Race Report Thread

[cerb]

SKCC Club Champs
48km, avg 45.5kph.

Last crit of the season yesterday meant it was club champs and we were greeted by perfect weather! Despite a field of only ~35 entrants a few days before hand, there were apparently 88 starters - but it didn't feel like there were anywhere near that number!

Had an interesting start when a guy rode up next to me just before a turn and as the bunch tightened up, we nudged bars. However, he kept pushing his bars into mine, so I had to lean into him to keep my balance. He started freaking out a bit saying w t f are you doing, so I politely informed him that if he stopped pushing on my bars I could stop leaning on him and we could keep riding... which he did, before accelerating out of the corner informing me and everyone else that I was less than skilled... I've never seen him before, so I just ignored him and went about racing.

It was a slow ramp in pace throughout the race as we progressively thinned the field. The first 25mins were spent at a relatively cruisy average of 43kph. My team mate took the opportunity to jump in the early break, which established inside the first 10 minutes. The group of 7-8 were smashing out a good pace of ~46kph and put a decent gap into the bunch fairly quickly. However, the fast pace was taking its toll and most of the guys in the break (including my team mate) got dropped from the break by about the 25min mark. This still left a stong duo of riders off the front and the bunch started to give chase in ernest - albeit not working very well together.

Throughout this first half of the race, I sat in the top 10 and tried to help my team mate up the road with a bit of visual blocking and soft pedalling on the front. Once he came back into the bunch, there were attacks going left right and centre with 3-4 groups of 2-3 guys all trying to bridge across. We averaged almost 48kph for just under 10mins cleaning up these little bridging groups and I pulled a couple of hard turns to help shut things down. The last of which, was ~300m turn from halfway down the back straight and all the way up the home straight into the headwind. That effort kicked me to the curb and I went from the front of the bunch to about 10th last... It took me 20mins of recovering and moving back up the bunch before I was feeling good and sitting safely mid bunch again.

At some stage near the end of my 'recovery' period, the pace was off and I was sitting in the front 1/3 of the bunch when I heard the cracking sound of carbon as there was a crash behind us. Coming around the next lap, I see old mate bar-pusher is walking his bike along the footpath with a shredded wheel and some skin off. I think one tangle and one crash in the space of ~20mins probably indicates which rider the problem lied with... Only one rider down fortunately. I guess he put his wheel into someones derailleur?

Anyway, somewhere early in my 'recovery' period, one of the top TTers in the club / state decided it was go time and just motored off the front. He apparently bridged across to the break like it was nothing and the leading trio worked well together to stretch the gap out to ~45sec by the time we had 15mins to go. It actually looked like we would be lapped!

The bunch was surging a lot but there was no consistency of pace - the chase had basically been given up and the break would not be brought back at this late stage, especially as no one was really working well together to put up a good chase. I was too cooked to do any work chasing, so just sat in the bunch and had a chat to various people, starting to move up with about 5 laps to go. Didn't have the legs to get to the front of the bunch again though and ended up finishing somewhere about 20th, with the break easily surviving the day.


All in all, fun racing and a great end to the season! I'll have a few months off now as I only really race crits. Will be trying to keep my weight down a bit this off-season as i've been putting on 10kg in the off season the past few years. If I can start next season without having to drop 10-15kg, it'll make things a lot easier!

Couple of photos of me from the race as self-motivational fitness shots for next year . Photo credits to the ace-photographers who are at SKCC crits almost every week - Ernesto Arrigada Photography & Kirsty Baxter Photography!

[Xplora]

Bummer about the bar work, but it sounds like the dude had bigger balls than brains!

[Gunlock]

Hawthorn Cycling Club Crit Champs - 2nd Place D Grade

Video to come - had some issue with the export from Virb edit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAfHtMmU3Pc

Talk about stealing 2nd. Got it by about half a tyre i reckon.

[ItsDank]

Very strong riding, you rode smart and worked the situation really well. Great motivated riding from SCC too. A few of NWSCC riders thought you controlled the race but they sat back at the wrong time Spewing about the FD on the prim, I have done that too LOL - Di2 FTW!

Just a word on grading, if you go up, you stay up unless you get hurt or you DNF a few times. I am not a fan of people going up too quick, because it's a one way ticket up for most. If you have a few weeks off the bike, you can expect to sit on the back or get dropped. If you drop back, you don't contest or affect the race. I don't mind people going down because of a short break, but you might as well not even have a number on your back imo. That's my approach. End of the day, I want riders to be proud of moving up, and everyone to have fun. We are going to try grading every single rider before the next race to see if that helps everyone enjoy their race more.

Of course you can't get it right all the time. Our winner in B grade might have found a few grains of sand in the pockets.... But I put him there. No shame in that!

Yeah I think it's getting to the stage where I need to get in on B grade and just hang on at the back for a few weeks till I get the fitness to an appropriate level. Unfortunately the jump between C and B is huge, especially at Heffron. Having said that, as per the video, it was pretty obvious that I wouldn't have gotten the result without the help of the other Sydney CC riders, they started each lead out about half way into the lap for both the prim and last lap. As a sprinter, you just need to be there to unleash and that takes plenty more zone 2 work.

Keen to see how I go in B grade next month.

[ft_critical]

Great post and photos Cerb. You seem to have improved over the season? Maybe you will in in the break next year?

[Derny Driver]

.... Photo credits to the ace-photographers who are at SKCC crits almost every week - Ernesto Arrigada Photography & Kirsty Baxter Photography!

I met Ernesto at the Masters Track Nationals last week, lovely bloke ...and he takes amazing photos too!

[Xplora]

Keen to see how I go in B grade next month.

Definitely!

[gistane]

Keen to see how I go in B grade next month.

B grade is easy

[Xplora]

Keen to see how I go in B grade next month.

B grade is easy

For A graders, yeah!

[cerb]

Great post and photos Cerb. You seem to have improved over the season? Maybe you will in in the break next year?

Certainly have! Started the season new to A-Grade and got dropped every week for about 6 weeks. Finished the season being able to not just sit in the bunch, but pull hard turns, try for breaks (but not stay in them for long!) and ride for the team, shutting down moves etc when necessary. Fairly happy with my season - more improvements to come next season!

.... Photo credits to the ace-photographers who are at SKCC crits almost every week - Ernesto Arriagada Photography & Kirsty Baxter Photography!

I met Ernesto at the Masters Track Nationals last week, lovely bloke ...and he takes amazing photos too!

Certainly is a nice bloke! He seems to be doing a lot of photography these days at CV/CA events around Melbourne/Vic as well as frequenting our crits on Sundays! He may be fairly small in stature, but has some MASSIVE lenses!

[jules21]

very nice Cerb. beware the rider who turns up out of the blue and starts acting like a boss. I have my own story on that from the lower grades. sounds like karma though.

anyway I've entered the Baw Baw road race for this Sunday. which should be interesting after going over the bars on my MTB at Buller on Easter Sunday and spending a night in hospital being stitched back together. can't wait

[cerb]

anyway I've entered the Baw Baw road race for this Sunday. which should be interesting after going over the bars on my MTB at Buller on Easter Sunday and spending a night in hospital being stitched back together. can't wait

Ouch! Nothing too serious I hope? Although, as you've signed up for Baw Baw (again) i'm sure you somehow enjoyed the pain

[jules21]

because everyone loves a crash damage shot. I'm OK

[cerb]

because everyone loves a crash damage shot. I'm OK

How nice of photobucket to offer this picture to me in a calendar...!

Good luck for Baw Baw

[ItsDank]

Race Report Heffron B Grade Finish 09.04.2016



This is my first B grade race that I've ever finished so I'm pretty happy about that. The first few laps felt a little easy although when I looked at the Garmin data, all the laps were pretty close in terms of timing with about 10 to 20 seconds between them. Heaps of attacks off the front (is this a B grade thing, it was insane) which I kinda hoped wouldn't stick because I could barely hold onto the back of the pack. Lucky for me, one of the RBCC riders was there to actually pace me back to the group, he's been trying to encourage me to move up and was a top bloke to me in the race, some people are just super nice like that.

About 12 laps in a two man break away got away and stayed away which left an interesting bout for third with the main pack. I had pretty much nothing left and went kamikaze on the sprint, blowing up just prior to getting across the line and eventually taking 5th. I was super happy just to finish and hopefully in a month or so I'll be fit enough to actually respond to attacks or go on the attack myself.

Normalized Power: 271w

10 second sprint: 1055w

Average Speed: 38.8km/hr

[cerb]

Nice job Dank. 5th for your first B-Grade is a good result!

Yes, in B & A grades, there are usually a LOT of attacks. The attacks are usually better timed / co-ordinated than in lower grades and in my experience, the break is much more likely to stick until the end of the race. When they go, the break needs to attack harder than lower grades too - which usually means an almost sprint effort to get a gap, then sustain a high pace and try to recover while working in a small group.

I found this made a BIG difference to the way I race. No more just sitting in and sprinting at the finish - I had to start working to cover dangerous moves in order to try and ensure the race would even come to a sprint... (and then still have enough energy left to sprint properly). Tactics really do start to play a role in the race outcome once you''re in B and above.

The tactic I use a lot of works on trying to make things easiest for myself, but still help to ensure a sprint. Often, the total energy expenditure is lowest to cover a move before they even get a gap (80-90% sprint for 10s rather than let them get a gap, and chase it for minutes at FTP or higher) - so if someone dangerous jumps, I'll often try to jump straight on their wheel. This will end up either putting you in the break with a strong rider or (in 90% of cases) chasing causes a chain of others also chasing and no break ever establishes. You can then sit and recover until the next break attempt, but always allowing 5-10mins of just sitting in for full recovery before the finish.

There are lots of different tactics, but as a sprinter, that seemed to give me the most consistent results through B-Grade.

[ItsDank]

Nice job Dank. 5th for your first B-Grade is a good result!

Yes, in B & A grades, there are usually a LOT of attacks. The attacks are usually better timed / co-ordinated than in lower grades and in my experience, the break is much more likely to stick until the end of the race. When they go, the break needs to attack harder than lower grades too - which usually means an almost sprint effort to get a gap, then sustain a high pace and try to recover while working in a small group.

I found this made a BIG difference to the way I race. No more just sitting in and sprinting at the finish - I had to start working to cover dangerous moves in order to try and ensure the race would even come to a sprint... (and then still have enough energy left to sprint properly). Tactics really do start to play a role in the race outcome once you''re in B and above.

It's pretty hard to gauge and for two guys to breakaway at Heffron, one of the windiest circuits in Sydney, I didn't personally think they'd be able to do it. I really need the help of teammates if I'm going to be able participate with breakaways or responding to attacks in any meaningful way and it'll be at least another month before I can really start messing about and attack/recover at will (or maybe a few months, who knows).

[Cul]

GC Cats - Luke Harrop "Enduro" Crit
49.4km, avg 42.7kph.

As I eluded to in the training thread, I was smashing the intensity before Easter, was crowned bunch ride champion of the world on Easter Saturday and not done much else since... Last week picked up a bit with a few FTP sessions, followed by moving house, and a REAL race...

Anyways on the weekend I headed down to the GC to get a fix; they were holding their "enduro" crit, a longer race probably more akin to a Kermesse than a Criterium but one that also suited my abilities, with a reasonably flat course and a longer format... I was a little surprised when I rolled up to rego, plenty of people around with representation from pretty well every club in SEQ, despite the State Criterium Champs being on the day before.

We rolled away at a steady pace, and then it was on - not even a 1/4 lap around the course and already a break was up the road; it was shortly shut down, and so it went for pretty well the whole race - some breakaways got further up the road than others but never really eventuated; being a rather flat windy course it suited the bigger bunch. I spent a majority of the race towards the front trying my best to hold 4th or 5th wheel for the duration of the race... I was comfortable with the pace but when the attacks came I found I just couldn't respond and was merely a passenger - similarly whenever I tried to attack it never got far.

Around the 50min mark I dropped back into the bunch a bit to recover, with the plan to move back up once 60mins ticked over; which it did and I started moving forward but then the 2lap board come out at 65mins (was meant to be 70min+3), despite much argy bargey I struggled to get much further forward than 10th wheel with the bunch strung out! Coming around the final corner I was way too far back for the kick, i rolled across the line about 10th, and well spent!

Not unhappy with the result, it was good to get my race on and I am hoping to get down for another race this weekend

[cerb]

Nice job! I hate it when they change the length of the race...

[Xplora]

5th place is incredible when you mistimed the kick. Well done.

Don't underestimate the importance of friendship and community in any group. That RBCC rider would know you have slaughtering C grade, and by next summer you will be fit enough to look after yourself (or promoted to A), so pacing you back helps everyone. I had a great experience through C and B from other clubs, especially Dave Jacobs from Marconi. They would teach me what to do, and give me a hand to unleash my strength, the late break. It made racing more fun, because most riders do not like the bunch finish. It's dangerous and hard to predict. Cycling rewards the worker, even though the podium rewards the sprinter.

Marconi A grade
My first race back from the crash on new tyres and not a little nervous. I didn't feel scared but I was cagey about pushing it through corners. Not afraid of dropping the bike as much as the reputation damage. If I came down again, I'm a !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!. Very hard to hold wheels, super tough and got dropped at 35 minutes in after holding the caboose all race, stuck behind a slow wheel. Team mate who just got promoted spent a lot of time in the wind, and I didn't see him pop early enough. Strong FTP builder, strong sprint builder, glad I raced... But I am getting rid of these longer cranks asap, I am only focused on crit racing and I need those millimetres to corner!

[vosadrian]

The back is the worst place to be at the hotdog Leigh.... but you know that. A number of people dropped from a fairly quick B grade last night also. It pays to stay in the first 10 through the tight corner. Even then, some slow riders through the corner and I am often overtaking on corner exit just due to carrying momentum. I would say that cornering skill is more important than fitness on that course when the pace is on. If you can get through that corner well you are doing a 300W effort to get back on the bunch instead of 7-800W every 3 minutes.

I actually find the hotdog easier as the pace goes up. If you get a good position near the front you are not fighting to keep it when the pace is up. When pace drops you get swamped and have to then fight for position or sit near the back and put in the big surges. For some reason in B there are several riders happy to sit on the front pushing the pace when there is nobody to chase. I am happy to sit in behind them and put in an effort as required when there is an attack.

[ItsDank]

5th place is incredible when you mistimed the kick. Well done.

Don't underestimate the importance of friendship and community in any group. That RBCC rider would know you have slaughtering C grade, and by next summer you will be fit enough to look after yourself (or promoted to A), so pacing you back helps everyone. I had a great experience through C and B from other clubs, especially Dave Jacobs from Marconi. They would teach me what to do, and give me a hand to unleash my strength, the late break. It made racing more fun, because most riders do not like the bunch finish. It's dangerous and hard to predict. Cycling rewards the worker, even though the podium rewards the sprinter.

Marconi A grade
My first race back from the crash on new tyres and not a little nervous. I didn't feel scared but I was cagey about pushing it through corners. Not afraid of dropping the bike as much as the reputation damage. If I came down again, I'm a !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!. Very hard to hold wheels, super tough and got dropped at 35 minutes in after holding the caboose all race, stuck behind a slow wheel. Team mate who just got promoted spent a lot of time in the wind, and I didn't see him pop early enough. Strong FTP builder, strong sprint builder, glad I raced... But I am getting rid of these longer cranks asap, I am only focused on crit racing and I need those millimetres to corner!

The podium only rewards the sprinter if he can make it to the end of the race, no mean feat for a sprinter . Generally there are two trains of thought on this, either you ride to your strengths or choose to diversify. In my case, I'm actively trying to increase my endurance, even if it comes at the expense of some top end power. May 7th can't come soon enough and I'm putting in some very specific efforts just for that race!

[Gunlock]

Northern Combine Tom Proberts: C Grade

Had my first C grade (and also my first Northern Combine) race today out at Essendon Fields. Hotdog circuit with a pretty sketchy u-turn at the far end.

I got caught at the back at the start of the race and really struggled to move up the field. Spent way too much energy holding onto the back of the race to do anything come the pointy end but was pretty happy to have been in the front half when the race split over the last 3 laps. Finished somewhere around 10th.

Vitals:
Time: 39:45
Distance: 24.5
Average speed: 37.1 km/h
Max speed: 50.00 km/h
Average HR: 166 bpm
Max HR: 189 bpm
Average Power: 284W
Max Power: 1,088W

[KGB]

NSW Masters Road Championships - Orange

MMAS2 Road Race - killer course (IMO). Rolling terrain, punchy hills and lots of cross winds made it a tough day. I lasted for 3 laps out of 4 before running out of batteries. Apparently riding a maximum of 80-90km at a time isn't the best way to train for a 110km RR!
I was "fast" enough and while I couldn't make the break up the road, I did make the major selection on lap 2 when the going got tough. That was satisfying.
Bailed after 82km with an average of 37.4km/h.

MMAS2 Criterium - another good course and a very windy afternoon by the time we got going (3pm). The course wasn't technically difficult but was nice and flowing, good for large bunches.
It was very obvious that a break would be made and around the 15min mark there were 4 guys out front. One big hitter was left and I was waiting and watching for his move. When he went, 3 of us followed the wheel but the two in front let a gap go as he accelerated across to the break, leaving me to close across 30m or so by myself. I made it, just, but then the bloke in front of me let the wheel go again. I shut down another 10m gap as we came into the front straight (an uphill drag into a head/cross wind) and was well and truly into the red zone. I desperately needed a draft to sit in and recover but the cross wind up the straight prevented that and I exploded. Completely.
Normally I'm careful not to go that deep but I knew this was the move to follow so it was a bit "all or nothing".
I ground my way solo up the front straight and made it to the top and into a tailwind section as the bunch swamped me and I just latched on. Looking back at the HR data, I spent that lap at an average of 186 bpm and max of 190. 20 years ago my all time max was 192bpm so I really was full gas!
I recovered for a few laps and then made it into a break of two, then joined by a third. Unfortunately we were chased down with ~5min remaining.
The pace was good until the end and I held a good position but got split off the wheel I was following at the start of the sprint as a dead rider drifted backwards. I basically stuffed up the sprint and rolled across somewhere around 10th which was the 5th MMAS2 rider (1/2 were combined into the same race).
The race was 40min + 3 laps. Average speed was 42.5km/h.

I was a little disappointed to DNF the RR but not entirely surprised. I was happy to have a good crack in the crit and at least make it to the finish with a respectable position. I think I did about as well as these legs could do so I'll call the weekend a success, certainly a fun one!

[cerb]

Apparently riding a maximum of 80-90km at a time isn't the best way to train for a 110km RR!

I'm about to enter my first RR in 3 years, and only my 5th RR ever. This really is my main concern! I have zero experience of doing race speeds for anything further than 55km, so it will certainly be interesting...!

MMAS2 Criterium
It was very obvious that a break would be made and around the 15min mark there were 4 guys out front. One big hitter was left and I was waiting and watching for his move.
...
Normally I'm careful not to go that deep but I knew this was the move to follow so it was a bit "all or nothing".
...
I recovered for a few laps and then made it into a break of two, then joined by a third. Unfortunately we were chased down with ~5min remaining.
...
I basically stuffed up the sprint and rolled across somewhere around 10th which was the 5th MMAS2 rider (1/2 were combined into the same race).

So the break at 15mins got brought back I take it? Pretty early time to go for a break if there is a big bunch on a non-technical course?