CCB International

Mark Green has been exchanging emails with an International CCB and we thought this may be of interest.  I have copied some background information and put a permanent link on our blog should you wish to follow/contact them.  Apparently, "one of the" founding fathers" was an ex member of Cycle Club Basingstoke, John Ireland, Bernie remembers him.  You will see the similarity in club colours and logo."

"Sometimes I think our club has grown too much, but the essential spirit of the club has remained constant since our early days.  Our membership is 160+ at this writing, and I would estimate that 40-50 members race.  Mostly road races, but some cyclocross and off-road racing as well.  The rest of our members are club riders, most of whom enjoy fast riding in the racing style.  We are one club, with club riders and racers mixing together to a greater extent than most clubs over here.  In season we do 4 late afternoon rides a week, and 2 rides each weekend year around, road conditions permitting in the winter.

There are only a handful remaining at best of us originals from our club that remember John Ireland.  I can still feel his influence in the nature of the club.  Perhaps one day I will venture across the pond to explore my family roots in England.  I would love to do a ride with your club if and when that happens.

Much of our club communication is through a weekly email newsletter that I send out.  I will include your email update in the next issue.  I know it will be a big hit with the club.  I'll take the opportunity to tell the newer members a little about our history.  I haven't done that for a few years now.

Thanks again, and all the best from CCB International to Cycle Club Basingstoke."

Michael Zagachin

http://www.ccbracing.com/

http://www.redberryphoto.com/CCB

Thruxton & Team Basingstoke 24hr Ride

Thruxton

Craig Attwell our enthusiastic 18 year old (well next week he is) rode his first ever race today.  Speaking at the finish line he said “I went with all the attacks and got in to a few breaks and felt really good, but I just couldn’t keep with the final sprint, but I was really proud to have finished in the bunch” Well done Craig - next stop Eelmore..!

IN THE RED - AGAIN!

Andrew and Karl made the relatively early start to show the CCB colours at thruxton this morning. A bright but cool morning looked promising, but a stiff wind blowing down and across the "back" straight looked ominous The race was to be 12 laps and started a minute or two behind the elites. The wind was to prove to be the decisive factor in the race. On lap 6, a fairly sizeable break occurred with at least 8-10 riders which the peleton seemed disinclined to chase. In fact, with the wind blowing obliquely from right to left across the back straight, it was very difficult to hide. The group seemed unable to form effective echelons, and everyone made for the left side of the track. A number of riders seemed to perform this manoeuvre without any regard for their fellow riders on several occasions. This led to some riders being forced off the track, and then losing contact with the peleton. Sadly Karl was caught up with such an incident on lap 8. This also contributed significantly to the work involved in chasing and probably explained the peleton's reluctance.  Realising that, unless something was done, the pack would not be racing for points, on lap 8, Andrew made an effort to get on the front and try and organise a bit of a chase. Sadly only 2 or 3 other riders seemed to appreciate the significance of the situation, and were prepared to do any work. So, after a fairly long and sustained stint, including a decent turn up the hill and onto the wind, (and all the shouting!!) Andrew went into the red and got dropped out the back. Soon after, Andrew and Karl made contact again, found out what had happened to each and decided that a steady lap to warm down and an early finish at the end of the 11th lap were the order of the day!

Nevertheless, still a useful exercise: a high speed training ride, yet more race experience but still begs the question: how do you know if that's the break that's going to get away?  Oh! And the breakaway succeeded with the first rider from the pack only managing 10th place!

TEAM BASINGSTOKE 24hr RIDE

Our longstanding member Luke Brashier and his team are taking part in a charity event riding for 24hrs round Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit on the 18 & 19 of June.  They have a minimum target of £1,250 to raise for charity so please do see your way to helping them achieve their target for this worthy cause by pledging your support following the link below:

http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/teambasingstoke1

Luke will be joined by his wife Alison, Phil Watts and Graham Simpson (from North Hants Road Club) raising essential money to help the charity continue their ground breaking research.

Race Planning Meeting Reminder

Don't forget that we shall be meeting at the Basingstoke & North Hants Cricket Club http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=RG213DR on Friday 13 May at 19:00.  Those wishing to race and prospective new members are welcome.


We shall also try to discuss and organise the structure of the development group rides...so even if you do not plan to race please do come along if you can.

Eelmore Race 5

CCB riders were recovering from Sunday's incident so there were just 2 riders for race 5 of this Wednesday evening series.  Here Mark Renshaw AKA Andrew McCombe eloquently describes the evenings racing...

So, John and I were both there to fly the flag for CCB. Much smaller field than normal, about 40 riders. The race started slowly, but, as ever, and soon enough the inevitable breaks came. As usual it was a case of 2, 3 or 4 riders making a bit of a gap for half a lap or so, and then being reeled back in over the next lap or two. John did a good job of sitting in for most of the race with Andrew doing a fair bit of work on the front mid-race.

Strangely though, with about 6 laps to go, a small group of about 8 riders, including a couple of youth riders, made a bit of a break which seemed to stick at about 150-200 metres. Although the peleton upped its pace over the last few laps, and the gap seemed to close a bit, it never quite came back. Consequently, on the last lap, and following a pre-agreed plan, I (Andrew) gave John a bit of a lead out down the back straight (I saw 35mph on the Garmin!). I was able to close down the gap and delivered John to the back of the breakaway group just as we made the bottom corner. It was then up to John who, although tired from working hard to get to the front over the last few laps, was able to manage a decent enough sprint to claim 7th place. Not a bad evening's work and a few more points for the cause!

The Development Group to Return to The Victory Roundabout..!

If we can garner sufficient interest we are hoping to get these rides starting again every Sunday throughout the year and possibly a Saturday also; if you are interested please let us know - keep an eye on this blog for further details.

From 27 April to 8 May 2011

Time Trialling:  Andrew McCombe took a break from road racing and rode the NHRC 10 at Bentley (27/04/11) with a time of 24:43 and placed 14/28.  I believe Mrs. McCombe who is a Triathlete also rode.

Jeff Triner rode the non-aero NHRC TT at Aldermaston (05/05/11) with a time of 25:41 and placed 10/25.

Road Racing

SERRL: Scott Oatridge continues his busy start to the racing Season with another SERRL road race saying “he went with every break and attacked several times himself, but none were successful, but when a break did get away he had nothing more to give, so he rolled in with the bunch”. Surely with race fitness improving it must just be a matter of time before his efforts begin to bear fruit.

Eelmore Race 4: Another large turnout for this one with 4 CCB members riding.  A repeat of Race 3; a well organised team attacked and a rider got away with his team mates repeatedly and, successfully, riding on the front to slow things down.  Thankfully this race passed without serious incident and the CCB were off colour on this one and came away empty handed.

Carnage at Glorious Goodwood:  It was great to see the CCB out in force with 6 riders.  After the heavy rain of the previous night it turned out to be a dry - if a tadge windy - race with a sensible sized field.  Everything was going fine, with us all feeling strong and riding near the front.  Scott in his inimitable style attacked and was joined by two other riders; their gap was around 200m and, with the wind, it was unlikely to last; a touch of wheels sent Scott to the tarmac with one other rider behind, thankfully Scott was not seriously injured but he did reinstate his road rash and with a few days recovery and his wheels straightened he should be back in the saddle soon.    3 other riders Jeff, Luke and Karl, at about halfway mark, were taken down by a considerable crash in the bunch at around 28 mph which resulted in the race being neutralised whilst medics attended what appeared to be some very  serious injuries.  Jeff later confirmed he had a broken elbow (get well soon), Luke was grazed and was eager to re-join whilst Karl who was an effective barrier came away with cuts bruises and a little road rash, but his beautiful Colnago is a write off;   the race eventually restarted with just 3 fast laps.  The 2 remaining riders, Andrew and Jon probably placed top 20.