Duo Normand Race Report

RNRMCA displays strength and depth taking prestigious French event by storm

As the curtain began to fall on another wet and windy summer of cancelled races the RNRMCA Time Trial squad embarked on their very own Normandy Landings. A team of 27 club members comprising of 24 riders (12 teams of 2) and 3 support staff assisted by funding support from RN Sports Lottery and generous discounts from Brittany Ferries were able to make the journey to take part in the event which for many years has been regarded as the blue ribbon event for Duo time trial racing.

The club were hosted by the event organisers and received a warm welcome from all they encountered. Covering a distance of 31 miles the race starts extremely fast with long slightly downhill sections maximising power and speed. However the course has a sting in the tail as the final 13 miles, described as undulating translate to gut wrenching, breath shortening, phlegm inducing pain. However, the agony is short lived and rewarded by the sight of the finish line.

For the riders involved the journey began with a rather salubrious meeting in a pub car park to load vans with athletes and equipment. From there they boarded the Brittany Ferries fast cat service to Cherbourg for a fantastic high speed crossing. Hotel check in complete the team then retired for the night. Saturday saw the riders arriving in the town of Marigny where the HQ was located. The RN Squad donned their kit and rode the course as one very large team. 24 riders in a large peleton certainly drew some admiring glances from the locals many of whom give up their free time to get involved in the organisation of their event. On completion of the route recce the team were treated to a sumptuous lunch courtesy of the support crew comprising of Sally, Lynn and Barbara. The girls had raided local supermarkets for all manner of food enough to keep the strongest champion racing all day. Following lunch the riders completed race registration then again rested in final preparation for Sunday’s race.

Vets Race

The race takes up the whole day with several hundred riders in many categories. The roads are closed and riders have the benefit of a start ramp and a following support car in true professional style. With the bulk of RNRMCA riders now in the Vets category in house competition was fierce. Riders produced some great results with the highest placed riders attaining 8th place (See results below).

217 1 ST LEGER Mick - YARWORTH Nick 01:17:30
227 2 MAYMAN David - PILLEY Kevin 01:20:42
214 3 JONES Mark - SHAW Kevin 01:21:07
212 4 CROSS Jerry - HARNEY Martin 01:21:39
219 5 BYFORD Paul - POWELL Clive 01:21:53
200 6 WORNER Martin - GIBSON Martin 01:22:39
211 7 BARR Darryl - PETERS Warren 01:23:41
207 8 EDWARDS Stuart - SANDERSON Lee 01:24:38 RNRMCA
226 9 DING Peter - WILSON Clancy 01:25:22
218 10 GIBBS Martin - GADD Paul 01:25:55
220 11 BIBBY Ian - STEER Malcolm 01:26:15
224 12 AUSTIN Paul - CLARKE David 01:27:47
216 13 MANN Nick - MARTIN Tim 01:29:00
229 14 TRIPP Simon - PHIPPS Andrew 01:29:19 RNRMCA
222 15 DELLER Neal - DISNEY Dover 01:30:00
221 16 SMART Shaun - MCGUINESS Peter 01:30:08
208 17 GORMAN Mark - BROMYARD Jerry 01:30:16 RNRMCA
203 18 BOWDITCH Kenneth - LEE Richard 01:30:17 RNRMCA
225 19 LUDFORD Des - GOODWIN Mike 01:30:27
204 20 HAWTHORN Iain - GREEN Andrew 01:30:51
189 21 COX Stewart - RICHARDS Bob 01:31:01 RNRMCA
215 22 WHITEHEAD Barrie - DAWSON Terry 01:31:21 RNRMCA
201 23 BERDAT Bertrand - BERTHELOT Philippe 01:31:56
191 24 FINCH Robert - CALLAGHAN John 01:32:12
188 25 WALLACE David - POLLARD Jon 01:32:16 RNRMCA
192 26 MAYBERY Gerard - LAURENCE Richard 01:32:17
197 27 RENYARD Allan - WALLBRIDGE Gary 01:33:08
213 28 LANGDON Neil - BEACON Clive 01:33:20
209 29 OLIVIER Pascal - LEBLOND Jacques 01:34:16
210 30 BASS Steven - RIPPINGALE Terence 01:34:29
187 31 LEPETIT Pascal - ONFROY Christian 01:34:38
205 32 DICKINSON Nigel - GILL Iain 01:35:19
228 33 ELLIOTT Greg - ROBINSON Patrick john 01:36:18
195 34 PAGET Simon - RIDLEY Roger 01:36:53 RNRMCA
198 35 WRIGHTSON Bug - ASHBY Keith 01:40:12 RNRMCA
193 36 ROPER Graham - FOWLER Alman 01:41:12
194 37 HUNSTONE Andrew (DNF) - WISE Simon 01:43:12 RNRMCA
199 38 WOODALL Jonnie - KNIGHT Steve 01:44:11
223 39 FREELEY Vince - BAKER Colin 01:44:29
190 40 SEES Robert - DIXON Brian 01:48:36
202 41 DELEPINE Maurice - LEBON Jean-pierre 01:49:31

Female Riders

RNRMCA were pleased to be able to enter a female team in the event particularly as female representation is sadly lacking in this sport the girls worked well together they amazed the crowd refusing to stop at their finish line but continued on to complete the male distance (an extra 6 miles!!). Finishing 8th amongst a strong field they were justifiably delighted with their performance and have vowed to continue to work together for more events in 2009.

97 1 GAUTARD Karine - MERLOT Emmanuelle 01:04:25
110 2 FERRIER - BRUNEAU Christel - BRAVARD Mélanie 01:06:16
94 3 LEBRUN Emilie - GAMBIEL Kelly 01:08:09
108 4 CORDON Audrey - DUTRIAUX Fiona 01:08:37
104 5 BOUFFAY Marie - GORON Angélique 01:11:44
105 6 PAILLARD Veronique - DUPAS Tyfen 01:13:41
111 7 CONIBEAR Melanie - CONIBEAR Jody 01:14:03
98 8 MUIR Mhairi - NORMAN Lucy 01:14:51 RNRMCA
100 9 WILLIAMS Susan - GAGNERIE Joanna 01:15:18
103 10 BRICOGNE Maud - TEMPORELLI Karine 01:15:42
106 11 FAUTRAT Maryse - TAPIN Nilda 01:15:47
99 12 ALLEN Jane - FORD Ali 01:18:13
107 13 ST LEGER Sally - BURMAN Louise 01:18:30
102 14 ERTNER Julia - NASH Sarah 01:23:28
101 15 GOUVENOU Sylvie - DANGUY Mireille 01:24:29
109 16 LOVELL Joanna - ARCHER Danielle 01:28:41
96 17 DIBNAH Deana - WAKEFORD Jackie 01:35:11

Cat 3 Race

With the Vets race complete the team were able to relax with another sumptuous meal ably provided by the excellent support crew and prepare to enjoy the spectacle of the Cat 3 race. Representing the RNRMCA were CPO PT Sean Childs and Associate Member ex RM Band Phil Sykes. With Phil's season concentrated predominantly in the Portsmouth and South East region the pair were matched for their first outing together and hopes were high. With easy access to the event from Portsmouth and the South coast ferry ports the race naturally attracts riders from many of the South Eastern Regions clubs. These clubs have been dominant in this event for several years with the course record being held by riders from Team Velocity. Rivalry therefore was high and the RN duo were scheduled to start 2 minutes after the Velocity Pair of Simon Beronga and Steve Walkling.

Sykes & Childs hit the first hill at high speed and never look back.

The guys hit the faster sections of the course like a train with a good combination of effort working well to keep the average speed well into the 28/29 MPH region. The reward for this effort soon came some 20 minutes after starting another team could be seen on the horizon. With the scent of a catch in their nostrils the riders increased the tempo and forged ahead to overtake the team and gain 4 minutes to boot. However, this was not the catch they wanted and as the team hit the hillier section of the course the Velocity crew were no-where to be seen.

The final third of the course consists of a rolling hill profile which at full tilt can be a real shock to the system. The riders postures changed and the differing styles of the two riders became more pronounced and visible from the support car. Sykes tall frame barely moved save for the rapid tempo he pushed out on the pedals as he led the pair to the top of most climbs. Childs however was clearly showing how his prowess in the sport is borne of pure power and desire as he forced his way to the top of the climbs, a slower cadence but still devastatingly fast.

With 7 miles still to go the riders were visibly tiring their communication was becoming less frequent and their cohesion appeared to be fragile. However, this momentary lull was soon dismissed as they approached the town centre loop to be greeted by the rest of the Navy Cycling Squad whose rapturous applause was left ringing in their ears as they headed out for the 6 mile out and back section which was to be the final test.

This section of the course was to give the support crew the best idea of pace with respect to the Velocity Team as up to now they had still not been seen. So stop watch in hand the approaching Velocity riders were clocked to allow for an accurate gauge of the ensuing gap to be assessed. However, no sooner had the clock been started than the RN riders had a clear visual of the turn ahead. Both riders reacted strongly to this sensing they could catch the Velocity team and clock a good time with a continued effort. Alas the physical catch was not to come but the RN pair finished knowing they had done enough to claim victory over the Velocity team.

As the pair recovered the news came through that their efforts had not only secured them victory within their category they had smashed the course record by over a minute to boot. A really valiant effort.

59 1 CHILDS Sean - SYKES Phil 01:14:52 and new course record! uk_royal_navy_clr.gif
61 2 ADER Sebastian - PONTING Jeremy 01:15:43
60 3 BEROGNA Simon - WALKLING Steve 01:15:48
66 4 MASON Richard - POWDRILL Guy 01:16:52
73 5 RENAUX Laurent - RENAUX Samuel 01:18:19
78 6 LANOE Mathieu - MASSARD Alexis 01:18:58
57 7 SMITH Julian - BRADBURN Neil 01:21:11
58 8 CHARRAULT Damien - DESPIT Stéphane 01:21:28
74 9 LAGET Steven - LE MÉVEL Adrien 01:21:55

The weekend really encapsulated the continued success of cycling within the RNRMCA. Not only at the top of the discipline but throughout the age groups and gender categories representation is getting stronger and deeper and never is a rider turned away. The core team ethos and spirit provided for a weekend to remember for some time to come for all participants.

Future Plans

Any event whether a weekend away or a club run on a Sunday cannot occur without someone willing to offer to organise/co-ordinate. This event was borne from just this process with non committee members (RS Stu Cox) volunteering to take on the organisational role. Stu was guided/assisted by CPOPT Sean Childs drawing on his experience in organising this type of event. Riders from various units (representing units from as far a field as Faslane) sourced vehicles and organised themselves to compete in the event proving again that Navy Cycling has a wide footprint. Many thanks to all these people without whom we would not be seeing the level of success we currently do.

A Special thank-you must also go to Sally Dean who, assisted by Lynn and Barbara was on hand throughout the weekend to take away any concerns of admin issues from the riders. From the provision of food to pre and post race massage and even provision of some pretty impressive Birthday Cakes for Lynn. Many thanks ladies, the support crew make the difference between success and failure.

So to the future. The RNRMCA squad continues to grow and is currently looking at ways to diversify in order to offer more to young riders who may be considering joining the club. We cannot afford to stand still and must continue to develop and build on the foundations we have laid. So if you are reading this and can think of a way of achieving this then please don't hold back contact the committee and find out exactly how you can help NOW