Update 25 May 2012

Went to the Halfords Tour Series last night in Redditch. I normally watch it on the TV but as it was so close and the weather looked very promising decided to go and watch "Live" with my wife. I finished work a little earlier so there was plenty of time to get there (never been before) and off we went. It took about 20-25 minutes and we parked in a multi storey car park just off the ring road. It was then no more than a few minutes walk to the circuit. We had a look at the start/finish straight and then went to the Weatherspoons to get a drink. After that we ambled back to the start/finish straight again and found a spot about 30 meters from the line by a bus shelter. We decided to wait there fore the race to start.

There was plenty of the riders warming up and doing laps before the start, and then about 10-15 minutes before 7pm they started to gather the riders up for a sort of presentation. I got some decent photos of some of the teams and riders. Was rooting for Rapha Condor Sharp so got some of Dean Downing and Kristian House.

Dean Downing

Kristian House

The next 2 photos are of the 1st lap when they were still basically in a single Peleton:

 

What was impressive was the draft of air blown over us as they swept past that I had not expected.

The race developed and some people fell off the back within the first few laps. There was a small break for the 1st sprint and then they grouped back together again, although members of the smaller teams kept getting spat off the back each lap. The 2nd sprint got going and a small break-away started to build a lead. Kristian House was in this group as were a Team UK Youth, Endura, Team Raleigh and Node 4 Giodana. These 5 then shot off and at one point built a lead of over 1/2 a lap. They contested the 3rd sprint and continued to maintain a strong lead. 3 laps from the finish all the lapped riders were pulled in and the remaining riders started to jockey for position. The leading 5 then clearly slowed and were trying not to go too early. On the last lap we saw all 5 go past the line then when they came round for the finish the Node 4 Giodana rider was missing. The UK Youth rider was clearly the strongest and had a clear win. Kristian House came across for 3rd or 4th. As the lead bunch had been playing games the remaining peleton were almost on them at the finish as they were really going for the places. From our vantage point it was impossible to see who won from a team point of view, although Endura looked strong. A few riders then trickled over the line with a big gap. Dean Downing who had been at the head of the bunch on the last lap was one. We saw where the Node 4 Giodana rider wnet on the TV The next night - he just fell off on the penultimate corner before the climb - I bet he was gutted. No reasons for Dean Downing's status though.

We then ambled down past the finish line and watched the presentations. I Was surprised we could get so close.

Podium Girl #1

Podium Girl #2

Overall Sprint Winner at end of Stage 4: Bernie Salzburger

Endura winning their 4th straight win in a row

In summary it was a really good evening. Excellent weather, exciting racing over s short period of time and plenty of cycling action. Met Dave Brown and his wife there, and while Noel was there failed to find him.

What would I do if I go and watch again? I think I'd watch from a few other places - I thought it would be pretty busy all round but in reality only about a 1/3rd of the track was fully dense with people and even that was not too bad. There would have been enough time to walk around the track once I think.