2013 Victorian OmniumChampionships to officially kick off the Victorian track events for the summer.
With the poor numbers, the U19, Elite and Masters Women were combined into a
single field for the race. I was
disappointed that our race distances were halved as it would have been a great
preparation for the upcoming national omnium, nonetheless, there was still
heaps to learn from racing the shorter distances for the local Victorian races
later in the season.
The Saturday racing
started off with the Flying Lap. The cold air did make it pretty difficult to
get the legs firing and I only managed a long 16.9s lap. Not great and lots of
work to do there. Jess Laws blitz the field with a 15.4s lap!
Next up was the Points
Score. Over the past few months racing the Sunday Roast with Hawthorn CC, I’ve
grown pretty fond of this race. A very tactical race, with points given to the
top 4 riders every ten laps, and reward those that can get a lap on the field. The
pace was very much slower, and it was a whole different ball game than what I
was used to. Ruby Hurtig certainly dominated the field stealing the top points
in the first three sprints!! After months of learning, I had finally learned
the art of getting my name up on the scoreboard! A rookie error in the third
sprint cost me a placing and I finished third behind Ruby and Jess.
The Elimination was
next. Unlike the typical free laps at the start, the elimination started
straight on lap 2, with the last rider across the line being eliminated every
two laps. A very very silly error saw me getting boxed in at the bottom of the
track and I was the second rider out! I was utterly disappointed with my
performance – a mistake caused by own fault that should never have happened and
just like that I had gathered heaps of points throwing me down the ladder in
the overall placings. It was certainly a lesson well learnt, something that
will go a long way in future Elimination races.
Sunday kicked off with
the 2km Pursuit. With the track a lot colder than ideal, a proper warm up was
absolutely essential. From the gun, I took off with a slower than scheduled
first lap, but managed to slowly claw the time back over the next few laps. Lap
5 is when the lactic kicks in and I knew it was a mind over matter thing to
push through the barrier. Pace, pace, pace. I was now down on schedule. Time to
hold constant and gradually pick up the pace – not too quickly, but just that
gradual lift. I managed to catch my opponent -
and almost stopped pedalling – I had nearly forgotten what to do!! I was
usually the one being caught! Crossed the line in a 02:42. A 5s PB from last
year’s effort and I was happy. I had gone out with a 3km pacing strategy and
still had something left in the tank. Certainly still plenty to work on but
that’s just one step closer to the goal!
Next up was the 30 lap
scratch race. Like the day before, the pace was much much slower, certainly a
very different game. The shorter race was not enough to attempt a lap either
and it was going to come down to the final sprint. A little argy-bargy on the
bell lap with a rider coming down on me – the slight move to prevent a tangle –
and again that cost me a place. Crossed the line in 4th place. Still
work to do in the bunch races.
The 500m TT finally
came to wrap up the championships. A less than ideal kick out of the gates,
somehow I managed a 40.9s – another PB by almost 3s! I was pleased with the
effort, but the 40s barrier is what I’d be looking to break over the season.
It was a very close
contention for overall first placing between Ruby and Jess, and it ended up
coming down to Ruby’s blitzing pursuit time that won her the championships. I
ended up finishing fourth overall in the standings and it was certainly the
mistake in the Elimination that threw me down the ladder. That lesson learnt
would certainly stick around for a very long while!!
A great start to the
track season, two PBs and an improvement by a long way from last season. They
ended up splitting up the medals into the U19, Elite Women and Masters Category
– which was certainly an unexpected bonus!! Another silver to add to the
collection of growing silvers – it sure feels like its becoming an eternal
second place. Nonetheless, it certainly is this second places that makes me
want that bit more, strive that bit harder, and push the limits that bit
further!
Thanks to my coach
Simon for his support throughout the weekend – mechanics, running schedules,
feedback and advice. Thanks to Mitch for lending me his front disc wheel too!
And to CV and all the volunteers – thanks for the tremendous effort in running
such a smooth event. One down, new goals set – looking forward to another
massive weekend of racing at the track cup!
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