Wow! Summer arrives early. Sunny and 32 degrees with a moderate northerly. Let’s go crit racing 😉
After last week’s disappointing effort I was keen to hang in a bit longer on the flat this week. I’m still coming back after a month of minimal riding (exemplified by some scary HR readings) and the good news is the neck pain has eased somewhat. An hour out on the drops should put it to the test!
B Grade was comprised of a bunch of 17 including some of the big strong types along with classic ‘sit in ‘ sprinters. With that northerly blowing I was concerned to stay forward and hold tight onto wheels as a gap at the wrong part of the circuit would surely mean ‘curtains’. Ian Smith guided us around the first few laps before the first of several solo escape attempts emerged. With various of the strong men driving the pace, Rob Harris, Andrew Nielsen, Martin Stalder and others (some new names to me who have emerged during the Winter) each escapee was left to hang before succumbing to the effort and returning back to field. My biggest fear was that 4 or 5 of those rouleurs would get away together but somehow it didn’t work out that way – thankfully.
Looking back at the stats indicates a harder race than it seemed at the time – average over 37kph if you lose the warm up. Then again, for me sitting in for the whole race, it would be manageable, right? Still, with those HR readings obviously I’ve got a way to go fitness-wise. As the plan was to effectively get motor paced to the end I’d have to say mission accomplished.
As the clock ticked over the hour and we were still all together it was clear that a bunch sprint was coming up. The average speed dropped from 37 down to 35 and the tension and anticipation level rose in response. Heading around the back of the circuit there was a bit of bumping as the field bunched up prompting a rider to attack off the front. ‘Folly!’ the bunch collectively sighed and continued on towards the back straight. Jean-Philippe Leclercq is a relatively new rider and with a tailwind down the back straight the ‘folly’ turned to ‘hmm, good move’ as he continued to build a gap. Sensing this the bunch surged and I managed to move up to about 5th or 6th. However, by the time we’d reached the final bend into the finish straight the old heart started ‘valve-bouncing’ and I decided to back it off and leave it to the big boys to fight it out. A wall of riders pounded into the headwind but, despite getting to a photo finish, they were unable to pass Jean-Philippe.
Top effort there for a new marked man. Greg Lipple was the man who almost was with ‘big men’ Dayle Goodall and Andrew Nielsen taking 3rd and 4th. A nice return to crit racing and a fun day out in the sun. Bring on more!
More details:
connect.garmin.com/activity/127045838
Stats:
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