Race Report Thread

[foo on patrol]

If you get a good break on the group Nickobec like that, you are better off riding at a pace that you can hold without hurting yourself, instead of sitting up. Different thing if your only 100mtrs off the front, because the bunch can just let you hang there and not hurt themselves to real you in.

You need to make the most of your strength and breaks, so stop, dropping to the back of the field and drop into mid to front half dozen and you can control your race better.


Foo

[nickobec]

If you get a good break on the group Nickobec like that, you are better off riding at a pace that you can hold without hurting yourself, instead of sitting up.

Except that attack was purely psychological, it was

this it what I can do if I want to

statement.

I could of kept riding at a pace I can hold, but I don't think that would of had the same impact, though it would of brought the stronger riders to the front to chase. Plus it was not a great gap about 100m and would of needed to work harder and I was conserving energy for the last lap.

You need to make the most of your strength and breaks, so stop, dropping to the back of the field and drop into mid to front half dozen and you can control your race better.

Call it the David Moncoutie factor I don't have a great sense of balance or reaction time, so to feel safe in a bunch I am either on the front or at the back. (note I am riding the WCMCC races with bunches of 30+ for a few reasons including forcing me to ride in the pack). With a small group like yesterday of 17, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of most the riders, including only one other would try to break, it was easy to sit at the back and watch, I could get to the front easily if I needed. Though it did cost me on one corner.

Maybe at the next PDCC race I try and stay close to the front, I have some different tactics in mind.

[twizzle]

If this was from the effort, then that is good because you put everything into it and that is how they should be ridden, nothing left in the tank!

Foo

I'm used to feeling pretty wasted after the finish (ie., loss of about half my IQ and getting the shakes), but this was a whole new level.

[foo on patrol]

If this was from the effort, then that is good because you put everything into it and that is how they should be ridden, nothing left in the tank!

Foo

I'm used to feeling pretty wasted after the finish (ie., loss of about half my IQ and getting the shakes), but this was a whole new level.

Not quite understanding what you are trying to say Twizzle but if I read it right, you were feeling even more wasted than normal. If this was the feeling, then I would suggest that you are on your way to riding a TT the way myself and a few other older blokes feel you should.

The secret of a top time trialist is to overcome the pain barrier and exhaust every bit of energy from your body, to the point of collapse at the end. Mind you, you do need to be aware of your capabilities also, so that you don't blow up to early.

Foo

[toolonglegs]

Today I was a schnivler ( can't check the spelling )... Although I did help out when I got stuck in the wrong 50% a few times... The course looked flat on the map!... Turned out it had nearly 950m climbing in 72kms!... Doh.
I half heart-idly sprinted but broke my golden rule of " if in doubt, lead it out! " ... I eased up a tiny bit instead of going for 3rd... 2nd was out of reach... Couldn't be arsed waiting another 2hours in the rain then hail for the podium... What a schnivler!!!
But happy I went... I decided at 11.10am that I wanted to race... the only race I could find was 100km's away ... I was on the start line for 13.00 in the rain and hail. It was a delightful 5C according to my car... but I saw on strava another guy I raced with had 7C average. It poured the whole time which was a pleasant surprise for the wheat field I am sure!.
But if I hadn't raced ( and suffered ) I wouldn't have bothered riding today.

[MREJ]

Funny race for me yesterday. Waratahs B grade crit. I was tired and had dead legs from 3 surfs and a mountain climb over the previous 2 days, but it was a beautiful morning and I thought I might as well. I wasn't feeling particularly convinced or determined.

It seemed slow most of the time. I thought I'd just sit in and spin out the legs a bit. I did a half lap on the front, then waved them through. Prime came and I wasn't too badly positioned, so I got set up the hill and into the straight. I got away behind Dave J and another, then when I saw how sprightly Dave looked, and still feeling my legs, I decided this wasn't one for me, and eased off and watched the two of them roll over the line.

For the second 30 minutes the pattern was little different. About half way through, when I thought I was about mid-pack, I glanced back over my shoulder to see nothing but open road. We seemed to have lost quite a few if the original 23 starters. This was when I began to think that perhaps it wasn't so slow after all.

It's rarely a good idea to ride at the back, in my view, so I moved up a bit. When the bell rang I was about 6th, and stayed there til the approach to the final climb. It got a lot tighter then as seemingly everyone who was left wanted to be in 3rd or 4th wheel. I got squeezed out for a while and dropped back, but as the increased pace up the hill began to bite, I passed a few to get back to 6th or 7th as we rounded the bend into the finish straight.

I was behind a big guy who looked strong. Decided to sit on him and see what he could do. We ran down the RHS, as 3 or 4 matched us on the left. I think we passed a couple. It still felt a bit like it was waiting to ignite - not that there was a lot of time to wait, with only 100m or so left!

Then the last kick came. I swung out on the left, towards the middle of the track. Two of the riders who'd been on the left also moved towards the middle, but in front of me. I think I could have kicked harder, but I had nowhere to go, with my "lead-out man" on my right not giving up easily. I rolled over the line in 5th, a half wheel behind the big fella. The two who came in from the left got 1st and 2nd, and a rider who tailed them got 3rd.

Afterwards, I saw our speed (38.6 for an hour) was a bit higher than average, and my average heart rate was down on the norm. Trevor, who came in behind me, said he thought I might win til my options closed off. Perhaps. And my legs had finally kicked in and were feeling good.

It did make me wonder what might have happened if I'd gone in with a more assertive mindset. Not that I'm too worried about it - I got a nice ride in the sun, stayed upright, and got two excellent, fresh Portuguese tarts at the Lisbon cake shop on the way home.

I sat in the shade in the back yard with Anne, and ate the tarts with a piccolo latte. I decided to take the afternoon off, which I did.

My legs are good right now. On reflection overnight, I think this might be a good time to ask myself some harder questions.

[toppity]

and got two excellent, fresh Portuguese tarts at the Lisbon cake shop on the way home.

What were their names? sorry, bad joke

[twizzle]

Not quite understanding what you are trying to say Twizzle but if I read it right, you were feeling even more wasted than normal. If this was the feeling, then I would suggest that you are on your way to riding a TT the way myself and a few other older blokes feel you should.

The secret of a top time trialist is to overcome the pain barrier and exhaust every bit of energy from your body, to the point of collapse at the end. Mind you, you do need to be aware of your capabilities also, so that you don't blow up to early.

Foo

I just went back and compared the race to the previous time I did that course in November... Identical time & power within .01%!

Edit: Just checked the official results, and according to them I was 4 seconds quicker this time. Ross was 8 seconds quicker. And another guy I know was 15 seconds quicker. Given the weather conditions were much better the previous time, we must all have been taking risks with the wind this time.

[cerb]

CCCC Glenvale Crits - C-Grade
56mins, avg. 38.6kph

After a friends wedding the night before, I rolled the 25 odd kilometers to the race feeling decidedly under the weather (5h sleep and many a beer & wine consumed). As I got closer to the race location, the actual weather also got worse and before I knew it I was rolling along wet roads. Fantastic... now I was wondering if there was even going to be a race! Fortunately, it was going to stay dry and D & B grades started the course drying process for us... so I signed up and dropped my tyre pressure.

Drop of the flag saw a couple of youngsters sprint off the line and be taking the first corner before many people had clipped in... I was on the front with a couple of others and noticed they were the same kids who did the same thing last week - we collectively figured the pair's chances of staying off the front for 50+ minutes were slim to none, so we set up a reasonable tempo in order to keep them in sight. The duo were brought back into the bunch after 3-4 laps and the pace continued fairly steadily with fewer than normal attacks and surges. The few attacks that went in the last half of the race never hit the mark, and each time the rider was left dangling in front of the pack, as if being punished for upping the pace momentarily.

At 10mins to go it was clear it was going to be a bunch sprint for the finish, so I stopped doing any work and just sat in to recuperate as much as possible. With 3 laps to go the pace lifted gradually until the bell lap and I paid close attention to following some strong wheels, good positioning and not getting boxed in.

Down the back straight, I pulled in onto the last wheel of 4-5 guys coming up the outside at pace. Through the second last corner, we became the leading riders and there were now only 3 ahead of me. Coming out of the final corner (~300m to go) I was now second wheel and the guy in front was ramping up the speed nicely. I sat in for ~100m until someone started to come by on my left, so I jumped to the right and put myself in the lead with ~150m to go. I couldn't change into my 11T ring (due to bad gear adjustment) so I started spinning the legs madly, managing to hold on for the win by a wheel!

A great way to finish my racing season, but I think I'll change my pre-race preparation next season to sleepless nights and excessive indulgence!

[toppity]

well done cerb. All grades are hotly contested at Glenvale.

[jules21]

great work Mike.. sounds like you've got quite a sprint on you.

i'm still off the bike with an infected foot. i went down to the Tour of the SW on the weekend (accommodation already booked) and spectated. it really pained me to be sitting watching from the sidelines

[Ozkaban]

NSCC Beauie Worlds, C Grade

I finally bit the bullet, upgraded my CA license and headed down to Beauie to race. I've done 2 x 40km races with work, but never a crit.

Much bigger bunch than I expected. I think there were 24 in C grade with similar numbers in A & B. It seemed to go much as other people have posted C grade races - a little bit of attacking but nothing succeeded, everything just got chased down. I tried to maintain a position in the top half and did so pretty ok. Pulled a turn or two on the front but nothing major. I was keeping up with the race no probs but on the second last lap I made a pretty big tactical error. As you head down to the turnaround point there's a bit of a downhill. As we levelled out everyone slowed a bit but I just kept the momentum going and pulled away for a bit. I was just thinking to stretch things out a bit before the end and try and shake a few off the back. All I did was drag everyone along for a bit and burn myself out at the wrong time! As we came around for the final lap I knew I was flagging a bit so I thought I'd either have to get away early or just lose the sprint. I took it out of the last hairpin a bit harder and rolled past the leaders. As I went up the small hill I knew I was spent and not going to maintain the pace so I enjoyed the whooshing sensation as the riders blew past me as the sprint got underway in earnest. I came somewhere near the back of the main sprint, maybe 15th or so.

A highlight was about 3 laps from the end when we let A grade roll through. They kind of eased off and we kind of sped up (I think it's testosterone ) Anyway, we were catching them til one of our more colourful riders suggested they pedal a bit harder as C grade was right up their .... Got their attention and it seemed to work

Definitely enjoyed the race. Also definitely need to work on my sprints. Will be back next time too...

Average was a smidge over 37kmh.

[cerb]

Cheers! Get better soon Jules - at least you have the road season ahead still. No road racing for me, so I'm out until crits start again! See you at St. Kilda later in the year...

[cerb]

Definitely enjoyed the race. Also definitely need to work on my sprints. Will be back next time too...

Good stuff Oz, sounds like you've got the bug!

This was my first season of crit racing and I think the two biggest things i've leart are:
1) A lot of crit racing is tactics and positioning. It's not necessarily the strongest person who wins... conserve, follow the right wheels, be in the right spot etc. etc.
2) It wasn't my sprint that needed working on most - it was my fitness and endurance to make sure I'm fresh at the end of the race, thus ensuring I can put in a strong sprint.

[Ozkaban]

Good stuff Oz, sounds like you've got the bug!

Yup. But just ask my wife, I'm good at that...

This was my first season of crit racing and I think the two biggest things i've leart are:
1) A lot of crit racing is tactics and positioning. It's not necessarily the strongest person who wins... conserve, follow the right wheels, be in the right spot etc. etc.

Sounds very sensible...

2) It wasn't my sprint that needed working on most - it was my fitness and endurance to make sure I'm fresh at the end of the race, thus ensuring I can put in a strong sprint.

You know you might be right here. I've done some big sprints in group rides when I conserved energy to that point. Maybe I need to do this as well as improve fitness for the crits...

[filip]

Ozkaban, I was at beaumont road as well, in c, and it’s quite fun to read a different viewpoint about a race you’ve raced in. The bunch was bigger than usual, which made it a bit of a different race. In a smaller bunch the work that needs to be done to chase down a break is higher, so it makes the race much tougher for the sprinters. Last Sunday no break got any room and the surging was therefore not as dramatic and kept the sprinters fresher. I’m not a sprinter myself and going with the bunch to the line – i do recall flying past 2 riders almost standing still – was the best i could manage. Note to self : next time more surging.

[Ozkaban]

Ozkaban, I was at beaumont road as well, in c, and it’s quite fun to read a different viewpoint about a race you’ve raced in. The bunch was bigger than usual, which made it a bit of a different race. In a smaller bunch the work that needs to be done to chase down a break is higher, so it makes the race much tougher for the sprinters. Last Sunday no break got any room and the surging was therefore not as dramatic and kept the sprinters fresher. I’m not a sprinter myself and going with the bunch to the line – i do recall flying past 2 riders almost standing still – was the best i could manage. Note to self : next time more surging.

interesting to hear from a regular! I was actually thinking that effective tactics for a race like that would be 'hide and sprint'. There was very little work to get done chasing. I could see how it would be more intense with fewer riders.

BTW, I was the NSCC guy on the white and red Orbea.

[mrgolf]

Vets Honeysuckle Creek road race A Grade

Just a short one, but plenty of climb!!! 830m in 34kms and a hilltop finish.
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Ride from Apollo Road to Tharwa was uneventful, with a few taking regular turns along the way with a strong cross/ tail wind. It was strong enough to knock us course fairly regularly. My front wheels was shifting a lot. The way back was much tougher coming into a strong cross/ head wind. One rider got out on a solo break and there was no motivation/ organisation within the peleton to bring him back in. I refused to spend to much time on the front, knowing the other recognised climbers had done next to no work.

We turned on to Apollo Rd for the climb up to Honeysuckle and the breakaway was about 500m ahead. We hit the 8km long climb and I got on the front and pushed hard to try and bring him back in. About a third of the way up I was on my own and reeling the break in quickly.

Once I caught the break I backed off to recover. I had, in fact, panicked and anticipated a much longer chase. Now on my own, I opted for some brief recovery and rode my own pace for a while. With 4kms to go, I look back and there are 2nd and 3rd making serious ground on me. I up the pace but dont feel I am doing enough and mentally accept 2nd or 3rd. I snapped out of that, though, and buried myself to maintain the gap. I checked back a couple of times but they werent in sight. As I passed a flat section I freaked cos I thought there was still another 3kms to go and I felt my pace was on the brink of fading but the chasers were still no closer. A couple of minutes later and I passed the 400m to go mark. Home and hosed. Fun race. I prefer the hills. A lot simpler.

[mrgolf]

Oh, and congrats to Ross on his second in B Grade.

[twizzle]

Oh, and congrats to Ross on his second in B Grade.

+1, I thought he made a huge mistake going off the front on the way back, but as they started the climb he was off like a rocket.
Not one of my better rides, the lower back pain is becoming a limiting factor in any race with surges or short climbs, I couldn't keep the effort up by the time we made it to the climb.

And there were three wheel failures of people riding down the hill from registration to start the race : one melted carbon from braking, one tube exploded and another popped a spoke!


Sent from my iThingy...

[jcjordan]

Oh, and congrats to Ross on his second in B Grade.

+1, I thought he made a huge mistake going off the front on the way back, but as they started the climb he was off like a rocket.
Not one of my better rides, the lower back pain is becoming a limiting factor in any race with surges or short climbs, I couldn't keep the effort up by the time we made it to the climb.

And there were three wheel failures of people riding down the hill from registration to start the race : one melted carbon from braking, one tube exploded and another popped a spoke!


Sent from my iThingy...

In fairness the wheel that failed was 9 years old and ridden hard for much of its life.

No I have a 50mm & 38mm front wheels that I need to find replacement rear rims

[Ross]

I just went back and compared the race to the previous time I did that course in November... Identical time & power within .01%!

Edit: Just checked the official results, and according to them I was 4 seconds quicker this time. Ross was 8 seconds quicker. And another guy I know was 15 seconds quicker. Given the weather conditions were much better the previous time, we must all have been taking risks with the wind this time.

I don't think you can accurately compare times as the turnaround wouldn't be measured exactly, it could be out by 50 metres or more compared to last time.

[Ross]

Oh, and congrats to Ross on his second in B Grade.

Shhh not so loud, the handicapper might hear you!

[mrgolf]

Talking of which, I think Christophe will be joining our bunch in the not too distant future.

Twiz, what was the winning a grade time last time?

[vander]

3rd Race back, LACC B Grade (AT) Lansdowne.

Bad sleep the night before so was tired, legs a bit weary after a big block of training (well for me) and a big field meant for me I was going to try and hide a bit. I dont trust my sprint at the moment (mainly because I havent sprinted pretty much in 9 months) so the plan going into the race was to break away with about 10min to go. Off we set a field of around 25-30 the pace was pretty quick to start off with but comfortable at the same time. I was watching the moves nothing that looked really dangerous was going anywhere early on so I was just rolling around in the pack. A strong group of about 4 went off the front at some point and I tried to bridge to them but by the time I got about 30m away the group was only about 30m behind me so not wanting to burn too many matches I just sat up, first match burnt.

The second match came at the prime time which came really quickly. I thought I will try and jump away half way up the hill and hold it out till the top, the whole uphill part of that lap I averaged 455W (1min 40) my effort was about 40sec at 570W which isnt massive but I was hoping it would be enough to get me a bit of space but noone was letting go of wheels and I got to the top of the hill pretty spent with about 3-4 on my wheel so I sat up and they fought it out for the prime. Second match burnt.

It took a while to recover from that match, not so much physically but more mentally, I sat on the back of the bunch never physically in trouble but just feeling quite tired and not even knowing if I was going to continue on. After 5-10min of this I decided to move back up. Quite quickly there was only about 10min left, I was waiting for a chance to attack but there were groups up the road and the pace was on a fair bit and I never really saw the chance. Then I moved to the front ready to make my move thinking there was 2 laps to go I will have a good crack and the bell rang. I thought noone will let me go now, the pace picked up and I grabbed second wheel for the descent. Coming up the hill a few people came around me and I found myself only 1 wheel off my ideal wheel I was happy. There were guys taking many risks to get wheels and about half way up the hill there was a stack someone clipped a wheel and came down just to the side of me. I was feeling ok and in a good spot about 4th or 5th wheel. Over the next few hundred meters it slowed down just slightly and I moved up to sit on the shoulder of second on third wheel still not trusting my sprint I thought I would try to go long. With 600m to go (didnt think it was quite that far) I made my move, I went pretty strong and had a small gap of just a couple of bike lengths to the guy I could see between my legs, I kept trying to bury myself, but with less than 100m to go the guy behind me came around with someone on his wheel there was noone else close to us so I sat up. I picked up 3rd and in the end provided the perfect lead out. My effort was 35sec (AT) 750W so decently happy with that and 3rd place in my 3rd race back cant be unhappy with that but my sprint is definitely AWOL. Good news is I felt fine during the race infact it felt a bit too easy wont be long till I am back in A grade got to keep pushing myself.

Time: 51min
Avg Speed: 40.3km/h
Avg Power: 235W

Rest week now and some power tests this week going to try and do a VO2max test also. Feeling good to be back.