Zwift sprints galore
Sotonia’s Zwift teams rode the Neon Flats this week – a festival of sprints and recoveries. Or rather, sprints, then more sprints with no recovery in between.
But this seemed to suit our riders well. Cranks (women’s C category) welcomed Els Freshwater to the team and rode strongly. But for a failed heart rate monitor (which leads to a points penalty), they’d have ridden into 8th place, which would have been a best for this round. Cadence (women’s C category) meanwhile did achieve a round’s best, finishing in 6th place on the night. Special kudos to Vikki Sutcliffe for riding for two teams on the night, to ensure that they had a full roster.
SotoniAs (men’s A category) placed Will Weynberg and Oli Caudwell in the front group, with Phil Wilks and Joey Wynne trying bravely to escape the broom wagon. They finished 10th on the night and stay 10th in the league. Over in Bees (men’s B category), Andy Gardiner carried his cyclocross form into Zwift and scored more than half of his teams overall points, to guide them into 6th, another highest place finish for the round.
And what of Buzz (men’s B category)? Well, they’re the standout team of the round, so they won their race, placing Chris Moody and Hamish Hunter first and second (on the same finish time), with Dan Lickman just one second behind in 7th. They’re now second in their league, just four points from first place.
Next week is team time trial race on a nice flat RGV course in France. Time for some strong teamwork. And in other news, it's likely that we'll be hosting a Zwift chase race on Tuesday 21 February. This is suitable for you, whatever your speed and experienced; less powerful riders will get a headstart on a nice flat course over the more powerful A and B riders. Ride with your fellow starters to hold off the chasers. Watch out for more information coming soon.
THIS IS OPEN TO ALL SOTONIANS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE A MEMBER OF A ZRL TEAM.
Wessex CX League, round 11, Southampton
It was a cold start to round 11 of the Wessex league in Southampton, hosted by Kerie and the cross stalwarts at Crabwood CC.
Frozen ground for the youth races, started to thaw by the time the v40 men took the line with the course a mix of hard and frozen but with a slick top layer to spice things up. Andy Gardiner and Tom Budden were again at the pointy end of the race, finishing 2nd and 3rd as they look set to take the v40 team classification with teammate Phil Wilks 8th.
By the time the v50 men raced, the Sports Centre course was looking more its normal January brown - Jon Hall coming in 4th place.
The final seniors race saw Phil Banks put in a strong performance as he looked set for a top 10 finish, sadly a mechanical, late in the distinctly un-bike-friendly conditions forced his retirement.
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Mixed Fortunes in ZRL Week Three
Sotonia Buzz (men’s category B team) fared best this week in a 4 lap race around Zwift’s Innsbruckring. Dan Lickman continues to make a mockery of a so-called “higher league” and repeatedly picked up sprint points before finishing high up the field, leading his team to an overall second place.
Other Sotonia teams found it harder. James Peckham led home Sotonia Bees (men’s category B team), earning 50% of the team’s overall points as they finished 10th on the night. SotoniAs also finished 10th, with Will Weynberg the highest placed rider; behind him Oli Caudwell and Joey Wynne tried a brave last lap 2 up breakaway to earn the mythical Segment Battle Points, only to discover that they were cancelled mid race. Ouch.
Little to report from the women’s teams, other than the usual brave riding. Both Cadence and Cranks (both women’s C category) finished in 10th on the night.
Special mentions, though, to the riders who turned out for their team even though they were ill, injured, or needing to prioritise other stuff that night rather than racing hard. It truly is a team sport; the points earned by Ant Gritton, Sander van Voorn and Tim Cooke all meant that their respective teams finished higher up in the table than if they’d just sat at home.
And this means that there’s a space for you, whatever your level of experience, confidence, or power. Let us know in the usual way.
Next week is a sprint fest: 8 sprints across 30km around Neon Flats. Lots of strategy required there.
Wessex CX League round 10, Clanfield
Heavy January rain in the run up to round 10 of the Wessex Cyclocross league at Clanfield, meant one thing - mud. A lot of it. Hosted by Solent Pirates a day after their UCI event, the course featured a road start before winding its slippery, muddy way to the top of the South downs hill. The adult course featured deep ruts, some pretty lethal offcambers that sent many sliding and a two storey run up. It's fair to say it was a tough one!
Battle of the day was between Tom Budden and Andy Gardiner on the v40 men, Andy denied 2nd place after shipping a chain on the last lap to finish 4th with Tom 3rd.
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Time trial week in Zwift Racing League
This week was time trial week, on Watopia’s Magnificent 8. This is a test for 6 riders, with the time being taken from the fourth rider across the line. Only one of our teams was able to field a full team, and even then they suffered a mechanical mid race, so the Zwift gods didn’t smile kindly on Sotonia this week.
SotoniAs (men's A category) started with 5 riders and finished in a very respectable 38’ 37”. Bees (men's B) too started with 5 and their fourth rider crossed at 40’ 01”. Buzz (men's B) started with a full 6 riders, but suffered a mechanical part way round, to finish with 4 together, crossing in 42’ 03”. Cadence (women's C) started with 5 riders and win team of the week award, as they kept their riders together to finish as a solid group, on 53’ 38”. Cranks (women's C) did not have enough riders available to compete in this event.
Next week serves up a different kind of test, with 4 laps of the Innsbruckring, flat (ish) with a leg snapper each lap. We could do with some new riders to strengthen all of our teams; we’re losing points if we don’t turn out full teams, so whatever your level of experience or power, we need you! Just let us know in the usual way: contact an existing rider, comment below, or email us at info@sotonia.co.uk. You never know, you might enjoy it.
Zwift Racing League is back!
Five teams lined up for the third round of the 2022/2023 season on Makuri Islands Chain Chomper, which was a festival of hill climbing.
Best team performance of the night was from Buzz (men’s category B team) who were promoted at the end of the last round into Division 3. But this was no challenge to them, and they rode straight into second place in that higher league, placing 3 riders in the top 6, with a great performance in particular from Hamish Hunter who was just pipped at the line for a win. They also welcome Jahan Hunter to the team.
Rider of the night has to be Vikki Sutcliffe who rode two back-to-back races on the same night to ensure the women’s C teams had 4 riders each. Both Cranks and Cadence rode strong and placed well given that they had only 4 riders; in Cadence Jen Astall placed highly on her first race with the team, while Jen Dawson rode her way to her highest placed finish yet, in 10th.
Bees (men’s B category) are now in Div 1 after promotion last round and noticed the step up in quality. James Peckham, though, didn’t let that put him off, and snagged a top 10 finish.
We welcomed back SotoniAs (men’s A category) to the team roster; they rode with just 5 riders and made a solid start, with Will Weynberg taking the most points for the team. More to come from them in future weeks, I think.
Now we have 5 teams, there’s space for more riders to join. Just speak to a current rider, leave a message below, or email us at info@sotonia.co.uk
Next week is team time trial week: a test of communication, strategy and determination. Come join us.
Sotonia Alpe handicap chase results
Congratulations to all who rode last night in the Sotonia Venta Alpe handicap chase. We had a few DNS with apologies, reflecting the high amount of lurgy that there is out there at the moment. But 14 brave riders took to the line to battle it out.
First across the line was, event organiser Tim Cooke, proving beyond doubt that he hadn’t fiddled the handicaps at all. Chris Moody was breathing hard down his neck, with Evan Jardine-Skinner rounding out the podium.
Sarah Champion was first female home, with Donna Bennett coming in second. Samuel Ridgment was the sole U16 rider and came in first in his class.
For VC Venta, Oscar Hoult excelled, with Martin Evans taking second ahead of Keith Irvine.
Segment times reflect non-handicapped times. Oscar Hoult was probably fastest, but his time was not available. So Will Weynberg takes top spot, with 44’ 31”; Chris Moody and Tim Cooke tailed in behind him.
Sarah Champion was fastest female, ahead of Donna Bennett. Again, Samuel Ridgment was the sole and the fastest, U16 rider.
Oscar Hoult was probably the fastest Venta rider, but his time was not available, so top spot goes to Martin Evans, with Ruan Simpson taking silver and Keith Irvine taking bronze.
We’ll be back for more interclub fun at the end of the next Zwift Racing League round, in late February. Meanwhile, the full results are available here.
Sotonia podium places
Open handicap podium
- Tim Cooke
- Chris Moody
- Evan Jardine-Skinner
Female handicap podium
- Sarah Champion
- Donna Bennett
U16 handicap podium
- Samuel Ridgment
Open fastest segment podium
- Will Weynberg 44’ 31”
- Chris Moody 46’ 03”
- Tim Cooke 49’ 15”
Female fastest segment podium
- Sarah Champion 57’ 53”
- Donna Bennett 77’ 40”
U16 handicap podium
- Samuel Ridgment 70’ 57”
Wessex CX League, round 9, Abingdon
Arctic wind and sub zero conditions brought back memories of the last snowy Wessex race, also at Dalton Barracks a few years back. This time the ground was frozen solid, making things slippier than a greased eel. The course in a different part of the military base at Abingdon to previous years, still featured tracks used by army vehicle training vehicles and was littered with helicopters and tanks - the big 4x4 ruts were not to taken lightly!
Our top finishers in the youth races brought 3rd and 2nd for Stanley and Billy in the U8s and u10s. Matilda and Corden 4th and 6th in their U12 races. Tom Allen had a great start in the U14s and was in the shake up for the win as he went clear in a group of two, only a couple of small slips denying him the win. George Connell and Emma Harrison was 9th and 7th in the U16s.
Best result of the day was by Andy Gardiner in the v40 men as he quickly forged a big lead over the field as other favourites struggled with the icy terrain and were forced to retire with mechanicals - sadly including Tom Budden who was sitting in second place at the time.
Gemma Wilks finished 7th senior women. Jon Hall took 5th place in the v50 men and Jon Dudley was 6th in the v60s.
Great riding everyone!
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Sotonia Zwift teams win promotion!
After a hard fought 6 week round in Zwift Racing League, two Sotonia teams won automatic promotion for the January 2023 round.
Sotonia Bees (men’s B category) are promoted to the highest possible division in their category and timezone after a thrilling second place finish on Richmond’s Cobbled Climbs course. This took them into second place in their division on countback. This tight finish really highlights the team element of this competition. Every single rider’s points counted towards their promotion.
Sotonia Buzz (men’s B category) went one better, winning the final race outright and topping their league. A magnificent result, once again testament to some superb team spirit, with riders often turning out to ride even when recovering from illness or injury. They are now promoted to Div 3 in their category and timezone, but with performances like theirs, they’ll be gaining promotion next time round too.
Sotonia Cranks (women’s C category) cemented a solid season by finishing 5th on the vicious hills of Richmond, and 5th overall. Perhaps the bravest team overall, though, has been Sotonia Bullets (women’s B category) who were often short of riders and beset by bad luck. They finished 12th in their league.
Now it’s time to rest. Next round begins January 10th, for 6 weeks. We could do with strengthening all of our teams. If you want to join a winning team, join the men’s B teams. If you want to make a winning team, join the women’s B or C teams. Just contact a rider, email us at info@sotonia.co.uk or leave a comment below.
Alpe du Zwift handicap: Tuesday 20 December, 18:30 start. Entries open.
Do you Zwift? If so, this event is for you. We’re holding the second official Sotonia Alpe du Zwift handicap race on 20 December. Each rider will receive an individual start time, handicapped according to their previous riding history. Slower riders start earlier than faster riders and we hope that all riders will finish the race at 8pm. Even if you don’t know how fast you will be, we can estimate this with a little bit of information from you.
This event is particularly suitable for youth riders, whose high watts to kg ratio means that they will climb quickly (perhaps between 45 and 60 minutes). It is open to all riders with Sotonia links and we’re also opening the event to riders from VC Venta.
Full details on race rules, and how to enter are here. Sign up and join the fun. It’s free!