Move over Cancellara - Pearson CC hit the Tour of Flanders!!

Steve Wood and Graham Berridge took part in the classic Tour of Flanders on 2nd April. With around 20,000 riders taking part the Flanders sportive is one of the biggest in the world and, as with the Pro race the following day, is a major cultural event for the Flandrians. This years’ event took place under clear blue skies and a heady temperature of around 23C at mid-day. The route is a mixture of road, cycle paths and cobbles, the latter being the big appeal to most cyclists as the famous Bergs and Murs of the area feature in the last 100km of the route. With so many cyclists it’s not always possible to ride up the early cobbled climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg as all it takes is a couple of cyclists to stop on the hill and there is a domino effect all the way back down. Once the numbers thin out though every hill then becomes a challenge to climb as hard and fast as possible, maybe even pretend you are a Cancellara or a Boonen. And as we were in Belgium there was ample opportunity to pass someone who at least looked like Boonen as scores of riders donned their Quick Step replica kits and team bikes. The biggest cheer of the day went to an Italian Pozzato look-alike who amazingly rode up a jam packed Kruisberg shouting ‘achtung’ (??) and even more amazingly got people to move out of his way. As one photo shows we ‘did it’, whilst the 2nd photo shows the number of Leffe’s quaffed in the first hour after the race. Maybe next year we could have a Pearson CC day outing to ride Flanders...

Weekend racing round up - 9/10 April 2011

This weekend saw the first round of the London Women’s League. On quite possibly one of the hottest days of the year so far, four Pearson Ladies lined up at the start, kitted out in Pink, ready for the season.

The field was strong from the start with riders splitting into four main groups from the start – hardly a surprise given the field had riders from Cats E/1/2/3/4. Nicole Oh, Vikki Filsell and I (Charmaine Brown) were in the third group with 6 other riders, battling it out on the various hills and technical corners of the course, trying out our team tactics!

With one lap to go, Nicole showed true grit by picking up the pace and sprinting towards the finish, along with a few other women from various clubs. Meanwhile, Vikki and I had our own sprint to the finish, Vikki winning by a whisker! Nikki Engelbach, in the fourth group, made her debut for Pearson in the Women’s London League and held her own in the group, sprinting to the finish to win her group.
The results for the London League were as follows:
Nicole Oh: 14th
Vikki Filsell: 15th
Charmaine Brown: 16th
Nikki Engelback: 18th
Overall, a great day was had by all – a chance to blow away those winter cobwebs and get racing in the sunshine!
Well done girls!!
Results and photos can be found online at:
http://www.londoncyclesport.com

Pearson currently sit 2nd in the London Women's Cycling League (though we might need all you Pearson girls to come out and race if we are to claw back the gap to Look Mum No Hands)!
http://www.londonwomenscycleracing.com/p/rankings.html

Meanwhile, out on the A31 in Bentley, some of the boys were racing the Charlotteville CC open 10 mile TT. Despite the glorious sunshine, there was a cruel headwind after the halfway point turn that made the homeward stretch a painful slog!

Warren Higgins and David Wong Min raced the 2-up, posting a time of 23:24 coming 4th (of 8) in the 2-up category. As glutton for punishment, Warren then went out again to race a second 2-up with Redmon CC rider Doug Conroy. In the solo category, "Statue" Matt Walters rode a swift 24:15 to place a creditable 31st in what was a strong field racing.

Fancy racing for Pearson CC? Drop a message on the club forum and we'll get you out on the race circuit!