Reports from Easter 3 Day

Report 1 - Dave's flat 3 day

Dave Creeggan reports from the hardfought 1/2/3 race where he managed to salvage a good result despite some disastrous luck:

"My 3 day was a disaster! I was in the front group at Milland on day one but punctured with 1 mile to go and lost 5 minutes. At Cutmill I lead out the sprint and my back wheel punctured about 30 meters from the line, managed to get 3rd though. Day 3, went for broke, got into a break and then punctured with a lap to go. Brand new tyres and 2 different wheels! Hopefully my luck will change soon!"

Also putting in some solid rides were Pete Wager and Warren riding for the Felts in the points on stage one.

Report 2 - Addison from the Rear

Easter 3 Day - 3rds

After all the suffering I went through in my two stage races last year I was determined to train a bit harder over the winter; so after some skiving on Thursdays, plenty of trips to Mint Condition for gym work, a training weekend in Northern France and a bit of sensible eating (not too much!) I lined up with Hulbert, Hards and Franklin for the first stage of the Easter 3 Day at Milland on Easter Saturday.

This is very much a view from the rear of the race - if you want a perspective from the sharp end then someone will have to harass one of the others into putting some words down.

I was feeling quite confident before the start after a threshold test earlier in the week showed me some encouraging figures, but as soon as the race kicked off it didn't feel good. The pace was high and I struggled up the first ascent of Milland on my 23 ( too high in hindsight: I never worry about gearing for Surrey Leagues, figuring that if you can't get up the hills on a 21/23, you're not going to win anyway - but it might have helped me hang on for a bit longer) Second time up and was loosing the back of the bunch - they were only a few yards ahead but onto the old A3 and the gap stretched away - I found myself with 5 or 6 other losers - deciding to ride on as best we could and avoid being lapped. Managed that and came in 49th 17mins down - not a great start. Martin tried a few speculative attacks on the flat sections (apparently) and Darren shot up the final hill for 7th with Duncan 12th - good results. You can see from the pics on BC how strong the leader was - 3rd Cat - I think not!

Stage 2 - 9 times up Cutmill and a bit of a longer warm up resulted in a much better ride for me. Never in contention for any attacks, but not in danger of getting dropped up the climbs. The only scary moment came when the hammer went down at the front to bring back the early break. The rear of the field was shedding riders on the flats so had to chase back after I was taken out of the back a couple of times. Finished with the bunch. Happier. Both Duncan and Darren finished well, about 30s ahead of me and were both in with the chance of a top 10 GC finish.

Stage 3 - finally some dry roads and a 60mile jaunt around the Alfold circuit awaited. A strong Velocity CC rider who was still smarting after suffering punctures on an earlier stage tried to undo his deficit single-handedly and attacked from the start to gain 2 minutes by the end of the first lap. Duncan was feeling good too and got into a chasing threesome that also gained time. But the masses of Kingston and the London Dynamestiques were having none of it and the speed was cranked up midway to bring everyone back together. I felt even better on this stage and rode well until it came to the mad final sprint. How fast was that? Sprinting in the 12 on the downhill sections after Plaistow just to stay in the mix. I never got anywhere near the front so was easing to roll in when a car on the opposite side passed the manic bunch which was in full cry 200m from the line. A switch and swerve and riders were heading for the bushes and frames were breaking. I managed to weave through the carnage to finish on the same time for another OK day. Martin was one of those who tasted the Hawthorn while Darren muscled his way through for a fine 11th with Duncan 15th.

Overall I ended up 33rd 20 mins down. Duncan rode very well for his 9th on GC @2:30, Darren, gaining confidence all the time, was close behind in 12th on GC @2:57 while Martin finished 29th @3:52

See the BC site for other (mixed up) reports and loads of pictures.