8kms out 8kms back X 4
Profile of one lap out and back
Race Report
B Grade
Arthurs Creek
16 April 2011
What was he thinking? Well I asked him that very question on the start line when I noticed the colour of his headband – green like ours. His response was, “I’m going to attack on the start line and ride away with the booty.” My response was the typical, “never trust anything a Vet says,” which sounded odd considering the inverse logic of his statement. Normally a Vet will mumble about being so out of form and “not going so well…”
As the 18 starters rolled down the hill and off and over the rise through the neutral transition those comments from Nigel Kimber were forgotten. Instead I was purveying the peloton for likely types and strategising as to whether I would have a hope in Hades of surviving 4 laps of this undulating course. It’s the first road race of the Winter Season and I’m sensing there are a lot of like minded B Graders today.
Nankervis Road comes and goes, we’re out of the neutral zone and racing. This is marked by a mild acceleration and cessation of conversation. After not more than 300 metres a rider is moving down the inside towards the front, then on the front, then beyond the front. It’s Nigel Kimber and I smile to myself. Ha! I know what he’s up to so let’s leave him out there in the wind for a while to reconsider his folly.
After the race I asked him what on earth was he thinking and he said, “I wasn’t thinking”. He had just rolled onto the front to lift the pace of the race only to look back and discover he was alone. From there it was simply ride and ride and wait for the catch which to his amazement, never came.
Meanwhile back in the bunch there were about 5 or 6 riders taking the odd turn with the pace high enough to require single file drafting. However there was not a coordinated chase happening and rather everyone seemed to have drifted into their own headspace which was bent more towards surviving 4 laps than working. By the time lap 2 was well underway there were a couple of riders getting a little frustrated. Kev Turley and Nick Tapp were consistently driving things along with myself, Quentin Frayne, Rob Truscott, Phil Pelgrim, Tim Crowe and Chris Mulcha all thereabouts.
It’s hard to remember the exact sequence of events but I do recall some grippier points over some of the rises particularly that last hill on each lap. This caused a small number of riders to lose touch over the course of laps 2 and 3. Apart from Kimber’s mind bending effort the next most significant incident was an attack by Nick Tapp which was quickly covered by Kev Turley. The two of them worked a nice gap and stayed away for the best part of half a lap – as I recall. The general edginess in the chase, which by now included some nice rolling of turns, finally exploded when one or two riders attacked the gap in earnest – was it Tim Crowe and/or Matt Rice? I can’t recall. Anyway, the reaction from the pack was to panic and scramble in that order. The effort reduced the gap to Nick and Kev and by the end of Lap 3 it was all together. Except for Nigel K.
The combination of fatigue and bewilderment had us hearing bells like an auditory mirage. As we turned for the final out lap it seemed we had ridden into the twilight zone. Lap 4 was a blur and completed only slightly more quickly than lap 3, in a tad over 29 minutes. If one considers that lap 1 took 28.5 minutes @ 33.8kph, lap 2 in 28 minutes flat @ 34.2 we might deduce that tiredness was a definite factor.
4 laps with neutral turnarounds
This is supported when I also peruse my HR readings which indicate hitting Vo2 Max at some point in each lap with a race average in high Zone 4. We were working out there in spite of not catching Mr Kimber who was clearly racing himself ever closer to A Grade – both on the road now and in the future. With Nigel’s escape now settled, Ian Smith, his powder kept pretty much dry throughout the race, put in one last dig. Once he had had his fill of this silliness we completed the final lap grupetto.
The usual scenario is that there’s a big push on the last hill with a small group usually going over and down to the last kilometre of the finish. So, as the jockeying for position approaching that final climb, which max’s out at 7.5% BTW, everyone focuses on their own plan. Four or five have decided to go early – very early. There’s Nick Tapp, Kev Turley, Tim Crowe, Matt Rice and maybe Rob Truscott hammering up the hill. I’ve decided to stick to a steady, if heady, pace and it’s working as Nick blows towards the summit and I slide on past him. Over the top and Greg Lipple has moved ahead of me. The HR is banging seriously into the red (183bpm) when I scramble onto his wheel gasping for oxygen and we crack the 60kph mark as we chase the group up ahead. By the final turn and onto the 1km long transition to the line we have managed to get back on. However we’re at the back of the 6 or 7 leaders. Stuck, no room to pass even if I could get my breathing back in control.
Around the final bend and the finish line comes into view. Clear road ahead. Go! The group accelerates as one and with my back wheel bouncing around on the tarmac I try to make up a few metres. Alas, apart from catching Kev Turley who sighs something about “wrong gear”, and in spite of hitting maximum race speed for the day at 60.2kph I can’t make up any more places and roll over in about 7th place – again. Seems to be my number.
Easy to see where the sprint proper starts so position is everything
Nigel Kimber, who’s already showered and changed into civvies 😉 takes an impressive win. Matt Rice wins the bunch sprint with Rob Truscott and Tim Crowe close on his heels. A fine day of racing back out on the roads and it’s good to back in the hills. Next up it’s off to Maryborough for the South Pacific Road Racing Champs – 4 races in 3 days over Easter – oooh yeah!
Stats:
The HR tells the story...
More online:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79930019