As expected, this was a tough affair. The Elite Division 1 race had a small handful of riders who 'should' have been riding the National Road Series event that was running concurrently and Elite A & B riders from Queensland and New South Wales. Looking back at the conclusion of the event, the field (I believe) was definitely stronger than last year. There were a lot more riders from New South Wales this time around. 53 riders were on the start list with 48 actually lining up on the day.
Stage 1: Murwillumbah Road Race - 128 km - 34th
Wet, hilly and fast. That pretty much sums it up. Despite 34th not looking much on paper, I am very pleased with how I rode during this stage. The big split happened after the Tyalgum KOM, where 33 riders went forward and the rest went backwards. I was literally in position 34 when this split happened. So, so, close to getting there. For an 86 kg lump like myself, I was stoked with how I had climbed. I ended up in a group of 3 and believe it or not, we were tantalisingly close to making contact with the front group after a solid hour of chasing. After we admitted defeat we started some serious climbing again, up through Hogan's Road and Terranora. I was toast by the end of this stage. In terms of new power records I set PBs for average power for everything across 90 seconds - 8 minutes and for normalised power for everything across 3 minutes to 3 1/2 hours. This is nothing to celebrate, just an indication of how tough the stage was for me.
Stage 2: Murwillumbah Time Trial - 9.2km - 16th (12 min 50 sec)
I was 'kinda' satisfied with this result and also 'kinda' not. I had some heavy fatigue in my legs and felt I really couldn't get going. I went 2 seconds faster than last year (I finished 8th in this stage last year) but with the better field I didn't finish as well this time around.
Stage 3: Murwillumbah Criterium - 30 minutes + 2 laps (DNF - 1 lap down)
This was just straight up awful. The start was ridiculously fast. There were eight major surges in the first few minutes that hurt me badly. Just out of interest (one for the power nerds), my 10 second averages during those surges were 957w, 919w, 663w, 923w, 662w, 796w. There's only so much of that I can cope with! I lasted 10 minutes (which is a shame because apparently things settled down a bit after that). I wasn't alone though and ended up in a small group. The commisaire was kind enough to pull my group off the course at about 20 minutes in.
Stage 4: Kingscliff Road Race - 132km - 25th
Like earlier in the race, this result doesn't look like much on paper, but this was without doubt the best day I have had on a bike since I started racing again. You couldn't custom design a worse course for me, with long, steep and tough climbs appearing regularly. I climbed out of my skin and took great pleasure in watching riders 20 kg lighter and 15 years younger getting shelled out the back while I was hanging on. The major split ended up happening on the second crossing of the Burringbar Range. 21 riders went forward and I was in a little chase group of 4. Our group had their progress slowed down somewhat by a pretty nasty crash. We ended up in a group of 7 and went to the finish like that. The stage was enough to put me up to 28th overall. In a field like that, on a course like that, I was pretty satisfied.
It is good that I finished this race on a positive note as I have made a decision about future racing. When I got back on the bike in September of 2011, I never for a second imagined I would ever race Elite A again. When I got bumped up to that grade by the state handicapper, I was shocked but also secretly feeling very happy about the promotion. I went from 'zero' to Elite A in 1 year and 8 months. I've been racing Elite A for a little over a year and as much as I have enjoyed the challenge, I think I am done with it. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, I'm 41 years old and racing super-fit 19 year olds is starting to lose its appeal. Secondly, I don't want to do 6-7 hour training rides any more. 3-4 hours is fine, but I'm sick of the long ones. Thirdly, I'd like to do some state level racing where I actually have a chance of getting a result. Don't get me wrong, I have done some stuff I am proud of (how many people can claim top ten finishes in the Cunningham Classic that span 21 years?) but it would be nice to be involved in the business end of a bike race, instead of hanging on for dear life.
And that my friends, is why you will only see me at Masters A races from now on (which is super competitive as well, if you don't believe me, you should try it). What does this mean for Queensland Road Teams Series (QRTS) with Team TLD Racing? I will still be 'around' and will make myself available for selection where the courses suit me.
So there you have it. Hopefully some fun and challenging racing ahead. I'm looking forward to it very much starting with the Metropolitan Championships Road Race this Sunday. Farewell Elite A; it's been a blast!
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