I too was in A. The bunch which formed when % and A merge was crazzy big. It was impossible for the marshals to keep order in that lot. I think they did very well getting everyone to the gravel safetly - thanks guys! I take my hat (helmet?) off to the couple of trucks that actually pulled over and let the mad group pass them. The gravel... well the road itself was ok. But it started off hard and became loose towards the middle. There was also the unexpected downhill in the middle. I am guessing people who know the stretch know this, but most people would not know it. Hitting the breaks in the loose stuff resulted in immediate loss of control, unfortunately with bikes and bodies tumbling all around that was the only option in several cases. I had a couple of near misses - but in the end I had a good race and did not come unstuck. But I won't be doing this race again if the word gravel is mentioned. Good things... the start was well layed out and organised. The marshalling was good.
