A local team of 3 riders has entered the 5 day Ras De Cymru 5-day stage race for one hundred  2-3-4 category riders based at the University of South Wales Caerleon campus under the PedalPushers banner.
The team consists of Peter Cocker (Grantham), George Thompson (Sleaford) and Marcus Partridge (Oakham).
Wed 9th Stage 1 – 6.6 mile Team Time Trial on the Newport Flats:
A time of 14.55 placed 9th of the 26 teams only 20 seconds behind the winners Team Wiggle, A lack of team practice under race conditions meant that a few seconds were lost in a ragged start and some indifferent changes but overall it was a good performance considering the PedalPushers team only has 3 riders whilst 24 of the other teams are 4 man squads.
Thurs 10th Stage 2 – 53 mile Road Race Abergavenny -Usk circuit
A difficult day for all, as the commissaires struggled to keep control of a 100 rider bunch on narrow country roads. At one point  the race was stopped for a lecture for crossing white lines and it culminated in several penalties being handed following the mass bunch sprint which filled both carriageways, although these were later rescinded. Hopefully things will calm down tomorrow and we can concentrate on the racing.
It was a bad day for George as a puncture after only 6 miles, followed by a slow change from the service car saw him rapidly lose time on a bunch averaging 26 mph for the first lap, but he persevered to the end and will be able to start tomorrow. Peter looked to be climbing well taking points in 2 of the 3 KOM primes and rolled in safely in the bunch having missed the late break of 4 riders which gained 30 seconds in the final km. Marcus also finished safely in the bunch.
Friday 11th Stage 3 – 51 mile road race Usk – Cold Harbour place to place
A better day after the issues the day before, everyone now knew the rules and got on with the racing. With the main hills in the first 20 miles the pace was on from the start with Peter taking 2nd and 3rd in the two KOM primes. The final 30 miles were fairly flat including some fast dual carriageway sections which meant no breaks got more than 30 seconds advantage. Marcus went for a lone break with 5km to go but inevitably was caught before the final 1 km drag up the finish hill where Peter took 6th and George and Marcus came in towards the back of the bunch.
Friday 11th Stage 4 – 4.3 mile individual time trial – Llangybi
A rolling 3.5 miles followed by a hairpin bend into a 1.8 mile climb just to finish the day off after the mornings road race. Quickest rider took 11.10 with George 16th in 11.41 and Peter 18th in 11.42 after incurring a 10 second penalty for crossing the white line on the exit from the hairpin bend which dropped him out of the top 10. Marcus was 64th in 12.21.
Overall with 2 stages left Peter is 19th at 1.0 minute and 2nd in the KOM, Marcus is 52nd at 2.20 and George 87th at 15.43 after his bad luck on stage 1.
Saturday 12th Stage 5 – 58 mile road race – Three Cocks
Another hot and sunny day and a hard stage over 6 laps of the rolling Three Cocks circuit with a near 1 km climb to the finish. A break of 3 riders on the first lap grew to 8 riders holding a 2 minute lead by the end of the third laps with the PedalPushers team riding steadily in the bunch as the Yellow Jersey holders team tried to stop the breaks advantage growing further. With 2 laps to go the break was slowly coming back as Peter and George were helping with the chase but on the line the break still had a 1 minute advantage with local rider Richard Harris taking the stage win and the yellow Jersey. Peter placed 16th at 1.17 as the bunch split on the finish hill, George after looking strong on the hill punctured again with 2 km to and riding the hill on a flat finished 67th at 1.52 with Marcus 7th at 2.04.
Sunday 13th Stage 6 – 68 mile road race – Crickhowell – Llangynidr
Final stage and all the riders are starting to look tired now and not looking forward to this rolling stage around Brecon which finishes with the 4 mile climb of Llangynidr mountain, but at least the weather was a little cooler after some overnight rain. The bunch stayed largely intact with Peter taking 3rd on the first KOM but in the second of  two small crashes Georges run of bad luck continued and he was taken down and spent the last 25 miles trying to get back to the bunch.
As they hit the lower slopes of Llangynidr the bunch blew apart as Peter started the attacks and 10 riders pulled away, at the top local rider Stephen Williams (Wales) took the win with Peter 6th at 49 seconds, Marcus 59th at 5.39 and George 67th at 6.46 after a long hard chase.
The big time gaps on the final climb had a big impact on the overall GC with Peter jumping up to 6th overall
1st Gunther Zachman (London Phoenix) 9.53.42
6th Peter Cocker (PedalPushers) 9.55.21
54th Marcus Partridge ( PedalPushers) 10.02.21
74th George Thompson (PedalPushers) 10.16.37
It had been a good hard week of racing excellently promoted by the Cadence team giving non-elite riders a chance of a real stage race. The PedalPushers team acquitted themselves well with Peter taking 6th overall, 4th in the KOM competition and 2 top 6 stage placings. Marcus rode consistently well helping the team and made several late bids for stage glory which unfortunately came to nothing. George must have been the unluckiest rider in the race, with two punctures and a crash putting him well down overall, without these he would have been capable of a top ten placing overall.
Further pictures and results can be seen on the Ras de Cymru Facebook page
