teamwallis-CHH Cycling Team

chid rode aggressively in the 3/4 support race at Old Hutton, but team tactics from others meant he ended up with nothing to show for it.

The switchback corner followed by a long uphill drag on a narrow stretch of road full of gravel and potholes is always the decisive part of the Old Hutton course. On the very first lap, approaching this corner five or six riders from Lune swooped to the front of the bunch, obviously with a plan in mind. Chid was alert to this and jostled to join them, but couldn't squeeze through before one Lune rider was away, with the rest blocking the road. He decided he needed to take action and pushed to the front then attacked, challenging one of the other Lune riders to come with him. Chid got away with one Lune rider and someone from another team. The Lune rider wasn't sure whether to work or not, but chid persuaded him that if he got across to his teammate then odds of 2 out of 4 were good for them. This three worked quite well together for half a lap and were out of sight of the bunch heading up to the long climb to the finish, with the lone leader in their sights. Chid was doing most of the turns, however, and the other riders weren't strong enough for them to get across to the leader. Just before the finish line they were caught by the bunch, but chid had enough left to chip off the front again to at least claim a few prime points on that lap.

Next time round the corner chid was again trying to get in a move to get away but again the Lune chased it down. This set the pattern for the race, a few riders wanted to try to get the bunch moving or attack, with chid involved in nearly every move, but the riders from Lune were blocking and chasing down everything. With a lap and a half to go, chid was cramping badly after his earlier efforts but knew that he wouldn't get anything in a bunch sprint so tried a few more times to break away, but didn't have enough left to do it on his own and not enough other riders were prepared to try to get a strong group away.

In the end, chid trailed in at the back of the remains of the bunch sprinting up the final climb. A poorer result than last week at Capernwray and yet a better ride, with some strong riding which just didn't pay off this time.