From Exeter Wheelers Cycling Club

Contents 1 A wheeler rides the 24 hour Le Mans 2 The Race 3 The Team 4 The Weekend 5 Result

A wheeler rides the 24 hour Le Mans

Thanks to Robert Allen for providing this great report of the event. More info and videos can be found on the event website.

The Race

The third running of the 24hrs Velo at Le Mans was held at the world famous motor racing venue over the weekend of 20th-21st August. The race is open for soloists, pairs and teams of 4, 6 or 8 riders. This year over 1500 riders from 11 countries created a field of 382 teams. Participants included racing drivers Stéphane Sarrazin and Yvan Muller; motorcyclists Regis Laconi and Kenny Foray and Tour de France stage winners Thierry Marie, Patrice Hagland and Laurent Brochard. The race is held over the 4.18 km Bugatti Circuit which makes an excellent cycling venue with a mixture of fast sweeping bends, tighter technical corners and a 600 m climb up to the famous Dunlop Bridge at the start of each lap.

The Team

Team Landmark, kindly sponsored by Landmark Information Group, was made up of 8 riders and was a genuine mixed team of commuters, sportive riders and racers. With only limited experience of 24 hour racing the team set out on the ferry from Poole on Friday morning with modest ambitions of not coming last; this would change once the racing started. team image From left to right: Kim Edmunds, Craig Wheeler, Graham Fereday, Eric Wilkinson, Richard Wilkinson, Robert Allen, Julian Bedford and Patrick Hardiman.

The Weekend

Saturday dawned with a cloudless blue sky and much anticipation. The morning was spent setting up the pit, learning the rules of the pit lane and putting in a few steady laps to learn the track. Tactics were discussed and the agreed plan was to work in 1 hour shifts with 1 rider on track, 1 rider on stand by in case of mechanical problems and 1 rider manning the pit. At 2.45pm the teams lined up for the traditional Le Mans start with the riders on one side of the track and the bikes on the other. At 3.00 pm the flag fell and 380 riders ran across the track to their bikes and the race was under way.

Having started the race with our most experienced rider we finished the first hour inside the top 10. However, as the team worked through our rider schedule we gradually found our natural position in the running order which was on the cusp of the top 100. This partly reflected our inexperience; it was fine having a rider in the lead bunch but this position was lost during a pit stop and leaves the new rider detached from the bunch and losing time; something to bear in mind next time... Being the last rider I wasn’t due to come on shift until 8.00pm and ride my first stint until 10.00pm. When I finally got on track the team were kind enough to put me out just in front of the leading bunch and I was able to have an arm chair ride for the majority of the hour after the leaders came past, riding at an average of 25 mph in the dark in a group of 75+ riders was just brilliant. I headed off for a few hours rest feeling pleased with my efforts. Sleep was to be in short supply as a thunderstorm passed over the circuit around 12.30 am. I returned at 4.00 am to find that my team mates had not only coped with the difficult conditions but had been steadily climbing up the rankings during the night and we now sat comfortably inside the top 100. My second stint was a challenging dawn ride on a damp and slippery track. With the race now 15 hours old riders were more reluctant to work and I spent a tough hour at the front of a small group. The effort was worthwhile as we were not lapped by the leaders. Determined to preserve the teams position in the top 100 meant the team continued to perform magnificently in the final 8 hours. We maintained a good speed despite the race fragmenting and the groups getting smaller. I had the privilege of riding the final hour and after a cumulative race distance of 891.41 km crossed the line for the final time.

The team achieved far more than we expected and to finish in 92nd overall was a great reward for our efforts. I can only recommend the event; it was superbly organised at a great venue and offers the chance to ride as a team in a unique event. Anybody interested in a full Wheelers team next year?

Result

Overall Winners: - Team Vulco, 233 laps, 975.10 km, avg spd 40.6 km/h Fastest British Team – Univ. of Birmingham Cycling Team, 223 laps, 933.26 km, avg spd 38.9 km/h Selected Others: - Team Landmark, 213 laps, 891.41 km, avg spd 37.1 km/h, (9th of 31 in class)