Race Report Thread

[jules21]

wow, congrats nick! that's impressive

[foo on patrol]

Goin well Nick.

Foo

[philip]

I managed to hold them off for the Win!!!

holy moly nick, awesome stuff, win in your first B grade outing? Sounds like you're A grade material for sure!

Raced at heffron this morning, only my 3rd race there. Missed the main break as I was too far back (it was a pretty big bunch, hard to move up), they had about 40 secs on us at one stage, then a couple of laps to go I think they started stuffing around, last lap I was surprised to see them very close, coming around the last corner we nearly had them but I think they just stayed away by a few metres at the finish, so I just finished in the bunch. Average 42.5.

[ozdavo]

Had my 1st Road (crit) Race today. Gold Coast at a circuit known as Computer Street.
Now due the the Gold Coast Festival of Cycling & Robbie's Grand Fondo being held this morning, numbers were seriously down of usual with about 25-30 showing up across 3 grades. Apparently they usually get that many in each of A, B & C, with a smaller D grade field.
Anyway after huge storms last night, got up this morning to the sight of light rain.... hmmm this is going to be cancelled... checked the facebook page at the appropriate time (5.30am).. no update yet... hmmm check the radar... doesn't look too bad, appears most has past. About 5.50 the message appears... "It's On"... Great time to load the car & get up there... grab the bike and notice the front is flat [expletives muttered under breath], OK will fix that when I get there.
Arrive & get to work on changing the tube... having a good look at the tyre I find a vertical slice in the sidewall... WT?! OK I have a spare tyre... 'm sure I left it in the car...NO its at home! Doh!!! OK what can I use for a makeshift patch [searches car muttering expletives!]. OK decide to cut a section from the dead tube to reinforce it... will have to work!

OK dramas dealt with, time to register and warm up. The track is a little over 1km... 2 laps down & we are called to the start line... so much for warming up!

So, looks like about 10 A grade; 10 B grade & 6 C grade. So the call is made, we will all race together with placings for each grade.
OK so my plan is to keep an eye on the C graders and not let any go when we inevitably get dropped by the higher grades!
So were off with a comment like "Right Go"... hmmm I somehow expected a little more fan fare... a flag maybe? at least a "Ready, Set GO", oh well, what ever works.
The pace seemed to average around 40km/hr from the first lap, but with the still wet road no one was pushing on the downhill into a 90deg left hander, so it gave good opportunity for anyone gaped on the preceding climb to get back on. This went on for 4 or 5 laps with generally the C Graders at the rear, but one sitting mid field... hmmm I've gotta keep an eye on him! Then over the next couple of laps a couple of seemed to start struggling to maintain the pace on the climb & then struggle to get back on along the straight... I made sure I wasn't stuck behind anyone struggling, then next time I turned around 4 guys had been gaped by maybe 50-80m... quick look around & only one other C grader in the pack. OK, I've gotta get on his wheel! Its raining now & getting heavier. Another few laps and now this guy is struggling a bit, I pull up beside him & ask how hes going, he says OK & asks If I want to do turns with him (as it looks like we are going off the back of B), no problem, I'll go first. As we crest the hill I put a steady effort in on the downhill to get back to B who, due to the rain, are basically freewheeling the small descent into the corner. Great back on & hold on along the straight as they push. At the end on the straight and into the hill I look around & I'm on my own... this wasn't the plan, so my though is now it is more important than ever I hold on to B for as long as possible, so I don't get left isolated & gassed with C working together to catch me! OK a few more laps of me holding onto B, when we come past C to lap them! I feel great, this gives me a great boost & now I know I just need to finish to take the win! So I push on and we end up lapping C a second time before I get dropped by B with maybe 5 to go.
I push on as hard as I can to the finish to take the win.

So, I'm stoked with the result, but under no illusion that it wont be so easy next time with a full field & no having higher grades to stick to. I'm aware I didn't have to do any work for the group and just sat in & the result came to me. Not to mention I'm quite comfortable corning at speed in the wet which helped be stay with B for much longer than I may otherwise have been able to in a dry race.

Stats
http://app.strava.com/rides/28163811#
26.3km (AT) 40.3km/h
Average CAD = 99
Average HRM = (left strap at home!)

[foo on patrol]

A win is a win Dave.

Foo

[toolonglegs]

What makes you think you won't be put into B Grade ... 40+ av for C grade .
Nice results by everyone!.

[Burt 'Pigeon Racer' Jones]

I had my second race today at lansdowne. After getting 3rd place in C grade last time, I was put into B grade.
I had never been around the track prior to the race today.
After a couple of laps I knew it was going to be tough as there is a big descent and I am crap at descending. After each descent I was chasing the pack down. I did my best to hang in there. There were many attacks but they were all caught. My confidence was building and I was amongst the action with afew laps to go. On the bell lap after the descent I was mid pack and began to make my move up a little. A few guys had opened up about a 40m gap with a km to go but I stayed calm and let a whole bunch of waratah riders bridge the gap. I knew were I wanted to be and took a wheel which was heading in the right direction. He jumped and I stayed with him for a couple hundred meters. He went past everyone and with 300m to go I jumped and gave it everything. The chasers came from everywhere but I managed to hold them off for the Win!!!
I was so excited, I had my wife and daughter there too which made it even better!
For those that want the stats
Average speed 40.0 km\h
Average heart rate 167
Max heart rate 189
Placing 1st!!!

Atleast you're not sandbagging. A good, honest effort.
See how your next couple of races go, and if you're consistantly at the front, make the move to A.

[NotFlyingScot]

I managed to hold them off for the Win!!!
I was so excited, I had my wife and daughter there too which made it even better!
For those that want the stats
Average speed 40.0 km\h
Average heart rate 167
Max heart rate 189
Placing 1st!!!

Top effort Nick. Had I realised that was you today would have said hello.

[ni78ck]

I managed to hold them off for the Win!!!
I was so excited, I had my wife and daughter there too which made it even better!
For those that want the stats
Average speed 40.0 km\h
Average heart rate 167
Max heart rate 189
Placing 1st!!!

Top effort Nick. Had I realised that was you today would have said hello.

thanks NFS, were you racing there too?

[ni78ck]

I had my second race today at lansdowne. After getting 3rd place in C grade last time, I was put into B grade.
I had never been around the track prior to the race today.
After a couple of laps I knew it was going to be tough as there is a big descent and I am crap at descending. After each descent I was chasing the pack down. I did my best to hang in there. There were many attacks but they were all caught. My confidence was building and I was amongst the action with afew laps to go. On the bell lap after the descent I was mid pack and began to make my move up a little. A few guys had opened up about a 40m gap with a km to go but I stayed calm and let a whole bunch of waratah riders bridge the gap. I knew were I wanted to be and took a wheel which was heading in the right direction. He jumped and I stayed with him for a couple hundred meters. He went past everyone and with 300m to go I jumped and gave it everything. The chasers came from everywhere but I managed to hold them off for the Win!!!
I was so excited, I had my wife and daughter there too which made it even better!
For those that want the stats
Average speed 40.0 km\h
Average heart rate 167
Max heart rate 189
Placing 1st!!!

Atleast you're not sandbagging. A good, honest effort.
See how your next couple of races go, and if you're consistantly at the front, make the move to A.

a couple of the officials there were suggesting i go to A grade but i think ill get dropped. i was lucky in B grade cause after all the descending on each lap i was near the rear and had to sprint to get back on to the pack but they would slow down at that section and it made it easy for me to do so. i believe in A grade they would kick on in that section. all great fun and the waratah club conduct a great event.

[toppity]

Well done to Nick and Davo. Brilliant results and a win is a win.

Bloody hell Nick, first B grade race for a win is good going. You say you will get dropped if you move to "A". Firstly you may not have a choice, but secondly, no matter how prepared you think you can get in "B", the jump to "A" is usually very big, so there is a chance you'd get dropped anyway. It takes time to adjust, but by the sound of it, you'll manage o.k.

None the less, there are plenty of people (probably the majority) who ride "B" for years and never win a race, or even place. Soak it up.

[jules21]

HCC d grade crit - i felt better this week than last, finishing in the bunch at least, but i'm clearly still lacking fitness as my average speed drops off towards the end of the race. it didn't help that i had to put in some big efforts bridging back up to the bunch after other riders fell of the back - my fault for being too far back i guess. last night felt fast - 36.8 km/h avg. speed was the same as the previous week, but it was quite windy and our bunch was held back to let B grade past, and then when we caught them again! i can feel myself building form, so i'm optimistic..

can't believe people try and pedal through the bottom corner though.. the senses are certainly aroused when you hear that distinct sound of metal striking bitumen.

[jules21]

Coburg C grade - felt tired this morning so sat in on the bunch until i got a feel for how i was going. race pace seemed very easy as there was a killer headwind up the back straight and i wasn't doing any work on the front. then with 2 laps to go, a car blocked our way through the roundabout leading into the back straight and we had to stop for a few seconds. no one wanted to take the initiative when we got going, so i jumped.. and got a ~30m lead. my first thought was "why am i attacking into a headwind?" but to my surprise it worked. 2 others bridged up to me though and then disaster.. another car blocked our progress at the same roundabout. game over. i'm pretty confident we'd had held off the bunch if not for that.

[ni78ck]

thats gotta hurt
great training though

[jules21]

thats gotta hurt
great training though

would have been better if the car was 2 seconds later and blocked the field

[kirky92au]

Date: 24 November 2012
Venue: Kooragang
Handicap - 28km
Result: ~20/50

Report:
Not much to say but was certainly a good solid race and probably the best I've felt racing thus far. Also bettered my quickest lap by 8secs, average 42.7km/hr for 7km.

Stats:
Time: 00:47:40
Avg Speed: 35.4 km/h
Avg Heart rate: 182
Max BPM: 202!

Cadence: 78

Strava Data

[toolonglegs]

Lined up for another CX today ... I know I said I wold sit this weekend out but the opportunity arose .
Beautiful fun course... flowing but with some serious pinch climbs, maybe 5 times over 20% and one like that for 100 meters .
Decided not to get a front row start as I usually go too hard at the start, but once we got going I rode aggressively to hold my position, first laps in CX races are not the friendliest . But the traffic made going slow which was probably good for me.
Lap times for the first 4 laps we very consistent even though I was in the red...all within 3 seconds of each other .
00:06:33 - 00:06:30 - 00:06:31 - 00:06:30 - 00:06:40 - 00:06:45 - 00:06:56 - 00:06:53
But then my back started to fatigue badly on the pinches, never had to run any but I was suffering!. In the last 4 laps I lost 74 secs which would have kept me ahead about 4 places. But pushing my bulk up climbs that hard always comes at a price ... there is a reason everyone around me is so skinny!.
Anyway finished on the same lap as the winner, but I was probably 6 minutes down on his time... still pretty happy with how I went considering I haven't been feeling the greatest of late.
No results till Monday but hoping I made the top 20.
Freakin exhausted now!.

[jules21]

nice one TLL and kirky!

st.kilda crits D grade- eating frozen pizzas for the last 2 nights as my gourmet cooking wife is on the Great Vic Bike Ride probably isn't getting me the nutrition i need to compete. i managed to keep up with the bunch though at 40.7 km/h average. those st kilda crits are fast! a solid week's training for me, 3 races and 430 km so far.

[ni78ck]

solid solid effort jules. D grade average what does A grade do?

[nickobec]

PDCC D grade criterium report Lakelands 25 November 2012


http://app.strava.com/activities/29420425

You can either read the report or watch the last three minutes from the rear of my bike on Youtube

Lakelands is not your typical Australian criterium course, a 3.8km loop through rural Lakelands. It starts out typically 400m straight, 90 degree left turn, 400m straight, 90 degree left turn, then 700m that gently curves revealing 15m of climbing in the next 300m, before dashing down 600m down the other side on a pretty rough road surface, a nasty double kink and 600m to the finish, the last 300m into a headwind today. More like a short road circuit and I like it.

Not feeling on the best form, it was going to be a very defensive ride from me, no heroics and see what develops on the last lap and a half. It started well with Simmo sitting on the front and taking the bunch round the 1st lap at a slow but steady pace. He swung off and I jumped on, increasing the pace to what I was comfortable with and surprisingly it stayed that way. Apparently I surge into hills, probably bad habits picked up from riding a singlespeed of riding hard into the bottom, then keeping a steady effort, even backing off a bit to get over the top. Which resulted in most the pack passing me on the hill, so I returned to my usual spot as ticket collector (last rider).

The next couple of laps, much the same, if not slightly faster, I sat back and recorded lots of empty road on my camera. Approaching the hill for the 2nd last time, I move to the front expecting an attack, sure enough there was the "woosh, woosh" of CF wheels, I stood to follow then realised it was Phil (a sprinter) and promptly sat back down and got spat out the back of the pack.

Bell lap and it suddenly became tactical, on the final climb, I rode to the front, expecting an attack, nobody did, they actually rode the climb slower than the 1st lap. I eased off the front, nobody was on my wheel, so I went for it, got over the top and started hammering the descent. Did not realise it at the time, but the pack where following the wheel of the 2nd person over the climb, a young women much lighter than me. It was not until they where most the way down, the chase got organised and I had a decent lead. Through the double kink, I had a backward glance and knew I had a chance. The next 300m, I just could not get enough speed out of my legs and it was over, got caught with 200m or so to go, managed to hang in for 5th.

[toppity]

Nice report and footage Nikobec. Pity you didn't stay away.

[jules21]

solid solid effort jules. D grade average what does A grade do?

A grade does 45+ with hot laps into the 50s! matt lloyd was racing in A on sunday.

it's a fast track though - pan flat and protected from wind. i find the hawthorn crits (where i average ~37 km/h) harder due to the big hill.

[jamescbdunn]

Suffervision of Sunday's A-grade Crit, pretty boring racing by me. I've been averaging <50km for the last 6 weeks, but it's good to get a view of what goes on in A-grade.

http://suffervision.appspot.com/v/246001

JD

[Rider123]

Great race reports here!
Can't wait to get out and race at Sandown Racecourse on Tuesday's with Carnegie Caulfield CC.

[ni78ck]

Suffervision of Sunday's A-grade Crit, pretty boring racing by me. I've been averaging <50km for the last 6 weeks, but it's good to get a view of what goes on in A-grade.

http://suffervision.appspot.com/v/246001

JD

great video, you did well at one stage to get back on when the guys in front of you faded! what was the average speed? seamed quite fast