26 Feb 2011
B grade
‘Dunlop Road’ is a 1.4km criterium circuit around an industrial estate in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Aerial view of the circuit with the start/finish point marked by the green pointer.
A solid bunch of 20 riders set off for what was to be a sixty minute hammerfest. One never knows at Dunlop Road whether today will be the day for a breakaway or if it will be another day I get dropped. It is rare for an escape to succeed on this course but that has never stopped a bevy of riders trying. Usually the size and disposition of the bunch will ensure that the race will be decided in a bunch sprint but not before a surging and chasing threaten to catapult me off the back. Today the joker in the pack is a flukey wind that seems to be persistently coming from the direction we are heading – must be something about the factories and driveways. Well at least that’s how it felt to me. Perhaps it was an illusion created by the pace of the bunch? With the speedo rarely dropping below 40kph it was always going to seem like a headwind.
In spite of the consistently high speed (by my standards) there were inevitably a number of escape attempts from the likes of Ian Smith, Matt White, Sean Wilkenson, Rob Harris, Ian Milner and a group of 6 that included some of the aforementioned plus the 2 Frayne brothers. I had managed to get across a gap chasing brother Quentin’s wheel and managed to max out the heart rate in the process. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately given the state I was in, it didn’t last long. Apart from that group attempt all others were very short lived as the nervous group kept the pedal to the floor to shut everything down in quick time. In spite of the large bunches we managed to safely overtake the 2 lower grades at regular intervals and even avoided the ‘over the white line’ disqualifications suffered by other grades. Well done boys!
From where I was sitting at various positions from mid to the rear of the field it was difficult to see who the pace setters were but one could imagine Martin Stalder being there along with Dayle Goodall, Sean Wilkenson and Ian Smith. However the most aggressive ride of the day surely was that of Rob Harris who consistently animated the proceedings including a powerful show on the front for what was surely 2 complete laps approaching terminal velocity. The tension grew as we approached the hour mark and one felt sure a number of desperate efforts would be made to try to break up the group. Determined not to be left behind I made sure I was within 8 or so places from the front. However it wasn’t to be since we had come up behind F Grade who were on the bell, so we were neutralised.
We eased off the bit and spent the next 2 laps sucking in air and water and shortly thereafter getting the bell ourselves. There was no time for any further agitation so it would come down to position position position. The pace just steadily increased as we went around that final lap and I decided to take a sit on either Quentin or Dean Jones who I knew would be strong in the sprint. The speedo moved into the 50s and I saw Dean moving forward but it was a bit tight so I stayed on Quentin’s wheel. We swept around the final bend keeping tight to the apex with Sean Wilkenson, Dean Jones and others taking a wider line from where they drove the 300 metres to the line. Somehow Greg Lipple had slipped into a gap as Quentin squeezed past a slower rider so I took the sit on his wheel. I was still in the saddle but I noticed already they were up and pulling away. It’s a very long sprint so I waited, probably too long, before I too started stamping on those pedals.
We were about 50 metres from the line when Rob Truscott hit the proverbial brick wall and was passed by Greg Lipple and Quentin, both engaged in a wheel to wheel duel, and who were in turn passed by a very fast finishing Dayle Goodall (3rd). Quentin (4th) managed to re-take Greg (5th) but no-one, despite the best efforts of Dean Jones (2nd), had the legs to haul in the big man from TFM, Sean Wilkenson who is surely soon to be joining the elite guys in A Grade. A great effort from him in only his 3rd race with Eastern. I battled on to the line but even my max speed of 57.4kph wasn’t enough to move me up any more so I settled for 7th or 8th – who can tell in that red mist?
Good solid and safe race completed with an average speed just over 38kph for the hour – including a few of those neutral laps. A classic Dunlop Road criterium!
Stats:
Distance 40.48km
Time 1:03:22
Ave Speed 38.3kph
Max speed 57.4kph
As usual here are a few graphs and read outs from the Garmin 705. And if you’re really keen you can check out the Garmin website for split and lap times or play out the laps with the Player function. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70284537
Last lap - faster and faster...
Stats.
