You have probably read, or heard stories, about the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race. If you know a cyclist who has completed the race they will have told you, probably at great length, about the experience and probably on more than one occasion. You are no doubt still not really sure what all the fuss is about.
It’s impossible to comprehend the exact nature of this most gloriously English of events from someone else’s description. The only way to fully understand this eccentric and grueling event is to enter and experience the race first hand. Each year dozens of new competitors are drawn to tackle the Peaks. They come from all parts of the country, and increasingly from many parts of the world, and from all kinds of cycling backgrounds. Some of these newcomers tick the race off their list and never return, but many more are drawn back year after year by a mysterious, if not masochistic, attraction. The Peaks is a race that can get under your skin.
Held in the Yorkshire Dales, amidst majestic limestone upland scenery, the race takes competitors off-road and over the mountain tops of Ingleborough, Whernside and Penyghent, improbably aboard skinny-tyred cyclo-cross bikes. At the foot of each peak the gradient kicks up and the bike goes onto your shoulder and, once over the summits, rocky sections on the descents force most riders into taking some sweat-inducing risks.
The Peaks have long been a popular hiking challenge; a running race climbing the three mountain tops, first held in 1954, is now one of the most prestigious on the fell racing calendar. The race on foot inspired Kevin Watson, a young Skipton schoolboy, to complete the challenge with his bicycle in 1959.
It wasn’t long before others attempted the route by bike and the first cyclo-cross race over the summits was held two years later. After a number of race route changes the course has remained the same since 1994, over a distance of 61km (38 miles) with 5000 feet of ascent. The course record of two hours 52 minutes was set in 2008 by Rob Jebb, the fell running and cyclo-cross international, who has won the race seven times.
Martin ‘Ginger’ Garwood, a London plumber, was third in the inaugural 1961 race, “We do a bit of riding down there you know, but this is different. It’s more of an endurance test.” he commented at the time. When asked if he would return to race the following year, he replied, “That’ll need a bit of thinking about.” The Three Peaks, as Ginger realised, is a serious undertaking not to be underestimated and the months before will inevitably involve trepidation and soul searching.
Admittedly it’s a fair bit shorter, but it’s comparable to tackling something like the Etape du Tour. It is guaranteed to test your mind and body to the full.
My business with the Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race began in 2003 and the race continues to draw me back with its undefinable magnetism. Each time I’ve crossed the finish line, my immediate thought has been “never again”. Yet, within minutes, I have been plotting how I could prepare better, how I could lighten the bike, how I could improve my time this way or that. Each year, for reasons I don’t totally understand, it continues to be unfinished business.
Last year was my fourth attempt and I finally put in a performance that I was satisfied with (and even put me amongst the prize winners). More specific training than previously, a chainring change and lighter tyres contributed to my first sub-four hour round. The training that produced the performance also gave me some good form for the cyclo-cross season right through until January. Racing throughout the coldest winter for decades was hard and, after a deserved rest in March, spring began passing very quickly.
It’s now three months to the 2010 race and it’s dawned on me that my training is behind where it was last year. In June 2009, I put in four weeks of good training. I got out for 10 hours a week on the bike and was running once a week. This year events seem to be conspiring against me and I have failed to increase my riding much above the ticking-over level. I have just shifted a virus which hit me badly for a fortnight and this followed two similar illnesses that struck in April. I have only managed to start one criterium race so far this summer (midweek races can form the core of a fitness-building 65 mile ride).
Most worringly of all, my ‘cross race bike continues to sit unloved and caked in the mud it collected in the last race of the season in February. Until I clean it and replace a couple of cables I am restricted to training on my road bike and I continue to question whether I will be adequately prepared for race day at the end of September.
The personal best of three hours 50 minutes I rode to last year leaves me with a dilemma. Where there is the urge to push yourself quicker there is also the possible ignominy of going slower. Last week I started entertaining thoughts of not entering this year’s race. I dropped this bombshell on my training partner Russ Jones as we sat outside a riverside pub on the evening of the Longest Day.
“I thought you were going to say that,” he said with concern in his voice. Russ knows about my uncleaned bike. Russ is also aware that he’s not in the same kind of shape he was this time last year. We both realise that we need to start upping our game if we are to match our strong performances of last year.
One week on from that conversation and today is decision day – will I answer the call to battle or keep my powder dry for the long winter of the cyclo-cross season…?
…I finish writing this on the evening of July 1st. The race entry form has been published, I went to the post office and my cheque is on its way to Yorkshire. Russ tells me he did the same. I turn 45 in a few days and maybe one day it will be time for putting my feet up. I’m not sure I’ll ever really understand what drives us to put our wheels on the start line of the Peaks, but for now there is a new race bike to build.
(To be continued…).
Entering the Three Peaks:
To enter the 2010 race you will need to act quickly. Complete and print off an entry form from the race website. As the race is oversubscribed the form may be removed from the site within a matter of days. Post your entry as quickly as possible and then wait for the list of accepted riders to appear. The field, limited to 500, is selected from the entries received; it does include first timers, but you are asked to give evidence that you have the necessary experience to enable you to complete the race.
Race website: www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk
Konrad Manning works at Cyclefit, the bike fitting specialists based in London’s Covent Garden. Cyclefit supported Gabby Day during the 2009/10 cyclo-cross season. Gabby placed highly in World Cup races throughout the winter, represented Great Britain at the World Championships and won bronze at the National Championship.
Get fitted for a Cyclefit ‘cross or road bike:
Cyclefit have a limited number of the 2009/10 Glider Boxercross frames, the same frame raced by Gabby. The frame and forks are being offered at £749.99 and a SRAM Rival-equipped ‘World Cup Replica’ fully-built option is £1999.99, including a Bike Fitting session. Cyclefit Director Julian Wall, a regular ‘cross racer, and Konrad are able to give expert fitting and bike set-up advice.
www.cyclefit.co.uk
