2025 ROAD RACE SCENE
RIDER: Ermin Huremovic
DATE: 2025-07-06
EVENT: Seacroft Wheelers Road Races supported by Pactimo
POSITION: 36th
IMAGE: See attached, Courtesy of Seacroft Wheelers Facebook
Longest race of the year for me and I’d prepared after the Peter Taylor with some rides in hotter weather that included harder efforts. The race started off with “neutralised” convoy from the race HQ where people were already jockeying for position along the narrow road, and after the flag dropped, we turned the first left of the course and it strung out before bunching up on the first railway bridge and then stringing out again as we descended to and out of the next left turn. The second railway bridge came and went and at this point I thought it would calm down through the forest before an S bend, but, no it got faster and faster with speeds exceeding 50kmh. The S bend and final two left corners felt like sprints to catch up. Phew 10 laps to go!
The second lap was even quicker and third lap the quickest. On the third lap I was reaching my limit and the caused me to stop checking over my shoulder before moving out and that caused a couple of nudges from other riders on the first railway bridge. Then on the beginning of the fourth lap a gap opened up on the back of the group that took me far too long to close and only closed because the group slowed down. I hung on over the railway bridges and then into the forest again I just couldn’t keep up with the high speeds and that was it, good bye peloton.
Time for the mindshift change from, race, to, how many laps can I do before being lapped? I broke the lap into chunks and would complete the railway bridges, then ride through the forest and then count down the remaining corners before starting again. Part way through the grey clouds rolled in and then it absolutely poured it down in the midway point of the course with so much rain there was surface water on the S bend, but, then it was bone dry on the start/finish!
I was eventually caught on the start/finish straight with 4 laps to go for me, 3 for the race and for the last lap the sun came back out to dry me off! Glad that I stuck around to complete all the 11 laps because it showed the position tweaks after the Peter Taylor were a positive because my back and feet weren’t anywhere near as sore.
Ermin Huremovic
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RIDER: Ermin Hurejmovic
DATE: 2025/06/15
EVENT: Peter Taylor Memorial Road Race
POSITION: N/A, lapped by the field
Images/Video by Ian Phythian
Words Ermin
This was a bit of a research race ahead of the Seacroft Wheelers Road Race in July so I came into it with the idea to complete rather than compete. Good thing too because the first time up Burgate I started overheating and could already see a gap to peloton. As it flattened off a couple of riders overtook me and I jumped at the chance for a rest. Eventually we’d formed a small group of 5 and started working.
Unfortunately, this lasted two corners because we were no longer within the vehicle convoy and I wasn’t willing to undertake cars at a junction where there was a visible pothole so 2 riders rode off. The 3 of us continued working well down through the country roads with a bit of encouragement. I struggled up the first part of Burgate and on the second phase of the hill I was dropping back and felt the heat getting to me again because closing that gap was my undoing and ended up unable to match their speed going up the third part of Burgate and saw them ride off at the Whin Lane junction.
Ah well, now it was race to not get lapped! Head down, keep drinking, go a bit faster when cheered on (thanks to all those who showed up and shouted from the side), unzip the jersey going up Burgate, quickly zip it back up when the photographer is spotted, fail at eating a Precision Fuel energy chew and chew on part of the packet. This attitude held off the front until lap 4 and I was lapped on the second hill of Burgate by a group of 5 and then at Whin Lane junction by the peloton.
I was glad to be lapped by that point because it meant the end was near. I must’ve crawled up Burgate for the final time because it felt even hotter to complete 5.5 laps of the 6.5. it was all good research in the end because I learned a lot like; tighten the stem bolts because my handlebars slipped on the way back to the HQ, saddle height and cleats need an adjustment because my back and feet became sore, need to get used to doing efforts in the heat and energy chews are compact but really hard to open while riding fast. Bring on the Seacroft Wheelers Road
Short YouTube video (click link below)
Results link
