tokyo enduro race report

The first race of the year on Saturday. The Tokyo enduro.

The course

A flat course. A square around lake Saiko. Not too technical. But the wind can play a part.

The competition

1800 riders. 600 teams. 4 hours. Who can do the most laps?

The team

I form a 2 man team with Hayakawa san. Two diesel engines. He the master of the 100 km TT. Me the lover of the 300 km survival slog.

Andy 2h >Hayakawa san 2 h. That's the plan.

Riding alongside us will be:

Yamada san (race rookie) 2 h > Adachi san (team ace) 2h

The tactics

I talked to the coach. My idea was to sit in for 90 minutes. Then TT off the front ala Fabian Cancellara. Make a nice gap on the group. Changeover with Hayakawa san. He brings it home...

Of course, as my coach points out, this is the plan of virtually every other team!

We decide that I should ride near the front. Go with any good moves. Take advantage of riders who push hard before coming off early...

Enduros are simple in theory. But you need strategy when teams are involved....

The startline

A bike against a tree gets me a good start position. All important with 600 riders clogging up the road. The tree also serves as a clothes horse as the last few layers come off...

3,2,1 GO!

The first lap is time to move up. Get to the front. See what's going on.

A few decent looking guys. Check the legs. Check the pedaling. JBCF number holders. Team kits. Sekiya. Rogers. Intermax... Inamata Daisuke! A far cry from the Giro d' Italia!

Into the 2nd lap. A few attacks. Easy to close.

On the 3rd lap the Rogers guy and the Sekiya guy attack on the back straight. They're not looking back. Must be serious. I need to close it. But close it alone.

Drop 2 gears. Go!

Reel them in slowly. A big effort. Almost 190 HR. They look back. See me coming. Straight on to the front. We have the gap. Do a pull. Signal them through. 1st rider, 2nd rider, my turn again. A big pull this time. Signal them through again... but... they're... not... there...

To go as 3 would be tough. It would need good cooperation. To go it alone from here would be suicidal...

Back in the pack.

Settle in. Try to hold 10th spot. Work as little as possible. Move up before the corners. Avoid potential crashes. Less work coming out of the corners.

All the while Yamada san is hovering around. I try to give him some advice. Wheels to watch. He's doing great.

I tell him to sit in. About 60 minutes on the clock now. I'm going to have a go on the back straight after 90 mins. Try to push away for my last 3 laps.

We bide our time

When the time comes we time it perfectly. Off the front together. Full gas. TT mode.

We get a nice gap quickly. But we can't seem to stretch it. A few kms and we're swallowed up.

I overhear 2 guys, "those four are still away". What? My ears are good. But my eyes are failing me. I missed that one. They must have sneaked away through one of the crowded sections.

Last chance saloon

2 laps till the changeover now. 1 lap. Now Yamada san goes. Just before the hairpin climb. I follow him. You get a nice view of the chase as you curve back on yourself.

Here we go!

Over the speedbumps. Most stand up and freewheel. I'm in the saddle. Drive over them. The Astuto 50 mm wheels can handle the abuse. I left the 25 mm Gatorskins on for this purpose. Bump, bump, bump, bump...

Down the back straight. Time to put it all out. Drop the gears. The heavier the better. The heart rate surges to the upper 180s bpm.

Over the bridge. Into the pits.

Changeover

Give Hayakawa san a push. More psychological than anything. The baton is passed...

Real time data

A message from the coach. "You're 5th on the road." He's at work and he knows more than me! Funride are uploading the time splits in real time.

I log on. Updated each lap. Hayakawa san and Adachi san are pulling a small group. 5th and 6th on the road at first. Closing in on 4th, then 3rd, then 2nd. They don't know this though. Trying to communicate this as they fly past at 40 kmph isn't easy...

The guy in the lead won't be caught. Later they'll express disappointment. Maybe they could've caught him if they'd known. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I could've gone with the move I'm sure.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda?

There's no room for regrets in bike racing.

2nd (for us) and 3rd (for Yamada san and Adachi san) is a great result. Especially in March.

It was great to get on the podium with friends. Let's hope there are more chances this year...

strava data

official results

lap splits

tokyo cycling coach

astuto wheels

Kids' race

Our race was over. But the real race was yet to come. Luke and Mark's race debut! They've been looking forward to it all winter.

If they were nervous on the startline, they weren't showing it.

3,2,1 GO!

Luke's off to a flyer! Mark's further back. Waiting for the sprint?

Some of these kids have gears. I tell one dad "surely that's cheating!". He gives me a wry smile. I know what he's thinking . "You'll be back with gears next year!". Dead right pal!

Anyway we have our own plan. The girl of their dreams (aka mummy) up the road. Talk about a 24 carat carrot!

But disaster strikes! A wave from mum is met with a wave from Mark. Now for a 3 year old to ride a regular bike is impressive. But to ride one-handed? Sure enough he comes down like Tom Boonen. Luckily he's okay. His Classics season still on course.

Next it's Luke's turn. Laughing all the way. Like Mutley in the Whackey Races. The thrill of it all! He misses the turn. Straight into a tree! The second tree he's hit this week! He's okay too. Bounces back up. Laughing like it never happened.

Back down the finishing straight. They lap up the applause.

Everyone's a winner in the kids race. And so they should be...

2 more days in Tokyo made for a great few days.

Looking forward to the next race already...