Race Report – S26/10 TT – Exeter Wheelers – Sarah Lakey 2nd
Race Report S26/10 T
A good squad of Mid Devon CC Race Team traveled up to Honiton for the Ex Wheelers 10 Mile TT. Sarah Lakey came in 2nd woman. Her report is below
The good, the bad and the ugly!
On Sunday myself and a handful of MDCC boyz took once again to the S26 10 mile tt course near Honiton. The conditions were actually warm but windy. All of our warm ups had to be shortened as the numbers didn’t arrive until 20 minutes after the sign on time, leaving early riders like Mike Gratton only 40 minutes to change, warm up and get to the start line, a process that would normally take over an hour.
This was my 3rd race on this course and had everything to prove following the first 2 disastrous rides.
Race 1 – The Bad….. 1st race of the season and a horrible headwind on the way to the turn which saw me finish in 3rd place with a disappointing time. Nothing more to say as it all went wrong.
Race 2 – The Ugly….. 4th race of the season with a strong headwind on the return leg. Finished in 4th place and a rubbish time and only gaining 3 seconds on my previous race on the same course. Its still a marginal gain but I wasted time settling into my rhythm and coasted over the line in shear annoyance of my poor performance.
Race 3 – The Good….. 5th race of the season with 20 mph headwind on the way out. I stood on the start line I knew my body wasn’t ready for the pain I was about in inflict on it and the speed I was going to ask myself to deliver. Count down started, a few last big gulps of air and go. I did the complete polar opposite of the previous race and went off too fast but settled within the first mile. On joining the DC the headwind did its worst and at both the 2.5 mile and turn I was behind time to my race plan. Fortunately, the strong tail wind blew me back in 10.30 putting me into 2nd place and taking 55 seconds of my previous race time. Whilst enjoying the banter, coffee and cake after the race it came to light that it was a ‘slow’ day and I was one of a few that enjoyed the race and went faster. For me significantly faster.
Too date I have achieved a 1st, 2nd and 3rd placing and two 4th places in what is always a small but strong female field.
Although my racing has been slightly hampered by a month long cold, I know there is more to come and speed to be gained. My next race is on Wednesday, on the same course, and is also the second round of the Devon Cup in which I currently sit in joint 3rd place.
Whilst my time on Sunday was 3 minutes behind the winner, the machine that is Crystal Spearman, I leave you with some words from my coach;
‘A quicker ride on a day when everyone went backwards is a great achievement’.
