strong leading group. At this point I forgot all about my race plan, and it was like a bull to a red rag, and every time there was a big attack I would chase it down. This was great fun, but I knew that these big efforts would take their toll before the end of the race. At one point Olympic triathlete Hollie Avil made a good attack and got a decent gap. I sprinted over to her, the only rider who managed to bridge the gap, and the 2 of us went clear. We worked together to stay away, but unfortunately she wasn't strong enough to keep the pace up and we decided to slow back down as the group was gaining on us anyway. Hollie had another attack near the end of the race and I went with her again, but this was a bad move as I should have remembered from the first time we couldn't stay away, and I would have been better off saving my energy for the closing stages.

Hollie Avil and I break away:

I was determined that if a break got away that I was going to go with it, however none of the breaks were successful and our lead group stayed together to the end. For the final 2 laps the pace really rocketed, like a spring uncoiling. This really favoured the bigger girls who could maintain a high power, but me however was left with nothing but searing pain in my legs and had nothing left for a final sprint over the line. I finished somewhere around 10th/11th position with Hollie also paying the cost for the earlier efforts.Although I lost out in the final 2 laps, I take with me great confidence in my form and have learnt some very valuable lessons in race tactics. The race was such good fun that I can't wait for the next one.