Race Report: Australian Masters Track Championships, 2-3 March 2018

The Darrebin International Sports Centre (DISC) in Melbourne hosted these championships a little over a week ago. I competed in the Individual Pursuit and Points Race in the MMAS 4 (45-49 years) division and the Team Pursuit in Open Masters. I had prepared well and was hoping for a strong performance. 

Individual Pursuit

I was looking to beat my PB of 3.34.13 in qualifying. The track was not running especially quick with a slightly cool morning. Maybe I wasn't running especially quick as well? Either way, I qualified in second place in a 3.35.37, 1.33 seconds behind Victoria's Matthew Bowman. Now guaranteed of being on the top two steps of the podium, we would race for the medals later that day. With John Eder calling me, we opted for a strategy in the final of starting steady and then bringing it home. History shows that this approach works better for me. In the final Matthew had a steady first lap and then went very hard. He had me three seconds down by halfway. At that point I clicked and started to reel him in. I made big gains in that second half but ran short by 1.3 seconds with a 3.35.31. The two of us had ridden identical times in the final down to tenths of a second! So a Silver medal for me. 

Points Race

This would end up being an extremely frustrating experience for me. Apparently, there has been a rule change in masters points races, where the final sprint no longer carries double points. Unfortunately the program had not been updated to reflect that. Also unfortunately, riders who entered the track from the side of the track where Queensland were sitting, were not privy to the pre-race briefing which advised of this rule change. So I headed off thinking the final sprint was double points. Can you see where this is going? The event turned into a two horse race very quickly, those horses being Stuart Grieve from NSW and myself. Stuart held the lead the whole way, but I chipped away at the points and stayed close. I won the second last sprint and then checked the points and saw that If I won the last sprint (assuming double points) I would be Australian Champion. I dutifully put myself in the twilight zone for the last sprint, won it...and then was advised it was normal points only and I had in fact won...the Silver medal. Gutted...

Team Pursuit 

Our Queensland Team of myself, Andy Patten, Robbie Reid and John Eder were always going to have a hard time of it. Firstly, Robbie was as sick as a dog and it was a miracle that he even started. Secondly, Hunter District had a red hot team with an average age of at least ten years younger than us, who we raced in the final. We gave it a good crack though and ended up with the Silver medal. Our time was 3.06.28 after (inexplicably) the final was run a lap short. I really feel for the Hunter District team as they were on track for an Australian record. 

So there it is...three events and three Silver medals. A part of me is immensely satisfied with three from three, but another part of me is pretty miffed about not being able to secure at least one Australian Title.

So what now? The racing calendar is pretty quiet for a few months. I am interested in the new State Individual Time Trial Series that starts later in the year so we will see how that goes. Might need to get back into the Zwift racing zone for a while!

2017: The Year in Review

It's hard not to sound all tacky and braggy when you write up a blog post like this...but the reality is that I am very satisfied with how 2017 went for me on the bike. As 'shamelessly boastful' as this post will sound, my feeling is one of gratitude over anything else. The main reasons for this positive cycling year are not what you would expect. All the 'standard' things went well; good coaching (thanks Mark!), hard training and a bit of luck here and there. As a 44 year old trying to fit bike racing in around a pretty hectic life, the game changers for me in 2017 were the fact that my health was fantastic (a few sniffles here and there and one badly timed weekend of being sick - more about that later), only one injury to deal with all year (a soft tissue back injury that dragged on for a bit) and another almost trouble free year for my sinuses. With a few short exceptions, the only time I stopped riding my bike this year was when my coach wanted me to and that makes a huge difference!

In terms of the review, I have broken it up into two categories of 'Extremely Happy' and 'Not so Happy'. There were of course other races I was pleased or not pleased with, but these are the ones that stand out for me:

Extremely Happy

I have realised that the 2017 results I am the most happy with are the ones I had to work for. The ones where I left nothing out there and in my mind, four races this year met that criteria more than others (in no particular order):

1st: Australian Championships - Team Pursuit (Open Masters)

Lining up with Andy Patten, Steve Storer and Sheldon Olivier, we became the first Queensland team to ever win this Australian Title. I ended up having to do the last two and a quarter laps in the final and I can't remember hurting that much for a long time.

2nd: World Masters Games - Individual Pursuit (MMAS3, 40-44)

I knew I would need a PB to make the final and guarantee myself a medal. I managed a 3 min 34 sec ride which put me in the gold medal ride, which I would lose later that day to Argentina's German Ariel Lopez. The qualifying ride was absolutely excruciating. 

1st: Queensland Championships - Omnium (MMAS1-4, 30-49)
As defending champion, I desperately wanted to win this. I was pushed hard all day and time after time thought I had nothing left, but managed to come away with the win.

6th: Charles Coin Memorial Road Race (Elite A)

Probably sounds strange to have a 6th place in this list. But as the oldest man in the race, to come away with a 6th, in nearly the strongest Queensland field you could assemble, for 130 km at 43.2 km/h, well yeah I was pretty stoked with that one. 

Not so Happy

So these are the ones that got away. The ones that bugged me for a while afterwards. Funnily enough, both are Individual Time Trials:

2nd: Queensland Championships - Individual Time Trial (MMAS3, 40-44)
This result means that I would never win the Queensland MMAS3 Individual Time Trial Title (5th, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd across 2013 - 2017 and I have gone to MMAS4 now). I was well beaten on the day by NSW's Ben Neppl, but I just didn't fire. I hated the course and the course hated me back.

21st: Australian Championships - Individual Time Trial (MMAS3, 40-44)

Six days earlier I had won the 18 km event at the Tour de Valley Individual Time Trial with one of the best rides I have ever had on a time trial bike. To say my form was good was an understatement. I raced this time trial with the beginnings of a 48 hour bug and finished a very disappointing 21st. 

So all in all, a great year and I am extremely fortunate to be backed by some amazing people. My wife Nadine and my two daughters Megan and Hayley, my coach Mark Brady, Colliers International Racing Team and all team sponsors and SPEEDPLAY Pedals; thank you to all of you for being in my corner, I couldn't do this without you:

2017 Podiums

1st: Queensland Championships - Individual Pursuit (MMAS3, 40-44) 

1st: Australian Championships - Team Pursuit (Open Masters) 

1st: Tour de Valley - Individual Time Trial - 18km - (MMAS, 40-49)

1st: Queensland Championships - Omnium (MMAS1-4, 30-49)

1st: Queensland Championships - Team Pursuit (Elite) 

2nd: Queensland Championships - Points Race (MMAS1-3, 30-44) 

2nd: World Masters Games - Individual Pursuit (MMAS3, 40-44) 

2nd: Cunningham Classic (Masters A) 

2nd: Queensland Championships - Individual Time Trial (MMAS3, 40-44)

3rd: Queensland Championships - Scratch Race (MMAS3, 40-44) 

3rd: Australian Championships - Individual Pursuit (MMAS3, 40-44) 

3rd: World Masters Games - Points Race (MMAS3, 40-44)

Race Report: Queensland Elite Track Championships, 24-25 November 2017

This would be my last set of races for the year. I'm not going to lie...being right at the end of a long year of racing, motivation levels were not high, but I was prepared to put a big effort in for one last weekend. I was entered in the 4km Team Pursuit with Darling Downs Cycling Club alongside Matt Hickey, Matt Locker and Trent West, the 15km Scratch Race and the 4k Individual Pursuit. 

4km Team Pursuit

We qualified with the fastest time of 4 min 39 sec. This of course put us in the gold medal ride-off later that evening. Not a blazingly fast time, but we rode well together and some of our team were on their first ever attempt at a team pursuit so we were pretty happy:

The final was a short time later and again we produced a controlled efort. We were up against the University Cycling Club who had qualified only one second slower than we did. It was close until late in the race when we managed to pull away and take the win by three seconds with a 4 min 37 sec effort. It's always nice to win a Queensland title:

Scratch Race

There were seventeen starters in this event and to say it was fast was an understatement. Five or six of the biggest young talents in Queensland track cycling involved and they absolutely tore it up. The field disintegrated very quickly and there were officially only four finishers. I was pulled out by about a third of the way through and at that point there were only eight riders left. I was actually quite happy with that effort:

I decided at that point to withdraw from the 4km Individual Pursuit the next day. My legs were shattered and my heart just wasn't in it. 

Credit to St.George and Darling Downs Cycling Clubs for the photos I have used in this blog post.

So that's it for 2017! Unfortunately I was forced to miss the Queensland Masters Track Championships as they were moved to a December timeslot this year (due to the Commonwealth Games) and I had already booked and paid for an awesome family vacation at Noosa during that time. Not a worry though, as all of my energy will go into the Australian Masters Track Championships which will be held in Melbourne in early March 2018...right after I have a little rest. 

Race Report: Queensland Omnium Championships (Masters 1-4), 11 November 2017

I'm not going to lie...this race was a big goal for me. I won it last year and I was dead keen to pull off a repeat. I love Omnium racing. I honestly think I preferred the older six race format, but the new four race format does seem to suit me well. I think the reason for that is the fact that the four races are jammed into one day with minimal rest in-between. The field of twelve was very strong and included Robbie Reid, a previous Masters World medallist in the points race, Sheldon Olivier, who has a bag full of Australian and State medals in Masters track endurance races, Peter Nowill, who finished third last year and actually represented Australia at an Olympic Games in the steeplechase and Matt Locker, who on his day can pursuit as fast as anyone. There were other guys in there who would make things tough as well. I was going to have a hard time with that lot. 

Scratch Race

This was 'stupid' fast and the track ended up with riders from one end to the other. I tried a few breakaway attempts but nothing worked. Half the field were there for the final sprint and I unfortunately had to lead out. I think we were all super tired as I took it long and managed to hold on for the win. 

Tempo Ronde

I still have a hard time working out exactly how to race these things. They are still a relatively new race where there is a five lap tempo section and then fifteen laps with a 'winner takes all' situation of one point every lap until the end. Just before mid-way I took one of the points and had a small gap. I noticed the riders behind me hesitating so I took off and established a bit of a lead. I managed to stay there for the next six laps, securing seven points overall and enough for the win. 

Elimination

The only way I can ride these is near the front, or on the front, riding tempo and keeping myself out of the 'washing machine' that can happen at the back. This strategy worked well and I made it to the final two riders with Robbie Reid. Robbie is quicker than me in a sprint and he took the win pretty easily and I was second. Going into the final event I was leading with Robbie a close second behind. Sheldon Olivier had been consistent all day and was in third.

Points Race

I was worried. I had a slim lead and the only event left was the specialty of the rider in second place. My hope was that my endurance would come through for me as I was going to have a very hard time managing Robbie's speed. There were six sprints to be contested and I knew I had to concentrate, make no errors and score as many points as I could. By halfway through, I had slipped down to second place (riders can see live points on the giant scoreboard at the Anna Meares Velodrome). It was still very close though and not over. In the second last sprint I managed to get three points and Robbie missed out altogether. This gave me a two point lead going into the final sprint (which carried double points of 10, 6, 4, 2). It was anyone's race at that point. I positioned myself well and gave it absolutely full gas at 200 m to go. It was a bit of a blur after that. I was so shattered I was pedalling with my elbows by the time I hit the line, but I managed to win that sprint and the overall title. Happy days! Robbie in second place and Sheldon hanging on for third. 

One of my biggest goals of the season and a huge TICK in the box. I have to give some massive kudos to my coach Mark Brady. Two weeks before this race I withdrew from the Australian Masters Road Championships due to illness. Mark had exactly fourteen days to make sure I recovered, not lose any of my power and endurance and try to put a little speed into my legs. Once again his plan came together and I am eternally grateful.

Only two more races to come for me in 2017, then time for a little fun and rest.