Race Report: Cunningham Classic, 5 August 2017

The Cunningham Classic is regarded as the most important road race on the Queensland calendar. It has been running for a long time now and it still manages to attract some quality fields. This year was especially significant for me, as it was twenty years since the first of my two Elite A wins in 1997 (and then again in 1998). After the good legs I had at the Charles Coin Memorial, I actually considered riding Elite A. 171km though, is very different to the 126km at the Charles Coin, so I opted for the 96km Masters A race instead. 

Almost fifty riders lined up in Masters A. I went in with a rough game plan of 'see what happens after the climb - and hopefully there will be crosswinds'. I felt reasonable at the start and I could feel my legs improving as the race went on. I stayed out of trouble early and didn't really get too involved. I went up the main climb no problem, cresting over the top in (I think) fourth spot. 

After the climb things started to get interesting. The cross wind wasn't too bad, but it was certainly enough to make things difficult. This is where I decided to get active and make sure I was in every move that looked like it had potential (which turned out to be most of them). 

I lost count of how many breaks I was in, but at 18km to go, I escaped with Ian Johnston (Hamilton Cycling Club). Ian is a very solid rider, but I knew he had a much stronger sprint than me. We worked very hard together and managed to get a lead, which by the look of it, never went much above thirty seconds or so. Coming into the finish the bunch was closing fast and with about two kilometres to go Jack Brumpton (Lifecycle Cycling Club) managed to get across to us. We manged to hold the bunch off (by about nine seconds) which was just enough for Ian to take a well deserved win, with me in second and Jack in third. I also managed to pick up the 'Most Impressive Rider' award, after being so active in the second half of the race.

Rob Walker (CyclingTex) helped out on the day and put together one of his vlogs. It is worth a look:

Cunningham Classic

Race Report: Charles Coin Memorial Road Race, 30 July 2017

It has been a few years since I have raced in Elite A. I still have an Elite A / Masters A grading, so it is nice to have the option. There are a couple of reasons why I chose Elite A on this occasion. Firstly, the morning start suited me a lot better than the afternoon timeslot that Masters A had. Secondly, the Charles Coin course has always been good for me and I thought that the fast and long hit out in Elite A would do good things in terms of preparing me for events later in the year. So 126km with some solid young riders was ahead of me. I was in fact, the oldest man in the race at 44.

Thirty-five of us started the race and it was a solid pace right from the start. A group of about seven slipped off the front early, but they never really managed a big lead. This left the bunch in a position where a reasonable sort of chase could keep the break in view and this situation went on for literally around 100km. At around that time, the break started to unravel with Kaden Groves and Ollie Smith forging ahead on their own (they would finish first and second). The leftovers from the break came back to the bunch. Two riders (including Troy Herfoss) went up the road, leaving a shatterred and tired bunch of about twenty or so racing for fifth place.

We hit the last climb near the finish line very hard. Around seven of us slipped off the front and went full gas down the other side. I had a really well timed sprint with surprisingly good legs and took second in that group, for sixth place overall. 

You don't need to be too switched on to realize that I am pretty happy with this ride. Our average speed was 43.2km/h and there was plenty of talk about how tough this race was. This was probably my best 'non-masters' result since getting back on it six years ago.