Getting back on the track after an eighteen year absence has given me a lot of 'first time for a long times'. One of these is carnival racing and the Rocky Cup on Wheels would be my first track carnival for exactly twenty years. Rockhampton is my hometown so the carnival would give me an opportunity to race on the track I spent hours and hours and hours racing and training on under the watchful eye of Ken Tucker Senior (Reggie) all those years ago. It would also be a great chance to catch up with many old friends. To be honest, seeing mates who I hadn't chatted with for ages was probably the highlight of the weekend. But enough of that sentiment, on with the racing! I was originally in the program as Combined B but there were a handful of late changes with some riders going up and others going down, so I raced the weekend in Combined A. This was an absolute challenge as that grade was full of eighteen year old rockets who were in red hot form. There were thirteen or so of us in Combined A (this number did go up and down over the weekend).
15 Lap Scratch Race: A nice and fast way to start the carnival. Finished in 7th.
5 Lap Handicap Heat: I just followed wheels and made it into the final.
5 Lap Handicap Final: My group didn't make a lot of progress and I finished nowhere.
50 Lap Scratch Race: This was an extremely fast and aggressive race. Only five finished and I was in there for 5th. Very happy.
3 Lap Handicap: My group didn't make a lot of progress and I finished nowhere.
Elimination: Very frustrated with this. Was positioned well but a moment's inattention had me out in 7th.
Rocky Cup on Wheels 5 lap Handicap Heat: Had a good race after being forced to lead out and came 2nd (with $$ !).
Rocky Cup on Wheels 5 lap Handicap Final: Had a good dig at it but ran out of distance and finished nowhere.
6 Lap Keirin: The men's divisions were cut from top to bottom into groups of six and I ended up in Division 3. I finished 3rd, which I was happy with, given that I was almost put onto the grass at 200m to go (with $$ !).
24 Lap Points Race: My best race of the carnival. It was supposed to be fifty laps but it was almost midnight so it was reduced. It was a very aggressive race and I ended up in a two man break with a young guy from Townsville. We were eventually caught but I had another attack (unsuccessful) with two laps to go. Ended up 4th (don't worry about the official result on the CQ website - that just shows where we crossed the line in the last sprint). Very happy with this ride and given how my legs felt I wish we had the fifty laps.
So there you have it, a great carnival after a twenty year absence. An awesome weekend overall and I am very grateful for all the Rockhampton friends who came out to support me.
From a 'big picture' perspective, this weekend does give me some confidence that my return to track racing is on track (pun intended). It has still been less than three months since I got back on the fixed wheel and I am hoping that this weekend just gone is a sign of good results to come. I think my coach Mark Brady is all over this!
Me and Rockhampton rising star Bailey Goltz:
