For Bikeline Racing Members - The Charles Coin Memorial / Mardi Bartlett Classic & The Cunningham Classic - Part 3

Sorry folks...this is going to be brief. I'm still in the midst of recovering from my recent QRTS crash at Gatton. Broken ribs, punctured lung and then a lung infection a few days later just for good measure. So here goes...

The Cunningham Classic is a great race. It's been running forever and it deserves its excellent reputation. If I add it up I think I have ridden the junior version twice, Elite A (I think) six times and in masters just the once. The race is dictated by the wind and it is usually a cross-wind kind of day. Rarely though, it can be a tail wind (I think I can recall that twice in all the times I have raced it). 

All of the previous comments I have made are relevant for the Cunningham Classic but here are a few specific ideas for this particular race:

Don't get too hung up on the climb. It's too far from the finish to make or break the race; just don't get dropped! My advice from the last article on how to 'slide' from the front to the back will work here, but with a little more effort given the length of the hill.

I've always felt that the hardest part of the race is the cross-wind (usually) section not far after the KOM, that leads into Pilton and the feed zone. If you have had a hard time on the climb you MUST recover and recover quickly. Unless you really think you have the legs to go for the KOM, I would suggest a conservative approach to the climb and save your biccies for what comes after.

If the wind is blowing a head or cross-head, the race time will be slow. Remember that your nutrition planning should be based on hours not kilometres, so carry enough food and water.

If there is to be a selection made in this race, it normally comes late if there are strong enough cross-winds. Position is critical! Stay near the front and ride smart. Do not do all the work, but be watchful of splits that look strong and could potentially ride away. This race definitely favours those who can conserve their energy early and then power home late. 

The finish straight in the Cunningham is a hard one to judge. It's slightly uphill and as a general comment I think most people go far too early. I would be getting on a good wheel, following it and popping up late. 

So there you have it...short and to the point but hopefully of some help. Good luck!

For Bikeline Racing Members - The Charles Coin Memorial / Mardi Bartlett Classic & The Cunningham Classic - Part 2

First of all, thanks everyone for your kind words about the first part in this three part blog series. I'm pleased people enjoyed reading it and I hope the information was useful to you in some way.

So to part two...and as promised, the focus here will be the Charles Coin Memorial & Mardi Bartlett Classic (which are run on the same course at Mulgowie). Let's have a look at that course...

It's 18.6 km long and no matter what way you look at it, it's not a tough course. There are two key reasons for this. Firstly, the vast majority of the hills have a nice run in / run up, meaning you have a lot of momentum going up them. Secondly, the only hill that should cause you any trouble (right near the finish) has a significant downhill after it and then an extended fast and flat section where a group can chase back on (more about that hill later).

Like all courses though, the wind can be a big factor, so you need to be watchful of where it is blowing from and keep yourself out of it. Remember that if the wind is a cross wind, sitting behind someone won't help you a lot. You need to be diagonally behind them, hiding from the breeze (of course choosing the correct side to be on, based on the wind direction).

Let's talk about 'that' hill. It is about 400 metres long and the top of it is only 1 km or so from the finish line. You crest over the top, hit a big downhill, a slight flatten out, a left hand turn and then it is just a short run to the finish. For those of you who didn't race last year, the finish has moved from the old spot which was a good 4 km or so after the hill. The two things we need to discuss about this hill are how to approach it in the middle of the race and then how to approach it at the very end (two very different things).

During the race, for the reasons discussed earlier (big extended fast and flat section after it where a group can chase back on), I actually don't think it is a great place to attack and get away. It is however, a point each lap where selections will be made due to people getting dropped. So what I mean here is that a bunch of forty-five could lose a handful of people each lap. You don't want to be one of those people! If you have good legs, don't be afraid to have a go here and string the bunch out; especially if there are some good sprinters you would like to 'remove' before the end (especially on the last lap - more about that later). But as stated it is a hard spot to get away on because of what follows.

If you are in survival mode on the hills, then this particular rise is perfect for one of the oldest tricks in the book. It's got a few different names; the 'drift' and the 'slide' are two I can think of. Here's how it goes. The hill is 400 metres long. Let's imagine you are in a bunch of forty-five people riding three abreast (strung out on the climb). The bunch will be fifteen bicycles long, so would be about 30 metres from first wheel to last (1.85 metres maximum per bike plus a little space in between). Let's say the average speed for the hill is 24 km/h. It will take you pretty close to one minute to get up the hill. If you start the hill at the front (or very close to it) and let yourself drift back through the bunch, making sure that you are still on a wheel by the time you hit the top (albeit right near the back), you will only need 22.2 km/h to make it over the top, still in the bunch. You do that a few times and you are saving some serious energy biccies. This technique can be used on any hill in any race you do. Obviously it works best with a big bunch and shorter hills.

This particular hill gives the race one of the most unique finishes in Queensland cycling and there are many different ways to approach it. If you have AWESOME legs, you could potentially attack on it and win (especially if you are already in a small breakaway group). This requires a vicious attack to get an initial gap, powering up the hill, sprinting over the top and then full gas to the finish. Sound easy? You will recall that I said AWESOME legs. If you are a fast sprinter type, you can simply try your best to hold a wheel in about fifth or sixth spot over the hill, watch a flurry of failed attacks and people burning energy chasing those failed attacks, before 'popping up' just in time for the finish. As I mentioned earlier, in a reduced bunch or a breakway, there is still time to drop a sprinter or two here, who is trying to hide themselves away. If you don't have the legs to attack and get away and if you are not a strong sprinter, there is still an opportunity for you. There will be (no doubt) at least one or two failed attacks on the last hill and over the other side. What you need to do is milk those attacks for all they are worth. Follow the wheels (I said follow, not do a turn and help out) and when those wheels are totally spent then BANG play your cards flat out (remember what I said in the first blog about being scared of going for the win?). That just might work...

If you happen to be racing in a large team on the day, there are a few things I would do on that finish. I would have at least two riders setting a strong tempo on the hill, right on the front. The pace needs to be fast enough to make sure that no one else will attack but not so fast that the tempo men can't make it up the hill and / or sprinter type team mates are getting dropped. Those tempo men need to be replaced by someone else who can lead strongly over the top of the hill and down to the corner, again with the intent being a pace fast enough that no one else can attack. Then after the corner, it's standard lead out stuff, with the quick folk on a wheel until the right moment. The whole intent of a team 'owning' a finish like that is to control things through the appropriate pace. As I have said, fast enough to prevent other attacks but slow enough that you are able to do the job. It's a tricky balance but if you can get it right it can be very effective.

Good luck all! Unfortunately I will not be racing this event this year as I will be in Brisbane doing family stuff so I look forward to hearing all the race reports the following week.

Please email me questions if you have any at: arthurdog@gmail.com