James Sale of the Eagle produced a stunning late burst of speed to break clear of the peloton to win the 2009 Eagle Summer Road Race. With the race staying together over all six laps of the testing circuit, a bunch sprint was the deciding play in this year's race. Most of us thought that the best chance of an Eagle win was by getting one or two riders in a break, so what a fantastic sight and surprise to see an Eagle jersey 100 yards ahead of the peloton at the finish. We had, however, to wait until after the race to find out the extent of the teamwork that enabled the win for James today.
Teamwork that drew praise from our adversaries, "Well done to the the Eagle team for a great win.. the last 3 miles was like sitting behind the Columbia Highroad team as they showed a master class in team work".
As the race approached the closing kilometres, Damien sensed that this was the moment; sending Chris to the front, and ensuring James and Adam were on his wheel, set the train in motion. Encouraging Chris with shouts of "Faster, Faster" Damien orchetrated the final manoeuvre. With James in the pocket, Chris had to set a scorching pace to prevent other riders from getting near the front - this he did with a monumental turn at the front, giving it everything as his job today finished with a kilometre to go. Damien then took over and flew over the last two hills before setting James off with final intructions "Don't look back". Adam, who was on the wheel of James, let James go, protecting our escapee over the closing metres. So it was left, in the finale, to James to execute the final move in the plan. All of the team' hopes now reted on his young shoulders.
Chris summed it up for all of us "We knew we could count on you, and none of us would have wanted to be in your position. Either you won or we all held our heads in our hands until the next one. That's what I liked best about today. It was about winner take all. Points are for moving up categories, wins are forever. We've been talking about this since January, and at some stage the talk stops and either you execute or you don't, and it came together as Adam said, red ball corner pocket."
Full result
1 James Sale Eagle RC
2 Richard Law CC Ashwell
3 Brad Lamb Glade CC
4 Jamie Anderson North Road CC
5 Steve Hubbard Cambridge CC
6 Adrian Pettitt Stowmarket & District CC
7 Gonzalo Rodriguez East London Velo
8 Piers Brown Finchley Racing Team
9 Ralph Keeler Cambridge CC
10 Alan Moules St Ives CC
11 Luke Smulders Team Milton Keynes
12 Tristan Emptage North Road CC - Relegated from 3rd place
13 David Farrow Eagle RC
14 Dan Corby Finchley Racing Team
15 Daryl Gannon Finchley Racing Team
16 Ben Wright VC Revolution
17 Dermot Kealey Finchley Racing Team
18 Carmelo Luggeri CC Ashwell
19 Rob Jackson Cambridge CC
20 Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC
21 James Cocker East London Velo
22 Darren Hughes Chelmer CC
23 Stuart Clark Chelmer CC
24 Tyler Denmead Cambridge CC
25 Thomas Caldwell St Ives CC
26 Ian Heather Shaftesbury CC
27 Matthew Nockolds St Ives CC
28 Adam Dawson Eagle RC
29 Glen Vinnicome Cambridge CC
30 Christopher Baldwin Eagle RC
31 Trevor Whittock Lea Valley CC
32 Patrick Hawkins Shavedlegs.co.uk
33 Andy Sykes Thames Velo
34 Matthew Cook API - Metrow
35 Hugo Robins East London Velo
36 Terry Garlinge East London Velo
37 Nigel Burns St Ives CC
38 Alan Lawrence VC Revolution
39 Paul Dewberry VC Revolution
40 Mark Porter Glade CC
41 Steve Newman West Suffolk Whs
42 Damien Foy Eagle RC
43 Chris Hughes Cambridge CC
44 Grant Smith Crest CC - Ilford
45 Richard Mead CC Luton
DSQ Jeff Robinson North Road CC
DSQ Hamish Hoare Maldon & District CC
DSQ Trahern Rayner CC Ashwell
DNF David Boakes Chelmer CC
DNF Richard Fraczek Essex Roads CC
DNF Nick Faint Finchley Racing Team
DNF David Francis Gateway Cycling
DNF Justin Browne Glendene CC / Bike Trax
DNF Adrian Ward Shaftesbury CC
DNF Ralph Mullan Shaftesbury CC
DNF Rob Lines VC Norwich
DNF Simon Hewins Eagle RC
DNF Jonathan Roy Finchley Racing Team
DNF Graham Masters Eagle RC
DNF Andy Lack Kingston Whs CC
DNS Keith Carne CC Ashwell
DNS Alan Galloway CC Luton
DNS Anthony Moye CC Luton
DNS Lee Harvey Colchester Rovers CC
DNS Andrew Ballentyne Easterley RC
DNS Neil Bryan Glade CC
DNS Tom Stephenson Ipswich BC
DNS Brett Travers VC Revolution
DNS Nigel Hobday Cambridge CC
DNS Simon Beeforth VC Revolution
DNS Keiran Dineen Amersham Road Cycling Club
DNS Steven Kaye Fenland Clarion CC
DNS John French Peterborough CC
DNS Stoyko Bussarov Imperial Racing Team
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