A
Absent Husband
Guest
My race report - cut-&-pasted from my blog for your convenience... 
------------
On Saturday morning, I headed back out to Murarrie for another attempt
at
the criterium bike races. I was racing in Cat 2 Div 2 (which is roughly
equal to D-grade).
Got there with about 15min to go until start, signed on and handed over
my
$8. Tam was racing as well, in Cat 2-2, so I was pleased there'd be
someone
else I knew in the race. I quickly unloaded my bike of unnecessary
stuff
(lights, saddle bag, pump), and soon enough 8am rolled around for race
start.
The race was scheduled as 40min +3 laps. We set off, and I settled into
the
front third of the pack. Looking around, I guessed there were maybe
20-25
other riders in the race, with almost a third of them females. My
primary
goal was to finish with everyone else (ie. not get dropped!!), so I
decided
I'd try and sit in the front third for as long as I could, and see how
I
went.
As expected, the first 15 minutes had quite a few surges as the
stronger
riders tested everyone's legs. I nearly got spat out a couple of times,
but
gritted my teeth and was pleased to be able to hold on. A little later,
I
even pushed forward and took a turn out the front!! I didn't hold a
strong
pace or anything, but it was fun to ride in some clear air...
The whistle blew for the Prime (halfway sprint lap) at about the 25min
mark.
I decided I'd try and stick with the 'sprint bunch' - not because I
thought
I could win, but just to try and hold their pace, plus it would give me
a
chance to hold on if someone tried to attack post-sprint. I was pleased
to
make it around with the sprinters (although I was well and truly at the
back
of their pack), and was relieved when they all sat up and waited for
the
rest of the pack to come through.
At some stage (can't remember the timing), a small pack of 3-4 broke
away
for a while. I was impressed that Tam was in that group - she had
already
spent half the race taking turns up the front, and now she was in the
lead
group!! However, after a few laps, the peloton caught up and sucked
them
back in...
Eventually, after about 45min, the '3 laps to go' sign went up. I was
stoked
to still be there, and resolved to stick it out to the end. Over the
last
couple of laps, the pace slowed a little as the stronger riders played
out
there strategies - I had my eye on two or three of them, and was ready
to
jump on their wheel as soon as they started moving.
Sure enough, with half-a-lap to go, the move came. Around 10 riders
jumped,
and I managed to stick onto the back of the group (woohoo!!). I
pedalled
like crazy, stuck with them down the main finishing straight, and
rolled
over the line in 9th spot.
So overall, I was very, very happy with how the race went. I was stoked
with
my own performance, plus the race itself was a lot of fun, with
everyone
racing in good spirit and none of the nastiness I've seen in some other
races. The 9km ride home up & down the hills of Creek Rd was pretty
painful,
but the good result helped to numb that (almost!).
Final stats for the race - 36.5km/h ave, dist 31km.
----------
Gotta say that Tam was awesome in the race. I swear she spent half the
crit at the front driving the peloton, and then she took off in the
breakaway group for a while!!!! Very, very strong & impressive
performance....
Cheers all,
Abby
------------
On Saturday morning, I headed back out to Murarrie for another attempt
at
the criterium bike races. I was racing in Cat 2 Div 2 (which is roughly
equal to D-grade).
Got there with about 15min to go until start, signed on and handed over
my
$8. Tam was racing as well, in Cat 2-2, so I was pleased there'd be
someone
else I knew in the race. I quickly unloaded my bike of unnecessary
stuff
(lights, saddle bag, pump), and soon enough 8am rolled around for race
start.
The race was scheduled as 40min +3 laps. We set off, and I settled into
the
front third of the pack. Looking around, I guessed there were maybe
20-25
other riders in the race, with almost a third of them females. My
primary
goal was to finish with everyone else (ie. not get dropped!!), so I
decided
I'd try and sit in the front third for as long as I could, and see how
I
went.
As expected, the first 15 minutes had quite a few surges as the
stronger
riders tested everyone's legs. I nearly got spat out a couple of times,
but
gritted my teeth and was pleased to be able to hold on. A little later,
I
even pushed forward and took a turn out the front!! I didn't hold a
strong
pace or anything, but it was fun to ride in some clear air...
The whistle blew for the Prime (halfway sprint lap) at about the 25min
mark.
I decided I'd try and stick with the 'sprint bunch' - not because I
thought
I could win, but just to try and hold their pace, plus it would give me
a
chance to hold on if someone tried to attack post-sprint. I was pleased
to
make it around with the sprinters (although I was well and truly at the
back
of their pack), and was relieved when they all sat up and waited for
the
rest of the pack to come through.
At some stage (can't remember the timing), a small pack of 3-4 broke
away
for a while. I was impressed that Tam was in that group - she had
already
spent half the race taking turns up the front, and now she was in the
lead
group!! However, after a few laps, the peloton caught up and sucked
them
back in...
Eventually, after about 45min, the '3 laps to go' sign went up. I was
stoked
to still be there, and resolved to stick it out to the end. Over the
last
couple of laps, the pace slowed a little as the stronger riders played
out
there strategies - I had my eye on two or three of them, and was ready
to
jump on their wheel as soon as they started moving.
Sure enough, with half-a-lap to go, the move came. Around 10 riders
jumped,
and I managed to stick onto the back of the group (woohoo!!). I
pedalled
like crazy, stuck with them down the main finishing straight, and
rolled
over the line in 9th spot.
So overall, I was very, very happy with how the race went. I was stoked
with
my own performance, plus the race itself was a lot of fun, with
everyone
racing in good spirit and none of the nastiness I've seen in some other
races. The 9km ride home up & down the hills of Creek Rd was pretty
painful,
but the good result helped to numb that (almost!).
Final stats for the race - 36.5km/h ave, dist 31km.
----------
Gotta say that Tam was awesome in the race. I swear she spent half the
crit at the front driving the peloton, and then she took off in the
breakaway group for a while!!!! Very, very strong & impressive
performance....
Cheers all,
Abby
