You may think the Captain must have been in training for weeks, but nothing could be further from the truth, This was very much a spur of the moment decision, taken at 9am this morning on the back of a liquid fuelled night of 'socialising'.
With the decision made the Grillust™ team quickly snapped into action to support the Captain in his desire to take on the might of such teams as Sky and Orica Greenedge.
Simon's cycle was speedily serviced (we pumped up the rear tyre), liniment (well actually lard from the canteen) was massaged into his recently waxed legs and he was good to go. It was only at this point that it occurred to us that the carbohydrate content of pale ale is relatively low and if he wanted to stand any chance of wresting the King of the Mountains jersey from Kristian House (let alone taking on 'Cav' in a bunch sprint) carbs would have to be consumed quickly.
Speedily, a sponsorship deal, involving pastries and fondant fancies was successfully arranged with Greggs the Bakers. Ten sausage rolls and a Chelsea bun later, we were ready for the 11am start.
The Captain was content to stay with the peloton as it rolled out of Carlisle but soon after decided to form a breakaway of one.
As our leader crested Shap Fell (426M) he was ten minutes clear of the pack with a tail wind and a downhill route to the finishing line on Blackpool promenade. Tragically for Grillust's cycling ambition the Captain (whose sense of direction is legend around these parts) was under the impression that the final destination of the race was Blackburn.
At 2.35pm Mark Cavendish crossed the finishing line at a famous seaside resort, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd. At approximately the same time a solitary figure on a pink bicycle cycled up the main street of a large, Pennine, mill town, much to the indifference of the locals, and came to a halt in front of a well known bakers...
History (as they say) is always written by the victor.
Happily ensconced in the peloton, the Captain negotiates Castle Way before making an early breakaway
The Captain was happy to fulfil his sponsorship requirements before the race...
Serviced and ready to go, the Captains 'mount' shortly before the start, alongside competitor's machines
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