Race Report: Masters 2 (35 - 39 years) State Titles

This was a hell of a hard race. About 35ish of us for 120 km. It was seven laps of a 17 km course. The field gradually whittled down lap after lap. With two laps to go there was a break of two up the road and fifteen of us left in the bunch. With 10 km to go the hammer went down again and I was seeing stars. The field started to split up over the three hills on the last lap and we all finished in dribs and drabs. I went over the line in 11th place. I would have loved to be able to say I was top ten in Queensland in my age division in my first year back racing, but I'm satisfied with how I went. I left nothing out there. It was the hardest race of the year for me and my legs feel like they have been bashed around with a hammer. Can't wait for next year...

I do have the State Titles Individual Time Trial in two weeks and I am hoping I will finish a bit higher in that event. 

Race Report: Charles Coin Memorial

I raced Elite B today instead of Masters B (I have a dual licence) and I doubt I will race Masters B again. The pace was definitely quicker, but I coped with it very well. Given I have been off the bike sick recently, I am especially pleased about how I went. We had about 36 starters and a Pensar Hawk team mate found himself off the front in a two man breakaway with about 25 km of the 108 km to go. I worked very hard chasing down attacks and generally trying to disrupt the chase. This was a success as the break stayed away and he won. I was totally shattered by the end but managed to get 5th in the bunch sprint for 7th overall. There was a lot positive to take out of this race today. I enjoyed the more positive racing very much, compared to the somewhat negative 'wait for a bunch sprint' approach you see so often in Masters B racing.

Timing is Everything

Well it's 13 days until the state titles road race and I am stuck inside with an apocalyptic dose of manflu! It's time to be positive:

• I will be ultrafresh and well rested.
• I have lost 2kg in three days.
• I have watched a heap of cycling videos online and am feeling very motivated.

Next Sunday is the Charles Coin Memorial race at Mulgowie, which will serve as an excellent lead up race for the state titles. I have actually elected to race Elite B instead of Masters B (I have a dual licence, one of the few advantages of being a crusty, old dude). The Elite B race is a bit longer (108 km vs 90 km) and it starts at 9 am (not 1 pm like the Masters B race). I just think it will serve my purposes a little better. Mark Brady (old friend and Queensland Masters A legend) tells me that Elite B is maybe only a little faster than Masters B anyway (and certainly nowhere near as fast as Masters A). Hopefully, health permitting, it should be a good race for me. 

Race Report: Cunningham Classic

The Cunningham always has been, and probably always will be, my favorite race. I finished 2nd and 4th there as a junior and 1st, 1st and 8th as an Elite A rider, many years ago. The course suits me well and I have always enjoyed the hard, heavy and windy conditions. 

I raced in the Gatton to Warwick, 96 km Masters B race, with 51 starters. The pace itself was quite comfortable. The KOM was a little tough near the top, but I still went over the climb in around 5th or 6th spot without a lot of effort. In the last 30 km or so, I started to race very aggressively, with many attempts to get off the front. Unfortunately, the cross winds which I used to love so much were just not there, which meant that it was hard to inflict much pain on the big group or get away in a small group due to that bunch splitting. At one stage I was in a promising two man breakaway that quickly got about 20 seconds, but was reeled in with about 3km to go. In the end, there were still 30 or so riders left for the finish and I came 7th. Disappointing for me, but in the end, I pretty much gave it everything I had. Such is life...