Interviews: Dave Peck Memorial Women’s RR

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Talking to Alice Barnes, Natalie Creswick and Corrine Hall at the ShuttVR Women’s Team Series race, the Dave Peck Memorial on Sunday

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RELATED LINK: Race report & results

After 13 laps of an undulating circuit and then five laps of a tougher hilly circuit, second year junior Alice Barnes sprinted well clear of her rivals in the break and won the race by several lengths. Corrine Hall was second and Natalie Creswick third. VeloUK spoke to them after the race…

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Alice Barnes: Younger sister of Hannah who spent most of the race in the ‘early’ break, Alice is a mountain biker who is giving the road a try and doing very well thank you very much. Alice spent the first half of the race in the peloton. “I had a teammate in the break early on in the race and Matrix didn’t so it was up to us, Mule Bar and MG Maxifuel to try and control the chase by Matrix.”

“The break came back and then I found myself in the next one that stayed away. I have been on an Olympic Development Programme training camp all week and was the only girl on it so I was being destroyed by the boys up all the hills. I didn’t think I’d have it me at the end there but I managed to find a sprint to win the race which was pretty good.”

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Alice admitted in the break there were times when she couldn’t even go through and because of that didn’t think there was going to be any legs left for the sprint and added she feels lucky to have had a sprint left. Talking about that sprint, at the top of a long climb (Staple hill circuit) Alice says “there was a headwind so I stayed on the wheels for as long possible and I didn’t want to go to early because I knew the hill was a long one”.

“The climb dips near the top so I spun (junior gears) my legs out and went for it”. Went for it indeed as Alice came past me 50 metres form the line already a few lengths clear of the rest. While her main discipline is mountain biking, Alice has done a little road with a race at Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycle Centre) recently and is off to Europe for a race there with her team Scott Contessa.

“I didn’t do any road races last year while I focused on mountain biking and wanted to give it a go this year. This is my first ever race on the open road so it’s quite exciting”.

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Corrine Hall: The Londoner riding for Matrix Fitness said she was happy with second. “It is my first British race of the season and so I’m happy to be on the podium. It would have been nice to get the win but …”

“It is a good race this one and I am pleased to be on the podium as I knew Dave Peck (the race is a memorial to him) so I was really focused and would loved to have won it.” The race is a Twickenham CC event in memory of Dave who was a member of the club. As was Corrine for three years.

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Asked about her race, Corrine explained “a break went early and we missed it and Harriett (Owen) punctured so her race was run. We put in a lot of effort to get across after it came together, we tried a few attacks but it stayed together until the finishing circuit where Natalie (Creswick) pushed on. I got on her wheel and that was how the break formed.”

“”It took the break a while to get organised but once everyone was working we were all doing pretty decent turns and I could see Alice was suffering.”

Corrine added it was an exciting period of her cycling career with a new team and a chance at going to Rio as well in 2016. “It has been very exciting joining Matrix this year and I’ll be looking for some good results. In the past I have ridden as an individual and then last year rode for Node 4 and had that team set up to help me including teammates on the road. To now join Matrix, which is an even bigger team, is nice.”

Even more exciting than that though was the news that Corrine was in Majorca recently with the GB paracycling team riding a tandem. “After the track nationals, Chris Furber contacted me and asked if I wanted to give it a go and it was too good an opportunity to miss so I went to Majorca a few weeks ago and it’s all going on from there.”

Corrine explained how it is the first time she has been on a tandem which has been an interesting experience. “I did an hour on it with Lora and then went out for a three hour group ride later that week and that was daunting but I love riding it now. The aim now is to try and make Rio which gives me another focus.”

Natalie Creswick (3rd): If there was a most aggressive prize, then surely Natalie would have been a major contender having helped form the winning break and continuing to attack after that. “I knew if Alice was with us, she would have the best chance in the sprint.”

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Natalie Creswick makes her move and Corrine Hall is quickly onto it. This was the moment the winning break was formed.

“In the preceding lap, I was trying to break it up by going off the front and trying to get rid of her but wasn’t able to. At the finish I went for a long one as I know the hill and when I can go but she was just too quick.”

“The second circuit proved to be very good for me and the finishing climb is my type of hill. I was trying to get away at the top and gapping them but when you turned left at the top of the climb you hit a massive block headwind and that put the brakes on me and they caught me.”

“I spent the race staying in the top seven or so in the group thinking it would probably split on that second circuit which is quite exposed to the wind on the climb. The first half of the race, my teammate Clem was in the break so overall the team (Mule Bar Girls) had a good race.”

“I was watching Matrix and they put in a lot of hard work to try and get the break back so I was trying to stay close and mark them.” Asked to compare the race to others over the years, Natalie explained “it felt a quick and a good proper race. I was working hard through all of it and don’t think there was a point when I thought it was easy.”

“Racing, compared to five or six years ago when I started, it’s a whole different world.”

Natalie was racing in a Masters Champions jersey (30-35) and said it was good to have that to race in and hope it helps give others in the over 30 age bracket the incentive to race.

RELATED LINK: Race report & results

 

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