Race Report Thread

[Xplora]

Be comforted that Grand Tours are won by GC riders who can climb and TT then

You're right about the prima donna comment, it's literal truth... but in a world where breaks don't get away on the flats, team directors have realised that they are better off guiding their soprano to the finishing crescendo for that Mariah Carey C note over 300m than burning up domestiques for no rewards on the podium.

[mrgolf]

Ha. Nicely put. They have their place. It adds variety on the world stage, but I would rather us my strengths than someone else's where possible.

[Xplora]

I've been becoming familiar with a bit of a "no bunch sprints" ethos in Sydney's west this season; it's like its the breakaway vs the sprinters, we will do whatever we can to avoid that bunch.

[mrgolf]

That's been my summer crit experience. It's a fun sport as a break rider. Thank god we're back into road season.

[jules21]

you've had a stellar season cerb. are you going to brave any northern combine races?

[cerb]

Perhaps... Team sponsors are (understandably) keen to see us out and about for the road season. I'll mostly leave it to three or 4 guys who always ride the winter, but might do a few of the flatter races and some opens to boost numbers and help my fitness! Although... winter is for skiing!

You're usually pretty active for the road season Jules? Might see you in a NC race sometime..

[toppity]

Until I read the disclaimer I missed the humour MrGolf. Doesn't really matter though. Have fun.

[Tarquin]

I did the Blayney to Bathurst Criterium Race today, ended up graded in elite mens B grade which turns out was about right!

Well I made it to the Crit feeling maybe 80% fit after feeling really crook Friday and not going to work.

Everyone else looked pretty serious and it was really quick from the start! Was about 40 riders in the field total which is a lot more than we usually race with at club level. First few laps I sat about 3/4 of the way back, moving up when it looked like people were going to blow up, I never looked back so had no idea who was behind me. Moved up to the middle of the bunch as I didn't want to sit too far back with the elastic effect and risk people blowing in front of me and not being able to close the gap.

There was quite a strong headwind which you had to ride into, going up a slight uphill along the pit straight, it was important to be in the middle of the bunch here and get a good run out of the chicane leading up to it as well as a good wheel to follow to avoid having to put in too much effort to keep up.

Apart from that, there was a bit of a climb at the start/finish, but this never really troubled me, leave it in the big ring and just stand on the pedals to get over it, I was making a few spots up here each lap.

At about the half way mark it looked like a group of 6-8 was going to get away (all the other crits had been won from a break) so I made towards the front, got a good run up the hill but the guy at the front of the bunch squeezed me good and proper (I don't think it was intentional I just had a lot more speed than him), I had to grab a load of front brake to avoid hitting him. Got across to the lead group, but then it came back together half a lap later. Burned one of my matches here I feel which was a bummer.

I did about half a lap on the front at about lap 14 or 15, including up the pit straight, which took a lot out of me, but couldn't really be avoided. Dropped towards the back of the bunch unintentionally after swinging off but was planning to use the next few laps to recover.

Next lap following someone into the chicane, which could be taken flat out without braking, the guy in front clips his inside pedal off the ground or kerb :rolleyes: and his back wheel flies in the air. How he didn't crash is beyond me, but I backed off a bit and went over the grass just in case. Ofc this meant that we dropped off the wheel in the group going up the pit straight, so into a killer headwind when I was trying to recover. I give a shake of the head to the rider next to me who I can see agrees with my feelings!

Two laps later I was starting to feel a little better, when a rider in front sticks his hand up, he's cooked on the pit straight too, but has started to let the bunch go. I'm blowing pretty hard and can't see myself getting over so roll up too, last time round I didn't get out the saddle up the climb so I know I'm pretty cooked. Turns out there is only one rider behind me, and of the 40 starters there are only maybe 20 left.

Average speed 40.8kmh over 22.2kmh, elevation 254m, average power 290w, max power 1206w according to Strava! I didn't have time to look at any of it as it was hurting too much and always showed big numbers so I didn't want to know! Looking at the data, every time we went over the climb I was doing 800w+ and coming onto the pit straight, similar for maybe 5-10 seconds! Big difference to road racing which is nowhere near as intense so frequently!

Good fun racing Crits though, its only the second one I have done and with a bigger field.

[foo on patrol]

Tarquin, tell me why you couldn't stay in the front part of the bunch, after your turn.

You will find that it is hard to determine how good a bunch break away is, unless you know what the calibre of rider is in your race.

Um what is Elite B? This was not around when I was racing and I raced what is now Elite but was called Aces back then. (70/80s) We had A B C D and Aces grades, so I don't understand what is Elite B is.

Foo

[Tarquin]

Tarquin, tell me why you couldn't stay in the front part of the bunch, after your turn.

You will find that it is hard to determine how good a bunch break away is, unless you know what the calibre of rider is in your race.

Um what is Elite B? This was not around when I was racing and I raced what is now Elite but was called Aces back then. (70/80s) We had A B C D and Aces grades, so I don't understand what is Elite B is.

Foo

I just meant not juniors when I said elite men, so everyone else!

Just worked too hard when I was on the front in the wind, nobody's fault but my own, over exuberance in a race situation, then when someone did come past I was a little burned out.

I knew 3-4 other riders in the race who are all better riders than me so tried to follow them a little.

Looking at Strava, 7 laps with over 300w average, the first two when everyone was fresh, then two on their own somewhere in the middle, then three in a row before my last full lap then dropped out, didn't realise I was working that much harder just trying to keep up with the pace but that helps explain why I went pop.

Started feeling sick as a dog again about 7:30 so maybe racing today wasn't the best idea.

[toolonglegs]

Nice report Tarquin, sympathize with feeling sick, I have a 75k race tomorrow and started feeling ill last night!. Today while not dying, certainly don't feel amazing. Normally I would just skip it but will be a huge field up front and I have already payed my entry fee!. Won't decide till tomorrow morning... will get everything ready just in case!.

[BillR]

Southern Vets handicap. Started in a strong group of 4, 6 minutes ahead of scratch.
They never saw us.
Caught every group and the turn on to the finish straight was a huge bottleneck.
Came off the bend at least ten back and followed a wheel to the right.
No room there so shifted back to the centre and a gap opened up.
KV was just out of reach, but caught Walter on the line for a very pleasing second.

cheers

[foo on patrol]

^^ ^^

Foo

[ironhanglider]

Um what is Elite B? This was not around when I was racing and I raced what is now Elite but was called Aces back then. (70/80s) We had A B C D and Aces grades, so I don't understand what is Elite B is.

Foo

Elite is basically a description for Senior Men. It is intended to distinguish them from Juniors or Masters because the separate titles for them is not enough.

Basically it sounds much more important than just B grade. Silly CA… How a person can be sub elite, and yet still Elite is beyond me. Calling just the NRS riders elite works better for me.

Cheers,

Cameron

[foo on patrol]

Yep, it was A B C and Aces when I was racing Aces being the top riders, whether they were Juniors or Seniors.

Foo

[jules21]

raced D grade at SKCC - last crit of the year. legs felt like hell - like a car running out of fuel. so i threw in a few attacks anyway. hopeless - couldn't even push past 40 km/h. on the 3rd attack, with 3 laps to go, they let me away - obviously deciding i was wasting my time. but i was joined by another rider. i just couldn't do anything - completely flat. why-why-why when i feel great do i get shut down, then when i feel crap end up in what would otherwise have been a race-winning opportunity? maybe my sluggishness helped my friend bridge across?

[nailsaslegs]

Oatlands 50
I used this as a tune up before Bothwell Roubaix next weekend. Coming off a hard week of training I wasn't very fresh. Started with 10 riders in D. After 10km we were down to 4. Two lightweight whippets me and 1 other. The course was punchy with a couple of longer climbs. As they both moved off on the climb I watched my power, waited till I was over the crest and then bridged on the descent and flat. Help when you can descend and TT better than most. Finally made it to the remnants of E/F into the turn. Now we had a slight tailwind, the four of us took over the work, into the long climb on the return, 1 whippet went cant hold him again just hold power, over the climb back into working and when attacks started to come, 15ks to go, that's too far out. every time just brought them back, that's fine they can destroy their legs. 10kms to go DraPac Will Clarke caught us and came tearing past, we were on 50kph, I thin we will let him go. (I couldn't catch his wheel) Final 5kms, setting myself up for a sprint, C grade caught up, I got into their line, didn't look back at this point, its all about the sprint. As it happens everyone, C, D, E, F were all on. Right I'm around 8th wheel, 1km outpace went up again, 500m, 400, 300m, 250m, the sprint started, kicked and came out off 1 wheel, went around, next wheel, slipstream for a few seconds, came around, and the line. Weakest sprint ever at 986w.

I finished 6th Overall
3rd in Grade
Speed
Avg 37.9km/h
Avg Power 287W
Elev Gain 459m

[cerb]

why-why-why when i feel great do i get shut down, then when i feel crap end up in what would otherwise have been a race-winning opportunity?

Cause people can tell how you're feeling and whether you're a threat! Realistically, trying to get away with 3 laps to go you don't stand much of a chance anyway...!

[cerb]

why-why-why when i feel great do i get shut down, then when i feel crap end up in what would otherwise have been a race-winning opportunity?

Cause people can tell how you're feeling and whether you're a threat! Realistically, trying to get away with 3 laps to go you don't stand much of a chance anyway...!

[Xplora]

why-why-why when i feel great do i get shut down, then when i feel crap end up in what would otherwise have been a race-winning opportunity?

Cause people can tell how you're feeling and whether you're a threat! Realistically, trying to get away with 3 laps to go you don't stand much of a chance anyway...!

Gotta learn how to pretend you are suffering better if you are racing with the same guys every week, and they know if you are strong or not, they aren't going to let your attack get away. You wouldn't let it happen

[cerb]

SKCC B-Grade Criterium
41km, avg. 42.1kph

It was the last normal crit at SKCC for the season - only club champs next week to go.

I wanted to finish off the season with a bang and was feeling good and confident leading up to the race. After an easy neutral lap the pack kicked up and the usual flurry of attacks started. Nothing looked too promising and those which were a chance got shut down quickly - so I just sat in the bunch and took it easy. Once the pace eased off, 6-7 guys casually rolled off the front and no-one chased.

The break was established - I had a team mate up the road and one of the strongly represented teams also had two riders up the road. Additionally, I knew there were 1-2 other good, strong, riders and after 10mins or so, it was clear the peloton had no interest in chasing them down. So I moved to a good position, then pulled wide out of the final corner and gave a (85-90% power) sprint from the pack. I didn't want to burn all my matches, but really did need to catch the break quickly without getting stuck in no-mans land as I'd done a couple of times before.

I bridged successfully in just over half a lap, hitting almost 58kph to get away from the bunch, and when I hooked on to the break I was paying for it. The next lap and a half was spent just trying to hold onto the back of the break while I recovered...! However, a short time later I was rolling turns and the break was starting to work well together. The break size gradually grew over the next 10mins as a few pairs also bridged over, until with 5 mins to go the break had become the race (containing about 15 of us) and the peloton had exploded and gone home.

This took the pressure off the break and we started foxing the finish. A few of the guys were looking to break again before the finish but they were well covered and didn't get away. With 3 laps to go, I moved right up to 4th wheel and got the wheel of a guy I know had a decent sprint. By the time we passed 1.5 laps to go, he was on the front with me second wheel and everyone was foxing the finish... slowing, hard attack, slowing, swinging off, hard attack etc etc. I just followed his wheel and checked my shoulder for people trying to come by...

With half a lap to go, a very strong rider who I'd discounted as someone who 'doesn't win' put on a big turn of pace down the back straight and by the time he passed me, had a good 5kph on the bunch. He had one guy (almost) on his wheel and I jumped hard to chase him down. I came through the final corner in 3rd, with 15m still to make up and managed to close the gap down to about 3 or 4 bike lengths but couldn't do anything more before the line.

Very happy with 3rd place and my second podium in B-Grade for the season! Considering I was racing D at the start of the season (and had been stuck there for 1.5 years) I'm stoked with my improvements!


Major lessons learnt from yesterdays race were:
1. Don't discount strong riders on the basis that you haven't seen them win before.
2. Using a large amount of energy to bridge to a break is better than getting stuck in no-mans land.

[jules21]

Cause people can tell how you're feeling and whether you're a threat! Realistically, trying to get away with 3 laps to go you don't stand much of a chance anyway...!

probably true! funnily enough 2 of us had a decent lead (100m?) with 2 laps to go. by no means was it locked in, but a couple of 45 km/h laps would have made it close! i had nothing

btw was that you who came screaming home in 3rd? or a teammate?

[mikesbytes]

Tarquin, tell me why you couldn't stay in the front part of the bunch, after your turn.

You will find that it is hard to determine how good a bunch break away is, unless you know what the calibre of rider is in your race.

Um what is Elite B? This was not around when I was racing and I raced what is now Elite but was called Aces back then. (70/80s) We had A B C D and Aces grades, so I don't understand what is Elite B is.

Foo

I just meant not juniors when I said elite men, so everyone else!

Just worked too hard when I was on the front in the wind, nobody's fault but my own, over exuberance in a race situation, then when someone did come past I was a little burned out.

I knew 3-4 other riders in the race who are all better riders than me so tried to follow them a little.

Looking at Strava, 7 laps with over 300w average, the first two when everyone was fresh, then two on their own somewhere in the middle, then three in a row before my last full lap then dropped out, didn't realise I was working that much harder just trying to keep up with the pace but that helps explain why I went pop.

Started feeling sick as a dog again about 7:30 so maybe racing today wasn't the best idea.

The grades were Div1,2,3,4 which was also documented as A,B,C,D. I was in D grade, so I was expecting an easy race but if was far from that, with only 9 finishing with the race. There was a guy in D who looked like a Junior, perhaps he was older than he looked. I'll write a report later in the week

[cerb]

btw was that you who came screaming home in 3rd? or a teammate?

Yep - I got 3rd, teammate was 4th!

[toolonglegs]

Raced yesterday in lovely spring weather, huge field and lots of team mates. Spent most of Saturday in bed and most of the time before the start in the toilet but felt ok'ish on the line.
4 or so kms neutralized was crazy as ever racing through the city, some pretty big crashes and lots of shouting. Only to come to a halt again under another start banner in a show ground somewhere. Not sure what the point of that was but at least I was a lot closer to the front.
Off again and once we were on the city limits we were let go. First 7 kms or so kms were just cruising along at 35 before the first climb, a 4.6km number with a bit of down hill in it. I lost the lead group here even though I was averaging up around 370w for over ten minutes... lard arse!. Saw one team mate crash and one lose a chain .
Over the climb and the groups started forming, next 11 kms were lovely cruising through villages averaging around 40, the lead group wasn't far ahead so a few of us dug deep to bring it back before the 2nd climb, succeeded just before the bottom. Got to talk a bit of English on this climb with a couple of guys which was treat!. It is only a 1.2km ramp and was over before you knew it. I was off the back and thought it was all over for me at the top. Big group forming a few hundred meters ahead and a lot of flat roads to come.
I dug really deep for the next 5kms and managed to do most of the work bringing the group back, had David Moncoutié sitting on my wheel most of the way, when he finally came around he made easy work of bridging up... of course dropping me in the process!. But make it back I did just as another bigger bunch made contact as well. That is the good thing and bad thing about this race... if you are not in a bunch you might as well sit up and wait.
Next 20kms we sat happily on about 45kmph. I moved up to the front knowing my race was nearly over... last climb while only 3.6kms is super steep at the bottom, I just tried to pace myself but I was fading, when I looked behind after the steep bit I was on my own . After that cruised the climb and descent and then sat on a gentle pace knowing the next 20kms were pointless to smash yourself as there was a head wind and a group will swallow you up at some stage. That happened with a little group and then a much bigger one. After that I just sat in, group was about 50 or so, but I wasn't bothered sprinting for a 90th or so placing so stayed safe, watched the shenanigans and rolled in for 120th about 4 mins behind the winner.
70 kms at 36.6 av ... nice cruise in the sun!
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