Geared Up Cycles

Barnsley, South Yorkshire

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One Step Closer for Wood

This weekend saw eight of our riders clad in the black and blue of Geared Up Cycles battle it out across the small circuit of Forge Valley and a 38 mile road race out in Selby, and once again it was Steve Wood that came away with a points haul to edge ever closer to his season target of gaining his Cat. 3 British Cycling license.

The racing got underway at 1.30pm at Forge Valley, Sheffield with Tom Booth and Sam Wood competing in the Youth B race with new member Paul Freer representing the club for the first time in the Youth A race. Blustery conditions made it difficult for all three riders but it was valuable track time for the trio, especially Tom who made his circuit racing debut.

Following the Youth Race came the Cat. 4 only race with a field of around 30 riders ready to battle the conditions. Oskar Brailsford, Andy Robins and Steve Wood lined up alongside another of our new members, Stewart Le Couilliard, all looking for a good result infront of the other club members who had come along to show their support.

Circulating the track in a anti-clockwise direction which would seem unfamiliar to those that had previously raced on the Forge Valley circuit, it didn’t take long for the pace to be increased which made it hard for the likes of Stewart, Oskar and Andy but Steve, buoyed by his performances of recent weeks, managed to stay up near the front of the group for much of the race.

An attack off the front was short lived in a brutal headwind before a counter-attack by a small group of five riders managed to get away with Steve in hot pursuit. The catch was made but the effort took a lot out of Steve but he managed to hold on for 6th and Steve’s third top ten of the season and another 4 points which takes his early season tally up to six and half-way to his Cat. 4 license.

On Sunday it was David Beechills turn to build on the performance on Saturday with 38 miles around the flat roads of Selby in the Seacroft Wheelers Road Race.

Admittedly Dave is more suited to the races with rolling hills but it was a good chance to get some early season race miles in the legs ahead of the races that are coming up later on in the year and a chance to put the winter training to test.

A bunch sprint was inevitable with the course being flat with the only undulations being the two railway bridges splitting the circuit. Dave was active for much of the race and got himself into a few moves but they barely got over a minute ahead of the chasing peloton before being clawed back.

Despite early attempts not sticking, a breakaway tried to get away on the final lap but big turns on the front were needed when the group tried to go through and off. Excitement got the better of one rider who cut across the front wheel of Dave which forced him onto the grass which put the end to his race at such a late stage.

All in all it was a great weekend for different reasons with a number of riders getting their first race miles of the season under the belt but the plaudits go to Steve Wood once again for scoring some vital points for him and the club.

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Like Father, Like Son

Both Steve Wood and his son Sam were in action yesterday at Yorkshire Day at the Races York Sport #2 in the Cat 4 only and Youth B race respectively in blustery conditions which we’ve been made to be accustomed to over the past few weeks. 

First up was Sam in his Youth B race which was his first race of the season and a chance to test his fitness after the winter break. Unfortunately Sam got caught behind the bunch split after the first 3 laps but managed to stay within the group to finish strongly. 

Next up was Mr. Wood Snr. fresh off the back of his point last weekend which opened his account for the season. Despite having a game plan of not chasing breaks and to stay in the group, that went out of the window early on and Steve was soon chasing and even going for solo breaks as the race went on. 

A late attack with 4 laps to go looked to have worked but with one lap to go he was caught and managed to hold onto a top 15 position. A solid result but he’s got it all to do at Tameside with less than 24 hours recovery. 

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Hatfield PB’s

Our resident TT specialists, Tom Booth and Shaun Wright, were at it again this weekend in their first 10m TT’s of the season at Hatfield in the event hosted by the Bolsover and District CC.

Once again the wind was the play a big part in the outcome of the race with a monstrous headwind on the return leg from the Blaxton Roundabout back to the finish line.

A full field of 126 riders took to the start line with Tom Booth being the youngest competitor at 14 years of age. Despite difficult conditions and problems with his position on the bike, Tom managed to record a 27.29 to edge Shaun by 8s whilst both taking their PB’s.

Excellent riding from the pair who are already looking ahead to their next time trial. Well done guys.

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Another Week. Another Race. Another Point.

Yesterday it was the turn of Steve Wood to open up his tally for the season as he took part in the Cat. 4 only race out at the tight and twisty circuit on the outskirts of Manchester. 

Thankfully the rain stayed away but it was still cold but not cold enough for Steve to don the tights as his white legs were on show. The race, which was supported by Mossley RT, was an hour in duration over the 1km circuit. 

After his previous two races, Steve had been told to take it easy in the early stages of the race but this went out of the window and he was chasing down the early breakaways but this time it paid off as the field was whittled down in a race which was once again, affected by the gale force winds. 

With four laps to go, a group of riders which included Steve put in a big effort and that got rid of nearly half of the remaining field which had now resigned into a bunch sprint. The final corner came and Steve clipped a pedal on the inside of the corner but managed to open up his sprint and hold onto 10th place and take his first even British Cycling point. 

A massive well done to Steve who’s been putting in some serious training over the winter and hopefully this is a sign of things to come. 

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Sheffrec 2-up TTT; Day to Forget

Whilst James and Michael tried their luck at Darley Moor, the pairings of Tom Booth/Shaun Wright and Steve Wood/Andy Robins geared up for the 25 miles of torture which is the Sheffrec 2-up Team Time Trial. 

Now I don't think any of the four would argue with me in saying that it was a day to forget. Steve and Andy took to the start line ready for the off at 14:42 on their road bikes with the former giving his new Giant Propel it's first ride in anger but sadly they wouldn't make it to the 25 mile mark as just 6 miles into the ride, Andy's pedal decided to un-thread itself from the crank leaving himself and Steve no option but to abandon the ride with great disappointment.

Next up was the pairing of Tom Booth and Shaun Wright with both on their new TT rigs for this season and Shaun's first competitive cycling event of his career. They started well and was looking strong but on the long headwind section down to Blaxton, Shaun started to struggle and eventually had to retire due to problems with his seatpost. You couldn't write the script with both pairings having mechanical issues. 

In true Geared Up Cycles style, Tom soldiered on and recorded an average of 42.9kph on the stretch back from Blaxton on his new Planet-X TT bike and managed to hit a pb of 1hr 11m 27s and take a positive from a weekend to forget. 

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Windy Darley Moor

This week saw six of our riders compete in racing at Darley Moor and the Sheffrec 2-up respectively on what must have been the warmest (but windiest) day of the year so far. 

Both Michael and James headed to Darley Moor for their first races of the season amongst a field of over 85 riders who would lap the 2.3km circuit 22 times in blustery conditions. Not much happened in the first half of the race. People tried to get away but to no avail. Michael tried an attack which we later found that put James into the red but that didn't stick and the group was soon back together. 

A break finally managed to get away with six laps to go and the winner would come from that duo despite a late attack from the bunch to catch them. Michael got across to a chasing group of five but got caught 200m from the line. 

James on the other hand found himself behind a crash with three laps remaining which forced him to come to a halt. Fortunately he wasn't involved but that meant a big sprint to get back onto the group from what was a good position. As the final lap came James sat up as they exited the final corner deciding not to contest the sprint. 

Overall both Michael and James were content with their performances after going into the race just wanting to test their legs and gauge their winter training on the rest of the field. 

The next race for the pairing will be the BBM Revolution Road Race on the 22nd March depending on selection. 

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First BC Points

We were back at Croft once again this weekend as Steve, Andy and Oskar looked to improve on their performances from two weeks ago in the final round of the Velo29 Winter Series at Croft, North Yorkshire. 

A field of over 60 riders took to the circuit in a race which by all accounts was relatively boring with all attacks short lived and shut down. A fast pace was put down but Oskar managed to stay with the group and secured the first ever points for Geared Up Cycles with a 10th place finish. 

"Nobody broke away, few attacks throughout and a hard headwind sprint finish," said Oskar. "Pretty boring race really, wind played a big part in it though, but nice to get the first GUC points."

Steve and Andy battled on but got the wrong side of a split in the peleton which made it tough to get back on. 

We'll be back in action next weekend with James and Michael in the 3/4 race at Darley Moor and the pairings of Steve/Andy and Tom/Shaun in the Sheffrec CC 2-up Time Trial. 

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Baptism of Fire.

Today marked the first race of the season for three of our riders as Steve Wood, Oskar Brailsford and Andy Robins took to the track in the 4th category only race at Croft, North Yorkshire hosted by Velo29. This would also be the first time that the club and the club kit has been shown to the masses so this day will go down in history. 

A big field of riders lined up on a cold and misty morning for what would be Andy Robin’s first ever race of his career. The race got under way and a nervous peleton would prove problematic early on in the race which would see the riders lap the 3.3km circuit 8 times with an average speed of over 39km/h. A touch of wheels twice in the first two laps saw two crashes, the second of which caught out both Steve and Andy and a split in the group meant that it would be game over for the pair in terms of going for some early season points despite a valiant effort to catch back on. 

Oskar on the other hand showed excellent bike handling skills and managed to position himself in the top 15 or so riders for much of the race but his lack of bike time this winter showed as he faded in the last lap but managed to finish in the main group. 

This was a good test of legs for all three riders and all said that they were pleased with their performances despite the splits in the peleton. We have a couple of weeks break now until the next race on the calendar when 6 of our riders will take to the Darley Moor circuit for the 3/4 race on the 7th March. 

In the meantime we’ll be training hard and we hope to see you all next week at the Tom Simpson Memorial Ride.

Ride hard, but ride safe. 

Photo Credit: © Tom Booth 

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Welcome to the Geared Up Cycles blog.

Thankyou for visiting the Geared Up Cycles blog page. Throughout 2015 I'm going to keep you updated on all the goings on within the club and most importantly, let you all know about the racing that's going on up and down the country which involves our riders in criteriums, road races, time trials and cyclocross. 

We'll be giving rider interviews, race reviews as well as driver profiles and much, much more.