A New Beginning

I'm not going to lie, I am a little surprised and excited about some news I received last week. The following was emailed to me from Cycling Queensland:

Now I want to be really clear and say that I didn't request this. The state handicapper reportedly completed a big review of all the gradings and made quite a few changes. This is obviously based on some of the good form I showed at the recent Battle of the Border tour.

I am absolutely stoked about this! It means that racing will be a LOT harder now, but this has been a goal of mine for a long time and to achieve it makes me very happy. February 2012 = Masters B, May 2013 = Elite A. You have to be happy with that!

So my first Elite A outing was the Metropolitan Championships. 115 km (five laps of a 23 km circuit) with some nasty little hills. I rode pretty well, but went out the back door on the third lap. I wasn't alone though, and  looking at the result sheet only 27 / 54 got to the finish. 

I'm really looking forward to more racing against all of these nineteen year old whippets!

Race Report: Battle on the Border (Tour de Tweed)

This three day / four stage tour was held on the Tweed Coast last weekend. I finished up racing in the category of Elite 1, which was an interesting mix. Here's the mix of riders:

• A small handful of riders from National Road Series (NRS) teams who missed selection (top six) in their own team for the NRS tour that was running concurrently.
• Elite A riders from Queensland and NSW who were not affiliated with a NRS team.
• A small handful of Elite B riders from NSW.
• The top twenty (about) Elite B riders from Queensland as selected by the state handicapper (I have no idea how I made this 'cut' to be honest).

All in all, a very competitive bunch of fifty-four with some very fast and talented riders. I was in for a rough ride.

Stage 1 Road Race (93km) - 43rd

This stage went straight up the Terranora and Campbell's Pocket climbs in the first 20km. By that point, the field had split into three groups of about 25 / 15 / 14. I was in the third group. We stayed that way until the finish, I was disappointed to get dropped up Terranora but I was absolutely REDLINING and could do nothing about it. 

Stage 2 Individual Time Trial (9km) - 8th

This...is good news. I averaged a little over 44km/h and am very happy with the result in some good company. Nice to have a good time trial after two 'misfires' the previous weekends. 

Stage 3 Criterium - 41st

A fast and furious affair on a tight and hilly circuit. I spent the stage following wheels and staying out of trouble. I finished in the main bunch. 

Stage 4 Road Race (100km) - 22nd

This stage was by far the most encouraging and promising race I have had since I got back on the bike. The stage was extremely hard with two crossings of Farrant's Hill, some other steep as a wall berg on the way down towards Burringbar, then the two part Burringar Range itself. The bunch got smaller and smaller each time we started to climb and I managed to stay with the front group (of twenty-four) all the way to the finish. I felt strong, climbed well and managed to suffer like a dog. Very pleased with this. This ride pushed me up to 26th place overall (for the three days) which I am very pleased with, given the quality of the field.

To ride like that (especially given the climbs), I am feeling very encouraged for the future. The time trial result is also a good sign...

Race Report: Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) - Round 1 (Gatton)

I have been kindly offered a guest team spot with Toowoomba's Team TLD Racing for this series. I expected the standard of racing to be well above anything I have done so far on the comeback trail and I was right.

Stage 1: 15km Individual Time Trial

49th place (108 starters) in 22 min 25 sec. Just like last week at Ipswich, I just didn't 'fire'. Not a great course for me (was quite hilly) but all the same, I just didn't perform like I should. Not a total disaster, but not great either.

Stage 2: 105km Road Race

We did the same course from the time trial seven times. The hills were not especially steep (all done in the big chain ring) but the pace was very fast which made it tough. I was caught behind a HUGE crash with 1km to go so was given bunch time. There were two riders away and seventy or so of us left in the main bunch, so I was pleased with that finish.

Stage 3: 105 km Road Race

This was a 20km loop we did five times with a small circuit to get to the course. It was much harder than yesterday with a nasty little climb we crossed five times. I was actually dropped on lap three and did a mad dash through the convoy to get back on. A large group of fifteen rode away and I finished in the main group of about sixty or so riders. Like yesterday, I was very happy to finish in the main pack; especially after getting dropped at halfway. 

So overall, I'm feeling pretty pleased with how it went. An 'okay' time trial and two solid bunch finishes in some very good company. I need to get that time trial right though...