Race Report: Club Criterium - 1 March 2014

A small but extremely excitable field lined up for the A grade club criterium at Glenvale last Saturday. It was 40 minutes plus 2 laps. Things started off quite steady, but at 8 minutes in we were all handed bowls of anaerobic soup and as someone on Facebook put it 'a bomb got dropped in A grade'. 

Here is what happened: 

Darren Rolfe gave it a good surge up the finish line hill (a good one). I checked and saw he had created a gap already so gave it a big effort over the top. This sent four of us clear. I kept on going and then Darren put in another solid turn. This put Darren and myself clear on our own with 32 minutes to go. Oh dear...

Darren can ride a time trial (yes he can) and that's pretty much what he did. He was sitting on the front for the entire lap, with the exception of the finish line hill. I was trying to smash myself up there each lap to keep us clear. This 'system' worked pretty well and we ended up with a good gap some (very long) 32 minutes and 2 laps later.

I was shattered by the end and Darren surged away from me on the last lap to win, giving me second place.

I'm pretty happy with this ride. I have been struggling to find form and today indicated that my top end is starting to go okay at least:

Race Report: Solutions Training Toowoomba 2 Day

As predicted, this was a tough weekend. It was made all the worse by the extremely hot weather. We had approximately thirty starters in Elite A both days and it was a high-quality field.

Criterium (55 minutes + 2 laps @ Glenvale)

This was a very fast race. My Garmin recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees and an average temperature of 36.5 degrees. The start was a bloodbath and the field very quickly broke up. By twenty minutes in there was a break of three, chased by a group of four and what was left of the bunch trailing behind. I was in that third group and stayed with them to the finish (there were about twelve of us left by then). I was actually very pleased (and a little surprised to be honest) by this finish. Some very good bike riders got shelled out of my group and I didn't, which is great.

Road Race (72 km @ Goombungee)

If I thought the criterium was hot, then the road race was just something else. I cannot remember racing in hotter conditions. My Garmin recorded a maximum temperature of 45 degrees and an average temperature of 41.5 degrees. The start was extremely quick which took its toll. I made it over the first two decent hills okay but started to struggle badly on the undulating section heading towards Haden. Icould feel my legs just getting worse and worse and I eventually just popped. I went from being safely in the bunch to doing 15 km/h on my own in about ten seconds. I struggled home and finished the lap and joined all the other riders who pulled out at half way (I think only fifteen or so finished). This was a disappointing ride but it's not wise to read too much into it when conditions were so bad.

On a positive note, I had team mates finish second (James Thompson) and fifth (Darren Rolfe) which is great news. Special mention also to two more team mates who finished first (Chris Maycock) and second (Trent West) in the Elite B race.

I said last blog post that my form wasn't great and it would seem I was right. Having said that, I am pleased with how the criterium went. That is something positive for me to take out of the weekend.

A New Year and a New Team

With the clock ticking over to 2014, I am now an official member of Team TLD Racing. I rode the Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) with them last year and have come across permanently now. This has been a great move for me and I am really looking forward to the year ahead. The team has signed a few young up and coming stars (ah, not like me!) who I am sure will inject something very positive into the team. James Thompson from Brisbane is probably the 'biggest' of the new names. Look out for him this year as he is a genuine talent. Ex-professional Darren Rolfe is also keen for a big year and is as fit as I can remember seeing him. 

2014 has had a slightly shaky start for me. I have been trying to concentrate on putting some solid base miles down but have had some unfortunate interruptions. I have had a major mechanical which put me off the road for two days, a stomach bug that knocked me around a bit and (last but not least) a crash that I am still recovering from. All things considered, I'm actually not going too badly, but undoubtedly feeling a little behind where I would like to be at this time of year.

I did get to test my form at a 60km club race at Boodua last weekend. The team had a hard ride around Haden the day before so the legs were a bit flat (as well as my left arm which was still giving me some discomfort). I am pretty happy with how I went. There were two riders off the front and I managed to jump across to them. We were soon joined by a fourth and that is how we stayed until the last 8km. I ended up third. This picture also shows the new team kit for 2014:

The Toowoomba Two Day is on this weekend. I have a 55 minute plus 2 lap criterium and a 72km road race on the Haden circuit. I am riding Elite A both days and it is an absolute quality field. I think I am in for a tough weekend but can hopefully use it to move forwards in terms of fitness and form. Wish me luck...

The year that was; 2013 in Review

It was a big year on the bike. I set some goals for myself at the start of the year and this blog entry will be a review of those goals. I know it's a bit piss-weak to not put your goals 'out there' at the start of the year, but hey, it is what it is. So here we go:

Goal 1 - get a start in the Queensland Road Teams Series (QRTS) and then have a strong performance.

A two part goal. Team TLD were kind enough to offer me a start (which was great). Did I have a strong performance? Relatively, I guess I did. Some things went well and some things didn't, but overall I am satisfied with how I rode in the series. 

Goal 2 - be racing in Elite A at some point during the year.

This one happened early and unexpectedly when the state handicapper put me up after the Battle of the Border race in May. This was great, but set me up for some hard racing during the year.

Goal 3 - (if goal 2 comes off) have a strong performance in the Elite A Cunningham Classic.

I say 'yes' based on my 10th place. I still love this race and reckon there is a better finish in these nearly old legs.

Goal 4 - win medals in the Queensland Championships Individual Time Trial and Road Race in my Masters division (MMAS 3, 40 - 44 years).

Nope. I got sick late in the year and this goal was a casualty. I did the Individual Time Trial and came 5th while in really bad shape. I decided not to do the road race the next day as a result of how poor and shitty I felt. This was very frustrating for me as I had done a lot of work on my time trial and well and truly have a better result than this in me.

Goal 5 - have a strong performance in the Australian Championships Individual Time Trial and Road Race in my Masters division (MMAS 3, 40 - 44 years).

See goal 4 (above). I didn't go to the Australian Championships. My season ended prematurely. 

Goal 6 - stay motivated, fit and healthy.

Yes, yes and no. I am still loving what I am doing. My fitness levels and power continued to climb this year (with more to go yet). My health failed me at the end but staying well will be a priority for 2014. Having my coach move from being someone who 'gave me general advice' to being someone who is 'developing and monitoring my program' should help out in that regard.