Gulls TTT Race Report – Espresso (Richmond UCI Reverse x2)
The excitement was apparent in the team prior to race day, with the rarefied heights of a full complement of 8 riders. Carrying over from last week we had
- Vincent Davis
- Ashley Oldfield
- Ryan Fiege
- Nate Fulcher
- and myself.
Back in after a few weeks absence was Tom Cassidy. Then also Szatmari Oj Daniel a regular of other Cryo TTT teams, and finally TTT novice Damian Van As.
Overall a really strong line up with a mix of large power riders and lightweight climbers. Vince warned us that he had blown up in a IRL race the day before, so was feeling pretty terrible. As the foundation of this team since its formation, this was worrying news. Nate had also destroyed his large frame up the Epic KOM in the 3R Turbocharged series two days prior, so wasn’t confident either.
We started off at a fast pace, driving up the early climbs, with the need to rein it slightly in order to keep the team together. The course was a real challenge, with the final longer climb forcing everyone to work hard. The way I was riding the long flat section felt more like a false flat.
We lost Nate, whose efforts on Tuesday were being felt. Incredibly though Vince, either battling through his fatigue or just coming good, was riding at his usual level and contributing some big pulls.
Tom, Damian, Ash, Ryan, and OJ were also all working hard, with Ash achieving a new record 20 minute power and hitting some big watts per kg numbers. The pure watts that Tom, Ryan and Damian can hit (normalised between 335 and 360) really helped drive us on. Personally I was suffering and just battling to hang on, not helped by an ill advised super tuck that lost me contact with the group and left me burning matches to get back on the train.
The final few kilometres saw everyone digging deep and we crossed the line with a few expletives over Discord. Having regained our composure the team felt that we’d managed a good time. As the results came in we were sitting in 9th position and the thought flickered that we had a chance of Premier League qualification. With the next zone completed, we were in the precarious 10th position with two more zones to ride. Unfortunately in the early hours I saw that we were sitting in 13th place and 11 seconds off qualification.
Disappointing to miss out on the Premier League, but 13th place was a great result for us on a really difficult course. The Espresso Premier League, however, definitely now feels achievable.
Nate’s live feed – https://www.facebook.com/Natefulcher59/videos/10157966443020376/
