The Ward effect Part 2

Thank you to Graham Doe for this report. Read on and enjoy……

Last weekend Welland Valley CC were well represented at the rescheduled Finsbury Park 25M TT on the F2A/25 course at Cambourne. More great results were achieved with Simon Ward posting another season best 1:01:42, Andy Poulton achieving a PB, and his first time under the hour for nearly 20 years with a great 56:05,  and me  riding a stonking 6-minute PB at 55:17.

As team members will know from last week’s report Simon Ward is our resident coach and now has another result to his growing collection.

I had enjoyed a good winters training when disaster struck. A run in with the scrum at Bottle Kicking, a car crash and bike crash in quick succession somewhat decimated any chances of a good TT season. But with a blossoming  love affair with TTing (for which Gary Roberts was the match maker) I approached Simon to help me try and get the season back on track, and find some late season success.

Simon and I agreed we work together on my goal of going under the hour for a 25 mile TT, which is by far my preferred distance over the hustle and bustle of 10s. We settled on the September races as the key events, and for the last 12 weeks, we have worked on a plan to get me in the best place I could be for these.

With a focus on local loops and segments, the training plan was easy, fun to follow, and flexible enough to fit into a busy lifestyle. Even the idea of an early morning solo 10M TT on the A6 seemed to make sense as we built towards races in September.

After weather-related cancellations, and not making the cut for other  25 events, it was with some relief that the Finsbury Park TT was on and I was able to join the 100+ other riders in the Cambourne area on Saturday.

With good weather, some last-minute hints and tips on the course from the coach, and pre-race advice on nutrition I got to the start time in the best place I’ve been for months. I started off slightly nervous about racing on a dual carriageway, but this soon went as I realised there was plenty of room for cars and bikes, and a fantastic pot hole-free surface to ride on.

I hit the first turn at a great speed and realised all I had to do was hang on for dear life for another 18 miles and the hour would be in sight. With a few other cyclists to pull me along I was able to do this, and cross the line well under the hour at 55:17, with a big cheesy grin and £15 prize money for one of the most improved times on the day.

I am now looking to finish off the season with the 5 mile dash and another 25, then have a good rest and start planning for a full season under the watchful eye of Wardy.

I couldn’t recommend Simon more highly to anyone in the Club looking to improve their cycling and look forward to hearing of more of his success in the future.