Race Report
Location: Heffron Park - Club Racing (Cat 4)
Grade: C Grade
Race Distance: 28.5km (14 laps)
My Average Speed: 36.3km/hr (46:45 mins) (Ave lap 3:20)
Placing: 8th - bunch sprint for 3rd (2 away)
Conditions: Windy, S, headwind down the main finishing straight, but tailwind on the back of the course, consistent, no gusts. Temperature about 23C. Overcast.
After the Club Champs 1 Lap ITT (see previous post), I stayed around and did the usual Saturday race at 4pm. After warming back up again, the legs felt okay, but noticably a little stiffer than earlier. I had also left the Zipp wheels on, and now would be interesting in a bunch race how they handled the wind and cornering.
On the start line, Gerard Knapp gave me a tap on the shoulder. GK rejoined the Club recently and has had the occassional race. Today we were both in C Grade together.
From the gun, I settled to the back of the group, lantern rouge, while the legs got properly warmed up to race pace, and I conserved as much as possible for later in the race - good plan. After 2 laps, there was trouble brewing at the front of the race and I had to move forward just in case a breakaway tried to form. On lap 3 this is exactly what happened. 3 guys broke off the front in what would almost prove to be the break of the day, as 4th wheel cracked and lost ground tailing everyone off with him. Stuck in 6th wheel, I started the chase, and was gradually bringing them back, but with little support. On the 4th lap, the break started to faulter a little and it all just about came back together when another rider attacked, bridged to the front rider, and we never saw those two again, but we wound in the others. After all the attack/counter/chase of the previous laps, I believe GK got dropped, and we later lapped him with 2 laps to go.
I spent a lot of time on the front of the race after lap 4. Very little help, with most intent on a bunch sprint for 3rd. Not me, I wanted to shell as many as possible, and almost succeeded serveral times but for lack of help. Too often, I would be on the front into the block headwind down the finish straight only to have someone sit on my wheel, or worse still, sit up as they got to the front so it all came back together.
In the end, it did come down to a depleted bunch sprint for 3rd, where I had very little left in the tank and rolled across the line in 8th place, holding off 2 others trying to come over my shoulder.
Still, I enjoyed the race and spending time on the front doing the majority of the work can only make me stronger. But better still, the 2 in the break (10 laps off the front and slowly catching B Grade) will likely be in B Grade next week.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Club Champs - Round 1
Race Report
Location: Heffron Park - Club Championships
Grade: TBC (Gradings for 2009 done off this event)
Race Distance: 2.02km (1 lap)
My Average Speed: 38.05km/hr (3:13 mins)
Placing: TBC
Conditions: Windy, S, headwind down the main finishing straight, but tailwind on the back of the course, consistent, no gusts. Temperature about 23C. Overcast.
Let me start by saying the following - "C'est la vie"....
After getting to Heffron a little earlier than expected, I registered and was 7th on the start list. I went out for my warm-up and did my mandatory 6 laps, getting used to the wind and prevailing conditions. While a bit windy, but atleast consistent with no gusts, the Zipp wheels didn't feel bad and I decided to go for it with them on.
After what I considered a good warm-up, the start time came around, and the first rider set-off. When I rolled up to the start line, the next to start, the time keepers noticed a small problem with the timing, so they delayed my start by about 5 minutes to get this corrected. I was completely focussed, and now I started to cool down and think about other things.
Anyway, after sorting the timing issue, we restarted.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!
Out of the blocks I felt really good, and started to hammer down the short straight leading into the "squircle". Looking up, there were 10 people walking side-by-side down the track. Yelling at them, they just stopped and looked at me, oblivious to the dangers of me bearing down on them. As I got closer, they still hadn't moved out of the way, and when two kids decided to run across the track, I was forced to brake from a building +40km/hr down to about 18km/hr to miss them. You can imagine the words that came out of my mouth! That section is just so important to set-up for the rest of the lap. Race over....
Getting started again, the angry pills had kicked in, and I got going pretty quick, but the momentum was lost. Down the back straight with the tailwind I could only get up to 45km/hr, and then, entering the front 400m straight into the block headwind, I gave it everything sitting on 38km/hr. At the line, the legs were just turning to jelly, so timed perfectly.
Finish time 3:13. Take off about 5 seconds for the delay and I could have broken my PB of 3:08 done a few years ago in perfectly still conditions.
While I was offered a re-run by the Commisaires, my legs and lungs (pursuiters cough) were just not up to it and so the 3:13 stands. Good thing is, I know I was much faster than that.
"C'est la vie".
Location: Heffron Park - Club Championships
Grade: TBC (Gradings for 2009 done off this event)
Race Distance: 2.02km (1 lap)
My Average Speed: 38.05km/hr (3:13 mins)
Placing: TBC
Conditions: Windy, S, headwind down the main finishing straight, but tailwind on the back of the course, consistent, no gusts. Temperature about 23C. Overcast.
Let me start by saying the following - "C'est la vie"....
After getting to Heffron a little earlier than expected, I registered and was 7th on the start list. I went out for my warm-up and did my mandatory 6 laps, getting used to the wind and prevailing conditions. While a bit windy, but atleast consistent with no gusts, the Zipp wheels didn't feel bad and I decided to go for it with them on.
After what I considered a good warm-up, the start time came around, and the first rider set-off. When I rolled up to the start line, the next to start, the time keepers noticed a small problem with the timing, so they delayed my start by about 5 minutes to get this corrected. I was completely focussed, and now I started to cool down and think about other things.
Anyway, after sorting the timing issue, we restarted.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!
Out of the blocks I felt really good, and started to hammer down the short straight leading into the "squircle". Looking up, there were 10 people walking side-by-side down the track. Yelling at them, they just stopped and looked at me, oblivious to the dangers of me bearing down on them. As I got closer, they still hadn't moved out of the way, and when two kids decided to run across the track, I was forced to brake from a building +40km/hr down to about 18km/hr to miss them. You can imagine the words that came out of my mouth! That section is just so important to set-up for the rest of the lap. Race over....
Getting started again, the angry pills had kicked in, and I got going pretty quick, but the momentum was lost. Down the back straight with the tailwind I could only get up to 45km/hr, and then, entering the front 400m straight into the block headwind, I gave it everything sitting on 38km/hr. At the line, the legs were just turning to jelly, so timed perfectly.
Finish time 3:13. Take off about 5 seconds for the delay and I could have broken my PB of 3:08 done a few years ago in perfectly still conditions.
While I was offered a re-run by the Commisaires, my legs and lungs (pursuiters cough) were just not up to it and so the 3:13 stands. Good thing is, I know I was much faster than that.
"C'est la vie".
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