In fine Australia Day tradition I spent the day in bed with a hangover (or a migraine, I’m not sure which). At about 5, I was better so I headed over to DISC to test my legs in C grade. The State Masters champs are in three weeks, so it would be a good idea to see if I’m any good. Continue reading
Tag Archives: 1st place
Bye Bye B Bunch
The Plan
I was fully expecting to be in A grade this week, so when I signed on electronically and found I was still in B grade, I felt a bit dodgy racing. So, the plan was the same as last week: sit up front, chase breaks after giving them 100 or so meters breathing room. Win (thus earning a promotion to A grade for sure this time).
The Race
Over the course of the race, around 6 riders (out of I think 11) were keen to test our legs. Four or five one to two man breaks went up the road. All but one break was started up the hill, the remaining one, through the bend after the start/finish line.
Starting off, I was second wheel. Around the lower bends on lap one I got to the front and tended to stay there.
Two laps in, an attack went up the hill. Things settled down by the line. This was repeated on lap 3.
On lap five (I think), I tried to make a move into the lower bends, though I was stuffed early into that, so I was unable to get a break. Another attack went up the hill on lap five.
I am not sure at which point of the race it occurred, when we’d just caught a break heading down to the bottom of the course, when a counter move went. The move lasted maybe 200m, before relaxing. This may have been lap eight based on the speed data.
Up the hill on lap nine, it was attack, attack again. A rider got away. I eventually chased him down and an attack went up the hill at the end of the lap again on lap ten.
Laps twelve to fourteen saw the most action in the race, with plenty of attacking and chasing. Here I wound up on the back having chased hard and worn myself out.
There was lull during lap fifteen and then two riders got away for a little bit. One of those would eventually finish second. After seeing what the bunch would do, I got to the front and pulled the break back. Out bell lap was delayed thanks to some track congestion. Our second last lap was slow and led by me. I stayed at the front until the lower bends where I dropped back to third wheel and made sure I stayed there.
Coming around the second last corner, one of last week’s stronger riders made his move. In short order I was in the lead. I could see a rider’s wheel behind me to the right. Before I got to the final bend, I seemed to be out of gears. The danger rider was there for maybe half the home straight before he must have backed off. I kept my head down and pushed. The winning margin was biggest than last week, maybe a length. The third placed rider appeared to be grumpy with my win. Not to worry, the handicapper’s whacked me up for next week.
Summary
After doing lots of work and leading from the second last corner, I’m out of B grade. A good ride given the number of matches I spent pursuiting down four or five breaks.
My peak speed during the sprint was 54.7kph, down on last week. Peak power during the sprint was 1086W, also down on last week, as were my overall power readings. My HR maxed out at 196 during the sprint, so I’m 24 according to the 220 minus age thing.
Thanks to my sponsor, Drouin Cycles.
Stats for the Day
Power Stats
Average pwr: 231W
Normalised Power: 285W
Critical power (CP): 226W (71% FTP – 2.83W/kg).
Intensity Factor: 0.89
TSS: 87.9
TRiMP: 136.4
Today’s B Podium L-R David Kenedy, Me, Nathan Chan
Metrics from onboard computer
Another Last Minute Race
The Plan
Sit up front. Chase any attacks after letting them get a little bit of a gap. Win.
The Race
102 and 112 appeared to be the friskiest riders, with 112 disappearing up the road for about 4 laps and being the most aggressive, attacking often up the “hill”. I’m not sure if the rider next to me around the very first bend said hello to me. If he did (and he reads this), apologies for not saying howdy.
Three laps into it, an attack happened up the hill. Nothing much came of it and the pace slowed over the next two laps before another hill attack. This one may have been where I got off the front with a rider called Nathan. It was either here or on the seventh lap. At any rate, there were three of us off the front for 3/4 of a lap before we got caught. At this point, I was feeling knackered and I slipped to the rear of the field.
Laps ten to twelve saw my HR rise as I decided to hunt down the rider who’d appeared to have hooned off shortly before A grade over took us. This rider appeared to be somewhere up ahead, though I could not see him. He eventually popped out of the back of A grade. About 1.5 laps later, I’d pretty much dragged the rest back to him.
At one stage, a break of three went up the road and another rider commented we should chase. This was the only time I refused to chase. I figured I’d done enough for now and if push came to shove, I’d attempt a bridging attack. Not to worry, about 3 laps later we’d caught them and we had (I think), five laps left.
Another solo break went and I found my self up front being slightly gapped by Pete W and another rider as they hunted the escapee.
Our second last lap was a laid back affair as C grade was on the last lap. I sat up front having an easy time of it and stayed up front until the sweeping bends at the bottom of the course. Here, Glen M got to the front for the first time and was followed by Pete W. I got on them and we rounded the second last corner in this order. Another rider, Rob P was hot on our heels as we sprinted to the final bend. Looking back, the four of us appeared to have a gap, so yay there.
Rounding the final bend, I had to ease off incase Pete took it wide. Glen and Pete were neck and neck. Heading out of the corner, I was still a length or two back so I whacked it down a gear or two and went hard. About 10 meters from the line, I’d edged into the lead. Glen had moved back to forth, Rob was now in second with Pete, third. To make sure of things, I lunged across the line and secured first place. A good race overall with plenty of action to keep things interesting.
I won B grade the last time I raced a Southern Masters crit here, so it’s probably A grade next time.
Summary
Pretty much ridden to plan and my positioning at the second last bend was pretty much perfect. Still being third around the final bend was cutting things a bit close however.
My peak speed during the sprint was 58.2kph into a headwind. Perhaps I’ll get back to my early 20’s sprint speed of over 60kph. Peak power during the spint was 1173W. Last time I race here I peaked at 1104W.
Thanks to my sponsor, Drouin Cycles.
Stats for the Day
Power Stats
Average pwr: 271W
Normalised Power: 294W
Critical power (CP): 263W (82% FTP).
Intensity Factor: 0.92
TSS: 93.3
TRiMP: 124.4
Blackburn CC Casey Crit
The Plan
The plan was to have some fun if possible. Get gapped, TT back and repeat. I was not thinking of contesting the sprint. I was also riding my “backup” Ridley Noah, so instead of Zipps, I was using some heavy mid range Shimano alloys.
The Race
Numbers were down so the race wound up being A grade (I think there were none), B grade and C grade combined. Ok, the official results have the junors in C grade and the rest of us in B. Continue reading
Sort of a Last Minute Race Pays Off
The Plan
I’d not planned on racing today. I was tired. My thighs and left shoulder were sore. A coffee sorted me out. Today I was going to see how my legs felt and then, if I felt ok, do some pace setting and jump everyone on the second last corner.
The Race
For once, I never got right to the back of the bunch today. A decent sized field probably helped there. I spent a good portion on the front – much more than a 20th of the race. I chased some breaks, let some go and then let the rest catch them. Another Drouin Cycles rider, Brett Kennedy was racing so I figured if he took off, I’d let him go. Continue reading