This was probably the race I am happiest with so far, in a strong field. Numbers were on the lean side. There were 18 combined Elite A and B riders in the program, but I think only 14 or 15 turned up. It was a cold and windy day which probably kept a few people at home. It was a tough field for me (with about a 50 - 50 split of Elite A and B riders, including Peter Thompson from Drapac Porsche Professional Cycling Team. Plenty of other Elite A riders from Brisbane as well.
The first ten minutes I found ridiculously hard, but a handful of others got dropped so I can't have been going that bad. I'm actually surprised with how well I coped with that start. In the first lap we were doing 64 km/h and I gave the highest heart rate reading I have seen since I started racing again! At about 20 minutes the race 'settled' with a break of 3 away and 6 of us chasing. That is pretty much how it stayed until the end (the race was 55 minutes + 2 laps). I ended up coming 3rd in my group sprint to take 6th overall and 2nd in Elite B. I managed to beat some of the Elite A riders which I think is a very good sign for the near future.
My legs feel like they have been flogged with a hammer, my lungs (I think) are still hanging on a post on the circuit somewhere but I am very pleased with this outcome.
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