READY SET GO
On a rainy summer’s day in July Cycling Plus toed the line, literally, with 550 others to race the sodden streets near Buckingham Palace on our folding bike… and it was fabulous
Could there be a more British sight than hundreds of people lining up in the rain, suited and booted, on the opposite side of The Mall to their folded commuter bikes? But these people aren’t waiting in any ordinary queue, they’re waiting to start the 11th annual Brompton World Championship Final. The Union flags lining the road to Buckingham Palace add to the overall sense of occasion and daft eccentricity this unique event embodies. (Well, not strictly unique… there are qualifying races held across the globe, but there’s only one final.)
That’s not to belittle this race, like the Brompton itself it’s a masterpiece of planning and design: the location is perfect, the course is perfect, the Le Mans-style start with each competitor having to unfold their bike before they can set off is perfect. Even the drizzly weather – obviously not planned – is kind of perfect for an event that rests somewhere between bicycle racing as we know it, and such Cotswolds peculiarities as woolsack racing, cheese rolling and shin kicking.
That’s Cycling Plus’s view from the third wave of competitors, anyway. Up at the front, things in the first wave are a lot more serious – as serious as curiously dressed folk in tin helmets with funny little folding bikes can be. Former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer David Millar is there, riding one of his CHPT3 Brompton signature-edition bikes, along with Northern Irish time trial expert Michael Hutchinson and a host of very fast riders from around the world who earned their place on the start line [rather than being handed it on a plate! - Ed] by winning one of the qualification races. Many of them have even swapped their flat pedals for clipless ones and turned up wearing cleated shoes. Ever had the feeling you might be out of your depth?
Even those speedsters, however, are required to wear a jacket and tie, or equivalently smart attire, if they want to ride in this most exclusive of races. Outfits range from the outrageously colourful to the traditionally austere, but everyone is on point when it comes to these basics of city chic.
Nervous energy
As everyone’s released in waves, those of us in the third of the four groups get to feel our nerves build as we watch our predecessors tackle perhaps the most crucial part of the whole event: the unfold.
After signing up for the 2017 Championship I asked the aforementioned David Millar, a veteran of at least two previous editions, for any advice when we met up over the summer. I was hoping for a secret training tip or two from the world of pro racing, but that wasn’t what I got.
“The most important thing is to work on your unfold and make sure you know how to get it right,” he told us, adding: “The first year I did it, I arrived at the start line feeling pretty good, then watched as everyone else disappeared up the road while I fiddled about for over a minute just trying to build the bike. These people are seasoned Brompton riders, they know what they’re doing and a bad unfold can’t be turned around. They were long gone before I started pedalling.”
On the back of Millar’s advice I had spent some time in the garage at home practising the true mark of the Brompton aficionado: the double unfold. It’s a technique that brings both front and rear wheels into position in a single, smooth, swift movement. It had worked in the privacy of my own home, but could I nail it among hundreds of fellow competitors and in front of a crowd?
As the first and second waves get going, the butterflies in my stomach begin to flutter as I watch them wrestle their machines into a rideable state. In the spirit of generosity, I’ll assume that it was nerves, confusion and mounting excitement that caused a few folk to set off for their bikes before the flag officially dropped; perhaps the only un-British acts of the entire day.
When the moment came for wave three, no world records were set, but I did nail the double unfold and was away somewhere in the middle of my group, which I found perfectly acceptable for a novice. From that moment on, to borrow the vernacular of some of our comrades that race more regularly, it was full gas to the finish. My version of full gas, anyway, which, despite a lack of training, was faster than some riders and considerably slower than others.
Get in gear
Blessed as I was with a six-speed Brompton for tackling the local hills at home in the West Country, I was able to select a ‘getting-going’ gear for a slightly faster start. But from the moment I got my bike up to speed it was a case of pushing the highest gear I had all the way. This simple strategy propelled me through various groups of riders that were flying down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace before swinging left at the Victoria Memorial.
“These are seasoned B romp ton riders, they know what they’re doing and a bad unfold can’ t be turned around. They were long gone before I started pedalling”
David Millar
There had been plenty of pre-race warnings about taking the corners steady in the wet, but the tarmac proved suitably grippy and didn’t slow us down unduly. The route took us down The Mall, up Birdcage Walk and then left onto Horse Guards Road. The turn on to Horse Guards was the tightest pinch point, but despite a few bumps and holes the roads were as good as you’d expect those used regularly by the reigning monarch to be.
I continued to drift through the field, eventually found my place and settled in among several people that I’d see over and over again on my way to the finish. Any thoughts I had that I might be going particularly well were dispelled long before the finish line, however. The racing at the business end turned out to be particularly fast and furious, as I was privileged enough to witness first-hand – not by virtue of being in amongst it, but by catching a glimpse of the leaders as they lapped my group at pace somewhere on the sixth of the eight scheduled laps. Let the fact Mr Millar finished 42nd tell you all you need to know.
Competitive nature
I didn’t hold much back myself, as my long-dormant competitive instinct resurfaced the moment I didn’t completely fluff the unfold. But that early forward progress soon stalled and by the closing stages I was only passing the Brompton World Championship equivalents of the London Marathon ‘fun runners’ as I did a little low-key lapping of my own.
Eventually, despite my best efforts, I had to settle for 116th place. Perfectly decent, but plans were already being put in place for how to improve on that next year before the complimentary post-race gin and tonics had even been quaffed. Yes, there was beer available, but the whole event had more of a G&T vibe.
Elsewhere on the day, hopefuls took part in a time-trial with a twist: feeling the pressure of the stopwatch as they demonstrated just how quickly they could unfold their Bromptons. Despite being pleased with my display at the start of the race, I also know when I’m hopelessly out of my depth and left the unfolding against the clock race to the experts.
With the women’s WorldTour RideLondon Classique taking place on the same roads before the Brompton race, and having arrived at the start via a lap of the London FreeCycle route, not to mention the Prudential RideLondon 100 and men’s WorldTour race to come the next day, the Brompton World Championship is but one piece of the ultimate cycling weekend in London. But what a truly special piece it is.