queequeg wrote:TOA Stage 1 - Landsdowne - A Grade - Bunch Finish
With a bit of encouragement I decided to make my A Grade debut for NWSCC after getting promoted (or was it pushed?) from B Grade after a couple of strong wins. With some serious hill climbing training coming up for Fitz's in October, I want to dial back the racing to get some climbs onto my legs. But I digress...
A & B Grade got the lazy 10am start, so I cruised down to SOP to meet the LACC gang riding out to the venue. Important, as I didn't have a clue how to get there! It was a nice easy ride and I was all warmed up on arrival.
It felt a bit weird signing on for A grade....say what?? I only did my first ever race (in D Grade!) almost exactly 3 months ago, so I am hardly a "pro" at this. I stick out like a sore thumb on the start line
This is also my first time at Landsdowne, so I got in a quick lap to see what the circuit looked like. Quite nice as it turns out, and I love that fast twisty descent.
I quickly discovered that A Grade works a bit differently to the other grades. It is constant and sudden attacks followed by sedate sitting up before someone else makes an attack. I'm trying to keep my HR in check, and then my Garmin throws up a message..."Updating GPS software..."..Say What! I had that for 1.5 laps before I got my screen back...grrr
Anyway, nobody was all that interested in the early sprint, so the lone LACC rider who wanted it took off, grabbed the points and sat up. I think I was actually 4th in the sprint that wasn't.
I was getting a bit of coaching advice from some wiser riders in the bunch, mostly about holding lines and not doing too much work. Quite a bit of tactics at play that I am not used to (such as blocking moves up the inside/outside). I'm sure I'll pick this up pretty quickly.
The surging hurt, but I was able to bite the handlebars and stay with the bunch, having a few pulls at the front myself, and being that guy slowing everyone up before surging again.
The final lap was weird. Big attack half way around that got shut down pronto, then it was a leisurely cruise until nearing the last 300m. All I heard was "go go go!" and it was on (and I picked the spot pretty well and was not blocked in). I just grabbed what I thought was a fast wheel and powered on, coming over the line around 7th or 8th, a couple of bike lengths behind the winners.
My pre-race plan was to finish, so by that measure I exceeded my goal. My Strava data shows that I was actually working pretty hard. I hit 180bpm, my highest recorded heart rate so far. I don't have a power meter, so I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how I went in that regards. Oh, and I haven't shaved my legs.....yet lol
There will be no easy wins here, but I can at least say I am A Grade material. Just need some fine tuning and work on the tactics and get familiar with the other riders.
I am hoping to give West Head a crack next week (B Grade), then take a mini-break to do some hills. Tue night at the Dragway starts up again in September, and I'd love to see if I can hold on to the bunch there!
Hey Mate, you rode well. that was me talking to you in the race telling you to settle down, it will get hard later
I was in red/black/white on a black focus. To be honest it was a pretty uneventful race, there were too many guys in there with equal ability so it was always going to be a bunch kick. The key is to go with the moves like I did, being a sprinter I wanted to be in the front group and not have to use energy chasing so for me i just pedal 10 strokes hard as an attack goes and go with it. Lot easier than chasing it for half a lap.
You rode well, you need to cut the work down a bit. In A grade going to the front will hurt nobody but yourself, in B grade you can hurt other guys but in A grade you are not going to hurt anyone by doing driving turns and trying to keep the pace up. Just go with the flow. You might have noticed I went to the front a bit when it was slow, that is the best thing to do as I controlled the pace so I could recover.
Overall the race was prob a 6/10 for an A grade race, they get a lot harder than that.
I won the kick pretty easy, backed off 100 out and only hit 1320w so had a fair bit up my sleeve if I needed it