29 Sept 2012: The
moment I woke up, I was constantly checking the weather forecast every half an
hour. Rain and hail was predicted, nonetheless, it was sunny skies and a
howling westerly wind.
The SKCC Kermesse at National Boulevard
was the final race of the Northern Combine Women’s Series. Great pre-cursor to
the start of the crit season!
Once all the women arrived,
they were keen to start the race early. The dark clouds didn’t look at all
promising! And as soon as the race had started, it started raining! The first
few laps were raced under neutral conditions – the roads had certainly become
really slippery and we weren’t sure whether the race was going to continue on.
Not expecting to race in the rain, I had pumped my tyres up to maximum pressure and certainly wasn’t keen on
taking any risks out there that day.
It soon became evident
that the race was to continue. Team-mates Jussy and Clare started launching a
couple of attacks to split the field, but was constantly closed down. With the bunch taking the corners in neutral due to the rain, it didn’t
look like any of the breaks were going to stick.
Nonetheless, with a
few laps to go, Jenny Mcpherson launched a solo break – and as the bunch sat
looking around at each other, the gap started to grow. Someone would try to
bridge, but once someone else countered, the pace would slow right down again.
Due to the hazardous conditions,
the commissaries decided to cut the race short. Bell lap – and it was clear that it would
come down to a bunch sprint for the minor placings. Jenny solo-ed to take the
win, and Nicole won the bunch sprint, followed closely by Kate and team-mate
Clare. Congrats to Nicole who won the overall Women’s series too!
Thanks to all the
volunteers who braved the conditions to put on the race that day, and team
sponsors SKCC/Giant for supporting us. A great pre-cursor to the start of the
crit season – one week to go!
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| Photo by Jo Upton |
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