The London Phoenix ‘cross landed at a fantastic new venue, Gunpowder Park in the Lee Valley, in October, when we hosted round 3 of the London League. Months of planning, a fine team of volunteers, great support from Lee Valley Park and the dry weather meant the new course was perfectly set up for fast and furious racing.

The U10/U12’s gave us a taste of what was to come with close racing on a fast but testing circuit, which was like a miniature version of the full senior course with it’s steep climbs, fast open sections and tight turns.

After working hard to host this race we look forward to getting back on our bikes and putting a strong team out at the rest of the league races.

To see more great photos from the day, click here

London Phoenix fielded seven riders at Round 2 of the London and SE Cyclo-Cross League this weekend. Unlike previous years the event was held in glorious sunshine and the technical course at Deers Leap Farm was fast and dry, and led to some fantastic racing. Neil Simpson, Joss Miller and Stuart Lockyear all put in absolutely storming performances, with Matthew Harper not far behind on his first go at Belgium’s biggest sport…

Next week London Phoenix will be hosting Round 3 at a completely new venue at Gunpowder Park in North London. Keep an eye on the website for more details.

For various administrative reasons and despite the fact that Nathan Smith won last week’s Victoria CC road race, London Phoenix weren’t one of the teams invited to race at this year’s Tour of Britain.

Instead we took the opportunity to take a break from our non-stop schedule of racing and headed down to the final stage of Britain’s premier road race, took a few photos and then headed to the pub to plan next year’s campaign. In detail.

So myself and Dr David Murrell headed out to Essex for the Victoria CC Road Race, starting in the Beautiful village of Ugley, 96km of grey sky and crappy roads awaited us. The race began at a pretty pedestrian pace but soon picked up once the attacks started, several early breaks got away but none managed to get to far out of sight, a dangerous looking group of 6 (ish) went clear for about 15 miles, they looked certain to stay clear but were eventually caught within the final lap.

With the group together the speed increased, I was stuck near the back desperately trying to weave my way to the front but with a peloton of around 70, on tight country roads I was making slow progress, I ended up sprinting along the grass verge to get closer to the front, luckily I managed to find David’s wheel just before a sharp left onto a narrow lane which lead to the finish via a couple of short sharp hills. I was sitting comfortably on David’s wheel until I guy drifted off his line right into his path , almost causing a pile up, as this happened I managed to jump through a small gap as we hit the final short climb, giving me a clear run to the finish, I noticed a couple of skinny guys on my right tiring badly, so I gave it ‘full gas’ cue the arm’s in the air celebration followed by the ridiculous muscle gesture to the cameraman,(thanks for finding it David) think I was feeling a little light headed with all the excitement.

David finished just outside the points in 11th but would have defiantly been higher if not for the wayward sprinter, maybe even a Phoenix 1,2 ? We rode the mile or so back to race HQ then cracked open the tea and cakes. £50 in the sky rocket and 15 BC point better off.

I must thank my very own Mark Renshaw, Dr Murrell, not only for his almost perfect lead out but for the tea and cakes and for keeping me entertained on the way home.

Nathan Smith showed his true class this weekend by winning his first ever road race in some style, having destroyed a strong field of seasoned road racers at the Victoria CC event. Having only taken up crit racing in the last couple of months and with only a handful of races to his name, his rise through the ranks has been nothing short of stunning. This is all the more remarkable given that he’s been recovering from a serious knee injury that has kept him from training for most of the summer, so no doubt the best is yet to come!

For a first-hand account you can read Nathan’s race report here, and dream of what it would be like to be a winner, and a generous one at that….

Gary Lingard, one of London Phoenix’s most talented and versatile riders, stormed to 4th place in the first race of the London and SE cyclo-cross season this weekend. The course at Fowlmead in Kent made for some thrilling racing and Gary put in his strongest cross performance yet, and was clearly building on his success in the MTB XC nationals earlier in the year where he got a top ten spot overall. So “Het trekt hier Gary”, as the Belgians might say….

For more details on the London Cyclo-Cross League visit their new website, and thanks to Londoncyclesport.com for the great picture.

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