As we’ve reported before, the Thursday night summer Milton Keynes Bowl Crit series is a great way to get into road racing, as well as a good way of learning race strategy. Three Star riders, Stuart Quick, Tobi Ng and new member Dan Reynolds were in action last week and this is a brief account as to how they all got on.
Stuart entered the Cat 4 race, which was his first Crit race this season and his first at the MK Bowl, so he didn’t know what to expect. Starting off at a steady pace, he decided to sit near the front for the first few laps, even trying a little dig off the front, just to see what happened. After about 15-20mins one rider made a big attack, which split the pack with around four riders going with him. Stuart and a couple of other riders tried to pull them back, but it wasn’t to be. The leading group eventually became just three Royal Leamington Spa CC riders, with Stuart now in a reduced chasing pack. This group continued on keeping a decent pace so as not to have too big of a group at the end knowing they would all now be sprinting for fourth. With nine riders in this chasing group Stuart knew he would now have a good chance of points. With a couple of laps left he stayed near the back of the group to save energy. As the incline to the finish line started so the sprint kicked off, with Stuart managing to finish a rewarding 7th and some well deserved points.
New member in new kit – Dan Reynolds takes on Crit racing at MK Bowl
Tobi Ng, who only recently gained his Cat 3 licence, following two great rides at earlier MK Bowl races, was joined in the Cat3/4 race by friend and new member Dan Reynolds. This race is held on a slightly longer and more technical course than used on the Cat 4 only race. The race got off to a fairly fast start with the pair staying towards the front of the bunch, whilst the race stayed in the inner loop of the Bowl course. The pace picked up even more with a group of around eight riders opening up a gap at around 25 minutes in. Two or three laps further on Dan got spat down the field somewhat, but managed to make his way around the course with a group of three other riders. Meanwhile Tobi was trying to keep in touch with the leading bunch, noting that after 40 minutes he’d been averaging 42kph. However, he finally dropped off with four laps to go, joining up with Dan again. They rolled across as the third group over the line with a two man group just ahead, and behind the main bunch. No points today, but the pair enjoyed some great racing, as well as gaining further experience.
Don’t forget, if you’ve been racing, or riding in TTs, then please let us know as soon as possible, with as much detail as possible, how you got on. Send your report to pressofficer@banburystar.co.uk