Wild weather at the Surrey League Easter 3 Day.

Easter it might have been, but spring it most certainly wasn't! The Surrey League Easter 3 day turned into the Easter 2 day and those two days took place in some of the worst weather the UK has seen all winter with the riders battling snow, hail, rain and wind....and that was only the first day!

Martin Bryant, Ian Franklin, Dan Kogan and James Whatling were part of an 80 strong field that lined up at Rake in West Sussex for the first stage on Saturday 22nd March and the snow had already started to fall. With 10 laps of a course that included a 25% climb, the stage was always going to be tough, but the increasing snowfall, biting winds and a field containing teams from Arctic Premier, Glendene/Bike Trax and the In Gear Development Squad meant that the racing was going to hard from the off.

As early as the first lap, the 25% ascent of Milland Hill had bitten into the legs of the field and when Matt Talbot (Glendene/Bike Trax CC) attacked hard shortly after, only a few riders could respond and the first break of the race was established. Knowing that he needed to be in the break, the in form Daniel Kogan showed his strength and surged clear of the bunch, bridging up to the escapees and completing a group that worked well and pulled clear of the field.

Back in the main field, another split occured after continued pressure over Milland Hill and the rest of the team were on the wrong side of it. Keen to test himself after injury, James Whatling drove hard leading up to the fifth climb of Milland and forced another split, pulling away with two other riders. They worked well for a lap but the peloton weren't keen on letting anyone else go and reeled them back in, as the heavens opened and a fierce hail storm created a near white out.

Daniel Kogan was feeling the cold in the front group and as the snow started to fall hard across the course, a tree also fell down hard, right across the course! Turning the road race into a cross race, the field were forced to round the tree through the woods and somehow the racing continued despite it being quite obvious the race was over. In the lead group, Matt Talbot attacked leading up to Milland Hill and took the win and the yellow jersey, with Daniel Kogan fighting the cold to cross the line in 9th place, 30 seconds down on GC but within touching distance with two days to go.

The second stage was held at Dunsfold Aerodrome and although the open, flat circuit wasn't an ideal hunting ground for the climber Kogan, he set about defending his position and showed his strength by attacking the field whenever he could. The race was fast and the wind blew strongly around the exposed circuit, making it hard work holding position but Daniel, helped where possible by good teamwork by Ian, Martin and James, was more than up for the task. The speed of the circuit and the vigilance of the teams with riders high on GC meant that any breaks were soon reeled back in, but a small group managed to pull themselves away in the last few laps. Despite a strong chase by the main field, the escapees worked well together and managed to hold the bunch off, with Ben Thompson (Glendene/Bike Trax CC) taking the win from Jerome Walters (Sigma Sport) and Charlie Emery (University of Birmingham). With the bunch keen to keep any time gaps down to a minimum, they followed in less than 20 seconds later, so the overall general classification was unchanged leading into the third, and decisive day in Edenbridge.

The forecast for bank holiday monday was much improved but, unfortunately, they couldn't have been more wrong! As the riders waited to get changed, outside was like a winter wonderland, the snow falling heavily and with no sign of any let up. With the snow settling on top of the hills on the course and a lack of marshalls and lead car, the commissaire had no choice but to make the decision to abandon the race and let the positions on GC stand. Daniel Kogan was a little disappointed, feeling that he could have improved his position on the tough, hilly course, but he went home safe in the knowledge that he rode an strong, attacking race in very difficult conditions and finished in 8th place and the highest placed Under 23 rider on general classification.

Results:

Stage 1:
1.) Matt Talbot: Glendene/Bike Trax CC
2.) Chris Moores: Norwood Paragon
3.) Robert Willcocks: Ajchva Limoux
4.) Darren Barclay: Arctic-Premier RT
5.) Tom Hemnant: London Dynamo

9.) Daniel Kogan: PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac RT

Stage 2:
1.) Ben Thompson: Glendene/Bike Trax CC
2.) Jerome Walters: Sigma Sport
3.) Charlie Emery: University of Birmingham
4.) Darren Barclay: Arctic-Premier RT
5.) Simon Wilson: Arctic-Premier RT

Overall General Classification.
1.) Matt Talbot: Glendene/Bike Trax CC
2.) Chris Moores: Norwood Paragon
3.) Robert Willcocks: Ajchva Limoux
4.) Darren Barclay: Arctic-Premier RT
5.) Tom Hemnant: London Dynamo

8.) Daniel Kogan: PCA-Ciclos Uno-Isaac RT