Lightning wins Dirt Crits
Not really. There was no Dirt Crits this last week. Due to safety concerns, the scheduled Gravity Enduro had to be cancelled because of all the lightning. Next week it’s back to Cross Country.
Long time between race reports
By Damian Grundy
Not to complain, but I thought the winner wrote the race reports, that’s why I eased up just enough to come 2nd!
I feel doubly robbed now; I think it might be 2 years since my last road race and I thought that maybe my proper handicap group might have been limit or somewhere thereabouts, but no! I find that I am in the super strong group of Tim Ross, Elise Empey, Jarred Appleton and Michael Pearce with barely a couple of minutes over the crack grouping of Halket, Duke, Bakker and young Ryder Chadd (not forgetting James Black and Graham Cole somewhere in between). Then Barely a couple of seconds behind them was the young strong, but possibly tired after a successful weekend of Mountain Bike racing at Avoca, legs of Ruby -The Ruthless- Dobson.
What chance I asked myself?!
Before I go further with the description of the race, I will share a couple of notes on my preparation and methodology for the race. Forgive me for digressing if these are not so interesting.
Over my years of involvement in cycle racing I have been very lucky to get some guidance from some very capable athletes. One of these athletes had developed from a gangly kid into something of a race machine. As he advanced in his career, he became more and more reluctant to race smaller races. He told me that in part it was because that for him, every race needed to be conducted at the same level of focus and preparation. There was, in his mind, no place for relaxing his intensity based on the idea that the race was less important, lest some bad habits creep into his methodology that then might undermine his performance when it really counted.
My point here is that I still try to manage myself around the few races that I do in the same way that I would have done “back in the day” when my legs were stronger, and the years weren’t so heavy on me.
So regardless that I hadn’t had the road bike out for perhaps more than 10 times in the past year my underlying thoughts were that I needed to take advantage of every possible “trick” I might have up my sleeve. None of these tricks are illegal and all fall entirely within the idea of fair sports. These are simple methods that help to maximise performance on most any day.
Here are a few of the “tricks” I used:
1. It was a warmer day for the race so cooling and hydration would be important. Core temperature is critical to performance and so minimizing overall body temperature increase before the race is critical to performance. To maximise this I planned the following:
1.1. I packed icewater and hydrated with this throughout the pre-race period. This has a valuable impact on keeping my core temperature lower.
1.2. I planned a shorter warm up, muscle activation without increasing core temperature
1.3. A toilet break immediately before the race start to eliminate stored heat and lighten up (every little bit helps).
2. In the afternoon before the race I had only eaten lightly, no junk, bananas, rice cakes with honey, fruit.
3. I race on some bigger diameter tyres at the moment, 700x28’s. I am running 80psi for races. In some circles there is often the idea that 100psi is a magical race number for tyre pressures, it is a Myth!
4. My bike hadn’t been used for a few weeks, so I lightly lubricated the chain.
5. During my warm up I went through all gear combinations and checked the brake performance.
6. 10 minutes prior to the race start at the completion of my light warm up I ate 1 x race gel.
7. And so, into the race. I really had no idea how my legs would be for the racing. Luckily it was head wind heading out Mt Buller Road. Into a headwind it is much easier to gain protection from the rest of the group, their speed is blunted, and the value of drafting is significantly increased.
7.1. My first goal was to not get dropped in the first 5 minutes! That was a very real fear for me! I was prepared to sit on if I found that I was immediately struggling. ALWAYS ride at your own pace in these handicaps. Rest if you are tired. Remember that you are of much greater value to the group if you do 1 turn in every 10 than if you are dropped. If you are missing turns communicate loudly and clearly with the other riders to call them into the gap in front of you, as they come towards the back of the group drift back and call them “IN”!
8. I am always mindful that when I come through for my turn of pace, my job is to protect the riders in the line behind me not the rider who has just finished his or her turn at the front. I hold to the race line until I have finished my turn then flick my elbow and swing off, get to the back as quickly as possible and get back into the paceline to maximise the rest time in the wind protection there.
9. When I am on the front, I try to keep my head up. I am always mindful that when I am on the front, I am steering the group. I am looking up the road which is always faster. If I can see the group in front, I am visualising the gap between us decreasing.
10. Depending on your groups strength and size remember that shorter turns at a slightly higher speed are always better. But it is a balancing act.
11. When I am at the front of the group, I am looking at the road surface, obviously avoiding and pointing out potholes but more importantly I am looking for the vehicle wheel tracks. Our roads are generally NOT European beautiful smooth hot mix. Our country road finishes here around Mansfield are typically Australian and are mostly a heavier aggregate bedded into a wet tar. In their raw state our roads are slow and heavier surfaces to ride on. However over time the wheels of the cars and trucks force this aggregate further into the tar making the vehicle wheel tracks measurably smoother and faster to ride on. I TRY USE THE WHEEL TRACKS. Ideally, I only go onto the slower surfaces outside the wheel tracks when moving to the back of the group. In positioning when I am at the front of the group, I try to stay to the upwind side of the wheel tracks to allow as many of the group behind me the opportunity to also ride on the smoother section of the road.
12. I will try to ride the minimum distance possible, through corners in the road wherever possible and safe to do so I try to use the insides of the corners. There is more to this and if working in a very experienced group the paceline will always ride the inside line and riders will swap off to the outside, this requires constant change to how the paceline works but on some courses, it will add up to considerable time savings.
13. I try to remember to hydrate consistently throughout the race, when I had done a turn I would drift back, get into the paceline, and take a sip.
Back to the race report 😊
5 minutes into the race my legs were hurting. But I hadn’t been dropped and I can’t remember too many handicaps where my legs weren’t hurting after 5 minutes so it was all good so far.
I had calculated that if we could get to the turn around with some sort of reasonable gap, it was going to be a tailwind and mostly downhill run home and mostly everyone can go fast on a downhill with a tailwind and so we might be a chance.
Heading out towards Glenroy Rd I could see most everyone ahead of us and they didn’t seem uncatchable. I NEVER really look behind. There’s not much I can do about the faster guys. If they are fast enough, they will catch me, pretty much I am riding as fast as I can.
Our group was well matched, everyone was working well and smoothly.
As we approached the bottom of the small climb to Hearns Lane, we caught the first of the groups ahead Will Wilson and … there were several other groups well in sight.
Cresting the hill and heading down to the turn around the lead car was well in sight and we hadn’t been caught. We took the turn and were heading home. A few more were rounded up by Hearns Lane and the boys on block Bakker and Co were still a good distance back. I didn’t see if Ruby had caught them yet.
We crested the hill and headed down towards Glenroy Road again and there was the limit group only some few hundred metres ahead, Oh Happy Days!
Elise, Michael and Tim Were putting in some strong turns if uneven at times and our speed felt really good but we did appear, dare I say, to have gathered a little driftwood, some riders feeling they were in for an easy ride following the wheels to the finish. Well AHEM to that I was thinking! There are only the 2 little rollers on the straight section between Glenroy Road and Graves Road. It was my feeling that legs should at least be tested and so to the second roller, I was definitely starting to feel the effort, but I did what I could, Tim and Elise rolled over and over the crest I did glance back to see that there was just the 3 of us with a gap to the driftwood.
Well the die was cast, and we didn’t ease off. The gap grew little by little and we turned into Jamieson Road with what I hoped was a race winning gap. A couple of turns and one last strong pull from Tim as the line approached. Elise jumped past and powered to the line for the win. I struggled into the first Race Report writer’s place (2nd) a result that I will now dine out on for the next 2 years until my next outing race 😉. Tim Ross finished 3rd. Michael Pearce came in 30 odd seconds later in 4th with Tony Morris riding very well from limit to claim 5th.
Ruby Dobson claimed fastest time 2 minutes later, a great achievement chasing alone for most of the night.
Congrats to everyone who raced and thanks as always to the volunteers Race Marshalls and Commissaires without whom the races would not be possible.
Here are the results and many thanks to Tony Copland for the pics.
