Race Report: Cunningham Classic

The Cunningham always has been, and probably always will be, my favorite race. I finished 2nd and 4th there as a junior and 1st, 1st and 8th as an Elite A rider, many years ago. The course suits me well and I have always enjoyed the hard, heavy and windy conditions. 

I raced in the Gatton to Warwick, 96 km Masters B race, with 51 starters. The pace itself was quite comfortable. The KOM was a little tough near the top, but I still went over the climb in around 5th or 6th spot without a lot of effort. In the last 30 km or so, I started to race very aggressively, with many attempts to get off the front. Unfortunately, the cross winds which I used to love so much were just not there, which meant that it was hard to inflict much pain on the big group or get away in a small group due to that bunch splitting. At one stage I was in a promising two man breakaway that quickly got about 20 seconds, but was reeled in with about 3km to go. In the end, there were still 30 or so riders left for the finish and I came 7th. Disappointing for me, but in the end, I pretty much gave it everything I had. Such is life...

Race Report: Gold Coast Cats Criterium

Today was a good day! Raced the support criterium for a Gold Coast Club Teams series. It was A and B grade combined with about 35 starters. I stayed near the front and ended up in nearly every break that went down the road. There were some very good Elite A riders there, including guys who have dominated some of the State Road Series and the guy who won the Battle of the Border earlier in the year. Only twelve of us were there for the last few laps. A rider bolted at two to go, and I went after him on my own inside the last lap. I didn't get to him and got caught by two guys going like a train and then the sprint from what was left of the group caught me on the line. I came 6th. I am very, very happy with how this went. It was by far the strongest ride I have had and I feel very encouraged.

Race Report: Toowoomba Club Race

A small field of 9 took part in the local A grade club race at Goombungee yesterday. It was only 51km, which was three laps of a 17 km course. The course was fairly hard with three long hills, including one only a few kms from the end that actually had quite a bit of sting in it. It broke up on the last lap and the first two places came in on their own. I was in a group of three sprinting for 3rd and I came 4th. I sprinted pretty well again but the guy who beat me actually got the jump on us from about 800 m out and I just missed him on the line (see photo). It would seem that my sprint is starting to 'work' a little bit. It was short today, but hard, so overall I am happy with how it went.

Race Report: Avanti Handicap

Raced the 80 km Avanti Handicap at Lowood yesterday with about 220 other punters. I was very happy with my group / handicap (I felt very comfortable). I was in group of about 15 riders, chasing 20 minutes to the front and 17 minutes in front of the scratch group. Our group dwindled to 7 riders by 20 km, but we worked really well together (with just a little verbal encouragement / abuse from self). We ended up sprinting for 19th (I came 2nd in our group sprint and was 20th overall). We were actually only 22 seconds off 2nd place at the end and if you hadn't worked it out, we didn't get caught by anyone; which is always nice. Great news is that top 20 paid so I was in the coin! The second photo is actually my bunch finish. It was nice to have a strong sprint in this race as I have been finishing awfully up until now.