After 2 weeks of overseas travel and a persistent neck problem keeping me off the bike for a further 2 weeks it didn’t take a Minority Report to predict the outcome of this race. Still, I was pretty desperate to get back out there and the weather gods have done a nice job with the day – dry roads!
One ‘palindrome lap’ of Arfur’s – 16km
Click pic to zoom then hit BACK to return to blog
Only ten of us in B Grade set off over the hill in neutral for 4 laps of this out and back course. The pace was easy and perhaps that is what inspired Ian Smith to ride off the front. He claims it wasn’t an attack but once he saw he was alone decided to just continue on. Well that’s fine but this is only 1/4 distance into the first lap. Collectively the bunch thought the same thing and allowed him to ride off out of sight.
Arriving at the turn we could see that he was perhaps 300 metres ahead of us. Given that all those metres are uphill we assessed that he had a nice gap there. By the time we were half way back 2 riders had had enough and decided to bridge. Quentin Frayne and Warren Steinicke pushed off the front with the bunch initially looking on bemused. When two more riders also attacked it was time for some co-ordination. Mal Jones and Thorkild (I believe) were quickly brought back and I believe it was me who started to get vocal about working together.
Up ahead we could now see Ian sitting up while Quentin and Warren bridged. Our pace behind increased however there were only 3 or 4 of us working, Ray Russo, Martin Stalder, Thorkild Muurholm and myself. With more urging we avoided surging on the hills to the turn around and remained grupetto out to the orchard on lap 2. Somehow a few little surges on the hills were having me off the back and I had to scramble back on wondering if I could keep pace. By the time we’d gone half way out to the turn I was finished, cooked, blown!
Beautiful day for a ride … I’ve never noticed how nice the countryside is out here… la de da…
Actually I did continue to push my own pace and try to make it a training ride of some value. However my average speed dropped from the 33kph of the first lap with the bunch down to 31.5kph for the second then 29.2kph for the third at which point I called it quits. Not fair to have the follow car dragging its butt around behind me while everyone else is back at the school drinking beer!
As it turned out the bunch did work the leaders back and arrived into the final straight ready to sprint. They were a tight bunch and across the road so some likely sprinting types like Quentin were blocked for a run. Martin also took a squeeze but still managed 3rd. Ray Russo was chasing hard but it was Warren Steinicke who had surged away for the win – despite having spent quite a lot of the race in the break.
For me, glad to be back out there in the hills and looking forward to rediscovering some kind of form as we head to the Summer Season. But can I be ready in time for the Tour of Bright?
Okay, so I’m not all that fit but that HR is obviously ridiculous!