Race Report – ART Winter R1

Just like that we’re back at Dalton Barracks for some more high speed, close quarter battles on the old military run way as it’s the first round of ART’s Winter Series.

Cat 4 Race

We had 2 riders in this race, father and son duo; Carlow & Luca. Carlo returning to a Crit race for the first time in some years and a debut for Luca racing on the tarmac, with a stacked line up of 41 riders on the start line – four of those were local competition from the Swindon Wheelers CC and some real strong riders. The plan for Luca was to sit in and just gain experience with no pressure allowing him to have fun and just see what the race brought naturally. For the duration of the race he stayed within the top 10 positions not working but watching the moves that tried to get away, all were pulled back by the bunch and the race was won by a late attack sent just before the last corner which held on the home stretch. Luca worked hard, although suffering with cramp, he kicked after the move and earned himself a podium finish of third and earning 7 points in his first crit leaving him only 5 points from his Cat3 licence. Carlo road strong and finished inside the top 30 (28th) With an average speed of 24.9mph for the 21.36miles it was a strong start to the road and critical racing for both riders.

Cat 3 Race

The third cat race was a faster affair with an average of 25.8mph from Myles’s data, we had three in this race – Myles, Mark & Matt. 38 riders stood on the cold start line, waiting to get in to it. A debut in the League colours for Mark and Matt, both looking for decent starts to their time with the team. Matt finished in 20th position, 33s down with a strong and measured effort through out. This round had come bit too early for Marks prep and with a few cut ups on the slick, damp tarmac he decided to withdraw on the 9th lap. Myles returned to good form and excited to move back from his harsh and eye opening experience with in the Cat2 world from the 2024 season. With consistent good positioning and planned efforts he opened his season finishing 32s off the lead and in 18th position.