Welcome to the Hell of the East.

We all love our bikes, (especially us at the PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team, as our Isaac Impulse bikes are the best in the peloton!), they’re our pride and joy, we don't want to damage them or risk breaking them in races because we spend a lot of money on them, a lot of time cleaning and maintaining them, making them run as smoothly as possible for riding and racing. Alan Rosner of Heron Cyclesport likes bikes too i'm sure, but he doesn’t care for the way they look, he just likes to test them and their riders to the limit in his exciting, testing and unique races.

The Tour of the Dengie Marshes, held on Sunday 30th March, was the rebirth of a true classic. Narrow, exposed farm roads, just a stones throw from the North Sea, coupled with sections of gravel and farm tracks made for the most challenging and excited race the Eastern Region has seen for many years and was a fitting tribute to Chris Negus, to whose memory the race was dedicated.

The PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team fielded a full team for this challenging event and, although some of the team had already experienced the race in it's first edition back on the calendar, this was a new course and promised to be tougher than even before. Thankfully, (although Daniel Kogan might disagree!) heavy rain in the lead up to the event didn't stop the use of the offroad section as this was part of what made the race so special and contributed so much to the overall result. You only had to count the numbers of spectators gathered to watch the riders suffer on the slippery offroad section to know this was a crucial and exciting part of the race, everyone fixated on the riders working hard to reach the end of the section without mishap.

The race went hard from the gun, with riders fighting for the front before the neutralised section had even finished. A lined out field hit the first farm roads and hell was unleashed, with riders fighting for wheels and splits up and down the field. When an early move containing most of the strongest riders in the race forged ahead, including Ben Luckwell and Billy-Joe Whenman (Sport Beans/Wilier), Andy Lyons (Heron Cyclesport) and Matt Holmes and Darren Barclay (Arctic-Premier RT) they worked well together and managed to establish a lead that was never relinquished.

James Whatling worked hard to get himself into a seven man chase group which included Adam Norris (Heron Cyclesport) Stephen Skuse (Wildside RT) and Ben Thompson (Glendene/Bike Trax) and, although they worked hard, they never quite had the cohesion to catch the leading group.

The leaders came to the finish together and Billy Joe Whenman sprinted to take the win from Martin Smith and Ben Luckwell, a well deserved victory for the young Sport Beans/Wilier rider. Behind them the chase group had splintered, with Stephen Skuse making a fine solo break on the final lap to take 7th place. James Whatling sprinted in for 12th place, a good result for the rider coming back from an Achilles injury.

The rest of the field were split over the course, all covered in mud, all suffering but all loving the experience. Dan Patten was strong but unlucky. He had briefly made it to the leaders and then suffered a puncture and spent the rest of the race charging through the field, always driving the groups he encountered and eventually gaining some reward with a hard riding 15th place.
The rest of team all suffered some misfortune at one point or another but all finished, a credit to them in such harsh conditions.

The whole of the field returned to the HQ to wash off the mud, but all of them with smiles on their faces and plenty to talk about. Whether Alan Rosner made sure everyone had the full Roubaix experience by turning the hot water off in the showers no one will ever know!

The PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac Racing Team’s Isaac Impulse bikes proved themselves in the one of the toughest race environments they will encounter this season. Two riders in the top 15 in such a hard fought race is a fine result for this first year team, and with the team preparing for the East Midlands Cicle Classic, they can be sure that their Isaac bikes are more than up to the task.

Results:

1.) Billy Joe Whenman: Sports Beans/Wilier
2.) Martin Smith: AW Cycles
3.) Ben Luckwell: Sports Beans/Wilier
4.) Andy Lyons: Heron Cyclesport
5.) Matt Holmes: Arctic-Premier RT

12.) James Whatling: PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac RT
15.) Dan Patten: PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac RT

Thanks to Mark Cozens: www.mphotography.co.uk and Neil Rankin for the pictures.