My build up to the race on Saturday the 6th of April was pretty normal. I managed to get about 100kms done between the previous saturday and Tuesday of the race week which was good, nothing stressful but a few decent efforts along the way. My legs were feeling great all week which scared me a little worrying if they would go bad by race day!
I was nervous all week not knowing what grade I would be placed in, tactics, nutrition, making sure the bike was ready to go etc. On the Wednesday before the race I got a call from David Ladd, the state handicapper, who had a chat to me re my racing experience, average kms for the week etc. He said he usually starts newbies in D or E. I said I wasn't really bothered. David must have been in a good mood that day as he decided to start me in E grade!
OK first step done, i know what grade i am in! I received some words of encouragement from friends involved in cycling who made it sound like it would be a walk in the park and it was mine to lose, this made me MORE nervous
The night before the race I kept to my tradition from the Sportifs and had a decent pasta dinner at home the night before (which i have my recipe down to a fine art! YUM) and did a range of stretching and a light spin on my exercise bike.
As the race on the Saturday didn't start until 1pm I had enough time to take the kids to swimming in the morning which was great.
Time to pack the car! After my disastrous first sportif where i left my team jersey at home i checked and double checked that i had that in my bag! ok good! knicks on, shoes, jersey, helmet, gloves, tool kit, bike all packed in the car. Damn it is only 9:30am! ok time for some stretching and watching a bit of the Tour of Flanders to get geed up!
at 10:15 i couldnt sit still so i headed off towards Kangarilla. Beautiful trip that took me about 30mins, just cruising so i got there just before 11am. Still 2 hours early but least i wasnt running late!
Signed in, got my transponder, number and awesome blue helmet cover! Unpacked, dressed then off on a warm up. Nice 10km roll around the country side. As i returned back in to the staging area the numbers were starting to swell and so were my nerves! Bumped into a few people that i knew which was nice and some reassuring words were spoken.
RACE TIME!
As E grade has the least amount of laps to go we were the last ones to hit the course! plenty of time for the other races to mention that i was the "marked man" and "oh just stick on his wheel"! Damn! Looking around my group of about 12 other riders i was confident i could mark at least 7 of them with the others i wasnt so sure. Some younger guys there looked racy!
We rolled out at a sedate pace and i positioned myself in the top 3-4 making sure to do my turns on the front. One guy tried a little, half hearted move, off the front which i comfortably latched on to. The 1st major climb up chaple hill road was pretty straight forward but after ascending I was surprised to see our lead group was down to 6! I slowed up slightly and another guy did an extended turn at the front which allowed my to spin my legs.
As we turned on to Sand Road for the start of the 2nd and last lap I lifted my tempo up the climb and turned onto Kangarilla road on my own. Hmm what to do! slow down and conserve energy and then break or put the hammer down and build an advantage?? option 2 it is! i am not a great descender but i noted that the others in the group were no faster than me so I let it go down hill and it flowed beautifully!
By the time i hit Chaple hill for the 2nd time I couldnt see 2nd place and even overtook some D grade riders! I took the climb/s on Chaple much easier this time around and just spun up at about 15kph then hit the flat/decline section for a nice 10km ITT. I was getting quite fatigued by this time though and stupidly only carried on bidon with me which i had already consumed. I backed off considerably and took some time to gather my thoughts a little and catch my breath. I kinda knew/hoped it was over when the course car pulled up along side of me and said "you are the lead E grader aren't you" to which i responded "I bloody hope so!"
Back into the drops for the last 3kms constantly checking behind me because if it came to a sprint i would have been cooked i think. I rolled over the line completing the 31.5kms in 54:30 averaging 33.1kph for the WIN!.
Not having seen the results i think i was about 90secs - 2mins faster than 2nd place. I was stoked!
I called my wife and said "sorry i have to stay around for presentations" "oh ok, so how did u go"? "I WON" "wow that is fantastic we are on our way"! so her and the kids made the frantic dash to Kangarilla in record time to see me receive my winners envelope which was really special.
So what did I learn from this?
1. when it is going to be warm take 2 bottles!
2. Don't expect another easy race
3. Don't expect to be graded so favorably next time! =)
4. Consume SOMETHING before the race
It was a nice feeling knowing that wow I can actually ride a bike reasonably well. Heck I am under NO illusions that I will ever be in A or B grade but I actually felt competitive today. For that 55mins any self doubt, any negativity, was just gone. It was such a beautiful state of mind to be in and not bad for a $1,200 bike either! =)
Not sure when/Where my next one will be.... Hey maybe I will retire undefeated! =-)
Well done Trent. I would have expected you to be graded in C or D and was surprised to hear you had pulled E grade! Its a tough gig for the handycappers as they usually don't know the new riders coming in. I am fairly certain that you will not be seeded in E grade next time ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell done and congatulations on making the effort!
Thanks Steve. Yes i was surprised! i totally expected D grade. C would be a BIG stretch. At the end of the day i can only race where im put ;-) Was nice to get the first one under my belt thats for sure.
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