"hippy" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:Qpf%[email protected]...
> "Geoff" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
>
news:[email protected]...
> > Agreed, track cycling events at Vodafone Arena are great fun to watch. I'll be there but as a
> > competitor. I'll be the guy in the Richmond
> Cyclery
> > colours riding the white/blue FORT bike in the D grade races.
>
> I'll try and keep an eye out for you. It's unlikely, but I'll try and get some shots of you
> in action.
Don't forget to get some snaps of your fellow Blackburn riders as well. There's quite a few of them
riding. (btw I'm a St Kilda CC member)
I'm not good enough to pick out riders
> early enough to snap 'em ;-)
Agreed. It can be hard to take pic of object moving at speeds >45km/h
The lighting in VA can also make pics difficult to snap.
>
> Will the D grade races be outlined in the program? I've never bought one before, that's all.
The races listed in the program will most likely not actually state the grades but the entry lists
on the Cyclesport Victoria website will. Usually for a Vodaphone arena event there are four grades
ie Elite, B, C and D. For the rider a program is a neccessity for planning your warmups, and knowing
how much time you have to do things like change gears and rest. As a spectator you can probably get
away without one except in the case of a madision where there is a page to record the points (in a
running total format) won by each team. Knowing this info can make the race much easier to watch.
Personally when I'm spectating I like to know who is racing so I alway get a program.
>
> > I started racing Crits in September 2002. I then took up track racing
> at
> > about this time last year and had my first ride on Vodafone Arena in
> March
> > 2003. It was the Mens Masters (Class 2/3 combined) Victorian 10Km
> Scratch
> > Championships, my first ever proper scratch race on the track.
>
> I've not raced on the track yet - only Blackburn training sessions so far. I've been on/off crit
> racing for a couple of years now. You are obviously pretty good/keen, going from starting out to
> Vodaphone in ~7 months.
>
> > Prior to that my only previous racing was one Wed night at Brunswick
> in the
> > presence of some pretty elite company (ie Will and John Walker) which
> made
> > me realise how fast I really wasn't. Unfortunately on that same night
> I
> > crashed during an elimination race (my mistake and a big dose of
> experience
> > was gained). The bike escaped with just a couple of scrapes on the
> bars. I
> > ended up suffering from a broken right thumb which, for a few months,
> left
>
> What was the mistake? If you tell me now, maybe I can avoid copying you?
>
basically I was just of the the back of the bunch with another guy racing to stay in. I was on the
low side he was on the high side. Neither of us was giving in. After crossing the line and me being
eliminated we both came up on the back of the much slower bunch very quickly (the leaders knew they
were safe so they were not going as fast) . The other guy had the space to go around the top of the
bunch. I had nowhere to go but down the track and aim under the bunch and try to loose some speed at
the same time. Things got a bit tight, and if you know the Brunswick track it is a bit rough just
below the measuring line in the first turn, I lost the front wheel and the rest is history.
>
> > Anyway getting back to Vodafone Arena. Although I was unable to hold on for the whole 10Kms I
> > was pretty
> satisfied
> > with my ride. Most of the other riders in the race I knew raced A and
> B
> > Grade club crits and at that point in time I had only just started
> riding C
> > grade crits after moving up from D grade so I knew I was probably a
> little
> > out of my depth here. In the end I finished around 650m behind the
> winner
> > and about 100m behind the guy in front of me. But best of all, I
> didn't
> > finish last
I think the winning time was just over 12min
> 30seconds. The
> > initial speed at which the race started took me by compete surprise.
> The
> > first few laps were timed at low to mid 17s. I just could not hold
> this
> > pace and started dropping back into the 19s and low 20s.
>
> 12:30 for 10k... damn, I've got some work to do! How long is the track at Vodaphone?
250m on the measuring line. (the black line near the bottom of the track)
> I didn't realise there was racing at Vodaphone for anyone under A grade level except for the
> junior races which were invitational. Does that mean anyone could do some club races and then
> enter themselves in races at Vodaphone?
Technically you could enter without doing any club level racing but I would not advise you do this.
Remember there will be other riders on the track with you in a handicap that may do this for a
living, are national level riders etc. You don't want to be responsible for injuring one of these
people. Also if it is found that you caused an accident as a result of dangerous riding you can be
fined and possibly given a suspension.
> I don't plan to do this, just curious. Track basically stops over winter right?
Yes but this may change when, the Northcote Velodrome is complete.
Other than sneaking down there on dry days, does
> anyone do any track work over winter that doesn't involve indoor training? I don't want to lose
> all my recently acquired "skills"...
Winter for me is a combination of Ergo, Lots of road Kms and Road Races and the occasional crit.
>
> > I arrived nice and early so that I could get some experience and gain
> some
> > feel for the track. Prior to this day the steepest banking I had ever ridden was at Brunswick
> > (Slightly steeper than Blackburn).
>
> I have to get some experience on other tracks too...
>
> > As preparation for this I did a couple of Saturday race meets at Blackburn.
>
> What are those Sat races like?
Good hard racing. When I have raced there have been at least 3 grades with around 10 riders per
grade. If there are 4 grades I will race C, if three I will race B.
You might be better to ask someone like Rowan G or maybe John N (who seems to be the one who runs
the racing on Saturdays).
I'm thinking about going this Sat..
I don't think you will find much of a turnout this sat as many of the usual riders are entered to do
the SPGrPrix or are riding the Pursuit Champs on Sunday. However that said you may still get enough
people for some racing. It's still worth rocking up to see who else is there.
> What sort of races do they usually run?
racing from my experience has generally been a combination of some or all of the following. Graded
Scratch, Handicap, Elimination (miss and out) Match Sprints and Sprint Derbys.
> Many people?
Enough to make it worthwhile but not too many.
> > So Hippy my advise to you is if you don't currently feel comfortable
> riding
> > a club level handicap then you are probably not quite ready to attempt
> a
> > major track event, such as the Austral etc, this year.
>
> No, like I said above, I've never raced and never actually considered that I might be able to race
> at Voda. I guess it will depend on how I go in club races as to whether I even continue track
> racing. The training is awesome fun though, so unless I make a regular habit of crashing or
> losing, I don't see why I wouldn't continue on the track.
Are you saying that you would give it up just because you didn't win!!! I don't really care if I win
or loose. I just do the best I can do in each race. If that means I cross the line first then thats
a bonus. If I finish further back then I look at what went wrong both tactically and physically and
then take the neccessary steps to avoid it happening again. You learn more about racing in the races
you didn't win.
Since the odds of not being the winner in a race in which you start are pretty high you might as
well get used to not winning. If you find you are always winning you are probably racing in the
wrong grade. Not winning is not a reason to give up any sport.
>
> > I would recommend you start looking at what you want to achieve next season and then
> look at
> > how you can get the experience required. At this time of year, as I discovered last year, with
> > Championships happening there is not a lot
> of
> > quality club racing around. The numbers turning up for club track
> meets are
> > a fraction of what they are prior to the month of February.
>
> Goal setting? What's that? ;-) All I want to do is give myself an oppurtunity to win something
> else - track is much more suited to my physiology (fat bugger, likes sprinting). I've really on
> just touched the surface of track racing and didn't even know what a wheelrace was 3 weeks ago!
>
> > The first is the Vic Time Trial Champs (if you are an Elite the
> distance is
> > 1000m).
>
> I'm certainly no "elite" but my licence says "Elite"...
>
> > The second is the Vic Sprint Championships (200m qualifying round followed by match sprints if
> > you qualify). Entries for these two
> close on
> > Monday 1st March.
>
> What time is needed to qualify?
I think it is the 8 or 16 fastest times that qualify. (i think the number is dependant on the number
of entries or the rules of the event)
My guess is the faster times will be in the high 10s or the 11s.
>
> > There is also the Vic Senior(Elite) Points Race Champs but at the level you are currently at you
> > are going to be way out of your
> depth
> > if you attempted this one. Time Trials and Sprint qualifying are
> individual
> > events so you are only racing against the clock. Even if you don't
> set the
> > world on fire with your times this year you can always look back and
> say to
> > yourself that you actually rode in a State Title Event on the boards
> of
> > Vodafone Arena.
>
> I think I'll settle for some more club-level experience first
>
> Thanks VERY much for your story. You seem to have taken to track like a duck to a couple of
> hydrogen molecules and an oxygen molecule.
I don't believe I was thinking the likes of the above "duck and water scenario" earlier tonight as I
was busy depositing a portion of my lunch onto the ground just after completing a practice
individual pursuit during training. But it was nice to know that I was not suffering on my own.
There were 2 other guys that were sharing the same "why are we doing this to ourselves" moment. But
for some reason we still keep on coming back for more pain and suffering.
Hip, I think I have covered most of your questions you have asked here but I appologise if I have
missed a couple.
Geoff
