Race Report – 94.7
Team Members present:
Martin Attebury,Darren Lowe,Mike Nash,Helder Amorim,Ben Howard,Charlie van Heerden,Chris Uniacke
What a great ending to a really enjoyable and successful 2008 for the local Cycle Lab Road Racing team. A few weeks ago our team members walked with most of the “trophies” at the KZN awards evening and that form showed in the 94.7 times and results.
When you race in the classics in JHB then you know you are racing against the best in the country in your category, and believe me it does not take you long to figure that one out once you launch yourself out of the starting pen at an altitude of 2,750m above sea level !!
For the first time, this year’s route took us through the heart of the City of JHB, before heading back out again. Lots of different views on the change were heard, some good and some not so good. From a racing point of view I personally enjoyed the new section, it just seemed to break the monotony.
Apart from an annoying little headwind most of the way, the weather was perfect. That and the changes to the route, showed in the times which were on average around 10 minutes quicker than last year.
The best we managed was a couple of top twenty and a number of top 30 finishers, but that does not really tell the story in a race such as this and I use the example of Ben and Helder racing in the 40 to 44 category. The winner of this category was Andrew McLean with a time of 2:17:09 a minute clear of 2nd place … Ben and Helder finished in 23rdth and 25th place with a time of 2:19:38 … another good example is none other than Martin, our illustrious captain who finished in 25th place with a time of 2:18:54 only 11 seconds behind the winner.
We have such an exciting 2009 lined up, so to the team of 2008, well done, keep the weight under control, the legs spinning, hang loose and enjoy the break from racing for a while.
Chris
