Mid Scotland CA Road Race
8th Aug 2001, 1930hrs, 35 miles. A fairly short race which traditionally ends in a bunch sprint. The race consists of 3 laps of roughly a 10 mile circuit, starting in Larbert on the Bellsdyke road, heading East, left turn for Letham, through Airth, left along the Moss road back to the Bellsdyke road, finishing on the 3rd lap over the motorway flyover at the lay-by. The race started off fast with the usual 3 or 4 man attacks getting caught. with me sitting at the back of the bunch. on the second lap the rain came and visibility was poor. 2 riders managed to get away. The bunch was working, but not moving along fast enough. I got the impression that people were holding back assuming the 2 riders would get caught and it would come to a sprint finish. on the 3rd lap Just before Letham I decide to have a go and wind the pace up. I don't get very far of the front and end up dragging everybody along for a bit. just before Airth we get a time check of 40 seconds. Now the speed goes up, cos everybody realises these guys could stay away. a couple of people try to get across just after Airth, but they don't make it. We turn onto the Moss road for the last time and they still have a gap of what looks like 20 seconds. Half way up I have another go, I manage to half the distance but I run out of steam and get caught by the chasing bunch. Onto the Bellsdyke road and its apparent that the 2 up the road are staying away. We get to the bottom of the motor way flyover and the whole bunch is spread across both lanes of the road. Right now this is scary, the road is wet, were doing 25mph, the bunch is across both lanes (approx. 40 riders), were heading up a blind summit, and everybody wants to be near the front. An attack goes off and the bunch starts to string out, now were at the top of the flyover and a small gap appears in front of me to my right hand side. I inform the rider on my right I'm moving into the space. Click down a couple of gears and wind it up, I'm over the right hand side of the road and accelerating away from the bunch, down another gear and I'm out on my own, S**T, S**T, S**T, S**T, S**T, S**T, oh F**K.
I've went too early with about 400 metres to go out on my own and I've no option now but to get the head down and keep it going. I look down the road to see the 2 break away riders cross the line. with one rider between us gradually getting closer. I sit down and look round to see everybody getting ready to strike, right here goes, head down and I click down the block. I try to shift again but there's no gears left, I rip past the lone rider to hear him shout something obscene (can't quite remember what) and keep spinning the legs across the line just ahead of the rest of the bunch to take 3rd. 1st Tony Hastie
2nd Philip Brown
3rd Bryan Russell Bryan Russell
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