News

Weekend Racing

A brief summary but it was an action-packed weekend. First, John Coolahan took bronze in the London Track Championships in the Omnium (the event where you ride several different types of race, eg sprint, pursuit etc) and John also joined up with two others to win gold in the team sprint competition. All in all, a superb ride.

Meanwhile on the tarmac, Maryka Sennema finished fifth overall in the Essex Giro Womens Two Day race, supported by Sabrine Homrigshausen. You can also read their account over on the forum. With this excellent result Markya's also at the top of the rankings in the London Womens Cycle Racing league. Also road racing, but with Pearson Cycles, club member Luke Wallis took ninth place in the Toachim GP.

Finally congratulations to Alan Sherman for breaking the hour in a 25 mile time trial on Sunday in the West London Cycle Association event. Naz Peralta and Peter Wright were also there but Alan stole the show with this ride. Don't forget to update Martin O'Sullivan with your fastest times if you've set a PB recently too.

Club 10 cancelled - Saturday replacement

Please note the Wednesday Club 10s have been cancelled due to roadworks, the A24 is being resurfaced. As a replacement, the Kingston Phoenix's Frank Cubis has come up with alternative Saturday editions on a revised course. See the forum for more.

London Track Championships

This coming Saturday, the 31 July, sees the London Track Championships. This is first time this event has run for nearly a decade and the club's John Coolahan will be in action. The event features a full Olympic style omnium event, as well as separate Team Pursuit and Team Sprint competitions, plus more! It makes for good spectator sport. For full details and more see online at http://www.hernehillvelodrome.com/whats-on/londonchampionships

Tour of the Surrey Hills

Imagine a route taking in almost every climb on the North Downs around Surrey. Well that's the route taken by the Tour of the Surrey Hills. The ride is on Sunday 15 August, starting at 09.00am from Shere Village Hall and entry forms can be found on the Audax UK website. More details have been sent in by the organisers, you can view them online here.

Photo: Stephen Roche

Irish Tour de France winner Stephen Roche stopped by for a ride in Richmond Park

Help Wanted

The club is helping to organise the LVRC National Championships in Surrey on Sunday 8 August and help is needeed. Race organiser Richard Williamson has been in touch with a reminder and needs your help. "Following my previous request for assistance for this important days racing so far I have received four offers of help from our club of over 200 members. They are Maryka Senema Jim Ley,Dave Wylie and Narayan Peralta. If the likes of Gary Dodd Sigma Sport can marshal LVRC races and win them surely some of you can spare a full or half day in this lovely part of Surrey. LVRC racing is for over 40s and you will all get there sometime so come on people help when its need".

Webmaster: if you can spare the time on the day, please get involved. Our sport does not happen by itself, it relies on help from the grass roots. If you have raced this year but have yet to contribute, please get in touch with Richard.

South-East Track Championships

He might do the shortest races possible but he writes the longest reports! John Coolahan rode the South-East of England track championships and had a good ride, narrowly missing out on a title. Still, this is his first attempt and further success is bound to follow. For the full story, click here.

Club 10s threatened by roadworks

Roadworks are due to take place on the A24 to replace a water main across both carriageways from 21 July onwards. This could mean traffic restrictions in place and possibly the Club 10s will have to be curtailed because of this. More news in due course.

LVRC National Champs - Your Help Needed

The Kingston Wheelers and South Western Road Club are jointly promoting the LVRC National championships on 8 August on the Dunsfold circuit and help is needed in the form of marshals and experienced drivers. Please get in contact with organier Richard Williamson at richard_print@yahoo.co.uk if you can help. "This is an important event in the vets' calendar and I need plenty of help says Richard.

Kingston Wheelers Summer BBQ

Waggon and Horses, 7.30 pm Monday 5 July

Tickets sales are closed for the club's summer BBQ at the Waggon and Horses pub in Surbiton. Thanks to everyone for booking in advance.

Newport Track weekend

Click on the photo to start a slideshow of images. Thanks to Nick Hussey for the images.

13 riders set out last weekend to the Newport velodrome in Wales, writes Will Horrocks. Included were five or so track "veterans" including the hugely experienced John Coolahan. Two sessions of three hours each spaced over the two days certainly meant a thorough workout for all involved. The coaches were were very helpful for the nwbies and certainly made the learning curve not so steep (unlike the banking!). The sessions included skill sessions to improve bike handling within a large group on the track as well as work based sessions which included individual 200m sprints, team sprints, team pursuits and a 40 lap scratch race.

The weekend was split with a night spent over in Cardiff bay with beer the chosen recovery fuel for most riders. All were in good spirits the next morning though the legs were rather weary. Thanks must go out to Danny and Cathy Clifford who organised the weekend, Keith Griffin for driving the minibus, Nick Hussey for organising the dinner and most of all to our two coaches Steve and Nick who were highly informative and very helpful. Another booking is set to be arranged in late november/early december and we hope to take closer to 30 riders then for this truly great experience.

200m times

John Coolahan	12.28
Damien Breen	13.34
Sam Hodgson	13.38
Will Horrocks	13.65
Richard Johnson	13.75
Keith Griffin	14.00
Nick Hussey	14.35
Danny Clifford	14.53
Emily Bagnall	14.97
Cathy Clifford	15.06
Brian Shepherd	15.21
Sheila Hunt	16.22

Broken Collarbone for Kadir

Sometimes races see crashes and often it's a case of torn clothing, bar tape and some road rash. But cyclists often suffer from broken collarbones and as the x-ray shows, Leona Kadir snapped the bone in two. Ouch! There's never a good or bad time to do this but Leona was coming into some strong form and had just ridden the Etape de la Defonce stage race in Wales, so it's especially bad to be off the bike now. Get well soon Leona.

The Fireflies Ride

The Fireflies Tour is getting a lot of publicity at the moment, writes Nick Hussey. Rightfully so, as it is a unique and extremely tough challenge. This year 75 riders, from teenager to OAP, novice to racer, are riding from Geneva to Cannes via 8 days of constant climbing of the great Alpine ascents. As I write, they are summiting the Cormet De Roseland at 6,453ft, or 1,967m. Today they will ascend 3800m over 160km. That's about average.

All this is in support of Leuka, a charity based at Hammersmith Hospital making actual gains in the fight against Leukaemia. They should hit the £1m raised in 10 years mark this week! I got involved four years ago, as the ride is mostly media types. And as a mad keen cyclist I was drawn to it. When I learnt about the connection to Leuka, it all made sense. My Mum overcame cancer when I was a kid, but it scarred us all. And my best mate also overcame it more recently. I was hooked.

What is really unique about the ride is the attitude and camaraderie. You don't just ride it as a cycling challenge. You have to be chosen, more on fundraising enthusiasm and attitude, than cycling prowess. It is always oversubscribed, and many are left disappointed. So this will never be a Sportive Challenge open to the highest bidders.

Background
It came about 10 years ago when 5 mates rode the Alps to support members of the Scott family (of Ridley Scott fame) who had succumbed to Leukaemia. It didn't have a name that year. But when they rode again, descending the Turini (amazing descent, lots of steep hairpins, very pretty) the light had gone. They would have to descend in darkness. But amazingly, they found their way was lit by thousands of fireflies. Thus they had their name. Coincidentally, there is a gene that helps Fireflies glow, that has also been used successfully in Leukaemia research, so the choice was perfect!

What is particularly addictive about the event is the camaraderie between riders. There are huge differences in ability and experience, but everyone helps each other. What I loved is that you just ride, eat, drink, look at beautiful beautiful scenery, eat, poo, sleep, ride, etc. There is no daily grind to interrupt you, and it becomes very spiritual and pure (and I'm a cynical bastard). Then you arrive in Cannes and BOOM!, the maddest, naffest place, all neon and leopard skin. It's quite a shock to the system. But it's amazing riding en masse down the Croissette, whistles blowing.

I didn't do the full ride in 2007, as I had a herniated disk in my lower back, so I'd vowed to do the full ride this year. But fate gave me another two knackered disks in my neck and I had to pull out in March, as it was obvious I couldn't ride. So this year I've helped a novice Irish rider called Garrett get up to scratch in a very short time (Leona will remember me buying a complete new set of cycling gear in Sigma with him just four weeks ago) and doing the Fireflies Colnagos...

Nick gets his paws on the Colnago

Founding rider Chris Haworth knew the guys at Colnago, and as it was the 10th Anniversary this year, we fancied chancing our arm at getting some Fireflies Colnagos made for the riders and raising some money. Nine months later we have had 15 EPS and 15 Master X-Light custom built frames made for Fireflies only! Ernesto Colnago oversaw it all and we had them delivered to the Rapha coffee shop, to maximise publicity for thefirefliestour.com. We are making another limited edition batch, which will be sold at RRP to cyclists, and all money raised will go to Leuka. You'll hopefully see me out on my Fireflies Master soon, if you haven't already. It's amazing how hard it is to get these things to happen, but we did it eventually, and to have worked with Colnago, of all frame builders, is something I hope to tell my grandchildren, whether they're interested or not!

Email firefliescolnago@me.com for details on the frames, or PM me via the forum. If you want to donate, are interested in riding in the Fireflies 11th year (with me, touch wood), or just want to follow them and their route, check out thefirefliestour.com.

Hall of Fame

Several recent times have been updated on the club's time trial Hall of Fame. Don't forget to send your best times to Martin O'Sullivan. Some good news from Martin too, he's bike on the bike, thanks to painkillers, after breaking his hip.

Photo: Steve Saunders and Spartacus

Having moved to Switzerland earlier this year, Steve Saunders is getting used to the local mountain roads and has tried a rides. Recently he took part in a race with Saxo Bank's Swiss champion, Fabien Cancellara. Full story on Steve's blog. Steve's just joined a new club VC Montreux.

Etape de La Defonce

I came to the race with vague hopes of a high GC finish, writes Damien Breen, but with so many unknowns – the quality of the Welsh teams, what the courses would be like – I really didn’t have any firm expectations. The team time trial course was a lot hillier than we had expected, with very fast descents and a demanding climb. With Andy Lack, Dave Ladkin and Jim Ley we rode it hard, if a little bit raggedly, and were very pleased to finish third overall, just over 30 seconds off a very strong London Dynamo team.

The first road stage held later in the day was quite a straightforward affair. All the Wheelers had a go of attacking but it soon became clear the Dynamo team had everything under control and no big time gaps would be allowed to open up. An eighth place on the stage kept me in touch and moved me up to seventh overall.

A recce of the final stage that evening showed a course of two parts – a flat fast start, followed by several hard climbs in the second half. The first climb looked the toughest and I marked it as the point I’d make my move. The Cwmcarn Paragon boys hit the bottom of it hard but then stalled, allowing four of us to get away. I glanced over and saw it was Ben Jacobs, second on GC at that point, in the group and knew this was a promising move. We worked steadily as a quartet and gradually built up a lead that peaked at about 1min 20sec; at that point I knew the Cwmcarn Paragon team had lost their grip on the leaders’ jersey. By the finish our lead was down to about 55 seconds but both Ben and myself knew we’d done enough to secure first and second overall. I was outsprinted for the stage win, but was happy enough knowing I’d achieved my main GC goal.

The organisation of the race from start to finish was excellent, the roads and scenery were great (especially in the sunshine), and everyone couldn’t be friendlier or more helpful. Most of all it was an excellent team performance and I couldn’t have asked for better teammates than Andy, Dave and Jim

Webmaster: many thanks to Damien for the write-up. The club also had a women's team with Emily Bagnall, Leona Kadir, Maryka Sennema and Lise Sorensen in action, although in Surrey League colours thanks to Keith Butler and the League. Impressively Maryka won the women's GC prize ahead of GB squad rider Ang Mason. "Big thanks to Lise, Emily and Leona without whom I would not have won the women's overall. In the end it came down to the TTT that made the difference, and it was all more sweet as we were a full team of four girls whereas Ang's team was two guys and two strong girls. That 40 secs we gained on Ang's team was the difference.."

Hell of the North

There's a tendency of a few sportive organisers to give dramatic titles to their events. The "Hell of Ashdown" is actually a pleasant jaunt around the shady lanes of Kent, the Burgess Hill Rumble is not in the jungle, no the only rumble is likely to be in your stomach at lunchtime. Not that cycling long distances is easy but when it comes to using the word "hell", only one cycling event in Europe really lives up to the name: Paris-Roubaix.

The pro race is part of the sport's legend and every other year amateurs can try the route for themselves, taking in the mind-numbing 255km and the bone-crushing cobbled sections. These cobbles are like nothing else, if you've pedalled through Kingston Market or Guildford High Street, you are not anywhere near it. Even the cobbles in the Tour of Flanders feel smoother.

But enough from your webmaster. Glenn Chamberlin rode and here's his take on it: "I’m pretty staggered just how hard that ride was. Only way to get across cobbles properly is: big ring + max power... starts to hurt after a while. Started to rain as we approached the first section and I’ve never seen rain like it. I’ve never been so wet. Had a fall on a wet corner (first in about 10yrs) bit of blood and road rash will look cool on the photo’s though. Snapped a chain as well. Going to put that down as a ‘Cancellara’ style power issue. The bike's going also going to take some cleaning".

The day was made harder by heavy storms that actually caused damage and flooding in the area, compounded by a broken down van which meant everyone on the trip had to ride an extra 20km just to get to the start. Mark Briers, Will Meers, Ben Wardle, Matt Cook and Keith Griffin, with Matt adding "Complete and utter madness. Great support from the locals though, I probably would have crawled into a ditch if people weren't cheering me on. ".

Coolahan on Track

John Coolahan was back at Herne Hill after a session on the Manchester velodrome with track legend Craig Mclean. His excellent progress continues, with wins, points and prizes all in one day. Click here to read more.

Dragon Ride

A total of 18 club members took part in the Dragon Ride at the weekend. The Welsh Cyclosportive is one of the biggest in the country and features a predictable hilly route into the Brecon Beacons with 190km in all. For some this was their first ride, others were in preparation for the likes of the Marmotte and for several it was the longest ride they've done in one day. Well done to all who finished.

"Angus Donaldson"	06:18:41	71
Dominic Baker	06:35:58	186
Brian McMartin	06:35:58	207
Richard Johnson	06:41:03	236
William Tilbury	06:46:40	278
Mark Dempster	06:50:47	318
Richard Allen	06:55:20	369
Dan Coulcher	06:57:29	393
Paul Bird	07:02:53	442
Brett Greenwood	07:14:48	553
Julian Rodriguez	07:22:33	635
Laurie Griffiths	07:32:24	786
Peter Steel	07:54:21	1029
Richard Dartnell	07:54:25	1030
Christian Price	07:59:19	1081
George Beardsall	08:00:30	1094
Charlie Whitfield	08:25:23	1342
Robin Cartwright	08:25:25	1343

*Angus Donaldson might have been Richard Heigh in disguise

Kirk second at Goodwood

Racing at the weekend, Robin Kirk took second place in the fourth category race. He got into a breakaway of four riders which had a minute's lead at the finish. Well done to Robin.

Club Kit in Stock

A fresh batch of club kit has arrived and will soon be ready for sale to all members. Keep an eye on the forum for more news and for more information on the clothing, click here.

Storming up the rankings

Whilst Steve Irwin and Jim Ley have been notably quick this year in the time trials, it's John Storms who has been posting the fastest time this year for 25 miles and the second fastest 10 mile time, after Phil Ember's 20.59 last week. John's times have been entered onto the Hall of Fame.

Glenn Chamberlin is a madman again

Glenn Chamberlin has just climbed Mont Ventoux in southern France three times as part of the Cinglés challenge. Cinglé means crazy in French and it gives a clue to the riding involved, you tackle the three routes to the top of the giant mountain in one go. Glenn was first certified in June 2009. It's one of those rides to do at least once during a lifetime and you can read more about Ventoux and the Cinglés here.

Club Runs - a reminder

Just a friendly reminder that whilst we welcome newcomers, the club runs are for members. So if you've enjoyed the club run, please join, look for the link on the left of this page. You might not realise it but it takes behind-the-scenes planning and preparation to ensure the club runs are safe and enjoyable and so please support us and join us.

Club 10 - 2-up

The Club 10 time trial on Wednesday 9 June will be a two-up time trial, meaning riders set off in pairs. So start thinking of who to ride with. Maybe you want to pick an even match, or would like to pair up with a faster ride for a free tow around the course. Or in the case of some club riders, it could be husband and wife. Either way two riders can cover the course much quicker, the sensation of speed can be higher. It's also a technical exercise, timing your turns and being able to ride in close formation.

Crystal Palace races cancelled

Following the use of the road within Crystal Palace park for a car racing show, the road has been deemed unsafe for cycling thanks to temportary installation of new roadside barriers. These are in place for the upcoming bank holiday and may well take time to be dismantled so the following week or two could also be disrupted. Anyone at a loss should note that as well as Hillingdon, the Tour Series of pro/am racing takes place in Canary Wharf on Tuesday evening.

Stay updated: if you want local cyclingnews and results, visit the Surrey League website to sign up for their emails as these contain results but also news and other information. Look for the "join our mailing list" box

National 10 Mile Championships

Jim Ley, Maryka Sennema and Steve Irwin rode the National 10 Championships at the weekend. This is always a hard race to enter, you need a fast time to qualify. Maryka finished 19th, with a time of 23.17, with Julia Shaw (Utagyamaha.com) winning with 20.31. In the mens' race, Steve made the top-100 with a time of 22.00 an Jim Ley was 137th with 22.39. The men's title was won by Michael Hutchinson (In Gear RT) with a time of 18.37, impressively over 40 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Olympic Club Run

The 2012 Olympic Games will feature the road race and for some time plans indicated this would be held in West London, possible with the use of Hampstead and the surrounding area to provide some hills. Indeed a recent stage of the Tour of Britain passed through NW London as a test. But following conversations with the IOC and UCI, the proposed route was not deemed selective enough. So a revised route has been proposed and Cycling Weekly have the scoop online.

The revised route will look very familiar to many of you. It will start in central London but then head out to the Surrey Hills, taking in Box Hill, Coombe Bottom and returning via Richmond Park. This will be exciting and perhaps for more than one day in 2012. The route itself could take a historic nature and above all, the roads should be resurfaced to perfection.

Crystal Palace

Photo: LondonCyclesport.com

Congratulations to Maryka Sennema for her win at Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening. She outsprinted London Dyanamo's Emma Patterson. Fellow Wheeler Emily Bagnall took the sprint for third place, with Leona Kadir and Sabrine Homrighausen also finishing the race.

Speaking exclusively to KingstonWheelers.com, Markya explains the race: "it came down to seven riders in the final lap, with me keeping an eye on Emma P from London Dynamo who was the sprinter in the group. On the hill I gunned it early but feared it was too soon as I could see her out of the corner of my eye working to get on my wheel. At the corner I was barely holding her off by taking the inside line, but it was futile so as she overtook me I jumped directly on her wheel thinking second place wasn't too bad. Then with 50 yards to go she seemed to falter slightly and I made one last effort to come around her again. To my surprise it worked! And I just nabbed first at the line by half a wheel. Emily led the rest of the lead group in for third. Nice night for the Wheelers as Damien took ninth in the 3/4s for another point on his way to joining the E/1/2s."

High Wycombe 25

The Kingston Wheelers took the team prize in the High Wycombe CC 25 mile time trial on Sunday, thanks to Steve Irwin, Jim Ley and Phil Ember. Also riding the event were Alan Sherman, Peter Anderson and Keith Griffin.

Damien Breen Wins

Racing in the South-East Road Race League event on the Benenden circuit, Damien Breen went on a long range rampage to take the race by storm, with back-up from Andy Lack. You can read his full account over on the forum. Congratulations to Damien.

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