La Ronde du Kriez Ker semi-nocturne in Plounevez-Quintin, Friday 17 May 2024 On Friday 17 May, Jim and Kim Garrett, John Derrien and Tony Merren competed in the La Ronde du Kreiz Ker semi-nocturne in Plounevez-Quintin. Jim and Kim competed in the Access 1 & 2 race with John Derrien and Tony Merren competing in the Access 3 & 4 race. The Access 1-2 race was 12 laps and Access 3-4 10 laps of a 5.6km punchy circuit, packing 100metres elevation gain each lap. Conditions were beginning to dry at the start of the race after some rain earlier in the day but there was still plenty of wet patches. The CCC riders settled into their respective races nicely, getting used to the speed of the bunch. Due to the nature of the course the short climbs were ridden hard to bring back any attacks with any flat or descents bringing a lull to affairs. At the half-way point the heavens opened making the course a bit more treacherous. Jim was positioned nicely within the pack all race but suffered misfortune with two riders crashing in front of him on a climb forcing him to unclip. Finding himself in the wrong gear due to the forced stop he struggled to get going again. He chased valiantly to get back to the group but with the gap not being closable and others around him pulling off, Jim decided to pull off also and support Kim who was still in the race. Kim was holding her preferred position at the back of the bunch for the remainder of the race and managed to work her way through any stragglers and make the slight split to the main lead group to finish 1st lady and 19th overall.
A competitive Access 3-4 race saw John and Tony hang-on to the pack in
the early stages. They managed to narrowly avoid a five-rider crash at the mid-point of the race and unfortunately, coupled with the now wet roads, they lost contact with their pack. This led to a largely lonely race picking off stragglers on the roller-coaster course.
The race organisers were delighted to see riders from Jersey competing and invited the CCC team onto the podium to share Kim’s success. The CCC team enjoyed their host’s post-race hospitality and left Plounevez-Quintin after sunset. Kim and Jim are back in France over the bank holiday weekend to compete in two more races, this time Open 2,3 and Access 1,2 which is a level up from this weekend. All riders would like to thank CCC for their support in obtaining entries into French races and the financial support. They would also like to thank The Cog & Sprocket for their equipment support
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Guitté Comité des Fêtes race in Guitté, Sunday 19 May 2024
On Sunday 19 May 2024, John Derrien and Tony Merren competed in the Guitté Comité des Fêtes race in Guitté, Côte D’Armor. The event was primarily for Open classes with John and Tony the only two Access 4 competitors on the start line. The 19 lap race was on a rolling 4.7km circuit comprising three climbs totaling 60 metres elevation gain and a fast descent into the town centre. Weather conditions were excellent with a temperature of 19c and light winds. With only a handful of Access riders amongst the 80+ field, it was not surprising that John and Tony had difficulty staying with the pack from the very start. However, both CCC riders persevered and completed 16 laps in just under 2.5 hours, covering 75km and over 950 metres of elevation.
The CCC riders were excellently supported by Colin Vidler and Jonathan Buesnel who provided encouragement and bidons throughout the event. The CCC team (again) enjoyed the hospitality of their Breton hosts and John Derrien managed to get on the podium again, although not for his riding prowess on this occasion: he provided translation services for Ethan Leske a 17 year old Australian riding for Plancoët CC rider who was 4th and first Junior.
The CCC riders and support team would like to thank CCC for their support in obtaining entries into French races and the financial support.
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Moncontour 120km Elite Open Monday 20 May 2024
Jack Rebours riding for CC Plancoët finished 70th out of 140. Jack was involved in an early break which gained an advantage of ~30 secs but most sat up after going for the prime (cash prize for the lap) and they were caught. The pace was fierce with the fastest laps averaging just under 30mph. With 4 of the 15 laps to go everything split up over the climb and Jack was on the wrong side of these splits. He had hoped for more and to have placed better, but I was happy to have got stuck in and raced at this level. The crowds and atmosphere on the day were awesome.