On Thursday last week, mum and i began our 11hr journey up to northern NSW for the Glen Innes to Inverell which is the Women's race which is run in conjunction with the men's Grafton to Inverell (226km). On the schedule for the women was a 95km race with 2 KOMs and 2 Sprint primes. The course was undulating for the most part it with a few steep 2-3km climbs thrown in to the mix. the profile of the course can be seen here:
http://www.graftontoinverellcycleclassic.com.au/site/images/stories/pdf/glen-invl_elsm_loop_coloured.pdf
26 girls fronted the start line including eventual race winner Davina Summers and Kirsty Broun, Liz Young and Carly Hibberd all racing for MB cycles team. Conditions for racing were good, except for that it was a bit on the steamy side. The SRM kindly informed me that it was 34 degrees... definitely don't get that back home! So after the field did a lap of the town to be introduced to the crowd, we headed off. We were told that there was going to be a surprise sprint somewhere in the race and that there would be flags marking when it was going to be. Unfortunately for most of the girls, they didn't see the flag or didn't read to program and were unaware when the first sprint was. at 10km in i saw a yellow flag indicating 200m until the sprint and i was in a good position near the front so i took off and gapped the field by a long shot to win it. I sat up and the bunch rolled up next to me and asked me what that was..they didn't realise that it was the surprise sprint until it was too late! Probably thinking what an idiot i was, attacking 10km into a 100km race ha ha.. oh well. So got maximum point for that sprint.
After that we ran into the base of 8% climb which was about 2-3km long and the first of the KOM. I broke away mid way with Kirsty Broun and Jodie Willet and managed to get over Jodie for 2nd in the KOM. The bunch regrouped shortly after and we continued on the undulating course until the next KOM climb, a 5.8% climb which was about 1-2km long. Kirsty and I broke away with her team mate Carly and Kirsty picked up the win again to secure the KOM. we were away for a little while but the course is essentially downhill so we got reeled in by the pack before too long. In the last 30 or so km of the race, most of the girls were running bit low on water since we didn't get an official feed station because our race wasn't very long.
One rider in particular asked the lead motor bike if she could have some water and he said he didn't have any and i overheard this and offered my 2nd bottle to her. later during the race she asked if she could have another drink and i was like' yeah sure', was hardly going to let another rider go without water...but if you keep reading on you'll see why i get a little bit pissed off at this rider.
So we had only a short 9% climb which was about .5-1km long, by this time my legs were killing me. i don't mean to sound up myself or anything, but i was definitely pulling my weight in the bunch! wa pulling a stack of turns but hey, thats just how i ride. I would rather be aggressive and get dropped than do nothing all race. At the end of that little pinch there was the last sprint and i picked up 2nd, securing my a win as the Women's Sprint Queen.
From then on, it was downhill to the finish. Then was when i was welcomed to the wonderful world of women's team racing. another rider (not the one who i gave water) but another rider told me her team mate was going to attack at 2km to go and that i should hold her wheel and go for it. now i took her advice because we'd been working hard together all race and she was saying how well i was doing and stuff..so trusted her. was a bit annoyed when i realised that the person she told me to follow was her lead out rider so she had me perfectly sandwiched out of the way from the rider they actually wanted to win. I was sitting on the inside of the lead out girls wheel out of the wind when her team mate behind me goes 'pull off inside' and pushes me to the side, which left me with 1km to go in the wind trying to get back into the lead out. i tried getting back into the pack only to be told by the rider who i gave water to 'to piss off'. left me having to go to the back of the pack of about 13 through a round-a-bout and having to come around them. managed to get 7th in the tight bunch finish. was pretty annoyed becuase hadn't reached my max in the sprint. didn't get the opportunity. reckon would have been up there for sure. but hey, guess thats just racing! and lesson learnt. it is kind of a sucky way to learn it but hey. At least I was happy with how i rode bar the last 2km. i rode more aggressively than the race in Wangaratta and did a lot of work. Just didn't quite go my way at crunch time. All i guess i can do is learn from my mistakes.
So thats another race under my belt and a big one at that. Turns out it was the last race on the NRS calendar! and i guess 7th in an elite field isn't too shabby.. and i did pick up the Women's Sprint Jersey (even tough they got the results mixed up and presented it as a tie at the Presentation between myself and Kirsty..turns out they had me 3rd in the 2nd sprint..) but got that fixed up not long after.
So that night we had the presentation pasta dinner which was good then crashed in our lovely caravan for the night, it was actually really cute! Oddly enough my body clock woke me up at 5am the next day as it is accostumed to during the week and was unable to get back to sleep but luckily mum was awake so we were on the road at about 6 so were were home in time for a 40km recovery ride and dinner :) the trip itself was good. i shared most of the driving with mum, stopping in little country towns on the way. thats one of the aspects i like about cycling, it can take you to some of the most wonderful places! i have been to towns people didn't even know existed! and cycling people are so friendly and people were out on the race route cheering for us the whole way! it was wonderful :)
Next on the to do list: 'Amy Gillett Cup'. going to be a good one ;)
P.S full results and race interviews can be found here:
http://www.cyclesportnews.com/aus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2031&Itemid=48
http://www.cyclesportnews.com/aus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2028&Itemid=101
and
http://www.cyclesportnews.com/aus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2030&Itemid=48
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wangaratta Racing
The Criterium
The Wangaratta Criterium was officially my comeback race since the states, and what an interesting one it was! The crit was held on a circuit at Sam Miranda Winery which was about 500-600m long with a hot dog corner in it. Now that I actually think about it, the whole thing was basically a corner! wasn't much opportunity to pedal, but that was not to say that it wasn't fast! The weather was perfect, sun was shining, wasn't any wind to be seen...loving life :)
They key to this crit was going to be stay at the front. We had about 13 girls who had entered? including Belinda Goss who one of the top domestic rides at the moment. Our crit was 30min and 2 laps with a few intermediate sprints thrown in for good measure. within the first couple of laps, the hot dog corner proved to take some casualties with the bunch reduced to about 6 riders. The constant acceleration out of that turn further reduced the field and in the end there were 4 riders left including myself. I didn't have as powerful acceleration as a couple of the other girls in the group so had to chase hard to get back on the end of the break most laps, legs were definitely feeling the lactic acid... it was like doing a track start every 500m for 30min! makes you tough haha. coming into the last 3 laps i realised that if i was to have any chance at winning, i'd have to go into that hot dog turn in front and hope for the best, was on the front for the last 3 laps and managed to hold them off until about 100m to go where got pipped for the line and picked up 3rd behind Belinda Goss and Chloe McConville.
Wasn't too fussed about the result, i'm not a classic sprinter but i think i gave myself every opportunity i had to do well! had a good cool down afterwards and fueled up on probably some of the best woodfire pizza (greek with lamb and tzatziki...yummy..) and iced chocolate in preparation for the road race the next day! quality stuff
The Road Race
The road race, where do i start? well guess first thing was the weather. I was surprised at just how quickly it could change! Perfect weather for the criterium and we rock up to the road race and it was blowing a gale and raining! Was definitely going to be a tough day in the office...100km of racing into the wind with a few climbs thrown in for good measure! I have to admit, I was pretty excited to see how i'd go on the climbs as it proved to be one of my strengths in the US. there was an 11km climb of about 3.25% i think, followed by another climb which was about 5km on top of which was a KOM (about half way into the race). the first climb was about 10km in and one girl attacked and I chased after her with Belinda on my wheel and turned around to see that we'd dropped the bunch. We stayed away on the climb until just after the KOM where we saw a chase group coming so was eased up and waited as we still had 60km in a head wind to do, so we didn't mind the extra company! The climbing was great, just a gradual increase. felt really strong but was a bit reserved because didn't know how my form would stack up. just missed out on the KOM because i left it too late and Belinda had the stronger acceleration. Should have just tried to ride them off my wheel with about 1km to go, but hey now i know where i stand in my ability and will hopefully be able to have more trust in it for next weekends racing! The decent from the KOM felt awesome, such an adrenalin rush! Hit the front and just smashed it, glad i had the 12 on! although it was a bit sketchy with all of the debris on the road from the wind :s
So there was a bunch of about 7 girls after we got caught and we stayed together for the rest of the race as it was basically flat or downhill. it was gong to come to a bunch finish because the winds were too strong for anyone to get away in by themselves. not my ideal situation, but hey, thats bike racing! So in the bunch finish i got 3rd again behind Belinda and Chloe again, so same placings as the crit. Was happy with how i raced, pulled my fair share of the weight just wish i was more aggressive on the climbs!
There is a picture of the break which i was in for the first half of the race going up the climb here:
http://www.pixweb.com.au/main/gallery.php?alb=73
It was great to get the first lot of racing under my belt and i'm looking forward to the next block of racing which i have coming up! It was definitely a race worth the 6hr drive! although, needless to say i was a bit buggered for the trip home!
Next on the to do list: Glen Innes to Inverell. Bring it.
P.S full results can be found here:
http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/?Page=17780
The Wangaratta Criterium was officially my comeback race since the states, and what an interesting one it was! The crit was held on a circuit at Sam Miranda Winery which was about 500-600m long with a hot dog corner in it. Now that I actually think about it, the whole thing was basically a corner! wasn't much opportunity to pedal, but that was not to say that it wasn't fast! The weather was perfect, sun was shining, wasn't any wind to be seen...loving life :)
They key to this crit was going to be stay at the front. We had about 13 girls who had entered? including Belinda Goss who one of the top domestic rides at the moment. Our crit was 30min and 2 laps with a few intermediate sprints thrown in for good measure. within the first couple of laps, the hot dog corner proved to take some casualties with the bunch reduced to about 6 riders. The constant acceleration out of that turn further reduced the field and in the end there were 4 riders left including myself. I didn't have as powerful acceleration as a couple of the other girls in the group so had to chase hard to get back on the end of the break most laps, legs were definitely feeling the lactic acid... it was like doing a track start every 500m for 30min! makes you tough haha. coming into the last 3 laps i realised that if i was to have any chance at winning, i'd have to go into that hot dog turn in front and hope for the best, was on the front for the last 3 laps and managed to hold them off until about 100m to go where got pipped for the line and picked up 3rd behind Belinda Goss and Chloe McConville.
Wasn't too fussed about the result, i'm not a classic sprinter but i think i gave myself every opportunity i had to do well! had a good cool down afterwards and fueled up on probably some of the best woodfire pizza (greek with lamb and tzatziki...yummy..) and iced chocolate in preparation for the road race the next day! quality stuff
The Road Race
The road race, where do i start? well guess first thing was the weather. I was surprised at just how quickly it could change! Perfect weather for the criterium and we rock up to the road race and it was blowing a gale and raining! Was definitely going to be a tough day in the office...100km of racing into the wind with a few climbs thrown in for good measure! I have to admit, I was pretty excited to see how i'd go on the climbs as it proved to be one of my strengths in the US. there was an 11km climb of about 3.25% i think, followed by another climb which was about 5km on top of which was a KOM (about half way into the race). the first climb was about 10km in and one girl attacked and I chased after her with Belinda on my wheel and turned around to see that we'd dropped the bunch. We stayed away on the climb until just after the KOM where we saw a chase group coming so was eased up and waited as we still had 60km in a head wind to do, so we didn't mind the extra company! The climbing was great, just a gradual increase. felt really strong but was a bit reserved because didn't know how my form would stack up. just missed out on the KOM because i left it too late and Belinda had the stronger acceleration. Should have just tried to ride them off my wheel with about 1km to go, but hey now i know where i stand in my ability and will hopefully be able to have more trust in it for next weekends racing! The decent from the KOM felt awesome, such an adrenalin rush! Hit the front and just smashed it, glad i had the 12 on! although it was a bit sketchy with all of the debris on the road from the wind :s
So there was a bunch of about 7 girls after we got caught and we stayed together for the rest of the race as it was basically flat or downhill. it was gong to come to a bunch finish because the winds were too strong for anyone to get away in by themselves. not my ideal situation, but hey, thats bike racing! So in the bunch finish i got 3rd again behind Belinda and Chloe again, so same placings as the crit. Was happy with how i raced, pulled my fair share of the weight just wish i was more aggressive on the climbs!
There is a picture of the break which i was in for the first half of the race going up the climb here:
http://www.pixweb.com.au/main/gallery.php?alb=73
It was great to get the first lot of racing under my belt and i'm looking forward to the next block of racing which i have coming up! It was definitely a race worth the 6hr drive! although, needless to say i was a bit buggered for the trip home!
Next on the to do list: Glen Innes to Inverell. Bring it.
P.S full results can be found here:
http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/?Page=17780
Friday, September 12, 2008
Back in business!
I know, it has been a while since we have last spoken…wasn’t going to continue blogging after the trip as it was basically just my online journal, but I had so much fun writing it that I thought I’d continue it..just putting up random race reports and results and other interesting things which have been happening!
So not much has happened since I’ve been back..started and finished school again, working at the bike shop, got sick, started back training, saw the girls and Gus ride amazingly at junior nationals… which pretty much leads us to about here :)
This weekend is my first race since the States. Was meant to ride Cootamundra a few weeks back but I got hit with the flu which seems to have been plaguing Canberra as of late. So tomorrow is my comeback race. I’m road tripping down with Chloe (my awesomely cool riding buddy) and her family to Wangaratta down in Victoria (about 5hr drive). Saturday is a crit and Sunday is a 100km road race. First half is uphill and second half basically downhill.. we are racing with the open women, glad I’m allowed to ride in my 12, reckon i'll be needing it! Oh, and that’s another thing.. I’m now officially an Elite Woman… no more juniors for me!! Have to admit, I’m a bit scared..but we generally race the women anyway, so it shouldn’t be too bad!
Anyway, that’s all from me…will update when I return, hopefully with some good news :)
Take care
xo
So not much has happened since I’ve been back..started and finished school again, working at the bike shop, got sick, started back training, saw the girls and Gus ride amazingly at junior nationals… which pretty much leads us to about here :)
This weekend is my first race since the States. Was meant to ride Cootamundra a few weeks back but I got hit with the flu which seems to have been plaguing Canberra as of late. So tomorrow is my comeback race. I’m road tripping down with Chloe (my awesomely cool riding buddy) and her family to Wangaratta down in Victoria (about 5hr drive). Saturday is a crit and Sunday is a 100km road race. First half is uphill and second half basically downhill.. we are racing with the open women, glad I’m allowed to ride in my 12, reckon i'll be needing it! Oh, and that’s another thing.. I’m now officially an Elite Woman… no more juniors for me!! Have to admit, I’m a bit scared..but we generally race the women anyway, so it shouldn’t be too bad!
Anyway, that’s all from me…will update when I return, hopefully with some good news :)
Take care
xo
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