Race Report Thread

Cul
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Cul » Tue Apr 18, 2017 1:46 pm

Muzz B-Grade Crit
31.7km, avg. 43.5kph

First real race in a while; the last few weeks I’ve had a few issues with the new bike, illness and complete lack of motivation - I have however had the last week off which meant lots of riding and feeling a lot better. I come into this race expecting to get blown out the back having not raced and not done any real intensity for a few weeks; the legs felt a little heavy after a solid week of riding as well.

Not expecting much I started at the back of the bunch of 60 or so riders, hoping I wouldn’t be missed if I just slipped off the back quietly… Three laps in and the legs started to feel good, the race was ebbing and flowing in terms of speed and the back quarter was starting to string out. Time to move up, I set about the next few laps, moving up not in leaps and bounds but in bunches of two or three riders this was aided by the fact that a break would go up the road, quickly get caught then the bunch would slow dramatically and repeat.

By the first sprint I’d moved to the front of the bunch with a few riders up the road we would be sprinting for fourth, the pace picked up but the urgency to catch the three riders out front wasn’t which is a little unfortunate as it’s the perfect time to form a break and go up the road with little notice. We eventually caught the break midway before the second sprint which become a free for all.

Late in the race another break went up the road; I don’t think they had the numbers but they managed to establish a huge gap in what seemed like a very little amount of time; I was back in the bunch recovering from the hustle of the second sprint when I decided it were time to do something about it; The bunch was pretty tightly packed and rolling tempo which meant squeezing through a few gaps to get good position, at one point I utilised my MTB skills taking to grass to avoid running up the arse of a slower rider that shut the door on me… Once to the front I was sitting third or fourth wheel, but still the urgency to catch those in front wasn’t there; I hopped on the front and went TT mode for two laps, knowing full well I was dragging the now strung-out bunch with me. By the time I’d swung off the front the break was within spitting distance; it was a move that ruined my own chance of success but it sure motivated the bunch to do something about the break. :twisted:

I finished the final lap mid pack. In all I was pretty happy with the finish and how I felt; I come into the race feeling like it was going to be a disaster it was anything but! I even had a few riders come up and give me a pat on the back for being instrumental in bringing back the late break and tell me I was riding well! 8)

No racing at Muzz this weekend due to State Champs, hopefully there is racing down the Gold Coast, or worst case Anzac 25 (MAS-A); Next race the goal will be to make the break and drive it home! :!: :?: :!:
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ItsDank
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ItsDank » Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:13 am



Colnago Cup 2017 Div 2

It was a bloody hard race and mid pack I was a mere 10w away from my functional threshold and ended up staying at that normalised power for an hour and 20 minutes. My teammates banded together for a leadout and unfortunately I ended up following the wrong wheel in the sprint.

That's racing and I'll have to take onboard the lessons and get stronger/better for next time!

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Xplora
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Xplora » Sat Apr 22, 2017 2:13 pm

Glad you had fun at the NWSCC/Marconi race gents... From The Organisers :mrgreen:

adam0bmx0
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby adam0bmx0 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:36 pm

Well I had 2 races in the space of 4 days.

1st was the Queensland State Crit Champs on Saturday held at Nundah, only 14 entered which surprised me, MS1 so 30-34 age group (i think)

So, pace wasn't too bad, avg speed was 42km/h, but a break of 2 riders went early and the bunch never caught them! I did my fair share, but just not organised enough and people not taking turns, oh well, rolled over in 9th.

2nd race, was the Hamilton wheelers Anzac 25 event, not the main event, but masters C, 40mins + 2 laps at Lakeside race track. Avg speed was 40km/h.

83 riders entered! Massive difference to my previous race and haven't been in a race this big, only being my 6th in all.

I liked this track, it actually had a bit of elevation, which works in my favour being more of a climber than a sprinter. So, kept myself on/near the front, never dropped past 20th wheel.

The racing was pretty clean on the whole, no hairy moments near the front, few shouts here and there of hold ya line. :D

So, geting near the end of the race I heard a bell, looked at the guy on my right and asked if it was the last lap, he said yes! I'd completely lost track of time, thought we had another 10mins to go, so luckily I was near the front, pace ramped up, I kept near the front, on the last uphill corner, heard a big crash behind me! Kept it pinned up the incline, came around down onto the final straight, guy in front of me blew up, that left me with only 1 rider in my view in front of me! I kept it pinned, noticed someone coming up on my left so dug in deep and kept the sprint on, blagged me 2nd place. :mrgreen: Well happy after the disappointment that was the Crit champs.

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ItsDank
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ItsDank » Sun May 07, 2017 1:52 am


Today's Sutherland Shire Espresso Crit. Finally snatched a win!

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foo on patrol
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby foo on patrol » Sun May 07, 2017 7:23 am

Well done, Dank. 8)

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

adam0bmx0
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Location: Brisbane

Re: Race Report Thread

Postby adam0bmx0 » Mon May 08, 2017 12:09 pm

Lifecycle B - Grade (Just moved into this grade) - Saturday 6 Apr - Nundah 43.2km/h avg

Well my first time in B grade, got moved up as I had raced C grade twice and won both of them.

Was a good size pack, around 20-25 riders.

I stayed near the front to start with, never dropping past 10th wheel, few turns on the front here and there, pace was fine.

The prime came and went around 20mins in, I didnt contest for it but as the bunch strung out kept on the wheels of those pushing on.

Post prime things calmed down for the next 10 mins, then with 10 mins to go, a little break went up the road, about 4-5 riders, I had lost out in 2 previous races now due to a breakaway group winning so that wasn't going to happen today! :D

Sprinted across the gap to catch the lead group, and cuple of riders also bridged but we worked well as a team and slowly pulled away from the main pack. Few guys not taking a turn etc like you can get but with 8 people in a break, still enough of us to keep pulling.

Coming into the last lap, I was 3rd wheel and felt strong, rounding the last corner into a headwind, I was 2nd wheel and the guy blew up, I know I dont have a big power sprint, so I went from the start of the straight into the headwind. :shock:

Kept it pinned and near the line only 2 riders came past (who I know are strong as hell) so I was happy to hold for 3rd. :mrgreen:

So yea, my 7th race and another podium. :)

ironhanglider
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ironhanglider » Mon May 22, 2017 11:46 pm

21 May 2017 – Southern Masters Cycling club - C grade – Dromana

The morning turned out to be just about perfect for racing. Cool, clear and with not much wind. A perfect way to have my first road race with a new club.

The course:
The course was a nice simple box of 6.7km with roughly equal sides to all four compass points.
https://www.strava.com/segments/649009

The features to note were that the lowest point was at the North West corner, and the Highest point was at the South East corner, with the start/finish about half way along the Western edge. The climbs are not hard with the steepest bit being the last 300m before the SE corner. The Northern edge was tactically the most interesting with a small hill at 2km before the finish (Northern bump), followed by a chicane that was still wet/greasy from recent rain and a niggly little hill 400m before the finish.

The setup
Having secured permission to race I made sure that I prepped the bike the night before. I gave it a clean and tightened up the front bolt of my Ti Swallow which had developed a creak. At the start I copped some ribbing for my 1990 steel bike, including a comment on the clipless pedals being out of place. This was ironic since the pedals and the headset are in fact the only original parts, most of the rest having been upgraded in 2008 to 7800 and plastic wheels. I pumped my tyres, registered and warmed up. My training over the last year has consisted of just about solely 12k km of DD approved trundling on the bike paths at 100k”/h although mostly only for 25km at a time. I had even had an extra day off the bike on Friday so I should have been nice and refreshed. It is a good feeling riding when the bike is purring, and the tyres are pumped to the right pressure (100/110psi for narrow tubulars under 90kg of rider and probably 9kg of bike). It gave me a lot of confidence in the bike.

Lap 1.
At the start line we were told that it was going to be 10 laps which is a bit further than I’m used to. I positioned myself near the front so that I could see what the course had in store. At the drop of the flag I was on the front, so I set a nice gentlemanly coffee-shop ride pace, and the others were content to let me, so I was able to get a good view of the course. I was finally given some relief near the 2km hill, but the chicane clearly had a few people worried and I found myself at the front again.

The race
After the first lap the pace picked up and I quietly sat back to watch and see what would happen. There were a couple of blokes, Kevin and Nick, who were keen to set the tone, and they would keep the momentum going. I tended to just follow them around, and I would typically go to the front down the hill and set a tempo until someone got bored.

There wasn’t really much attacking going on. However with about 4 1/2 laps to go I was second wheel into the NE corner when the bloke in front decided to have a go. I was quick enough to go with him, but I didn’t really have enough sustained speed to help him too much and we were brought back on the Northern bump.

Coming up to 2 laps to go #208 attacked up the Northern bump and opened a gap. For the first time there was no response. He was looking around a couple of minutes later, so we knew he was going to be brought back.

There was a little activity at the SE corner, but given the long straight downhill the only people who would get dropped, were also the ones most likely to be able to chase back on. The pace totally came out of the race and it was a case of wait for the attacks. The first came from Nick up the Northern Bump. A gap opened quickly and I was not in a position to go with him. Next were Kevin an Peter. Again I missed that move but by this time we were heading downhill toward the chicane. I could see that #208 and my brief breakaway partner were on the front, so I guessed that they wouldn’t be doing much.

I attacked the bunch just before the chicane because I knew that I had a speed advantage through there. I was able to close down significantly to the chasing pair in those 2 corners. I tagged onto them right at the NW corner. I barely had time to draw breath when we were on the niggly climb. At this point Nick was clearly going to be brought back, Kevin opened up for a long range sprint, I followed but couldn’t quite get into his draught, Peter blew up, and Nick fought on for third.

All things said and done, I was very pleased to come away with second, it was the furthest and fastest I’ve raced for a long time.

https://www.strava.com/activities/997750867
Image

Cheers,

Cameron

ironhanglider
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Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm
Location: Middle East, Melbourne

Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ironhanglider » Mon May 22, 2017 11:48 pm

21 May 2017 – Southern Masters Cycling club - C grade – Dromana

The morning turned out to be just about perfect for racing. Cool, clear and with not much wind. A perfect way to have my first road race with a new club.

The course:
The course was a nice simple box of 6.7km with roughly equal sides to all four compass points.
https://www.strava.com/segments/649009

The features to note were that the lowest point was at the North West corner, and the Highest point was at the South East corner, with the start/finish about half way along the Western edge. The climbs are not hard with the steepest bit being the last 300m before the SE corner. The Northern edge was tactically the most interesting with a small hill at 2km before the finish (Northern bump), followed by a chicane that was still wet/greasy from recent rain and a niggly little hill 400m before the finish.

The setup
Having secured permission to race I made sure that I prepped the bike the night before. I gave it a clean and tightened up the front bolt of my Ti Swallow which had developed a creak. At the start I copped some ribbing for my 1990 steel bike, including a comment on the clipless pedals being out of place. This was ironic since the pedals and the headset are in fact the only original parts, most of the rest having been upgraded in 2008 to 7800 and plastic wheels. I pumped my tyres, registered and warmed up. My training over the last year has consisted of just about solely 12k km of DD approved trundling on the bike paths at 100k”/h although mostly only for 25km at a time. I had even had an extra day off the bike on Friday so I should have been nice and refreshed. It is a good feeling riding when the bike is purring, and the tyres are pumped to the right pressure (100/110psi for narrow tubulars under 90kg of rider and probably 9kg of bike). It gave me a lot of confidence in the bike.

Lap 1.
At the start line we were told that it was going to be 10 laps which is a bit further than I’m used to. I positioned myself near the front so that I could see what the course had in store. At the drop of the flag I was on the front, so I set a nice gentlemanly coffee-shop ride pace, and the others were content to let me, so I was able to get a good view of the course. I was finally given some relief near the 2km hill, but the chicane clearly had a few people worried and I found myself at the front again.

The race
After the first lap the pace picked up and I quietly sat back to watch and see what would happen. There were a couple of blokes, Kevin and Nick, who were keen to set the tone, and they would keep the momentum going. I tended to just follow them around, and I would typically go to the front down the hill and set a tempo until someone got bored.

There wasn’t really much attacking going on. However with about 4 1/2 laps to go I was second wheel into the NE corner when the bloke in front decided to have a go. I was quick enough to go with him, but I didn’t really have enough sustained speed to help him too much and we were brought back on the Northern bump.

Coming up to 2 laps to go #208 attacked up the Northern bump and opened a gap. For the first time there was no response. He was looking around a couple of minutes later, so we knew he was going to be brought back.

There was a little activity at the SE corner, but given the long straight downhill the only people who would get dropped, were also the ones most likely to be able to chase back on. The pace totally came out of the race and it was a case of wait for the attacks. The first came from Nick up the Northern Bump. A gap opened quickly and I was not in a position to go with him. Next were Kevin an Peter. Again I missed that move but by this time we were heading downhill toward the chicane. I could see that #208 and my brief breakaway partner were on the front, so I guessed that they wouldn’t be doing much.

I attacked the bunch just before the chicane because I knew that I had a speed advantage through there. I was able to close down significantly to the chasing pair in those 2 corners. I tagged onto them right at the NW corner. I barely had time to draw breath when we were on the niggly climb. At this point Nick was clearly going to be brought back, Kevin opened up for a long range sprint, I followed but couldn’t quite get into his draught, Peter blew up, and Nick fought on for third.

All things said and done, I was very pleased to come away with second, it was the furthest and fastest I’ve raced for a long time.

https://www.strava.com/activities/997750867
Image


Cheers,

Cameron

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stevecassidy
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby stevecassidy » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:18 pm

Keegan Downes Memorial Handicap - Coonabarabran to Gunnedah

My last big handicap was in Mudgee last year and saw me in a group that was way stronger than me getting dropped after around 15km. I was a bit fitter this year but I also negotiated a better handicap, sitting in group 8 just three minutes after limit. The main goal was to hang on as long as possible and maybe get to the finish with a group, but this is a 100km race so it would be the longest race I'd done.

The limit group was made up of riders on three-day licences so generally unknown quantities. We set off behind them and I was immediately more comfortable than Mudgee as it was clear I was evenly matched to the group. The first 18km was a rolling climb, just a few percent up and then down but a grind on the country roads. We managed to catch the limit group at about 15km and most of them hung on and disrupted our organisation a bit until we got back into the rhythm as the rolling climb gave way to a rolling descent - still plenty of up but plenty of down as well.

We kept up a good pace and stayed at the head of the race until suddenly at 45km we were caught by the bunch behind. The acceleration wasn't too bad and the bulk of our group stayed with the larger bunch. The crunch for me came as we headed towards the KOM at 65km, I'd been trying to position myself mid-bunch for the climbs but for this one I was left at the back as others dropped off, the sprint up the climb left me gapped over the top, I chased but the gap stayed; the following cars passed me although I was still chasing, joined now by a teammate. Together we pulled a few turns to get up to and through the cars and within sight of the bunch again. In the end, my teammate made the connection while I struggled to jump the last few meters and ended up dropped.

I plodded back and was passed by a small group a few kms later and then the big group including scratch at around 75k. My overall average for the 100km was just over 30km/h so pretty happy with that. A few of my teammates stuck with the big bunch until close to the finish where apparently there was a split that left them behind with the winners all young blokes from the scratch group.

Gunnedah to Tamworth Scratch Race - 108km

And then on Sunday I lined up in Div 5 for this race. Legs were stiff but not too bad and I was joined by five other Waratahs, mostly B graders to my C grade; this was going to be hard. We had a strong headwind heading south-east from town but the bunch was fairly controlled, pulling turns into the wind for 55km was manageable and there was only one real split where I had to chase in the crosswind to stay in touch. As we turned north east to head towards Tamworth the wind switched to a cross-tailwind and the pace picked up a bit. Again it was manageable but by this time, two hours in I was a bit fatigued. We then had the first surges in the bunch and at one point I was around fourth wheel, just reached into my pocket for a gel and a gap opened up. I sprinted back, chased with everything I had but got passed by most of the rest of the group. I kept up the chase, eventually made contact but just couldn't keep on the wheel and let it go. So I made it to just over 60km again then rode the rest of the race on my own - thankfully with a good tailwind and mostly on a gentle downhill it was relatively easy going. I made it back with an average of just over 30km/h again, last one to finish in the grade.

Overall a hard racing weekend with much better results for me than last year in Mudgee but still a way away from being competitive in a 100km race. Very happy to have been able to finish two races in two days at a reasonable pace.

Thanks to Waratahs for the support for the trip up to Gunnedah - I think we were the best represented Sydney club at the race even though we didn't come away with a result. Thanks too to the local organisers from Gunnedah, Coonabarabran and Tamworth for an excellent event.

Steve
Where's your next race? cabici.net lists bike races in Sydney

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MREJ
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby MREJ » Thu Jul 27, 2017 5:22 pm

60th Ken Dinnerville Memorial Handicap, Albion Park, 23 July 17
A report from Betty, an observer, and a transcript of an overheard conversation between some racing cyclists


44 finishers, 68 DNF (recorded), 35 DNS (recorded)


Part 1: A report from Betty, an observer

Sunday is usually much like any other day, for a cow. While it’s still dark, you start to hear the first signs of movement. Birds, mostly. Then the light comes, the insects get started and we ease into the rhythm of another day. Eating grass and going to the milking shed, and a fair bit of quiet ruminating, is the normal pattern.

Today started just like that. It was a nice day, sunny and cool. Quiet, as we like it, up top of Marshall Mount.

As the sun got higher this morning, though, I started to realise it wasn’t a normal Sunday. Someone drove up and marked a line across the road at the top of the hill, for one thing. Not only that, a while later, other people followed, and parked there. Weird. Some of them had cow bells. We looked at each other and laughed inside, watching these people ringing the funny little bells. We weren’t about to go anywhere in a hurry, bell or no bell! Nor were they, it seemed, as there was quite a crowd and they appeared to be settling in with us up on the Mount.

After a while there was more traffic noise. A few cars came up the hill, one with a flashing light on top, and then a bunch of sweating, panting cyclists. Mammals, I think they call them. Funny, it’s a a moniker we have in common, cows and people, but you won’t see me or my friends dragging ourselves up that hill in a hurry, or in fact not at all, if we can help it. We like to maintain our dignity.

Well, the cowbell ringers thought that these cyclists were just the best thing. They rang those bells, and called out, but none of the riders stopped to say hello. Most didn’t even look sideways. Some of them looked like they might be about to go sideways though! It wasn’t just the effort of getting up the hill - the wind had started to come up very strong, and although it wasn’t knocking me around much, some of those skinny types on their bikes looked like they might be making a sudden unplanned visit to my fence. I stepped back to give them some room, just in case.

More groups of cyclists, with cars in front and behind, followed. Same sweating and panting, same ringing the bells and calling out. People were taking photos too. It looked like the ones standing by the road were having a good time, but I wasn’t so sure about the ones on the bikes. They seemed to be taking things very seriously.

After a while, the riders we’d seen first came back up the more gradual side of the hill, from the north. They didn’t stop this time either - they rode right by the bell ringers and disappeared down the steep side of the hill. It was eerie, how one moment they were labouring slowly up the slope, then suddenly, with a whirring, whooshing noise, they just plummeted out of sight.

Then there were more groups coming back, one after the other. I got the impression they were all chasing each other. Not only that, it looked like some of them weren’t keeping up, because one or two of the groups were smaller, and there was the odd rider just riding along all alone. Very odd if you ask me. In all that wind, with no-one to talk to. People are strange, like we always say.

When I saw the last ones go by I thought that would be it. But the bell ringers and photo takers just stayed there, looking around. Some of them were looking at me, like they’d never seen a cow before. City types I think. Sure didn’t have clothes like the people I see down at the sheds.

While I was reflecting on this most unusual Sunday morning, it all started happening again! The car with the flashing light on top, the eager groups churning their way up the hill, the cowbells ringing, the calling out and the cameras clicking. Everyone was so excited, I couldn’t help starting to feel a bit that way myself, although I’m not sure why. I reckon once up a hill is enough for one day.

Anyway, I realised that the groups had changed shape even more. As well as that, there were also even more people just going along by themselves.

This went on for quite a while in the end. I saw the car with the light come up the hill four times altogether. Every time there were groups behind it, but the third and the fourth times, there were fewer and fewer people. Where all the others went I don’t know; they just didn’t come back up the hill.

On the third time, some of the groups had joined together. The two that had come up first were still by themselves, but they had lost quite a few of their members. The ones who were left looked shattered, except one big bloke with a beard.

When they came up the hill the fourth time, beard man was just riding by himself. But instead of riding along with his group, he’d decided for some reason to ride in front of them! Or perhaps they decided to follow him. I’m not quite sure.

In fact, he was even ahead of the group that had been in front of him in the first place. Now I was getting a bit mixed up, because I originally thought people were riding with their friends, but it seemed like they must have made new friends along the way, because lots of them were riding with different people. And then there were the ones who were perhaps not so friendly, or just wanted some time alone, because they were riding by themselves. More and more as time went by, as I said. Not that there’s anything wrong with being alone. I quite like a bit of me time myself. Also, a few of them looked pretty worse for wear, with sweat and dribble on their faces, so I can sympathise if they just thought they’d keep to themselves until they had time to get cleaned up. It’s not nice to feel like that when everyone else is enjoying a pleasant Sunday morning.

Back to beard man. He was out in front of all the other riders the last time they came up the hill. And he was still out in front of them when he reappeared from the north and dropped back down. He seemed to be in a big hurry, and so did all the riders chasing him. They were mostly in quite small groups now, or all by themselves. I tried to count and I think I saw 44 people go by. I don’t know how many there were when I saw them go by the first time, but I reckon it was at least 3 times that. So there must have been about another 70 or 80 people down the hill somewhere. Perhaps they were just taking some time to chew the cud. I would have been. I don’t know how anyone could smash themselves up that hill for hour after hour without stopping for a breather.

Once they’d all gone back down the hill for the fourth time, the bell ringers, callers out and photo takers all got in their cars and drove down the hill.

Silence had come back! Good old Marshall Mount, green and serene once more, just as we like it. We were all wondering whether that was it. We waited around for a while but no-one else came back up the hill, so we got back to ambling about the paddock.

I was still feeling a bit worked up by all the odd goings on, so later that day, I asked Henry from down the hill to let me know if he’d seen anything happening. He had in fact, and not only that, he overheard some talk down at the school. Apparently it all started down there and there were hundreds of people, and a PA system, and all sorts of comings and goings. He saw beard man and he said that his name was Simon Anderson. A city boy, from Eastern Suburbs. They got Mr Anderson up on a step and gave him a big trophy from Mrs Cleary, whose family has been around here for yonks. Mr Anderson seemed pleased. I’m glad someone enjoyed all that hard yakka.

Henry also listened in to a conversation between a couple of guys with yellow shirts. Here are a few snippets that he overheard.


Part 2: An overheard conversation between Davo (20th) and Marco (DNF, lap 3)

Marco: You did well Davo. It was very hard out there today. I’m pretty sure you were top 20, which was a great result especially with two bunches staying away, or at least the remains of them.

Davo: Thanks mate. How’d you go?

Marco: Not too bad considering how tough it was with the bumpy roads and wind. My group was going ok and we were all pulling turns, but I got gapped the second time up the hill and I never got back on. Then I waited for the next bunch and I rode with them until you guys caught us just near the end of lap 3, and I thought I couldn’t do another lap and hang on, so I pulled the pin. Looks like I wasn’t the only one. (Ed. - 5 of 15 from Marco’s bunch finished the race, including the first 3 place getters.) How did your group go? There didn’t seem to be many left.

Davo: Yeah, I think we lost about half our group in the first lap, but after that, we were all working together well. There was a fair bit of talking, which was good, and the Illawarra boys seemed to be looking after each other, which is fair enough I suppose. We caught a couple of the groups in front. I thought we had a chance to catch all the groups but then we heard there was still a 6 minute gap and I think a bit of the sting went out. Still, we had one rider home in the top 10. (Ed. - two in the top ten, and another 6 in places 11 to 20, including Davo. 11 finishers from 17 starters.)

Marco: And you stayed away from scratch, which was a top effort. You must have been on the limit a fair bit.

Davo: Yes, I feel absolutely stuffed now. I think it was a PB on power and probably the most honest race I’ve ever done. I got cramps with about 10k left but I managed to get through it. How was the wind!

Marco: A shocker wasn’t it? I thought I was going to blown off the road the first time down the hill, and one of the other riders in my bunch said the same thing. It can get windy here. It was your first time here I think - I hope it was worth the effort.

Davo: Yes, I loved it. I thought it was terrific.

Marco: What was so good about it?

Davo: Just the handicap group dynamic - it was fantastic. We were pretty similar calibre, and the working together and the communication even when we were right on the limit were top class. The other thing that really made it special was all the fans up on the hill, with the cowbells. And having Susan here with me; it was very motivating to see her each time we went through the top. And the organisation was great.

Marco: It’d be good to have a few more ‘tahs to join us next time.

Davo: Yes, it’s a pretty special type of racing. The group dynamics are so different from crit racing. We don’t get many opportunities to do this in Sydney, and this isn’t that far away really. It’d be nice to have some more company.



(Waratah Masters were represented by David Ledger and Daniel Bernard in G5 and Marcus Judge in G8.) David came 20th, and Daniel and Marcus decided to get head starts on preparing for their next races.)


PHOTOS AND GORY DETAILS HERE
https://illawarracycleclub.org.au/news/ ... icap-race/
2016 S-Works Tarmac, 2014 Wabi Lightning SE, 2012 Felt F75, 2011 Genesis Equilibrium 20, ancient Avanti Pista track bike

RobertL
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby RobertL » Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:36 pm

Nice report, MREJ!

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Derny Driver
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Derny Driver » Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:02 pm

MREJ wrote: ...When they came up the hill the fourth time, beard man was just riding by himself....
Back to beard man. He was out in front of all the other riders the last time they came up the hill. And he was still out in front of them when he reappeared from the north and dropped back down.
So much I could say about this but I wont make any friends by saying it.
This great race has been turned into a joke by the number of times it has been deliberately burgled. For a bloke to be able to ride a COMPLETE lap of the course on his own, in winds that were blowing people off their bikes, and still win by 5 minutes ...well you only need to google some of beard mans previous results to see that he should have been in Group 5 not Group 8. If I won a race in that fashion I would not even be able to hold my head up for the photo.
Pathetic handicapping by the State handicappers and for Eastern Suburbs to crow about how this is the 4th time they have burgled it, sorry thats nothing to be proud of, you should be ashamed. Its blatant cheating and there are a lot of people angry about it.
In other news, after following bunches in the Dinnerville and in todays Wagga to Albury, there are a hell of a lot of riders who dont know how to sit a wheel or pull turns. Scratch on both occasions stopped swapping turns before making the catch at 3/4 race distance, yes the gaps were too big to close but some people dont know what the mark of honour means. If you are skipping turns and looking after yourself then you are not a scratch rider.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Patt0 » Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:50 am

Derny Driver wrote: This great race has been turned into a joke by the number of times it has been deliberately burgled.
Growing up we called them "King of the Kids". :lol:
Image

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jules21
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:59 pm

some quality race reports there boys (and girls maybe in the future?).

I made the trip up the Hume Hwy to compete in the Vic Road Series races at Sam Miranda - Strada Nero on Sat and Kelly Country on Sun, aka the festival of punctures.

At this time I was treating these races as a test of legs and training, rather than going in with clear expectations of a win. I am really aiming at another race in Oct. Starting with an even stress balance (long = short term training stress) meant I wasn't in top nick.

I almost missed the start of Strada Nero after I inflated my race wheel and it promptly went flat. A quick change to my backup wheel got me to the start line. We rolled out in sunny conditions - 115km total and about 40km to the major climb (strada nero - dirt section). Things were easy enough until the 26km mark when I felt a soft rear tyre - damn :cry:

After spending 13 minutes fixing it I rolled onwards - I suppose I could just ride the residual 100km, although I wasn't very enthused. Cruising along and what do I see? My bunch up ahead - stationary! I learn later they'd taken a wrong turn and returned to the course - where they were being held while the breakaway was given a head start. I mashed the pedals to catch as they were let loose and was only 100m behind - thinking this was my lucky day. It wasn't my lucky day.

20 minutes later of dangling 1-200m off the back and time trialling at above threshold intensity, the bunch finally eased up enough for me to catch back on. I was buried by this stage. Then we hit the main climb - 4km of dirt at 5%. Despite what I think were otherwise good legs, I now had no chance of staying on with the leaders. We rolled in as part of a trailing bunch after that.

Sunday was the Kelly Country road race. Obviously if you hadn't raced on Saturday, you were more of a chance for this race. I didn't get a warmup in before the start and leant my hand pump to someone who had problems on the startline (that was as far as he went!). Then we were off - into a blistering cross-wind. Smarter riders than me had had clearly spent quality time on the trainer and proceeded to put us in the gutter (or centre line, as the wind dictated). I came close to being dropped not 5km into the damn race, but managed to hang on. My legs were feeling very 2nd hand by this point.

After a few periods of respite when we turned into a tailwind section, it was back into the cross wind and max. efforts until we hit the climb - 4km at 4% but the 1st 2km at 6%. Bang - straight off the back of the leaders. Once again, rolling turns with a few other stragglers for the remainder of the race (only about 40km of 80 total this time). A couple of the boys saw a follow car up ahead when we were approaching the finish and got excited - I didn't have the heart to tell them it was probably another grade, which it was.

All in all a huge weekend of riding. I was happy with my form which is coming along, even if carrying some fatigue, chasing on after a puncture and racing 2 days in a row didn't allow me to show anything in terms of results. I drifted off to bed at about 7.30pm for a good 11 hours of sleep :D

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby vander » Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:08 pm

Me and the Nero Racing boys were also down at the NRS race Tour of King Valley. In short it was an awesome weekened with results beyond what we expected going in. As with all our races we did a couple of videos for it. Day 2 or stage 3 was one of the most fun days of cycling I have been involved in.

Stage 1 & 2


Stage 3


Stage 4

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Derny Driver
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Derny Driver » Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:46 am

vander wrote: Me and the Nero Racing boys were also down at the NRS race Tour of King Valley....
I was supposed to be there with Mobius, unfortunately I had a wedding to attend. I will be with Mobius at Amys Otway, hope to catch up with you vander. I will also be at the Tour of Tassie as guest DS for a Tasmanian NRS team.
My son is good mates with Toby from Nero, what a fantastic tour he had at King Valley, I was stoked to see how well he did. Well done to the Nero guys for great team support.
Ive been motorpacing the young Mobius guy (17 years old) who raced his first NRS race at King Valley. He was doing really well until he crashed out on the last stage. But he's focusing on u19 worlds in Norway next month, I think he will go okay.
Anyway, I will hunt you down at Lorne if you are there.
Cheers
Marcus

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g-boaf
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby g-boaf » Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:50 am

Dolomites - Innsbruck-Innsbruck

154km / 2790m+ (according to organisers) - maximum elevation 1687m

Image

The stage was changed due to extremely poor weather and snow at the top of the passes. It became longer, but didn't go up to 2450m+ that was planned, as there was a lot of snow falling and it would have been dangerous.

The out of town bit was a matter of being careful, waiting for the right moments and going at those times and watching out for those tram tracks (which are everywhere in Innsbruck - and more being built). It got even wetter as we departed, to the point where it was fairly belting down.

We still had some decent climbs, the second was 10km at 10%. But the hardest was the very wet descents, and the fact it was so cold - it was truly icy, There were people shivering visibly, I was one of them. Got another layer from the van that was with us, put that on at it helped a lot. Went pretty hard on the flat 50km section on the way back into town and was pretty happy with that.

But today was really more about safety first. I didn't see any crashes, but I heard there were some. Fortunately there were ambulances, medical crews and support crews everywhere.

I got home pretty well, happy with that. Bike felt awesome - it was running like a dream, super smooth. I didn't have any braking troubles in the wet. A few guys on carbon wheels were not liking the big and very wet descents. There were actually streams of water running across the roads at times.

Other peculiarities? Heard those big cow bells ringing a few times... Not spectators - but cows at the side of the road grazing in the freezing rain. :o

Innsbruck to Vipiteno is cancelled tomorrow - there is 20cm of snow forecasted.

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ft_critical
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ft_critical » Sun Sep 03, 2017 2:40 pm

Must be disappointing for you g-boaf. Safety first as you say

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby g-boaf » Sun Sep 03, 2017 3:39 pm

ft_critical wrote:Must be disappointing for you g-boaf. Safety first as you say
Not too much, because I'm more here to enjoy it, the front of the field is way beyond my levels - those guys are crazy fast and they were absolutely killing it yesterday, despite the talk of shivers and shaking bikes at 45+km/h on the winding descents. The roads were pretty nice - nothing dangerous at all, they were pretty grippy and smooth.

As for the weather, look at this:

Image

Olympiastadion with snow on the top, against the Tiroler Tageszeitung report of "wettersturz brachte schnee".

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ft_critical » Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:23 pm

vander wrote:Me and the Nero Racing boys were also down at the NRS race Tour of King Valley. In short it was an awesome weekened with results beyond what we expected going in. As with all our races we did a couple of videos for it. Day 2 or stage 3 was one of the most fun days of cycling I have been involved in.
Hi Vander

These videos are brilliant. I learned some things
You are a great editor,
NRS is brutal, and
The third video with Shaun as the blogger is very funy

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g-boaf
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby g-boaf » Tue Sep 05, 2017 2:08 am

Vipiteno to Brixen

115km - 3360m vertical, maximum elevation 2200m, minimum elevation 533m

Image

Yesterdays stage from Innsbruck to Vipiteno was cancelled due to extremely poor weather conditions (heavy snow). Today was 115km, with 3300m vertical. First climb was barely 2.4km out from the start, 13.3km at 9.4%. I didn't find it that hard - it was fairly steady most of the way, the worst bits were at the start of it and then it wasn't as nasty. The top was high up though, yet it wasn't as cold as I thought, nor was the descent.

The descent down was about 30km of the most unbelievable road you can ever imagine, it was long and fast.

Second climb was harder, including a nasty 1.6km bit at 16%, was overdressed for that. The descent from the Renon plateau area was pretty special too.

Final climb wasn't too bad - but the road surface was a bit rough in places and a few of the towns had "cobbled" like road surfaces that were barely more than 1 lane wide, a bus was coming through a one point - that was a nervous moment.

Otherwise, lovely day, gorgeous weather and massive fun. One of the biggest rides I've done in a long time, and certainly the highest altitude.

Vipiteno - beautiful area, but very hilly, the hotel was up a very steep road:
Image

And from the end today, packing up:
Image

Love that van and the guys in it, same with the Fiat wagon that is with it - just the nicest, coolest people who've got everything sorted - be it bottles, gillets, jackets, etc. Just great.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby vander » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:13 pm

ft_critical wrote: These videos are brilliant. I learned some things
You are a great editor,
NRS is brutal, and
The third video with Shaun as the blogger is very funy
Not me editing them another guy in the team is doing the hard yards.

NRS is very brutal. I am always amazed to see the level these guys are at. Wish it got more air time. A style of racing which is quite good to watch too.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby vander » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:20 pm

ft_critical wrote: These videos are brilliant. I learned some things
You are a great editor,
NRS is brutal, and
The third video with Shaun as the blogger is very funy
Not me editing them another guy in the team is doing the hard yards.

NRS is very brutal. I am always amazed to see the level these guys are at. Wish it got more air time. A style of racing which is quite good to watch too.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ft_critical » Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:31 pm

vander wrote: amazed to see the level these guys are at. Wish it got more air time. A style of racing which is quite good to watch too.
I agree it was exciting. I think if networks copied you personal reality TV style with short interesting, human racing, it would sell. Frankly better than the polished stale coverage you get with the major races on Sky for example.

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