Race Report Thread

[Derny Driver]

I am sure Derny will plug the south coast races....

Ok if you insist we have a 90km road race Sunday morning with prize money on each grade. Apart from some potholes, its the best road course in the State apart from Goulburn I reckon. A good hill, some undulations, flat sections, cross wind sections, sprint finish. Something for everyone. You can find a map on the Illawarra cycle club website or PM me. Young DD has been sick with a virus for months so A grade is up for grabs!

[GAV!N]

Are you heading up to Southern Div's Marcus? Looks like I'll be in C grade...

[jules21]

felt exhausted yesterday so actually sat in for the whole race (HCC c grade) and felt fresh as a daisy for the bell lap. except i couldn't find a way through so turned the final corner in about 10th and there i stayed. so frustrating feeling like i'm stronger than many other riders but not having a sprint to win, or strong enough to stay away.

[vosadrian]

Yep the last 400m is scary. I have done it once, and dropped the bunch.

Adrian, check out cabici.net but Parramatta is racing out at Oakville soon, kurrajong open later in the year, Penrith is racing much longer at the regatta centre and I would love to know if there is more. I am sure Derny will plug the south coast races, honestly I am sad that they aren't closer. I complain about the distance to a velodrome but its nothing compared to Calga and Illawarra I will be racing everything I can since things are slowing down - no more 3-4 race weekends hehehe

You're right, Brendan, definitely doesn't seem to be a happy time when explosive power is required. But TLL is right, you self select your races. You've definitely come back strong since your holiday!

Thanks Leigh,

I'll keep an eye on cabici. Keen to get some racing in, as I have done very little recently. My fitness is good, but no race time, and last time I raced at West Head I was reminded how much race time does for your riding. I don't think my fitness was any worse, but I was definitely noticing the hurt more when not conditioned for it. Having said that, the pace was also quicker than I had done before, so that may explain it also.

[Derny Driver]

Are you heading up to Southern Div's Marcus? Looks like I'll be in C grade...

Probably Gav. I usually drive one of the lead cars. Young DD wont be racing as he is still recovering from a Glandular Fever type illness. I guess I'll go and watch my brother and my other mates race. If you can find me before the race starts I'll tell you who to watch in your grade.

[trek52]

Derny, does your advice have a different flavour in A grade/Elite vs C grade? Common folklore is that A grade encourages breaks because there is such a disparity in A grade, but it seems there is a fair bit more stability in the lower grades... unless someone is sandbagging or coming up through the ranks quickly. (maybe both).

The reason I mention it is because you deal with CLASS on a regular basis. I'm just a pleb but I note the Milostics and Salas's and Smithsons regularly up the front, they are clearly in another class.

But no they are not in another class. Everyone thinks they are in another class. Those guys are just riders like anyone else and they can be beaten. What they have, that the others don't have, is a heap of experience and self belief. They control the race while everyone else just lets them. A large percentage of what these guys do is just bluff.
They are not scared to lose and they are not intimidated by anyone. You cant fake that self belief, you only get it from experience.

Haha Xplora = great bloke............We are in another class !!!!

[trek52]

derny is so right though, I bluff more than anyone would ever believe.

Last year before the Syd Champs that I won I had not turned a pedal for more than 6 weeks until the start line, I didnt even warm up as I knew it was energy I couldnt waste.

So what did I do ?? My biggest fear was a break that I knew I couldn't go in as I would get dropped, so I attacked and attacked for the first 3 laps always on the down hill to scare everyone that I was going really well.

Everyone thought I would go in a break so there was no point in attacking me (i would generally outsprint the guys in a break)

We aved 36km an hour and talked the whole way.....for a bunch kick

One proper attack and I would have DNF'd

[KGB]

Nice!
So true though. I won B grade at sutho about a month ago after somehow finding myself in a breakaway. After 2 laps away I was dying and just waiting to get spat but managed to recover a little and then one by one my companions were dropping off until there was only 2 of us.
With a few laps to go I was pretty flogged but happy enough thinking I'd get second and go home with some coin. Then I roll through for a turn and my companion says "easy, I'm hurting" and I thought THANKYOU!
On the last lap I kicked with what felt like the weakest attack ever, he gave up and I solo'd across the line for the win.

I was struggling for a lot of the race - I just didn't let on and acted like I was all good.

A friend races the same grade and always complains about being in a good position with 1 lap to go before getting swamped, boxed in etc.
I haven't noticed that for a long time. Yes, you need to work for position but purely expecting to be let in or find a wheel is half the battle. Act like you own the race and half of them will believe you!

[mikesbytes]

KGB, where's the like button when you need it?

[Xplora]

Nice work KGB, great report too.
Tell your mate that you don't need a good position when the bell rings, you need as the bunch starts the final attack. I've taken 2-3 wheels back into the final lap a couple times. The final sprint is a long way to hold that spot for.

[Ignoto]

Second crit race for me this morning. It was a bigger bunch than last time, probably up to 30-40 people which wasn't too bad. However, the skill level was appalling by most of the riders. They'd speed up on the final sprint, go around a corner, but slow up around the s-bends. I'm talking about 47km on the flat then somewhere around 36km around the s-bends. Riders were sitting up in the bends and the guys on the front were just sitting there for way too long.

So I got bored and tried to create a breakaway and increase the speed of the peloton three or four times, just no-one would come and play! Bunch of girls. Then when there was a decent size group in the breakaway, they didn't even bother properly rotating so all the hard work was undone!

Anyway, with 10 minutes to go, I eased back, had a gel and caught my breath for the final couple laps. Positioned myself in the top 4 for the final lap and gave it a proper crack (highest HR I've seen on Strava now!) unfortunately missed out on the podium by a bee's dick. Those that did make it, the winner did SFA the entire race and the others only contested the 100m of sprinting for the prime.

I guess if that's what takes to win a club race, count me out on the account of not getting it. I don't get the appeal of essentially doing a group ride for 40 minutes and then using your fresh legs to win it!

Owell, time to take the plunge and upgrade to a full licence!

[Xplora]

Rule 70: The purpose of competing is to win.

http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#70" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The killer for you was that you attacked 4 times, didn't achieve much except increasing bunch pace and wore out the other breakaway riders who responded, but might not have the legs to support you the way you expected, then at the critical point, 10 minutes to go, you relaxed... to recover for a bunch sprint against fresh legs?! I did the same thing on Tuesday lol

It's frustrating that you felt the riding quality sucked, because safety is important, but crits aren't 200km TdF stages. You aren't racing with teams, you aren't racing with the top riders, and the best you can hope for is a rapid promotion if your skills are much better than your grade.

Work out who are the strong breakaway riders. Make friends. Dominate the sprinters.

[Derny Driver]

Nice!
I won B grade at sutho about a month ago ...

A friend races the same grade and always complains about being in a good position with 1 lap to go before getting swamped, boxed in etc.

My brother won B grade Sutho last night. Managed to beat a team of 10 Mortdale riders which illustrates what I said about not worrying about riding solo. The Mortdale boys went gangbusters from the starting whistle and wanted to control the race so my brother rode the front and never had to do a turn. On the final climb to the finish straight one guy was on the front leading out his mate, only thing was, his mate couldnt hold it and my brother could. Come the sprint and it was basically 2 up, my brother like myself would never call himself a "sprinter" but has a good kick and knows how to finish....goodnight nurse.
His tips for your mate:
1. Be prepared to mix it on that final hill, if you are too shy to rub shoulders or cut the edges of the grass you can forget it. One seconds hesitation or easing of the pedals and you are swamped.
2. If you cant ride A grade you wont win B. My brother rides A at times. A genuine B grader will struggle. The Mortdale boys had it strung out and a lot of B graders were dropped. The final lap time was only 3 seconds slower than my brothers fastest A grade lap. So its a good standard.
Puts your win in perspective KGB

[toolonglegs]

Bout time they got the grading sorted out then .

[Derny Driver]

Bout time they got the grading sorted out then .

Lol.. in his defence he is 52 years old and while he goes alright and is good enough to hold a wheel in A grade hes not in the class of the NRS crew and teams who ride A. Young DD has never placed in A but at 18 kicks my brothers arse in races as he should. So B grade is not far from the mark. We have a guy at our local club who is 57 and rides B grade and everyone complains when he wins. Harden up boys!

[toolonglegs]

We have 56 year old Nana who turns up quite often to races here.. She races against the Elite 1 boys no problem... No way they would let her drop down a grade

[Xplora]

Depends what you're racing for, TLL... I've been advised by a couple people to race A for all the nonmasters races, where you can nominate a grade, and race B for Waratahs Masters, and others suggest save it all up for the Open races... all club races are training. A grade is damn hard to even finish if you aren't A grade yet, but you won't ever get the pace to perform strong in B or perhaps C if you aren't pushing yourself. I was suggested this by some of the top riders in my area. Seems counterintuitive but I guess there are different levels out there, plus we don't have the same regime for grading. A or B, you decide

[toolonglegs]

My young fella's rugby match was cancelled today so I didn't need to do the shuttle run, guess that means I get to race! .
Turned up nice and early... the rain seemed to stay away for the lower grades so snapped a couple of club mate photos, there was only one as there was hardly anyone there, the weather earlier had scared them off.
2 team mates in my grade B race... 25 all up. Bit different from the normal 80!. I had a short warm up and the sun was nearly out when we started. Started with spring long finger gloves, a full arm thermal with a normal summer jersey on top, bottie rain covers and below the knee spring knicks. Was a bit worried I would be too hot.
Started pretty gently, good as I wasn't feeling super...I think the first serious break went at the start of the 2nd lap. 6 up front with a team mate in form in there... cool I can cruise as other team mate was covering the moves.
Near the end of the 2nd lap the real fun started... I was near the back when I heard wheels touching, down they went, thought I was going down but managed to come to a stop in the grass. Must have been around 5 on the ground. One was pretty sore due to the screams of pain coming from him. We have follow cars so I didn't hang around, took about half a lap to make it back to the much smaller bunch. I was the only one to get back. There were 6 up the road still and maybe 10 to 12 in the bunch.
We pulled back the break a lap or so later, I just sat in and recovered from my chase. Apparently only 3 were pulling turns, should have been the winning bunch considering what had happened behind even though there was 50 kms or so to go. Next few laps stayed pretty much together, ambulance was there for 20 minutes or so clearing the casualties.
Then it started getting darker as the meanest black cloud started to creep towards us, the wind changed 180 degrees and the temp started to plummet... it was about 9C when we started, the rain then sleet saw that drop way down. We rode for a good 30 or 40 minutes in torrential rain, the cold started seeping in and people started suffering, basically we started losing one or two a lap after that.
With about 3 laps to go 14kms I couldn't feel my hands, apart from that I felt ok'ish. That all changed when I drove it for half a lap to bring back a breakaway. I was playing team player due to others doing this for me the week before. After that I started losing it. My hands really play up in the cold, with 2 to go I was really suffering.
But there where only 9 of us left, 3 from my team... looking good!. Then one guy went away on the bell, up to front again to bring him back... with about a k to go I was pretty toast, into a sharp downhill off camber corner I did my best Rossi impersonation managing to keep it upright easily enough but losing more speed than I wanted... after that I just buried myself to bring the guy up front back...with the job nearly down I popped. Two team mates lined up behind me with about 600 to go. Matey boy up front exploded in spectacular fashion.
BUT it didn't really work out... turned out the cold had destroy my mate and he had nothing. The other guy got 4th . Pretty pathetic result to be honest... we should have won.
Certainly made a mistake leading out after the corner as I probably had a sprint in me. Oh well... it was one of those races that you will never forget.
Got back to the car... turned on the heater, stripped off my top half and got dry clothes then went about warming my hands. The next ten minutes were not pretty... I didn't know whether to cry or vomit, luckily I did neither, but it wasn't nice. Definitely the 2nd or 3rd coldest my hands have ever been.
Finally got out of the car to take my number back... standing chatting to my team mates we must have looked like 3 human sex toys vibrating away. Had to say goodbye before the podium as I needed to get in the car and crank the heaters!.
Looking at strava the numbers were way down... nothing even close to special. The cold really takes it out of you!. Great fun though .

[foo on patrol]

That'll toughen ya up a bit more TLL.

Foo

[toolonglegs]

As much as they hurt I actually love racing in conditions like that, certainly helps weed people out .

[jules21]

great report TLL. i also love tough conditions, although i haven't raced in any for a while. i remember way back as a 19 yr old watching others drop out due to rain and thinking "you're abandoning because it's wet?!" it's what racing should be - a test of mettle.

today was Mt Buller road race, Masters C. a big field of 60 rolled out of Mansfield on the 30 km roll to the base of Buller. minus the wind of last year, it was a pretty easy roll - bar some nervous riding in the bunch causing some hard braking, an idiot who decided to close shave us coming in the opposite direction at 100 km/h and a roo that bounded across the front of the bunch.

it's not a tactical race. you hit the base of the climb and you can either hold the fast guys or you can't. i couldn't. i moved up but had to ease off after going into the red, and that was that. 29th out of 60-odd, 6:30 down. being 6'3 and 80 kg, i can clearly see myself lose ground when the gradient starts to pinch and the weedy guys float away, then come back when it flattens out a bit. i worked in a group with 4-5 guys for half the climb, but 3 of them skipped away in the last km. i gave it everything!

[foo on patrol]

great report TLL. i also love tough conditions, although i haven't raced in any for a while. i remember way back as a 19 yr old watching others drop out due to rain and thinking "you're abandoning because it's wet?!" it's what racing should be - a test of mettle.

today was Mt Buller road race, Masters C. a big field of 60 rolled out of Mansfield on the 30 km roll to the base of Buller. minus the wind of last year, it was a pretty easy roll - bar some nervous riding in the bunch causing some hard braking, an idiot who decided to close shave us coming in the opposite direction at 100 km/h and a roo that bounded across the front of the bunch.

it's not a tactical race. you hit the base of the climb and you can either hold the fast guys or you can't. i couldn't. i moved up but had to ease off after going into the red, and that was that. 29th out of 60-odd, 6:30 down. being 6'3 and 80 kg, i can clearly see myself lose ground when the gradient starts to pinch and the weedy guys float away, then come back when it flattens out a bit. i worked in a group with 4-5 guys for half the climb, but 3 of them skipped away in the last km. i gave it everything!

And that is the main thing Jules.

Foo

[jules21]

And that is the main thing Jules.

thanks Foo



i've lost a bit of form recently i reckon. will be stronger!

[toolonglegs]

On something like that there isn't many tactics, you are either in the power to weight ballpark or you aren't. Always good fun though .

[rogan]

We have 56 year old Nana who turns up quite often to races here.. She races against the Elite 1 boys no problem... No way they would let her drop down a grade

Jeannie Longo is about that age, surely not Jeannie?