Balgay Summer Dash
The final criterium took place in Balgay Park last night, entitled the Summer Dash. Thankfully the rain relented about an hour before the race start and riders were greeted with just a slippery surface! The race format was slightly different from last Sunday as it was open to 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders, cranking up the difficulty a notch. ABC had what could be a record for club attendance at a road race, 6 starters took to the line. Team tactics on this course are basically a question of survival.
The pace from the start was relentless on the 1.5km course, the first lap at close to 38kmh, taking only 2:30 or so to cover the distance. The 2nd category riders shredding the field. The race was mainly contested by this strong group including a small number of cat 3 riders. Highest place finisher from ABC was myself in 14th place, Adrian Atkinson in 19th, Neil Raitt in 22nd, Simon Arnott in 25th. Nico Anelli had an accident on the 11th lap on the sharp descent, all is well just some minor scrapes and Francis Chesters pulled out after 8 laps.
Results and stats here