Race Report: World Masters Games, 26-28 April 2017

The World Masters Games are held every four years and the event claims to be the world's largest multi-sport event. 28,000 athletes competed and 300 of those were in the track cycling program. There were 17 riders in my 40-44 years division. The games were based at Auckland but the track program was held at the Avantidrome, in Cambridge (about two hours south of Auckland).

3 km Individual Pursuit

This event went above expectation for me. I qualified with a personal best time of 3.34.14 (previous personal best was 3.36.5). That is a big chunk of time and I was exceptionally happy with that. Fortunately, that was enough to qualify me in second place and a spot in the gold medal final later that day. I was up against Argentina's German Ariel Lopez, who had qualified fastest in a very impressive 3.30. I had to try something to close that gap. I put a bigger gear on and started harder than I ever had before. We were dead even at halfway but I blew up and faded pretty badly after that. I ended up with a 3.38 and German with a 3.33. But in the end, I was pretty happy with my silver medal. New Zealand's Andrew Grainger took the bronze:

20 km Points Race

This was a fast and furious affair with two Argentinians riding very aggressively and a group of strong New Zealanders determined not to let them get away. I sat back and watched this battle unfold for a while. Eventually the elastic broke and I chased hard to get across to the two Argentinians and we were gone. We lapped the field before too long and secured the three medals. Both riders were a lot quicker than me in the sprints, so I ended up with the bronze. Marcos Pettovello with the gold and German Ariel Lopez with the silver. Another result that I am very happy with. I also need to mention that in terms of safety, this was one of the wildest track races I have ever done. My two breakaway companions were not too worried about the safety of everyone else; me top of the list!

750 m Time Trial

This event is normally one for the sprinters and this would be no exception. I rode 53 seconds (which I was actually quite happy with) and finished in 8th place.

10 km Scratch Race

I like my scratch races a lot longer than this. Despite that, I rode  aggressively and tried very hard to escape the bunch. There were still ten or so of us left at the finish and I ended up 6th.

So overall, a silver medal and a bronze medal. An outcome I am very (very) satisfied with.

The other highlight of the trip was hanging out with a very fun and supportive group of Aussies (including Queenslanders of course). Too many to mention by name, but the middle of the track was a lot of fun! 

I must admit though, I am relieved that track season 2016 / 2017 has finished. I have trained through four major championships since October last year and I am grateful to be able to stop. I couldn't be happier with how the season has gone. I won't bore you with a list of what went well, but I will just leave this here (blatant brag picture coming up). Thanks as always to my coach Mark Brady for helping make this happen and my ever-supportive wife Nadine as well:

So what's next? Some road racing before long. I have just had a week off the bike which I thoroughly enjoyed. Queensland Road Team Series Round 1 with Colliers Racing Team is just five weeks away.

Race Report: Australian Masters Track Titles, 10-11 March 2017

This track season continues to progress better than expected. To be honest though, I am working really hard for this at the moment, making some big personal sacrifices and really pushing myself hard in terms of training and diet. With one major competition to go (more about that later) I am hoping to keep things rolling well until the end of April. 

Before I discuss the races from Sydney, I want to make a comment about how impressed I was with the Queensland camp. I have never really spent time with the twenty or so Queensland masters riders who attended the nationals. They are a truly supportive, helpful and extremely friendly bunch. I felt right at home and was completely impressed with the level of camaraderie; great stuff!

Masters 3 Individual Pursuit

I had an important lesson on temperature and air pressure during this event. I was hoping to beat my PB of 3 min 36 sec, which I set at the new Anna Meares Velodrome during the Queensland Titles.  I produced a qualifying ride with ten more watts of power than when I set my PB, but missed it by three seconds with a 3 min 39 sec. A much cooler track with higher air pressure being the reason. This did qualify me in third place after two NSW riders bettered my time. I raced Sheldon Olivier from Queensland for the bronze medal that afternoon (incredibly, Sheldon and I have now pursuited against each other five times in a row). I managed to ride a 3 min 37 sec to take the bronze medal. I am extremely satisfied with this result. I honestly believe I can go quicker than this next year, with continued improvements. 

All Ages (Open) Masters Team Pursuit

A few weeks back, Stephen Storer (Gold Coast), Sheldon Olivier, Andy Patten (Brisbane) and myself, agreed that we should enter a Queensland Team Pursuit line up in the Australian Titles. We had one training session at Anna Meares Velodrome, which went very well. Although we had limited training time together, we are all extremely experienced and had strong hopes for the event. It was a high quality field with six different teams starting. We rode a 3 min 24 sec to qualify in first place, securing a ride off for the gold medal the same day. Hunter District (NSW) rode much stronger in the final against us than they had in qualifying and pushed us all the way. We managed to produce a 3 min 21 sec ride to win the gold medal and the Australian title by 1.5 seconds, missing the Australian record by less than a second. Obviously, a result that the four of us are very proud of! Especially as we are the first team from Queensland to ever win this Australian title. 

Two events and two Australian medals. Happy days:

So what's next? World Masters Games, 26-28 April in Auckland, New Zealand. I have entered the full program of five events (yes, even the sprints). The Individual Pursuit though, will be my main focus and that is run on the first day. I am very much looking forward to this event.

The only other 'biggie' for me on the calendar between now and than is the Masters A Tyalgum Cup road race, which is in early April on a tough circuit just over the Queensland / NSW border. I do have my 'track legs' on, but hopefully I can persuade them to be 'road legs' for the afternoon. 

Product Review: Cycles Fanatic Sprinter Aero Road Handlebars

Hopefully you have ended up here because you are looking for a review of carbon components sold by Cycle Fanatic USA. This is a link the their website:

http://www.cyclesfanatic.com

I had been searching for a long time online for a pair of carbon handlebars for my track bike that were quite deep, shallow and also had enough cut away / sweep that I didn't hit my wrists on them when sprinting. The Fanatic Sprinter Aero Road Handlebars looked like they may be exactly what I was looking for. This is a link to the product on the Cycles Fanatic Website:

http://www.cyclesfanatic.com/fanatic-sprinter-aero-road-handlebars-carbon-short-shallow

The bars arrived a short time later and I was extremely disappointed. 

Firstly, I attempted to install the bars. The recommended torque rating was 6 nm. Using less than that with a torque wrench, the bars cracked. Obviously no quality there at all.

Secondly, I then noticed that the bars were clearly being sold as a Zipp 'knock off'. This was plainly obvious by the fact that the bars carried a 'legal disclaimer' sticker that indicated that Zipp were the manufacturer:

Thirdly, I contacted Cycles Fanatic USA twice by email and once by Facebook message, seeking a refund and my attempts to communicate have been ignored. When I purchased the bars initially they had communicated with me on that email address no problem at all.

My experience with these handlebars has been extremely negative and based on that, it is my opinion that prospective buyers should avoid Cycles Fanatic USA. 

Race Report: Queensland Masters Track Titles, 10-12 February 2017

My 2016 / 2017 Track season had all been about two Queensland events and then based on my performance in those, I would make decisions about the Australian Masters Track Titles and the World Masters Games (more about those later). I put a big fat TICK against the first Queensland event when I managed to win the Masters 1-4 Queensland Omnium Title in November and I am delighted to report that there is now also a TICK sitting next to the Queensland Masters Track Titles.

Masters 1-3 Points Race

This 20 km event ended up combining three age categories covering 30-44 year olds. I was leading early on, but Sheldon Olivier from the University of Queensland Club was consistently quicker than me in the sprints. He overtook me on points and ended up winning by a good margin. I managed to hang on for the silver medal. 

Masters 3 Individual Pursuit
The 3 km test would prove to be the highlight of the weekend for me. I went into the qualifying round anticipating being happy with a 3 min 40 sec and being elated with anything quicker. When I put in a 3 min 36 sec and broke the state record, I was just a little chuffed. This qualified me in first place and the next day I won the final in an almost identical time (0.31 sec slower) just to prove it wasn't a fluke.

Masters 3 Scratch Race
10 km is a short event for me and it was always going to be difficult to shake the sprinters before the finish. I had a little drama before the start as well. I punctured my beloved rear disc wheel warming up on the rollers. I had to race with my spare which is nowhere near as fast as the disc. As you can imagine this annoyed me no end. I tried to race aggressively and a lot of the quicker guys did drop off, but Hamish Wright from the Mackay Club (a very, very good sprinter) was still there at the finish and he won it well. I hung on for the bronze medal.

So what now? I have decided to compete in both the Australian Titles in less than four weeks and the World Masters Games (these are not world championships, no world titles on offer, that is a different event) in eleven weeks.

My immediate focus is on the Australian Titles in Sydney. I will race the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race / Points Race (they race one or the other, not both). I am also very happy to have been invited to race in a Queensland Team Pursuit team with Andrew Patten, Sheldon Olivier and Stephen Storer (three very good masters track cyclists). I believe we are a real chance of securing a medal at the titles.

Wish me luck!