Race Report Thread

[toolonglegs]

Nah, you're always bloody sick mate, it takes some time to get the gremlins out, plus ya need a big stak.

Foo

A big stak sounds painful! ... It was a puncture yesterday... Remembered I put an old latex tube in after my last puncture on Sunday.
Actually started to feel ok yesterday about 50ks in!.
Oh well, least I got a good ride in... Get a few more days training in and then a taper, I need some rest before next weekend.

[toolonglegs]

Double post

[Xplora]

A big stak sounds painful! ....

Only for the cow

Does the latex degrade over time? Might not be your season, TLL, or a sign you need to take CX more seriously

[toolonglegs]

It does degrade a bit in so much as it gets a bit stretchy and misshapen after it has been used for a while... But last Sunday after I punctured in my Cat2 race after hitting something, it was the only tube I had and I wanted to sign on for the later Cat1 race.
I am just a bit behind this year to where I normally am... Usually I enjoy going hard from end of Feb to about now when the weather is crap!. My figuring is I will start feeling pretty good about end of May. Just in time for a couple of races maybe before I head off to work for a few months.
Problem is everybody is flying in June ( stage races and holidays coming up! ).
CX season is still 6 months away... Too far away to think about for now!.

[jules21]

i didn't know you worked TLL

Warburton road race, Masters C, 75km.

i learned some valuable lessons today. it was a wet race, not much rain but soaking roads. we rolled out and at 15km we hit the big climb to Powelltown - 4km at 6%. i was a bit far back in the bunch and had accelerate past slower riders as the leaders started to gap the field. i held them for a while, but eventually slid backwards a bit. over the top of the climb i could see 3 riders ahead and should have been able to catch them on the descent, but wasn't confident on the fast, wet roads. instead i got caught in no-mans land and eventually was caught by a couple of others. we worked together and picked up one or two riders ahead, but basically that was it for my chances. our group didn't all work together very well so we were caught by a bunch from behind about 20km from the finish. with about 3km to go i launched an attack, just for fun, and gapped the bunch - admittedly they may have been wondering what i was trying to achieve. then the rear tyre slipped out slightly around a corner and i lost the enthusiasm, getting caught shortly afterwards. i finished the race with good legs!

the main lessons were:
1. i need to improve my descending. i'm actually a pretty confident descender when i get in the groove, but it's those first few descents that i lose the time on. commuting-training doesn't cut it for this.
2. more careful feeding. strangely i finished the race feeling strong, but hungry. i had a banana left on me but should have eaten more before the start, which was later than normal.
3. stay up the bloody front! especially before where the selection is likely to be made.

don't know where i finished yet but mid-field. any results yet dalai?

[toolonglegs]

Cheeky monkey!... I work ... sort of
Learning lessons is all fine and well... But sometimes you just want to blooming smash everybody!.

[jules21]

Learning lessons is all fine and well... But sometimes you just want to blooming smash everybody!.

yes.. need to do a bit more work, but getting there slowly!

[dalai47]

I don't know where i finished yet but mid-field. any results yet dalai?

Well done jules21.

I spent the whole day at home nursing my recently plated collarbone so wasn't there and not sure why the results haven't been posted yet...

[dalai47]

Results - http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/Portals/1 ... eFinal.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jules21]

thanks dalai. i sucked a bit but it was a well-organised event. pity the rain didn't cooperate. kudos to you and Blackburn.

[dalai47]

Was also snowing at the top of Mt Donna Buang during the morning hill climb!

We did again request an earlier date like last year, but the earlier weekend we were initially given was the same that another race wanted to align with their country towns fete...

Appreciate the positive note to the club and volunteers. There is a stupid amount of hours that are needed behind the scenes up to six months prior to organise just one day of racing such as getting permits, sponsorship etc.

[jules21]

just my view - but it's a state-series race. it should have a bit of epic-ness about it, so a bit of bad weather is just part of the challenge. most people turning up for these races have some kind of ambition so it needs to be tough.

[__PG__]

Was also snowing at the top of Mt Donna Buang during the morning hill climb!

Would have made for a frosty descent. I once did the Rally of Melbourne in the snow along the back road of Mt Donna Buang

[dalai47]

We had a car up top which ferried clothes to the top plus kept it running with the heater on full to warm people up before the descent.

[Ignoto]

First time I've ever raced a points race this morning. Decided that I wanted a mate of mine to win it so that he could be put up to A-Grade, so I was working for him all morning. Tried my best to give him a lead out when he was fresh and pulled back a couple of laps to stop others from getting so much needed points.

We thought he smashed due to the number of wins he'd had gotten plus the final lap, but turns out the group of seven had the same tactics. At the time we couldn't work out if their one rider had been getting all the points. Turns out one was, so the podium looked like 1st on 27 points, 2nd on 22 points and third on 7 points. When they were announcing the podium, I was half way through a coke and muesli bar and my name was called out for 3rd. To say I was shocked would be an understatement!

Anyway, I didn't question the numbers, happy to get some beer money but saddened to see my power was so low Owell, I'm royally shagged after that, so I'll be sleeping like a log tonight.

[toolonglegs]

I would normally give a race report for yesterday... But I only managed 6kms!... Averaged 58-60 kmph first 6 kms then hit the climb à bloc! ... Out the back . 60 kms latter solo crossed the line... Ouch!.

[foo on patrol]

Points scores are a tough race Ignoto and you need to keep track of what you earn.

Jeez TLL 6klms you goin softon us?

Foo

[toolonglegs]

I Feel soft!, wasn't the only one but that ain't much conciliation. To cap it off someone said to me last night "try this stuff on your legs, it really cools them down"... Only to say after I had applied the cream " whoops, gave you the wrong cream, that's heat cream" ... Woke up at midnight and every hour after with my legs on fire!. God help me today!.

[foo on patrol]

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bugger!

Foo

[toolonglegs]

All I can say today is that I got the right cream tonight!.
Lost touch about 5 kms in today ( first GPM - grand prix montagne was at 6km mark )... Fought for the next 20 kms in the caravan until finally settling into the groupetto... To be honest even that was pretty hard!
CLM this arvy, the map said it was flattish, in the end it had some pretty hard ramps and long false flats with a 50kmph head wind. Went Ok for the first 5kms and caught my minute man, but the road was really rough and my seat post dropped 3cms ( always have trouble with seat posts! )... After that it was super tough. Had the best time for a while... But not for long.
Tomorrow will be super hard... And probably wet. Voiture Balai may get a visit

[Ignoto]

Points scores are a tough race Ignoto and you need to keep track of what you earn.

Amen to that! I knew I had 2 or 3 lap wins (one was a bloody close finish between four of us), but we had no idea about the smokey horse in the other team colours! It's a bloody hard slog every lap going hard, while the average pace wasn't crazy (around 43km), it was the huge surges towards the final straight that would get you. Just when you're about to recover from a hard lap the previous lap, there's the monumental increase in speed that leaves you chewing the stem!

[foo on patrol]

I used to love continuing on after the sprint, because 9 out 10 times, the majority would just roll out of it and this was the best time to inflict pain.

Foo

[mikesbytes]

I love points races. At the end of a sprint is a great time to attack


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[Xplora]

Great work Ignoto; well deserved and it goes to show that you make your own luck on the racetrack. To podium when you aren't trying to take a result is really great.

Tuesday
Marconi B grade - Hot Dog circuit, 41.4kmh, 45 minutes.

First time on the hotdog, that most traditional of criterium tracks, and I installed the 130BCD standard as well, 15 minutes before leaving for the start. I knew that there were no hills, and it would be a fast and furious affair (as Marconi races tend to be), so I reasoned that a quick front derailleur adjustment that had the top 9 cogs available would be sufficient. This was a correct assessment...

At the northern end, its a tight hairpin and the southern end is a much looser hairpin that you can carry some speed through. I started midpack and drifted forward and back. Trek_Arty has been rebuilding fitness and was running B grade, and was launching a few attacks here and there. I was mindful that breaks seldom get away here, and that I could expect a sprint out of the north turn so I did my best to see if I could stay up front after 20 minutes. At the 35 minute mark, I attacked from the front to try and break away, with another couple of guys. Success! We made the break happen, and proceeded to hurt hurt hurt for 3-4 laps... I expected a bell at around 45 minutes, which didn't happen, and after 30 minutes straight of the most horrible chain noise you've ever heard, I finally dropped the chain 1.5 laps from the end. I adjusted the FD today - the cage was angled 10 degrees instead of straight. Hmm, seems like my speedy FD check missed tightening the FD enough to avoid slippage or bumps.We had 100m on them when I dropped that chain. Crank worked great, standard BCD is just the ticket for these 40+ average races too. But the mechanical was pretty disappointing after a really bad weekend.

Sunday
Mark Smith Memorial, first Penrith Regatta road race. 70kms.

I wasn't going to race, pelvis bursitis was really bad on Tuesday and I knew a 2 hour race wouldn't help that, but I woke at 5am and couldn't sleep. Fixed up the FD, had brekkie and away we go.
Round and round and round, spent 40km sucking a few wheels, keeping the heart rate low. After 10 minutes in, a break formed and just wasn't caught - all race. The strong riders were up the road or waiting for a tow to bridge the gap. I had a few digs but ultimately couldn't make anything happen. The break was too far away (250m, 25 seconds) and I didn't get much useful help until way too late. The boys in the break just didn't let up, full credit to them, the bunch just wasn't disciplined enough to put a dent into them. The bunch dragged it back to 150m but the break just dug in and held their ground.
I was pretty disappointed because we could have caught them, but my plan of scratching myself for an hour was certainly a bad bad bad plan. I didn't get support when I needed it, and lacked the legs to bridge. No training, every excuse imaginable; ultimately I was a small fish in a big pond, which is amusing because I felt like a small fish at Marconi and had a completely different race.
Congratulations to Shagga from Penrith, taking out the A grade today for his second win; he has been involved in fundraising for Mark Smith since his passing at the last Penrith summer crit, and was a close friend.

[foo on patrol]

That's a bugger about Bursitis there X.

Foo