Steven Ludford says:

I should of started a little harder in this race as a large group of about five Mucker teammates were 200ft ahead and working together. I was with two non-Muckers, one couldn’t or wouldn’t pull at all and I was a little reluctant to help pull non-teammates up to our team. I kept an eye on the gaps and when the draft was at its weakest I pushed really hard and managed to solo across, but I’d gone deep into the ‘red’ and never really recovered from it as the next sections seemed to be all gradually uphill. Ultimately our bunch ended up all over the final positions so there were a few occasions where we had to decide if we were hindering the guys feeling strong or whether we should wait for guys dropping backwards. I think everyone made the correct choices in the circumstances. I teamed up longest with ‘Chak’ who was looking strong, I had just decided to let ‘Chak’ push on when my banking App notified me that my wife was in the supermarket with insufficient funds, now I was riding along transferring money between accounts … Geraint Thomas doesn’t have these issues to contend with. My final contribution was to try and assist Neil in anyway I could, which basically consisted of shorter and shorter pulls then sitting on the wheel of ‘marcelmitmrad’ up the penultimate climb to make him think I was feeling good when really I was about to ‘crack’. ‘kin_kwan’ then kindly offered his wheel and helped me limp towards and onto the final climb. Another good workout.

Henrik Jørgensen says:

When I saw the start list for tonight’s race, I thought… shit it’s going to be hard just to get into the top 3. With strong riders like Simon H, Karel S and Kowarzanin with whom I’ve had so many good matches, I knew it would become difficult. It was then also the 4 of us who quickly came to the front. For the most part it was Simon H who pulled the load, as he is by far the strongest in the field. About halfway through the race, he simply sailed away. I think he only noticed when he was 200m ahead. Anyway, he stopped completely and waited for the rest of us. It also just proves how superior he is. 👍 With a few km left, we hit the last small climb, and I can see that Karel and Kowarzanin are losing ground, and then Simon H and I move. With about 1km to the line, I’m about 6-8 meters behind Simon H and trying desperately to overtake him. But every time I increase by 0.5w/kg he just increases by 0.7w/kg. He really played with me 😄 I knew from the start of the race that I had no chance to beat him, so my second place feels like a victory, and I am very satisfied with that, when you think about the strongly occupied field. Many thanks to Mucker’s worldwide for making these races, which are fantastic training, and thanks to all the riders who show up time after time, even though the outdoor cycling season is underway

Andy_UP says:

Had a plan not to follow the best riders, as I never hold on till the end and I end up getting past by multiple riders near the end, leaving me with a bad feeling. So I turned the tables and was going to be the chaser this time. Gave some power at the start and hung on the back of the group, with names like Tuden and Karel. I thought no no no, don’t do it, so I let a large group catch me with Chak and Mucker. The first serious climb came and I was pulling a little too strong for the group, hoping to find a partner in crime to chase down some guys in front. Chak really tried but droped his power to 2,5w/kg. Than came along Rouvy1Bryon, who showed some real power and potential, so I went with him, working strong together. By the start of the final 2 climbs we had rolled up 2 riders (Stefan and Zeus) and we saw Madden really trying to not get cought also. On the final climb, Bryon was clearly the strongest, he had a very good day. Usually I can put up a real battle with him but he flew up the final climb as he had wings. Madden didn’t have the time to blink or he missed Bryon passing him. By the end of the final climb I passed Madden and I was hoping he couldn’t sprint anymore, as I was on my max at that point. He coudn’t and I am very happy with my 8th place. Being the chaser is so much more fun!