Riding for the Surrey League in the L'Etape de la Defonce 2 day stage race were Andrew McKie and Dave Kennett of the Norwood Paragon, Roger Smith of VC Etoile and Phil Watkins of Old Portlians. The weather forecast leading up to the weekend had us all expecting 2 days of rain but thankfully the rain held off and we did not have to resort to washing and drying jerseys in the travel lodge.

Stage 1
Saturday started with a 53 mile stage which was over 2 large 22 mile laps before an out and back trek on the A48. This stage was undulating rather than hilly and it seemed most of the bunch wanted to keep things together. Roger was very active at the front of the bunch but we all had to be alert for the cattle grids, some small rocks on the road and even one sheep. Unfortunately Roger punctured, although there was service his call for a shimano rear and being given a campag did nothing to help him get back to the bunch and he was to miss an uphill finish that would have suited his climbing. Later on Dave and Phil got in a break of 5 but with 1 guy sitting on we eventually got caught. The finish is really quite different, coming from Surrey League races we are all used to uphill finishes but not normally the last kilo uphill on a 2 lane dual carriageway (Cowbridge bypass). Sprinting on the little ring Phil managed 6th behind John Fitzpatrick of Abergavenny, Dave and Andrew both close by in the bunch.

Stage 1A
Saturday afternoon we had a 7.1 mile Team Time Trial to ride. Seeing most of the local teams sitting on their TT bikes with aero hats we were on our road bikes for the start. With Dave having done a pb 54 for 25miles the week before and Roger a 21:30 for a 10 we still had some speed and were soon on a good tempo, the conditions were really tough with some long rises to deal with on the way back but we finished in 17:06 which gave us 2nd place only 16 seconds behind the Cwmcarn Paragon, we had about 20 seconds over the 3rd team. This meant that going into sunday Phil and Dave were lying 4th and 5th overall.

Saturday evening
We managed to find a restaurant run by a real Italian for some very nice pasta and a glass of red wine.......

Stage 2
Sunday was the Mountain road stage which although 45.5 miles was still a real challenge. Dave noticed that the Cwmcarn boys had our numbers on post it notes on their handlebars so we expected to be watched. Just before the main hill prime Roger had moved clear with another rider and had quite a gap on the bunch. On the main hill on the way out the yellow jersey plus a lot of other riders went out the back, Dave and Phil making the selection of 15 to 20 riders at the front with Roger still up the road. There really wasn't a lot of flat on this course and at one point Phil nearly lost contact and had to descend back to the group. Luckily it wasn't raining as at one point we took a left turn at a roundabout to be met by a cattle grid while still leaning over, Phil and a London Dynamo rider agreed you don't get many of those in Surrey! The Cwmcarn riders kept the pace high and reeled Roger and the other rider in with less than 3 miles to the finish, 1 Prime win was not enough reward for all the effort he had put in and but for 1 puncture could have been a lot better. The finish is the same both days in the L'Etape so we at least knew we needed a little gear this time. The same Abergavenny rider again had the measure of the hill with Phil moving up to 4th in the sprint this time, Dave and Roger in the bunch. Andrew came in with the next bunch on the road just behind to complete a good weekend for all. With Dave and Roger finishing in the front bunch this gave Surrey League the team prize with Phil 3rd Overall and Dave 4th Overall.