Words and photos by Epic Rider Alan Grant and Chris Wood/Supersportimages

The Anza Cycling Mavericks
Bike racing is a bugger. You can do all the training, get your bike just right, have a great sleep the night before and still end up with your race effectively over in the first few minutes.
Today's OCBC Cycle Singapore 60km Super Challenge marked the debut of the Anza Mavericks racing team, an evolution of the Anza Cycling team which performed admirably in last October's Tour de Bintan stage race. On that occasion I ended up as the leading Anza man but today a crash at the 2k mark saw me grind to a complete halt and left chasing air.
The day started well. I arose 15 minutes before my 4:30am alarm but having had a good six hours sleep I felt great and super excited. The nine Mavs racing were meeting at Rats Corner at 5:15 to ride straight down Singapore's famous Orchard Road to the F1 Grand Prix Pit Building for the 6am start. I even had time for a 10km warm-up.
In Singapore, we're used to riding in the darkness as the predawn hours offer us salvation from the blazing topical sun and the local drivers, but I'm not sure what most of the overseas racers thought of such an early start time. Quite uncivilised really.

Calm before the storm
They let us out of the holding pen with about 15 minutes to go and the Mavs lined up en masse on the second row along with Mike Pryde, the man whose company I have to thank for my mean racing machine. The banter was flying as the commentator's pre-race championing of the sponsors merits was mostly ignored until something about a narrowing section of the road not far from the start got our attention. This previously undisclosed piece of information obviously meant that it was important to stay right at the front from the get go.
"One minute to go," says the announcer and 30 seconds later the horn blasted and we were off, catching some, like me, unawares and I stumbled with my clip.
Not to worry I was soon back on the wheels of the Mavs in the bunch although I was last man of the nine. Almost immediately, the aforementioned hazzard was upon us. The commentator had said it was about a single lane's width, yeah right, more like an alley's width and so 200 rider's were funneled in tightly two, maybe three abreast. It wasn't looking too bad until one of the Mavs, I thought at the time Paul, was suddenly shoved into the barrier by the rider to his left. He went down and I managed to stay up but come to a stop as I somehow avoided slamming into my stricken teammate. It was dark and a blur. I was pretty sure he was all right so I got back on and started the chase. The back of the bunch wasn't too far away and the three riders I found myself with set out to catch them. We were working well together and before long we were within touching base of a group of about eight who were just drifting off the bunch. Once we got them I was sure we'd have the numbers to make that extra effort needed to get back on.
Alas, there were only one or two workers among them, including Brian Johnsen from Team Life Extension, and the group also included one of Singapore's leading female riders, Serene Lee, and her male minders who had their own agenda which didn't include chasing hard. She ultimately won her race. After a minute or so of this and as we pulled off Mountbatten Road onto the ECP, for a long stretch of closed and extremely straight expressway, I kinda figured we were toast. We didn't give up but the lights ahead were getting smaller and smaller. The only hope now was for a break involving some of the bigger teams to get away and for those teams to then keep a lid on the bunch.
After about five clicks of hard slog a few new faces came to the front to help with the chase, including some of Brian's teammates, and I realised that another group had caught us. I took the opportunity to have a break and recharge my batteries. It was now a huge bunch and as they filed by I saw another Maverick. It was Glen, it was him who had come down. He had done really well to get back on. Turns out that he had jumped from bunch to bunch trying unsuccessfully to find willing workers.
We had a "team meeting" and decided we were sick of the lot of them and with what we thought was a dodgy section through an unlit bike path coming up in the next few kilometres, decided to attack! For the next 10 minutes or so as we had the whole lot strung out behind us. Just the two of us swapping turns with not a sniff of another rider coming through to help. Not that we asked.
Why are people content to be also rans? What's the point in entering a race if you're not willing to help? Even a 10-second pull would have done.
Glen and I had taken it up just before the end of the Changi Straight and kept it going until just before the first chiccane appeared on the East Coast Service Road. There a rider or two finally came through, a smart move to avoid this potentially dangerous section.

Daylight reveals the city streets
We were now almost back in town and we decided to take a bit of a breather as the finish wasn't too far ahead and we finally had a few riders taking turns, noticeably a white and red Wilier. A series of u-turns and right-angled corners made it imperative to stay near the front, though, if I wanted to contest this little race within a race. I was determined all those wheel suckers weren't going to fly by me. As we filed past the Pit Building that signified the 4km marker I got ready for the bridge to the Marina Bay Sands casino. I like to think I can climb so I launched myself past Glen and Wilier through the left-hander at the foot of the "hill" and went for it. I felt super strong and was sure I'd have a gap, and I did ... all of a measly 10 metres ... the whole group was still there right behind me. Nothing ventured, eh?

The Alize attacks!
A long straight up The Esplanade was next before two 90-degree right-handers took us into the final kilometre which was off the road onto a wide walkway. A left-hander led us under a low footbridge (I'm glad I'm not tall) and over a temporary wooden ramp onto the F1 track. As we turned into the final straight the barriers were crowded with cheering spectators and it felt like we were racing for honours. I quick glance round revealed I was in group of five that was clear and so it was heads down time. I'm not a sprinter but the adrenalin was pumping and I thought I had a chance, however, as I made my move to the gap down the right-hand barriers the guy in front did the same. Alas he didn't have the speed so I tried the other side but ultimately only got fourth out of the five.
Race over, I was a bit disappointed but not with my performance. You just deal with the cards that fall your way. I exited the drinks zone to see the other Mavericks smiling and waiting for us, resplendent in green, gold and black. That gave me a boost and my mood was lifted further with the news that our designated rider, the Quiet Man Ed Ayres, had so nearly produced the goods, snaring a fourth place finish behind a 1 2 3 for the strong OCBC boys. That still represents a great debut for the Mavs and the other seven guys were active in the lead group the whole day and finished strongly. It can only be upwards and onwards for the Mighty Mavericks!
P.S. Glen Kenny is an animal!

The Mavs take a post-race bow
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