race report by peter.

 

some gold, silver and bronze were on offer today at the state criterium championships.  the masters division was tempting enough for mike and i to enter even though we are not noted for our “crit skillz”.  the one benefit of being over 35 is that you don’t have to compete with 20 year olds anymore.  it was a stunning day but the wind was really picking up by the time i headed down to armadale.  the race didn’t start till 1:40 with the juniors and support men heading off first.  parking was a struggle as they had blocked the road off as this race is held in conjunction with the highlands festival.  this meant that in the background were highland dances, bagpipes and caber tossing.  also kilts as far as the eye could see.

 

i met up with mike and we headed off for a good half an hour warm up around the roads of armadale.  as race time approached we headed to the start to find about half the field was to be made up of glenn parker boys.  slight exaggeration, but they did have the dominate numbers.  as the support race finished, we were allowed onto the circuit for a couple of laps warm up.  as i crossed the line i noticed my tyre was going very soft.  i rolled back to the start and asked how long i had.  four minutes to get back to the car and change it.  as it had not gone all the way down, i sprinted off to the car.

 

thanks to mel’s dad peter and stu for helping me do a quick change and thanks to peter for offering me mel’s spare wheel for the race.  we got it changed and i hurried back already in a fluster.  holly had also ridden back to the start line to let them know that i was on my way.  we were off.

 

whoa, no easing into this thing.  after one lap we had already started to string out.  i was struggling to hold my position and some of the guys in front of me were too.  i was too far back and had to get a better position.  unfortunately, this meant getting around people who were starting to lose contact fast.  the glenn parker boys were doing a number on the field and the numbers were thinning fast.  i was starting to lose contact and it was only about lap three.  mike was also back with me and i was guessing that he could not surge with his heart condition.  there was a small hill on the back of the circuit and you had to fight every lap to make sure you didn’t lose more time. 

 

i had passed mike and another guy earlier to try to make the junction back to the pack.  i was hoping it was going to be similar to the pinjarra race where they eased off after the first few surges and we got back on.  unfortunately a parkers boy was off the front and the pace didn’t let up.

 

i began to fade and mike and passenger picked me up.  we worked together for a bit but lost the passenger up one of the hills.  basically mike i tried lap after lap to catch up, but to no avail.  pretty soon the breakaway rider was making ground on us.  i said to mike that when the main field catches us, i was pulling the pin.  it only took another couple of laps. 

 

fifteen laps all up for us and about 25 min.  the race was not going that much longer and they never caught the breakway.  i think that glenn parker took the 1, 2, 3 in the race.  good team tactics.  not the best outcome for spr, two dnf’s.

 

in the women’s open event, bec who rides with us sometimes, got in a breakaway with sarah-jean and stayed away till the end.  she did the majority of the work and still managed to take out the sprint to claim a state title.

 

the open men’s was a fast and furious race with both brendan and steve having a crack.  brendan did a whole lot of work early on for their team (aussie crates) and eventually popped out the back.  steve held on well to the end, but the main group did not catch the breakaways.  rabobank sprinter graeme brown sat on the back of the plan b boys up front and took the sprint ahead of brad hall.

 

so, it was a better day as a spectator then it was as a cyclist, for me.  but that is racing, and you get out what you put in. long training days in the hills just don’t make for good crit racing days.