Race Report Thread

fixedlegs2012
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby fixedlegs2012 » Wed Sep 30, 2015 9:01 pm

Derny Driver wrote:
Congrats on your great results recently Rob, I reckon you are the most improved bike rider in Tassie for sure.
Im not the fountain of all knowledge, just trying to get people to think outside the square and entertain new possibilities. Leading out is something many people never consider. Heck some people dont even entertain the idea of learning how to sprint and do the things you have mentioned above. Some people get to a sprint finish and sit up, beaten before they even tried.
Taking the mental edge over your rivals is so important. Act like a boss and be the boss!
Rob with your size and power most guys would be intimidated by you and so you can now use your newly gained confidence to really control races and influence what happens in the finale.
Thanks DD - still some size to lose. I can hang on over a climb, not just a sprinter. No point being a sprinter if you cant get over a climb. Some tactical sense as well if someone can out climb, chances are I can get them back on the descent or flat. Again its confidence. Being defeated before they can to the sprint or even the start line if they think they cant beat you in a sprint. They aren't out on the road doing sprints until you almost throw up with lactic. Also helps I've had the fastest guy in Tassie helping me. Looking forward to the day when Im racing and your my DS :)

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ft_critical
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ft_critical » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:56 pm

Strawburger wrote: Glad I didn't go! Not one for the climbers by the sound of it
The road race had a dirty, little 15% 600m climb towards the end of the lap (~42km laps). The approach initially strung out the bunch through a tightish turn, then continued as the road slowly rose over about 2km or more. So by the time you (well me anyway) hit that 'wall' you were very close to max heart rate. Obviously this was the idea. I looked at my data and I went from 35kmh to 13kmh - it looks like instantly... like a fly hitting the windscreen of a car.

I was pretty fit for the race, little racing this year, but the key was no specific training. I only decided to race on the closing date and had had little time to have a detailed look at the profile. The profile was deceptive showing some long gradual climbs... So lack of research meant lack of specific preparation which I think was essential for this race. There were two steep sections that I needed to train for - specifically.

I was not alone, the bunch exploded as it hit these two steep sections - so I had company off the back :D

As an aside the Police presence was amazing: bikes and cars front and back.

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Strawburger
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Strawburger » Mon Oct 05, 2015 12:32 pm

Sounded like a nice little pinch they put in there FT!

Jules, my reports are uploaded in my racing blog.
n=10 (2013 & 2004 roads,2010 track,2x 2009 foldups,1990 hybrid,1992 trainer,2007 rental,1970's step through,1980's zeus)

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toolonglegs
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby toolonglegs » Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:07 pm

Had my 2nd race on Zwift last night :) ... 39.5km (AT) 38.8kmph.
Such an easy way to hammer yourself for an hour indoors :lol: . Got 3rd in C grade ( can't get a very high sprint power on my HT ).
About 50 starters, half lap neutral ( ended up a bit more ) then finish at 5 lap mark. I was rooted, young fella was cheering me on :)
https://www.strava.com/activities/408982647" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bluejay87
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:36 am

Didn't know Zwift had races. I knew about the social rides. Where are the races organised?

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby toolonglegs » Sat Oct 10, 2015 4:50 pm

Bluejay87 wrote:Didn't know Zwift had races. I knew about the social rides. Where are the races organised?
Jump on the face book group... go to the events page. There are about 10-20 weekly races now. Teams are starting to form as well.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:07 am

I must be looking at it wrong as the only race I see from recent and future events was the gcn one.

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toolonglegs
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby toolonglegs » Sun Oct 11, 2015 7:55 pm

Bluejay87 wrote:I must be looking at it wrong as the only race I see from recent and future events was the gcn one.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/zwiftriders/?fref=nf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... this group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/zwiftriders/events/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... events

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Sun Oct 11, 2015 8:54 pm

wow, thanks. Awesome group. Amazing people are taking the time to organize the races without much of a feature set to actually support it. Looks like you got a good workout out of it- long race!

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Xplora
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Xplora » Mon Oct 12, 2015 12:36 am

Waratahs B grade at the Hotdog

I mentioned on the forum that I got gastro last Sunday and had a couple hospital visits for my trouble, so I missed the big Waratahs SMSP race and Marconi because I was having trouble doing more than surfing the net and eating. Been cranking a 200 weekend for 6 weeks in a row and finally had a chance to test the legs today.

NWSCC had a couple greenhorns to B grade, and leximack was looking shattered before the start, so it was up to me (who couldn't contest the sprint as an official A grader) and croozin to make it happen. It was my first regulation race with Veloz and a nice showing of the Parra Park training crew to keep things interesting.

We had a nice relaxing opening lap and a half and it was time to start hurting the bunch. I'd resolved that I was going to hit em to take out some juice for the sprinters to give croozin some extra kick. Some furious pace out front, then a nice lull. The bunch did this quite a number of times. I've got a reputation for attacking, and didn't want to disappoint - but usually it dulls my ride. 6 days with no serious riding gave me all the beans I needed. Our new guys were doing great work with the 1-2 punches, and we all joined up a couple of times for a big attack. Nothing quite inspires the bunch like seeing the whole club at the front! Prime came and went, we had an early break for that but it withered 300m from the line. Veloz had a great little break led by Brett, I bridged up after seeing another Smurf join him, and yet another smurf plus an ADCC <?> rider came to join in the party. The 5 of us kept off the front for a lap and I did my turn but it was really clear that Veloz would have to make the break stick. Not their day, but they did have some good strength and tactics, just not quite the luck.

I was on front again trying to drive the pace with 10 minutes to go when we caught A grade. This completely stuffs up things because really, we should sit up and let them go, but if they are doing 36kmh they aren't really trying. I heard a ton of advice behind me, but if I'm on the tops doing 34, I'm not trying. A grade did get belled first which was a good call from the Commissaire. The A break were the only 3 people racing while B was foaming at the mouth.

I hit the front with 2.5 laps to go and I've resolved that I have to lead out croozin to ensure he took the chocolates home and just buried it after the bell. No one wanted to come around, which was very comfy for me. Around the final corner and I'm out of the saddle trying to lift the pace. Bit of a headwind but I drop my man off at 45kmh or so, who gets passed quickly, but croozin finds his gear and cranks it over for 1st :D


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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby cerb » Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:13 am

Nice video accompaniment! :)

I'm surprised they let you race B if you regularly ride A, particularly if you ride with a team, as means that you can too strongly influence the race and set up your own team riders for wins?

Our club doesn't let you ride down a grade and team tactics aren't really allowed until you hit A-Grade. There still are some team tactics happening in most grades, but they are not encouraged and blocking or slow pedalling the bunch are no-no's. Generally though, making people ride the correct grade and some gentle words from a ride marshall keep everything pretty fair and even for everyone.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby cerb » Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:38 am

SKCC A-Grade
48km, avg. 46.0kph

Second crit of the season and my very first race of the season after also having gastro last week (must be going around!).

I finished last season fairly dejected as my wife & I had just had a baby, so I had zero training time, but simultaneously got promoted to A-Grade - meaning that I DNF'd the last 3-4 races of the season. I was keen to come back this season with some better fitness and my main goal was just to finish this race. Still on limited time with the little one and work, I haven't really been riding on the road at all, but had been sneaking in one to three 1-1.5h trainer sessions a week for about the past 2 months in order to try and get back into shape.

After the neutral lap the pace was pretty much straight on while everyone sorted out their positions and some attacks started firing. I just aimed to maintain decent position and sit in the bunch in order to conserve my energy. I was doing this fairly well and all of the attacks were chased down within a lap or two - so no real threats. Last week the field was stacked with NRS riders, but this week there were only a three guys from Bikebug/Aussie Pallets team and a few of the small strong local teams, but no-one had the numbers to really dominate the race. As such, everyone was riding keenly in the hope they could get on the podium.

I continued to maintain good position throughout the race and was feeling good to the point I actually thought I could lead out our main sprinter with about 20mins to go. However, about 5 mins later when I tried to make my way up to the pointy end, I found that there were plenty of others also feeling good and having the same thoughts. The pace went up and every time it slowed, the whole road was blocked and it was very difficult to move up. I tried to weave my way through for about 10mins, but couldn't get closer to the front than the front 25-30 riders.

Now my legs were starting to feel the effort of working hard to move up and right on queue, we got 3 laps to go. The Bikebug guys had moved to the front and were drilling it... I lost a few poitions through corners due to sitting on the wrong wheels and having them break heavily into corners. By one lap to go i'd fallen back to the rear 1/4 of the bunch and the accordion affect was a killer on my already cooked legs. Without the leg strength left to move up (in the wind) at 55+kph, I just sat in and followed wheels on the final lap through to the finish.

Overall, a good result for me. I aimed to finish the race, which I did, and also managed to do most of it fairly comfortably. A couple of months of racing while maintaining my trainer workouts should see my fitness imporve to a point where I can start to actively race, rather than just survive!

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ft_critical
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby ft_critical » Mon Oct 12, 2015 10:39 am

cerb wrote:
Still on limited time with the little one and work, I haven't really been riding on the road at all, but had been sneaking in one to three 1-1.5h trainer sessions a week for about the past 2 months in order to try and get back into shape.
That is great for trainer only training. I find I can't push myself to the required level of intensity on the trainer unless I am actively racing at the same time. So you must be an over - achiever in the 'hate myself' suffer trainer sessions - so lots of inner mental strength.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 11:08 am

great stuff cerb, just watched some of the video of that race - looked brutal. I'd love to give that a go and see how long I could hold on, but it's not my thing (translation: I'd get spat out!)

I raced HCC club champs on Sat. due to the hilly circuit and likelihood of it turning into a solo ride, I chickened out of the championship race and elected for B. 3 of us 'oldies' up against about 5 or 6 young guys. 9 laps of the Gisborne circuit is basically a bunch roll until the hill, a 3 1/2 to 4 minute lung buster. I felt good for most of the race, but I know I won't win the final kick, so I tried to take off early on the bell lap. the young'uns were having none of that, so we rolled around to the final ascent and I just couldn't hold them. the winner was 15 yrs old!! look out for this bloke, he is going to do some damage in years to come..

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby cerb » Mon Oct 12, 2015 11:50 am

ft_critical wrote:That is great for trainer only training. I find I can't push myself to the required level of intensity on the trainer unless I am actively racing at the same time. So you must be an over - achiever in the 'hate myself' suffer trainer sessions - so lots of inner mental strength.

Haha cheers! I'm pretty lucky in that my body responds pretty quickly to changes in training, so I can get away with doing relatively little for quite reasonable gains in performance. I certainly hated the trainer sessions to start with, but once I got into a regular pattern I kind of looked forward to them. Kind of... I agree though - the 'mental toughness' is certainly an area that riding the trainer has helped me build.

jules21 wrote:great stuff cerb, just watched some of the video of that race - looked brutal. I'd love to give that a go and see how long I could hold on, but it's not my thing (translation: I'd get spat out!)

I raced HCC club champs on Sat. due to the hilly circuit and likelihood of it turning into a solo ride, I chickened out of the championship race and elected for B. 3 of us 'oldies' up against about 5 or 6 young guys. 9 laps of the Gisborne circuit is basically a bunch roll until the hill, a 3 1/2 to 4 minute lung buster. I felt good for most of the race, but I know I won't win the final kick, so I tried to take off early on the bell lap. the young'uns were having none of that, so we rolled around to the final ascent and I just couldn't hold them. the winner was 15 yrs old!! look out for this bloke, he is going to do some damage in years to come..
Thanks for the link! It wasn't too brutal, the way the cameraman rode (not very smartly) made it look harder than it actually was. There was a bit of 'chatter' mid-race about that diversion into the cobbled gutter >.<

My butt is also stretching out my lycra a bit too much - confirms i've still got about 6-8kg to lose! :)

Speaking of young blokes - the guy who always used to roll me in B-Grade, went and won multiple gold medals in the under 19 track world champs a few months ago. He came third yesterday! Sooo many good young riders around! They're tough to race against, but it is great to see so much young up-and-coming talent!

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 12:10 pm

cerb wrote:Sooo many good young riders around! They're tough to race against, but it is great to see so much young up-and-coming talent!
it is actually, puts a smile on my face. I'd love to be telling people in years to come "I used to race against that guy/girl!" it would sound less pathetic when they're fully grown adults and winning big races :)

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:31 pm

Xplora wrote:Waratahs B grade at the Hotdog

so it was up to me (who couldn't contest the sprint as an official A grader) and croozin to make it happen.
Is this some kind of official race rule? Or just a club agreement to give the more inexperienced guys a go at getting a win?

Seems a bit strange if an official rule- what's the point of entering if you can't win?

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:33 pm

Bluejay87 wrote:Is this some kind of official race rule? Or just a club agreement to give the more inexperienced guys a go at getting a win?

Seems a bit strange if an official rule- what's the point of entering if you can't win?
i'm guessing - to get a ride when the alternative option is not being permitted to enter at all. I think he said he was sick and didn't feel up to A grade.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:35 pm

I guess, but he still influenced the result of the race, leading out a clubmate.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:39 pm

Bluejay87 wrote:I guess, but he still influenced the result of the race, leading out a clubmate.
you could argue that's unfair but how far do you go?

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby dalai47 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:42 pm

jules21 wrote:
Bluejay87 wrote:I guess, but he still influenced the result of the race, leading out a clubmate.
you could argue that's unfair but how far do you go?
Official protest. Bl00dy sandbaggers... :wink:

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:45 pm

Not sure, was just wondering what the rule was. I've seen A graders get permission to sit on the back of C for a warmup but that's about it.

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby queequeg » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:52 pm

jules21 wrote:
Bluejay87 wrote:Is this some kind of official race rule? Or just a club agreement to give the more inexperienced guys a go at getting a win?

Seems a bit strange if an official rule- what's the point of entering if you can't win?
i'm guessing - to get a ride when the alternative option is not being permitted to enter at all. I think he said he was sick and didn't feel up to A grade.
Xplora has been down in B Grade after successive DNFs in A Grade, so it is more a case of getting some form back in B Grade whilst staying out of the prize money. I am sure he'll be back in A grade soon, because we now have a glut of riders clustered in C and B grade, but only 3 of us in A Grade, which makes Team Tactics a bit difficult (yet to be in a A race with all 3 of us).
I'm still learning the race tactics, and the names and faces. I did note that Trent took out A Grade at Waratahs again, in a breakaway (again) and is in red hot form right now. He is someone I need to speak to if I want to take this to the next level. I was never expecting to be in A Grade so soon, so it's a massive learning curve for me. You can't just gain race experience overnight, and there are no easy wins in A Grade. I am strong, but I need to be race smart and I am looking forward to having a team to work with.
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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby jules21 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:52 pm

it's a fair question, there's not so much a rule as policy or handicapper's discretion

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Re: Race Report Thread

Postby Bluejay87 » Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:02 pm

He has more courtesy than me. If I wasn't hanging on in A grade i'd consider myself a b grader and be aiming for the podium!

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