There were Thanet representatives in each of the three FullGas cycling races at Lee Valley this week, with strong fields no doubt keen to race after last weekend’s snow.
First year junior Tom Lowther was first up in the 3/4 race where he rode a very aggressive and tactical race, who showed his potential by really taking the race on, holding his position near the font and spending the majority of the race in some very promising looking breaks. It was really great to see him patrolling the front of the bunch and racing hard to get in the right break. Unfortunately for Tom, it was all together going into the final lap and he finished well in the large bunch after a fast race.
Next up, Jo Smith and Abbie Langley took to the start for the women’s race. Abbie started with a large bunch of 4th category riders, half a lap ahead of the E123 bunch. Jo was part of a group of only four riders who worked hard together to catch the 4th cats who rode a strong race and almost caught the rest of the E123 field! One rider got away and despite a few attacks from Jo, the bunch sprinted for 2nd. Jo finished with a strong sprint for 2nd and Abbie finished in the top half of the bunch.
The final race of the day saw Alex Ashman, another race team junior rider, start in the E123 race. A decent field and a lot of attacks made the race fast from the start and Alex rode well in the wheels to finish with the bunch in the headwind sprint.
A great day of racing for everyone!
Posted by Jo Smith