QRTS racing is pretty much as hard as it gets in Queensland. I was racing in a six man squad with my Toowoomba based Colliers International Racing Team. Joining me would be Jonathan Curry, Taj Jones, Jono Noble, Louis Pijpers and Trent West. A real mix of youth and experience with Jono Noble by far our strongest rider after some great performances at QRTS and NRS level this year. With three stages across two days on what looked like some brutal courses, it was always going to be a tough weekend.
Stage 1 - 123 km Road Race:
With 2,000m of climbing, this was always going to be a difficult one for me. For the first time in a long time, my legs were not great. I was literally in trouble from the start and ended up popping from the front group at the 30km mark on a steep berg. There were literally bodies strewn all over the road and I did manage to find myself in little groups from time to time. Having said that, I was on my lonesome for probably 60km or so. I ended up 66th of the ninety starters, which is probably not too bad given the amount of climbing and the quality of the field. My concern though, was my shitty legs. Not something I have experienced in a long while.
Stage 2 - 55 minutes + 2 laps Criterium
As is so often the case with me, the second day of a weekend race brings better legs and that is exactly what happened. This one was a fast and furious affair with an average speed of a touch over 45.5 km/h. One highlight for me was cutting through a corner a touch fast and shoulder charging a giant plastic bollard, which in turn sailed onto the footpath sending spectators scattering. I was happy to spice up their Sunday morning. I finished safely in the main bunch and was very pleased with that.
Stage 3 - 31 km Team Time Trial
We returned to the road race course from the day before, albeit with a different start and finish point. We were up against it right from the start. Taj withdrew after a spill in the criterium and Jonathan succumbed to an injury very early, leaving four of us on the road. The time is taken on the fourth rider so we had to stay together no matter what. Louis was having a tough day out but he fought gallantly and we looked after him to make sure we made it to the line together. We ended up 9th of the fifteen teams which is not a bad result all things considered. The good news for me was that again my legs were feeling good and I was happy with how I rode.
So there you have it, a very tough weekend of racing which has hopefully set me up well for the Masters Queensland Road Race Championships this coming Saturday. A huge thank you to Colliers International Racing Team and all our sponsors for making opportunities like this possible. We also had plenty of support on the sidelines from friends and family and that is also very much appreciated. Finally....credit young photographer extraordinaire, Josh Curry, for the photos.
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