28/29 January 2011: A big weekend of racing on the calendar - the big girls were now back from the TDU – it was sure going to be a hot, fast and exciting weekend of racing.
28 Jan – Cykel Crit Round 2
It was hot, hot, hot! Having missed Round 1 of the series, I was now riding for my new team SKCC/Giant. The goal for the day – gather points to maintain our lead on the team leaderboard.
With the thermometer reading 38deg by the time I arrived, I must admit I wasn’t feeling all that wrapped about racing in that heat. Nevertheless, with the music already starting to pump from the speakers, the chitter-chatter of the other girls, the organisers looking as pumped as ever – that certainly put a smile across my face. The theme "Be Strong, Be Brave, Be Brilliant" was certainly the right one to keep us all going.
First up – prologue round the 2.28km course. Riders would be split into Division 1 and 2 for the crit based on their timing from the prologue. I just needed to ride a good enough time to qualify for Division 1. 5,4,3,2,1..go! I kicked off – and just like how I would on the track, I tried to get on top of the gear as quickly as possible. Once in the drops, I tried to make myself as aero as possible on my bike. Legs were really really feeling like a sack of potatoes today and as much as I tried, I just could not push the big gears. I hadn’t done a proper recovery after Thursday’s Madison
After cheering for team-mate Jodie, it was now time for our race. My computer was clocking close to 42 degrees at this time and despite attempts at trying to ice down my jersey – it was still blistering hot. With nods of agreement from the peloton, the race time was brought down to 40mins + 3 laps – phew!
A couple of early attacks from the girls were quickly brought back in. I was caught napping and it wasn’t long before the first break succeeded with Jo Hogan, Nicole Whitburn, Kate Finegan and Katherine O’shea and Claire Stevens amongst the mix. The gap was just a stone’s throw – almost within reach – almost. Team-mate Clare Morgan made several attempts to bridge the gap, but with the wind and one of the Torq riders on her wheel, it wasn’t to be. Claire Stevens soon dropped back to the main bunch now leaving a break of 4 riders.
With the gap now starting to grow, team-mate Alison Raaymakers drove up the front to have a crack. It was my turn next, and I tried giving whatever I had to make the bridge. With legs still feeling like lead and spinning the little gears, I was really struggling and pulled off to let the next rider through. Amy Bradley from Total Rush was on my wheel – sweet - surely we could bridge if we tried. It wasn’t until I had dropped back into peloton before I realised – Jo Hogan who was in a different kit was racing for Total Rush too! Oh crap, I'd completely forgotten about the team tactics – the gap was now really stretched and it was almost impossible to bridge.
With the 4 girls already up the front, the peloton decided not to contest the intermediate sprint as points were only awarded for the top 4 riders. A quick chat with my team-mates and we knew there was really not much we could do but just hang in. Plan was now to get as high a position as possible in the final sprint to gather points for the team. With the searing heat, riders soon started dropping off.
3 laps to go – an attack was launched by one of the Torq riders and the bunch was quickly strung out. Not being able to push the bigger gears, I soon found myself at the back desperately trying to spin. Lucky team-mate Jussy was just behind and signalled for me to jump on the wheel – pulling me back into the main bunch. Thanks Jussy!! That certainly was too close to being dropped. Not long to go now. “Come one legs, spin, spin.. just don’t get dropped!”
With 1 lap remaining, one of the Torq riders succeeded at making a break to hold off the bunch for 5th place. The pace lifted in the final 700m of the race – with riders now going for the minor placings. Adrenaline had now completely taken over and jumping onto a wheel, I caught a draft into the finishing straight. 200m to go – gotta jump – oh no, I was completely boxed in sitting on 3rd wheel, and the riders on my right were leaning onto me in the final corner. Too late now – I gave whatever I had left in the tank and drove for the finish taking 10th position overall.
Team-racing certainly throws a whole new ball curve bringing out different tactics, strategies and riding styles from the riders. Certainly a great team’s race played by Total Rush and Torq that day – with Torq winning the best team of the day. Kate Finegan was the winner of the day, though Nicole Whitburn still secured the CycleCover leaders jersey of the series. My team SKCC/Giant managed to hold on to our top position on the leader’s board as the leading team of the series, with Hawthorn CC Gold hot on our wheels. It was certainly great to see so many women racing out there that day – and Cykel doing a tremendous job at supporting us.
Will post some photos soon but definitely looking forward to the next race at Bendigo
29 Jan – Neometro/Beller Women’s Feature Race
With a late night at the track, the 10.15am start was certainly welcoming. Managed to get a nice spin in the morning to flush out the remainder of the lactic and get some caffeine into the system. SKCC was hosting the Neometro/Beller Women’s Feature Race today – and it certainly was an entirely different atmosphere at the crits that morning!
There was some good money up for grabs and a massive field of 31 starters dominated the start line. The likes of Belinda Goss, Jenny McPherson, Emma Mackie, Bridie O’Donnell and VIS girls Jo Hogan and Chloe McConville were amongst the mix – standing amongst them was certainly enough to send tingles of excitement through my veins.
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| Ready amongst the women at the start (Photo by RobM) |
1 neutral lap and we were soon off racing. The social chat amongst the bunch was soon shut down by lap 3 with a few early attacks which quickly brought the pace right up. Somewhere early on, one of the 2 VIS girls, I think it was Jo Hogan, took off the front managing to hold off the bunch on a solo effort before being brought in. From there on it was just dig in, sit tight and hang on. With many of the stronger women taking full control of the race today, it was certainly a great opportunity to sit amongst them and learn. Being on smaller bike, it was difficult to see anywhere pass 3 bike lengths in front behind the much taller girls. In a race like that, it was all about positioning and being alert – super alert.
Another attack would go off the front – the girls would leave the carrot dangling for a bit, before jumping on. The constant attacks saw the bunch size shrink bit by bit. Jo Hogan attempted another solo attack halfway through but the bunch soon brought her back. The funnel effect of the bunch on the course also saw some girls ending up dodging cones with no room to go – and at one stage, I’d almost gotten myself pinned against the barriers – lucky I had had that caffeine that morning to keep me on my toes!
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| Pure focus by the girls in the peloton (Photo by RobM) |
It was getting towards the tail end of the race when Bridie launched an attack, splitting the bunch to pieces. Knowing her time-trialling skills – there was no time to think – I had to bridge the small gap, pulling a couple of the other girls behind me. I had only just regained my breath when at 3 to go, a late attack by the VIS girls forming a small break of 4 in front split the bunch again. The high pace saw the gap quickly grow to 6 bike lengths. At this stage, it was all or nothing – working together with Nicole Whitburn, we managed to bring them back. Phew. Now to just hang on for the sprint.
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| The final sprint with Jenny taking out the win (Photo by RobM) |
It was certainly another great learning curve that day – especially watching and learning the different tactics the different girls employed. I certainly enjoyed both days of racing – and it’s great to see organisers like Cykel and SKCC supporting us women in cycling.
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| In all smiles (Photo by RobM) |
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