RR: Kew Crits 22 feb



a5hi5m

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Aug 22, 2005
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Turned up to kew having placed 3rd last week (my first ever placing!) quietly confident that I knew what I did wrong and what I would do differently this week. Of course so many other things change that who knows how i would go with it.

The race started ordinarily enough, its seemed to start a bit slower for the last few weeks, however I'm beginning to think that it could have something to do with me improving, and getting used to racing.

Last week I pretty much stayed in the first 5, this week I usually managed to stay comfortably in the front 10 (wheel-sucking all the way - yeah baby!). I usually lost places to people who came tearing down the hill and up into the back straight as the leaders slowed into the wind.

One of the guys that beat me was doing a _lot_ of work on the front of the pack today, especially at the start, and I was happy enought to let him do so. A few people took off as the intermediate sprint was anounced, and it seemed to spread the field out for that lap at least. I went with a few of them, and by the time we came out of the hairpin, and 1/2 way up the hill I was in about 3rd or 4th place. It was here that I backed off, deciding to keep my energy for the end - some people seemed really keen for that inner-tube :p

The next few laps it seemed a lot of the pack came back together (last week im sure that more than 1/2 the pack disappeared around the time of the sprint) and when 3 to go was anounced, I was fairly sure in my mind where I wanted to be and how I wanted to go about finishing.

On the last lap, i was settled in about 5th place, until the back straight where a few people came flying up to really bunch people up into the hairpin. I had been able to check what sort of line I wanted to take through the hairpin a few times and set myself up to take the line again. Because of the bunching, I ended up behind a rider who wanted to cut across it quite sharply slowing him down and thus slowing me down quite a bit.

I'm pretty sure there was about 7-10 riders ahead of me at about this time, so I started to spin up the hill and overtaking people quite comfortably. I knew from last week that it was too early for me to really kick at this point, but when I came around the last little bend, I changed gears and took off, launching up the hill and over the line for the Win!

I cant remember how many people I overtook, but at times it seemed as though they were standing still. There may have been someone coming up close on my left but tunnel vision had kicked in pretty hard I think :p

I think Dutchy was impressed that i didnt look back this time! (I had legs left this time so I wasnt so worried about how soon I'd get caught) Since I didnt look back, I have no idea how close anyone else was, but I felt really good going over the line (no it wasn't just that i was first! :p )


For the first time I can remember during a race, it felt as though I had plenty of time to think things through, being able to comfortably take notice of things. Check out what sort of gears people were using at times, how my breathing was going. I remember looking down, thinking that my cadence had been quite high for a while and started pushing a heavier gear for a little just to have a change. I guess things like this could indicate that its time to step up a grade.


Some stats:

Time: 31 mins
Dist: 17.5kms
Ave Speed: 34.5 km/h
Max Speed: 51.5 km/h
Ave HR: 162bpm
Max HR: 188 (sprinting up the hill)
Ave Cadence: 95rpm


Interesting stat: Ave HR for this crit has come down constantly since I started to monitor it back in january. Could be some training is paying off, or I'm getting used to racing and riding this circuit - either way, thanks anyone/everyone who i have gleaned info from :D

22 feb: 162
15 feb: 168
8 feb: 172
25 jan: 176
18 jan 175
 
you were clear by a length with nobody closing

funny how the one you win seems so clear, hey? :D:D:D

well done lad.
Time to dip into the bag of hurt in C grade. bwahahahah.
about my friggin turn (and craigsters, and Geordi's, and...) :rolleyes:
 
a5hi5m wrote:
> Turned up to kew having placed 3rd last week (my first ever placing!)
> quietly confident that I knew what I did wrong and what I would do
> differently this week. Of course so many other things change that who
> knows how i would go with it.
>
> The race started ordinarily enough, its seemed to start a bit slower
> for the last few weeks, however I'm beginning to think that it could
> have something to do with me improving, and getting used to racing.


It may be a bit of both, learning how to ride well in a bunch at that
course can save you a lot of energy.

> Last week I pretty much stayed in the first 5, this week I usually
> managed to stay comfortably in the front 10 (wheel-sucking all the way
> - yeah baby!). I usually lost places to people who came tearing down
> the hill and up into the back straight as the leaders slowed into the
> wind.
>
> One of the guys that beat me was doing a _lot_ of work on the front of
> the pack today, especially at the start, and I was happy enought to let
> him do so. A few people took off as the intermediate sprint was
> anounced, and it seemed to spread the field out for that lap at least.
> I went with a few of them, and by the time we came out of the hairpin,
> and 1/2 way up the hill I was in about 3rd or 4th place. It was here
> that I backed off, deciding to keep my energy for the end - some people
> seemed really keen for that inner-tube :p


It's funny, the prime isn't really worth having, but it does tend to
break up the bunches.

> The next few laps it seemed a lot of the pack came back together (last
> week im sure that more than 1/2 the pack disappeared around the time of
> the sprint) and when 3 to go was anounced, I was fairly sure in my mind
> where I wanted to be and how I wanted to go about finishing.


I was following it, and yes, some did get back into the lead bunch, but
the split was significant.

> On the last lap, i was settled in about 5th place, until the back
> straight where a few people came flying up to really bunch people up
> into the hairpin. I had been able to check what sort of line I wanted
> to take through the hairpin a few times and set myself up to take the
> line again. Because of the bunching, I ended up behind a rider who
> wanted to cut across it quite sharply slowing him down and thus slowing
> me down quite a bit.
>
> I'm pretty sure there was about 7-10 riders ahead of me at about this
> time, so I started to spin up the hill and overtaking people quite
> comfortably. I knew from last week that it was too early for me to
> really kick at this point, but when I came around the last little bend,
> I changed gears and took off, launching up the hill and over the line
> for the Win!


Well done.

> I cant remember how many people I overtook, but at times it seemed as
> though they were standing still. There may have been someone coming up
> close on my left but tunnel vision had kicked in pretty hard I think :p


With a sprint, always go all the way to the line and throw the bike,
always ...
Even pros muck it up sometimes when they think they've won, Oneone Wood
at this years' Bay Crits, and Zabel (who *really* should know better!).
Have a look at this :

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/worldcup04/msr04/?id=results


>
> I think Dutchy was impressed that i didnt look back this time! (I had
> legs left this time so I wasnt so worried about how soon I'd get
> caught) Since I didnt look back, I have no idea how close anyone else
> was, but I felt really good going over the line (no it wasn't just that
> i was first! :p )
>
>
> For the first time I can remember during a race, it felt as though I
> had plenty of time to think things through, being able to comfortably
> take notice of things. Check out what sort of gears people were using
> at times, how my breathing was going. I remember looking down, thinking
> that my cadence had been quite high for a while and started pushing a
> heavier gear for a little just to have a change. I guess things like
> this could indicate that its time to step up a grade.


That, and the win, yes :)
 
a5hi5m said:
Turned up to kew having placed 3rd last week (my first ever placing!) quietly confident that I knew what I did wrong and what I would do differently this week.

<chop chop>

For the first time I can remember during a race, it felt as though I had plenty of time to think things through, being able to comfortably take notice of things. Check out what sort of gears people were using at times, how my breathing was going. I remember looking down, thinking that my cadence had been quite high for a while and started pushing a heavier gear for a little just to have a change. I guess things like this could indicate that its time to step up a grade.


Some stats:

Time: 31 mins
Dist: 17.5kms
Ave Speed: 34.5 km/h
Max Speed: 51.5 km/h
Ave HR: 162bpm
Max HR: 188 (sprinting up the hill)
Ave Cadence: 95rpm


Interesting stat: Ave HR for this crit has come down constantly since I started to monitor it back in january. Could be some training is paying off, or I'm getting used to racing and riding this circuit - either way, thanks anyone/everyone who i have gleaned info from :D

22 feb: 162
15 feb: 168
8 feb: 172
25 jan: 176
18 jan 175

You were in the zone!! Well done and congrats Ash!!! A good ride :D

It was great to see a decent turn out of women as well - I got to watch as they rode past me.. and past me.. and past me :p
 
a5h - kick ass! C grade for you...

Let this be a lesson for anyone who wants to join up the Sunday BR rides - it'll make you stronger and faster than ever before! a5h is our new recruit role model.. now get into that dress and strut on the catwalk! Derek has also been keeping us honest up the front... Excess hair wind resistance means TimC cant get any quicker :p

You guys will be posting 11min ITTs up Kangaroo Ground in no time.. but with Ess putting in some heart busting efforts lately I think the new goal will have to be in the high 10's... :eek:!


cheers,
GPL
 
warrwych said:
You were in the zone!! Well done and congrats Ash!!! A good ride :D

It was great to see a decent turn out of women as well - I got to watch as they rode past me.. and past me.. and past me :p

Yeah. 7 out of 28 riders. good to see.

Anyone notice the gal in Team Canada strip (out here for World Cup and Syd Track WCup) giving the lads hell in Bgrade? (or was it A?)
 
Congrats on the win dude - sounds like you really executed the perfect
race plan!! Good for you!!

No point in mucking about with D-Grade now though - bite the bullet and
head straight up to C....... And give 'em hell!! *grins*

Well done again,
Abby
 
On 2006-02-22, gplama (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> You guys will be posting 11min ITTs up Kangaroo Ground in no time..
> but with Ess putting in some heart busting efforts lately I think the
> new goal will have to be in the high 10's... :eek:!


D'oh!

--
TimC
"I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There's a
knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work." -- Gallagher
 
Awesome effort Ash :D

C-grade
Probably the hardest crit I've riden. My plan was to attack on the opening lap, but a quick discussion with Gags, and it was decided about lap2-3 we should go. As I was riding on the front, I got a little trigger happy and decided lap 2 it was to put the hammer down. Unfortunately it fell apart a tad, as I accelerated a little to quickly up the hill, after a couple of laps of this I decided I would have a dip solo, but to no avail. Gave up at about the 9min mark, settling into the first few places. Decided I'd have a crack at the Int sprint, went over the line in 2nd wheel with a lap to go, but didn't have any power in the legs, so gave up coming into the hairpin. As the task of the day was to go as hard as possible, I figured I'll attack again at about the 23min mark, and attack hard. To my surprise a gap actually opened up, with another guy joining me. Asked him how he was feeling...'pretty stuffed, but we'll see how we go'...not exactly what I was hoping for. This meant I had to do 90% of the work, only getting a quick spell just before the hairpin, but this was allowing the chasing bunch to close. Unfortunately I was caught with 2 1/2 laps to go, I tried to hang with the first few, but my engine was blown when the bell rang.

I must say I enjoyed the pain of riding on the front for 1/2 the race, in a sadistic kind of way :D

More fun and games next week ;)

HR ave 183
HR range 23min-33min 187-192
 
essendon93" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
>
> Awesome effort Ash :D
>
> C-grade
> Probably the hardest crit I've riden. My plan was to attack on the
> opening lap, but a quick discussion with Gags, and it was decided about
> lap2-3 we should go. As I was riding on the front, I got a little
> trigger happy and decided lap 2 it was to put the hammer down.
> Unfortunately it fell apart a tad, as I accelerated a little to quickly
> up the hill, after a couple of laps of this I decided I would have a dip
> solo, but to no avail. Gave up at about the 9min mark, settling into
> the first few places. Decided I'd have a crack at the Int sprint, went
> over the line in 2nd wheel with a lap to go, but didn't have any power
> in the legs, so gave up coming into the hairpin. As the task of the
> day was to go as hard as possible, I figured I'll attack again at about
> the 23min mark, and attack hard. To my surprise a gap actually opened
> up, with another guy joining me. Asked him how he was
> feeling...'pretty stuffed, but we'll see how we go'...not exactly what
> I was hoping for. This meant I had to do 90% of the work, only getting
> a quick spell just before the hairpin, but this was allowing the chasing
> bunch to close. Unfortunately I was caught with 2 1/2 laps to go, I
> tried to hang with the first few, but my engine was blown when the bell
> rang.
>
> I must say I enjoyed the pain of riding on the front for 1/2 the race,
> in a sadistic kind of way :D
>
> More fun and games next week ;)
>
> HR ave 183
> HR range 23min-33min 187-192
> --
> essendon93
>

I thought we were doing pretty well out in front for the first few laps and
looked over my shoulder expecting to see the field strung out but everyone
was pretty well with us. My pre-race tactic of drinking about a third of a
water bottle of Staminade to get some sugar in backfired when it started
repeating on me and I was choking my own vomit back down from about lap 3.
After our original effort I was pretty stuffed and nearly went off the back
but managed to hang on. At about the 29min mark I thought I had better
start making my way up to the front for the 3 to go call at 35min but then
the call was given on the next lap at 30min!!! I was pretty ****** cos I
was back further than I would have liked. Came around the last corner in
about 15th or so place and managed to get up for about 11th but was never in
contention for a place. As I went over the line I checked the speedo and we
had done 20.6km at avg speed of 36.2km/h.

For some reason I didn't feel real comfortable in the pack this week and
always seemed to be fighting someone for a wheel. Ended up spending too
much time out in the wind. At one stage towards the end I had the *****
with guys cutting in and stealing the wheel I was on so I decided to hold my
ground and put my elbows out a bit......took the guy trying to cut in about
50m of rubbing elbows before he realised I wasn't being intimidated by his
65kg frame!!!! Next time I might have to try a quick Liverpool Kiss a.k.a
Robbie.

Gags
 
"flyingdutch" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
>
> warrwych Wrote:
> > You were in the zone!! Well done and congrats Ash!!! A good ride :D
> >


Congrats Ash......I know exactly what you are talking about when you say
that it all seemed easier. I felt exactly the same way for the couple of
D-Grade races that I won.....unfortunately I just can't seem to replicate
the feeling of everyone else going backwards up the last hill in C
Grade!!!!!

Hopefully Dutchy will relegate you up next week so that the C Grade team
a.b. will be better represented. All we need now is for Blah to get off his
**** and have a race and Jazmo to show up and we will be in business!!!

Gags
 
Gags said:
"

Hopefully Dutchy will relegate you up next week so that the C Grade team
a.b. will be better represented. All we need now is for Blah to get off his
**** and have a race and Jazmo to show up and we will be in business!!!

Gags
Well Blah better hurry on up, cause I'm not planning on hanging around forever, once I get the fun out of my system, I'll be serious about getting the win...then up to B-grade for some pain. Saying that I'd like to win in a certain way, which I'll be working on ;)

I was wondering where you were after a few laps, the chuck would explain it :)