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by **chris641** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:39 am

C Grade Criterium Race - Nundah, 25/10/08

Woke up this morning at 6.30, I'm slightly sick so I wasn't feeling top notch, but overall not too bad. Had a shower, breakfast, and got my gear on ready for the race. Arrived at 7.30 for an 8.00 start.

After the A and B graders finished all us C graders had a few warm up laps round the 1.2k course. Got ourselves organised and we were ready for the start... I'm in the yellow.

In C Grade the Crit goes for 40 minutes, plus 2 laps. The first 15 minutes were pretty routine and I just drafted the whole time. There was one incident when a guy in front of me wobbled and braked and I almost ran into his back wheel.. which made me fall off the back of the pack. But i had no trouble regaining contact. Phew. At the 20 minute mark there is a 'prime'. At this point I was near the back of the pack, but I knew that a breakaway usually develops after the prime so I sprinted up the outside and got myself into 5th place.

As i suspected there was a breakaway, 2 guys with the same jersey on.. not sure what club. So i planted myself on the front of the main field with a mission of reeling them back in... (look at that determination

)

We caught them and i stayed on the front of the main field for a couple more laps (bad decision).

About half an hour in and my race almost ended (a couple of others did). We were going through the S bend, there were 2 pacelines, and some douche bag decided to try and go up on the inside of me through the corner!!! what an idiot, and then he tried to cut into a non-existent gap in front of me, so of course i had to brake or I would have hit his back wheel, someone hit my back wheel but he managed to stay on. A few others behind him had to pull out although I'm not sure exactly what happened...

3 laps to go and i was stuck in the middle of the field trying to find a way to get near the front. Someone next to me pulled out to the side and made his way to the front, so I followed his line. The bam.. off he went for a breakaway and I followed intently.

He was flying but a few hundred metres down the track he decided to wait for me so we could work together...

We opened up quite a sizable gap on the bunch, on the bell lap I was leading the race. 700m to go and I was dying, and good lord here comes the bunch.. Look at me, head down trying to squeeze every ounce of energy out, what a sad sight..

So a couple of people passed me and i thought.. bugger it ive had enough, so i sat up and cruised home... no placings for me today, but i stirred things up a bit. I think i would have been able to maintain the break if i didnt lead the peloton for those laps earlier on. But oh well, live and learn. It was an enjoyable race.

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by **Kev365428** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 11:40 am

Excellent report and pics Chris. You've raised thstandard of race reports now, so I'm going to have to find a photographer.

I suffer the same affliction as you I reckon. That is, I can't stay away from the front of the group. I ride along with these grand visions in my head of me increasing the pressure slightly each lap, and watching those poor wretched souls drop off the back 'cause they can't stand the pace. In reality I'm playing "domestique" for the whole of C grade and come sprint time I'm a shot duck.

Cheers

Kev.

by **toolonglegs** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 4:06 pm

yeah great report...yup maybee too much work earlier on but you will feel much better for trying something on than sitting in the bunch and waiting for a sprint that you may have got no where in.
Train for those breaks...some very hard intensity will do wonders.
Next time :wink:

by **Alex Simmons/RST** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:07 pm

That looks like a nice circuit to race on.

Good effort, never know what's in the tank unless you bury yourself sometimes.

That guy in the CSC jersey in photo #2 looks terrible on a bike. Did he have to borrow a machine that didn't fit or what??!

by **chris641** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:14 pm

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:That guy in the CSC jersey in photo #2 looks terrible on a bike. Did he have to borrow a machine that didn't fit or what??!

Yeh he has a ridiculous technique but he is somehow very fast.. And i believe that is his bike!! very strange.

by **toolonglegs** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 7:30 pm

yeah it looks like he is on a semi recumbent!.

by **531db** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:02 pm

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:That looks like a nice circuit to race on.

Good effort, never know what's in the tank unless you bury yourself sometimes.

That guy in the CSC jersey in photo #2 looks terrible on a bike. Did he have to borrow a machine that didn't fit or what??!

The circut looks like a longer version of the Dunc Gray criterium circut, it's certainly a lot smoother than Heffron Park where I raced today.

by **Alex Simmons/RST** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:50 pm

531db wrote:The circut looks like a longer version of the Dunc Gray criterium circut, it's certainly a lot smoother than Heffron Park where I raced today.

How did you go? I raced at Heffron today.

by **toolonglegs** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:57 pm

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:
531db wrote:The circut looks like a longer version of the Dunc Gray criterium circut, it's certainly a lot smoother than Heffron Park where I raced today.
How did you go? I raced at Heffron today.

How did you both go?

by **StaceyB** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:31 am

Nice Chris, i was at murrarie yesterday..didnt even know there were races at Nundah yesterday. Im also digging your sun safeness

by **531db** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:23 am

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:
531db wrote:The circut looks like a longer version of the Dunc Gray criterium circut, it's certainly a lot smoother than Heffron Park where I raced today.
How did you go? I raced at Heffron today.

I just outsprinted you for second Alex.....

I spoke with you afterwards, you know, the old fart on the old (1982) bike.....

by **Alex Simmons/RST** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 9:29 am

531db wrote:
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:
531db wrote:The circut looks like a longer version of the Dunc Gray criterium circut, it's certainly a lot smoother than Heffron Park where I raced today.
How did you go? I raced at Heffron today.

I just outsprinted you for second Alex.....

I spoke with you afterwards, you know, the old fart on the old (1982) bike.....

yeah - not my finest sprint. But my first sprint effort on road bike since starting again. Some technical matters to address.

Good to meet you.

by **Beanzy** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 10:39 am

I punctured two laps from the end. Really wanted to be in the sprint but anyway, thats racing. Congrats Alex and Pete. The bloke who one did an awesome amount of work on the front and obviuosly powered home to win

by **chris641** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:37 pm

StaceyB wrote:Nice Chris, i was at murrarie yesterday..didnt even know there were races at Nundah yesterday. Im also digging your sun safeness

My club has races at Nundah every week now, Summer series woooo... so i can attempt to redeem myself next week.

And lets face it, its not about the sun safety at all

by **Alex Simmons/RST** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:00 pm

Beanzy wrote:I punctured two laps from the end. Really wanted to be in the sprint but anyway, thats racing. Congrats Alex and Pete. The bloke who one did an awesome amount of work on the front and obviuosly powered home to win

I figured you must have punctured or something. Thought I heard a stifled *(AT)$#^ at the top of the circuit on the U turn :lol:

Guy that won, everyone just let him roll away with a k to go. It wasn't exactly an attack.

Good on him, he's new to racing I believe. He will be much better when he learns to corner. The "coasting round the bends with both feet even" is a crash waiting to happen. So I mentioned it to him afterwards (hope he doesn't mind).

If one is going to coast round a corner, then at least have the outside foot down with weight on that leg, inside leg up. You'll have much more control of the bike that way. Still, at the moderate speeds we were doing there is no need to ever coast round corners at Heffron when on the front. If you can't then your bike is unsuitably set up for crit racing.

I for the most part tried to keep my nose out of the wind and was content to sit in, just chasing the one "attack" when Auriol decided to head off the front just as another faster grade was approaching from behind (WT? is that kind of move called?). I chased because I consider such circumstances should be "neutralised" and had no intention of forcing the pace.

Average Power for the 50-min race was 220 watts and Normalised Power (for those that understand these things) was 240 watts.

by **Aushiker** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 3:31 pm

Great report Chris and photos. Makes me want to have a shot.

Andrew

by **531db** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:16 am

Beanzy wrote:I punctured two laps from the end. Really wanted to be in the sprint but anyway, thats racing. Congrats Alex and Pete. The bloke who one did an awesome amount of work on the front and obviuosly powered home to win

I wondered where you had got to Beanzy. About 4 laps out I'm thinking, there is some pretty hot sprinters here, yourself, Alex and a few others looking good, I wonder if I can squeak a podium. Then you just were'nt there.

by **Chuck** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:14 pm

Awesome Chris, you've upped the ante on race reports :lol:

by **Mattsbike** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:21 am

Great report Chris...and awesome pictures.

Well done

Matt

by **RobRollin** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:20 am

Great race report Chris and nice pics. Sometimes you need to push yourself just to show yourself what you have got in your legs! Also it adds up to expereince and you know next time where you can attack.

The guy in the CSC jersey has a very funny technique, looks like he is lunging at a line during a sprint!!

by **tuco** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:30 am

Damn you! I feel the need to race now!
Our road season is over until March. We race in the winter because it's too hot to race in summer up here.

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