Shimano SUPERCRIT 2014

9:36 pm Unknown 0 Comments

I was trying to pretend that the Shimano Supercrit was not going to be a big deal. My legs and lungs were still suffering after Tour of Bright and travel to Perth for work and I've just been feeling tired. Then the preparation for the day started up and slowly I started to feel excited... the last race of the year!

The SKCC criterium circuit is great for me with its wide sweeping corners, long straights and fast finish. I had heard the preparations for the day were big, but the setup was MASSIVE! Double decker viewing platforms, team tents, massage station, food trucks, drinks and ice-cream.

We met up at the Flight Centre Active Travel tent for a few team pics and to register, then I quickly departed to a quiet spot to warm up properly and not get distracted and nervous. The women's field was huge with 65 starters.



The BCWS ladies lined up on the front of the grid and shuffled mid pack after the neutral laps and the pace slowly wound up each lap. It was windy in the main straight and nothing was getting away. There were actually good opportunities to move up on such a wide straight circuit, but you had to be very aware of the way the bunch was surging and darting across to not cross any wheels.

There were plenty of attacks, but it was almost like that swarm of machines from the matrix that swallows itself and feeds on itself - There was no leader. I was buoyed by the fact I'd made it halfway through but there were more sprint laps to come and I started to scramble at the back. At around 10 mins to go there was a crash in the middle of the pack on a corner. I slowed to dodge around the bikes and riders blocking the road, but the race was gone. I rolled around to the commissaire at the start line to get a lap out, but 6-7 of us that were held up were denied.



Back into the race we went, and the pace picked up again as the last 3 laps got faster. The whole bunch was strung out and by the time I came out of the back straight, the leaders were going into the final corner! In no time at all I'd made up a few more places finishing mid pack and doing my own victory salute for the final race of the year!

I was still pumped from the atmosphere, mad beats, commentary and caffeine high days later. I hope that next year I'll be fitter, stronger, more confident and in form to give this a real stab instead of just hanging on and following wheels.

It's pretty great to be involved with companies that love and support what you do. So it was great to have a little bit of space to meet up, the ladies warm up and catch up with Josh and the gang from Flight Centre. We will be doing more with these guys in the coming year. If you're planning travel, you can go through him too on the BC Womens Squad contact form.

Now I'm looking forward to enjoying my food, rides and adventures before the seriousness sets in again for 2015 season. Happy Riding and Adventures to all!
 

Tour of Bright 2014

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It's the last tour of the year. It's mega mountain stage finishes. It's a massive classy race that was one of my first goals on the bike - Finish Tour of Bright. This year's goal - finish Tour of Bright in A Grade.

At the end of last years tour I was pretty sure that I was not going to enter again. But after 6 months when entries opened up, race amnesia had set in and all I could remember was sun, hills and needing a drink on Tawonga.

The grading system was back in full swing and my entry was moved from B to A. In addition I was invited back to join the Building Champions Women's Squad to flesh out the team.

It was great to see Minda, Tayla, Georgia and Nik again. We also had a new teamie from NZ, Lydia Rippon who is a great little climber.

Stage 1


The first stage is my cup of tea - A 13.6km Time Trial. I knocked 0:01:34sec off my time from last year. I had better power, pacing, new Specialised Shiv TT bike, new skin suit, helmet but it was not quite enough to crack into the top 20 in A-Grade. I rolled in 23rd, 0:01:47 off the winner - elite National TT Champion Flick Wardlaw. (Results)


I can already see the things I can improve on for next year: position, end of race pacing, helmet and making sure I'm at the start line on time ;)


Stage 2

The next stage was the 93km Rosewhite loop. I felt really comfortable in the group however it was pretty rude awakening to have 60+ riders on 1/2 the road when we had the luxury in the National Road Series to have rolling road closures. Interestingly the entry fee is about the same!

Looking over my files from this year and last year the race in B-Grade played out almost exactly to the minute to the A-Grade race... well from my power/speed metrics.

The pace was steady heading out from Bright with a few attacks pinging off the front, but they were all chased down and nobody was interested in going solo for so long. The new sprint point was interesting as it was on a fast bit of road and we could all see where it was before it came up.

I expected the competition to be white hot on Rosewhite, but it was very steady and I hung on at threshold with the group all the way to the last 200m where they kicked and I dropped off to chase back on the descent.

It was so flowing and fast to the Kiewa Valley Hwy, that I went to the front and rolled turns with my team mates over the rolling punches. That was the nicest moment in the whole tour. When we turned onto the Highway back towards Tawonga the peloton kept on the pace but it was really hard to move up as the group was kind of static.

The pace picked up for the sprint and I still had trouble moving up after that with the small climbs coming out of Tawonga. The stage took us 02:35 to get to the base of the Tawonga climb. Almost exactly the same time as B-Grade last year but at least this year it was overcast and I had drink in my bottles still. I think it was the first time I have climbed that side and not been fried by the sun!

As the tail end of the group turned the corner I could see the leaders already up the road and turning the first hairpin! I climbed the hill at the same pace as last year and was relieved to get to the end as it was threatening rain.



Sure enough it started to pour down and my team mates urged me to descend in the rain. It stopped by the time we got to the bottom and met Nik and Emma who paced us back to town. It was great to see them and to have a friendly wheel.


Stage 3

It rained all night and all morning. I was secretly hoping the stage would be called off, but they shortened it to finish just past the toll booth at the road to Dargo.

There was enough of a break in the rain for us to have a dry start on wet roads. The good thing was it was warm so we rolled out without warm warmers, dodging puddles. The peloton pace was ON from the gun and we were scrambling in neutral to get onto the group. Out the road it was very hard to move up to contribute. The times when I could, I had to go up the windy side and then attack to close down breaks or jump on them as they started.

As it came close to the sprint, the pace dropped so I moved up and jumped on the front to lift it up as everyone was looking side ways as to who would move first. We reached the base of the climb 12mins faster than last year and it was gogogo from there. I was at the back when we started and climbed through the tail of the group to the boom gate. By then I could see the leaders disappear around a few corners but they were long gone, ascending like angels.

I really don't know how they do it?! I enjoy climbing hills but when they take off, it must be the power to weight - they just FLY!

In previous training I'd had a 11-25 cassette on going up The Meg climb and the 200m seemed like a special kind of hell. This time I had on the 11-28 and while I was maxing out going up there, I was able to pass a few ladies and spin over the top. Make no mistakes though - this is the back of the pack and it was cat and mouse with the remainder of riders as I solo'd to the top.

Halfway through the false flat it started to rain. It got very cold and I started to have a very bad day. The ladies dressed as bananas at the drink station looked nice and warm and I asked them for a hug to warm up when I passed by.

Cold, wet and muttering like a mad woman (C) Peloton Cafe

There was no let-up in the drizzle or the gradient, but I was going to finish my first A-grade race on a very hilly course. It really started to rain in earnest and I just got over the finish line, ate a sandwich and got some less-wet windproof clothes on. As Shane was also racing there was no car to pick me up. The tour doesn't offer any way off the mountain either, so I put my wet gloves back on and took off my glasses to try and get down safely.



Minda and I regrouped and found the van with Emma, Nik and the rest of the team mates there. We were shivering in the sun as we wrung out our socks. I giggle now, but it really did suck.


I think I told Emma that I loved her about 50 times on the drive back to Bright with the heater on 35 degrees and we were still freezing. I managed to warm up my hands enough to hi-5 Georgia for a ripper climb. She came in 8th on the stage and made it up to 11th overall on the tour. I'm so impressed and wish I had the youth and low body weight to do that!

Overall I came in 50th in A-Grade which is the bottom quarter. I'll never be competitive in a hilly race against the mountain goats, however there are other ways I can contribute in a team in a race like this with amazing riders of high calibre. I'm really happy to be able to be part of the team and watch our climbers battle it out up the road. There will be more hills ahead in 2015 and more to come. I'll just have to work out a way to get up those hills faster ;)

Bress Mega Criterium and St Kilda Crits

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It's raining crits! Officially October is the start of the criterium season. We are spoilt for choice with weekly club crits from Hawthorn, Coburg, Carnegie, Southern Masters, and my own Club St Kilda.

More often there is a feature crit that pops up and the Bress Mega Twilight Criterium filled a spot on the calendar where the Femme Vitesse would have been. I hope that the Women's only crit series comes back in full force next year.

It was a squeeze to get out of Melbourne, warmed up and ready to race for a 6pm start on the Friday, but it was worth it.


Harcourt pulled out all stops with a jumping castle/slide, BBQ and the Tavern refurbished and opened up with a beer garden overlooking the circuit. To top it off the weather was warm and the pear ciders were flowing! MAGIC

With equal prize money for men and women, the $3-4000 for first place would be hotly contested. I was pretty comfortable riding the course as it was the same that I had raced on for the Masters Crit Champs that I had won in April.

The race was fast and furious up the small incline each lap. There were attacks and counter attacks that were enjoyed by the Tour de Bress riders that had finished their fundraising ride from Macedon to Harcourt earlier that day.


Eventually a breakaway of  Miranda Griffiths, Nicole Whitburn, Georgina Beech, Liz Doueal got away and the remainder of Bike Bug team closed anything down that tried to upset the chase. I overworked myself on the front trying to close the gap and spent the rest of the weekend coughing up a lung!

A photo posted by Cycling Victoria (@cyclingvictoria) on

Overall I really enjoyed the race and it was a great atmosphere and turnout. I'm super proud that Victoria can offer equal prize money in new events like this and I can't wait to see an up and coming chick walk away with a big novelty cheque that I know could cover a big portion of bike racing expenses for the year. Awesome stuff!!

Women's Results
1st 37 Nicole Whitburn Carnegie Caulfield
2nd 35 Elizabeth Doueal St Kilda
3rd 31 Miranda Griffiths St Kilda
4th 34 Georgina Beech St Kilda
5th 42 Jessica Lane Carnegie Caulfield
6th 43 Prudence Rothwell St Kilda
7th 40 Elizabeth Hall Hawthorn
8th 41 Ruby Greig-Hurtig Carnegie Caulfield

SKCC Crits



There are many things I like about crits. They are:
  • an awesome workout,
  • mentally challenging-tactical,
  • most often technical,
  • over before you know it.
I'm usually pretty impatient and want to just keep attacking and chasing things down so I was super patient at my first appearance at the St Kilda Crits on Sunday.


Our first 10 minutes were pretty cruisy, then it was a combination of surge attacking or high paced rolling and counter attacks for the remainder of the 50 minutes plus 3 laps.


The amazing weather continued and without too much wind we had a great morning out to battle to a bunch sprint finish. The podium was:
1st Nicole Whitburn
2nd Amy Bradley
3rd Josie Simpson

Bike Adventures and Melbourne Kermesse Championships

11:22 pm Unknown 0 Comments

Life has been a little topsy turvey lately and I've had awesome opportunities to travel with my bike and check out more of Australia.

Thule soft bike bag with internal mounting bracket that turns into a bike stand. 

Queensland

I've been to Brisbane and checked out the paths, a roll up to Noosa and checked out the local crit track.




Western Australia

I've been to Perth and rolled Kewdale Masters/vets and finished top of the bunch on the "non race" Papas ride around the river.



Australian Capital Territory

I've been up to Canberra and found Red Hill climb and tried to beat the PM's time up there. Raced the Stromlo Crits in Women's A grade and got smashed by Kimberly Wells.





Victoria

I made it back to home to race the Melbourne Kermesse Champs as a guest ride with Building Champions Squad today. It was a great race with the big guns coming out for some good hard racing.

The course was a nice open sweeping route which suited me and we had a great cross head wind on the downhill section which meant there was a fast tailwind finish. I'd like to come back and have another race when my head is a little clearer after the fun headcold I've had, but I was really happy that I could respond to the attacks, read the race right and move up when I could.

It was a great chance to catch up with the BCWS ladies again too!



I also got a one-off writing gig for Ride On magazine to trial and review a bike. Thanks for the great feedback on my first published article! It's a lot harder to write than I first thought :)

Tour of the Goldfields 2014

10:45 pm Unknown 0 Comments

I was proud to join Building Champions Women's Squad for the final round of the National Road Series. My teamies were the same as Amy's Otway Classic: Minda Murray, Nikolina Orlic and Tayla Evans.

This tour is tough! Not just from the terrain, but typically the weather is pretty bad and the racing is brutal for the teams to deal their final blows to re-arrange the final standings on the NRS leader board.

Specialized Amira ready to roll


Stage 1 - Criterium 20 laps around Victoria Park

This was the stage I was losing sleep over the most. I had not been training for crits and was hoping that magic would happen or it would all come together on the day. I rode into the crit circuit with Nikolina and rode a few laps of the course. When it was time to start they sent us around for a recon and I managed to move up mid-pack on the start line.

An angle of the fast section with Mt Warrenheip in the background

Without ceremony we were off and racing. As per previous years it was fast to the first corner, then we all came to a standstill while we filed nicely around and sprinted to the second corner and came to a standstill to neatly turn and go back to the start. The pace ramped up and up to the first intermediate sprint at 14 laps to go and I managed to ride the wave through that milestone.


On the back of the bunch

I didn't see any accidents which was a first for this crit and all in all the crit went pretty well for the team. I didn't quite make the distance of the full 20 laps before my group was pulled off the course, but did measurably better than last year.

The stage was won by Kimberly Wells from Specialized Securitor.  Results


We dropped into the local Women's Bunch ride to celebrate ROCKTOBER Women's Ride Month.


Post by Gove Cycles & Bike Rack Cafe.

Arthur the owner with Nik and Tayla admiring his bike!

Stage 2 - Team Time Trial 20km


The course for the TTT was the same as the one I'd won the Masters National TT Championships on a few weeks prior so it was very fresh in my mind. The wind direction was what I had trained for in the months leading up so I was pretty confident that we would do a good ride.

We had only practiced once that morning riding together in formation, so it was unknown how far we could push each other above threshold. The main time gains would be made up on the way out into the headwind and we didn't want to lose anyone coming back.


Fence starts were a new addition to my skill set!
As team captain for the stage I ran through a few scenarios with the ladies about how we could indicate we were rolling off, or how to work together on the hills before the start and we nailed every aspect of the ride. One thing to work on is the Turn Around and pacing as a unit, but overall this was the best TTT I've ridden. Having evenly matched riders and positive cohesive group was so motivating. I was ecstatic when we got back in and felt that we had given it a good crack.

It was also great to see a few familiar faces of ladies who we'd met at Gove Cycles, out watching our TTT!

Von on the front setting up a good echelon. 

The overall result was 8th and 2:46 from the winning team of Holden Women's Cycling Team. There were 2 other teams that crashed on separate incidents and had riders that withdrew from the race.


Stage 3 - Road Race 56km Windmill Circuit


Over the last few years this stage has been like a criterium to the first sprint and onward to the QOM. With the brutal headwind, the pace was pretty low heading out and I was able to position well out of trouble. I made it over the top of the QOM with the nervous bunch, however the wind was relentless and we were strung out into the descent.

Narrow roads to the QOM
A few riders struggled to keep contact and half the field was unhitched. I struggled to try close the gap and came un-hitched and dropped off the back of the peloton.

Totally spent, I gathered myself for the chase. It was all downhill with a headwind but they were still getting away from me. Before I knew it, the convoy of cars started to stream around me and without much protection from the wind, I couldn't move up and they took off.

The bunch strung out on the back roads

Later a van came past and yelled that there was a bunch behind me so I had a gel, sat up and jumped on the group of 6 or so riders that were rolling turns into the wind.

Further down the road I saw a kangaroo jump alongside the group and cross over and back in front of our little gruppetto before we outran it. 10km on I started to get leg cramps and stopped pedalling. My day was over and it was going to be a long way home solo.

The winner was Davina Summers from Boss Racing in a fast tail wind bunch sprint. Results

 

Stage 4 - 83km Kryal Castle loops to the top of Mt Warrenheip.


I was ready for this stage and hungry for some better results. Last year I was with the bunch to the last 3 km where it started to climb and I knew that it was possible to do the same.

The start was delayed by 30mins due to critical medical support not being available, but eventually we shrugged off our jackets and rolled out from Kryal Castle. The ripping tail wind was fast and I was ready for the rolling attacks where riders launched off the front of the group, soon to be swallowed back up. The pinch at the river crossing was a critical point and I moved right up to the front to give myself a chance to get over the top as there was a left turn and a sprint point a few kms up the road.

The group winding around to Old Melbourne Rd

Into the next lap, the group had whittled down and I felt good after the tail wind section when I noticed Kimberly Wells wind up and take off. I launched off after her with Carly McKay and a rider from Tazzy. We got a gap before the corner and rolled turns for a few kms up the road. I calculated where I wanted to be for the pinch and in the break blowing myself up was not the right place as it was going to get caught by the sprint point.

I dropped back to the peloton and as predicted the break was swallowed up before the sprint. I didn't make it into the final half lap, as I came unstuck in the cross winds again but I did see a few familiar faces from Gove Cycles ladies shop ride watching from the roundabout.

Kimberly and Carly climbing the pinch

Totally delirious, we followed the final kms of the race back to the car park of Kryal Castle. Ruth Corset won the stage in an epic show of strength.  Results




Overall I can see where I need to improve and the massive gap to leap from club, to state, to national and to elite level. Bike riding takes a lot of hard work and it's a good thing that it is so enjoyable to train and socialize when we're not racing.

The awesome crew from Thule have supported my escapades to do the second half of the 2014 NRS and now I get to repay the favour at the Thule Bright 24 festival of Mountain Bike! It's not really going to be work when they have setup a great spot in the centre of Bright with food stalls, outdoor movies, demo bikes and of course the  Bright Brewery!

Warm-up on the TT bike in the Thule kit!

A big thanks also to Building Champions Women's Squad. Nicole McNamara approached me in April to join them as a guest later in the year and then coaxed me to guest ride for a few more NRS races in 2014. It's been a great introduction to teams racing where I have not had to lead and where I could learn so much more than racing for myself. The ladies on the squad have been so welcoming and sharing, it has been a life changing experience to do good, and do it well. I wish them all the best for 2015 and beyond as I really do see them "Building Champions".

Australian Masters Road Championships 2014

10:52 pm Unknown 0 Comments

Most of this second part of the year has been in training for the Master Road National Championships. The preparation was all coming together well, I hadn't got sick over winter or had any crashes or injuries and even better, the race was to be held in my home town of Ballarat. I'd entered all three events (TT, Crit and Road Race) with no real expectations of results as last year I'd come in 5th and 3rd in 2012. It all depended who would ride well on the day.



Shane and I headed down the day before the competition to do the warm up and had a special treat to meet up with Stephen and get some pics for the Courier and TV time on the local news channel. I was really excited, but realistically they were scraping for content as the footy season was over!



We were on the news that night and in the paper the next morning which was nice to see and made a bit of a spectacle of us riding up and back a country lane with nobody watching.

I've made the back page of The Courier - I'm big in Ballarat!
Shane got a bit of a write up inside the Sports section

Time Trial

Everything went to plan on the Time Trial except the forecast of sunny 20 degrees was a drizzly grey/cold morning instead. We found a great warm-up place near the start, got the equipment checked early with no problems, warm-up went to schedule with no hiccups and in no time at all the clock was counting down with me on the ramp.


Mad beats - Time to get a good tune stuck in your head!
It was a familiar ramp with familiar people, but I was not used to be held side-on like I have seen at the track. I was a little timid until Dave Morgan reminded me to look up the road!!!


Ready to roll!
I was off and rolling with the tail wind and everything felt great. The next section was side/head wind and I pushed on through it till the roller hills. I passed one rider through there on a road bike and it added to the motivation for the boring long headwind section to the turn around. I'd practiced it enough to know I had to keep aero and keep the pace on, but when I looked up the road there were cones blocking off the road and the turn-around was sooner than I expected. NO WAY!

A moment of confusion while I made hand signals with the marshal to indicate that this was REALLY the turn? Then it was tailwind after I'd turned around and I could get a mini break for a moment, but the visual reminder that there were riders chasing me and others up the road that wanted to be on the top step of that podium too.


Zippedy do dah! Stay aero!

I passed another rider on the way home on the hills and another rider further along... I think, it was all a blur to get to the final corner. I'd taken the final corner in the aero bars before and had almost made it around when that nasty headwind grabbed my front wheel. I wrenched it back under me and just managed to keep out of the gravel to punch hard on the way home.

Every other time this part was a tailwind. I'm not sure how much I had left at this point. I just wanted to get home NOW. When I realised there was a chance of making it under 30minutes it spurred me on. I finished with everything left on the road and gasping for air like a fish out of water with a time of 28:20.92.


Finale! We're done!
Once I composed myself a little more, I rolled back to the car to get on the wind trainer and cool down. All riders were back for WMAS1 and I'd come in fastest by 12.9 seconds (results) and I was now National TT Champion! WinTV completed a good 5minute interview and about 5 seconds of that has been included on the news that night.



It still doesn't seem real now. I've hung the medal up in my trophy cabinet and drunk the lovely wine from Sam Miranda Winery and the record books can do the rest.

Podium Action - 2nd Leanne Davies, 3rd Erin Kinnealy


Criterium

I was feeling a little rushed when it came down to the time to start the crit. Somehow I'd forgotten to organise lunch and I was on the wind trainer trying to coax the legs into getting all speedy and warmed up while I digested a hasty sandwich from earlier. By the time I rolled up to the start line everyone had signed on and I was trying to work out who the competition was. This time we were racing with Masters 2 in a combined group and were identified by headbands.

We rolled out and it was pretty controlled for the first lap, then attacks surged on from different groups but it made no sense that there were ladies chasing down other grades and keeping the bunch together. I tried a few attacks to raise the pace at different points around the course, but nothing stuck and there was not really anyone keen to keep the pace high. I didn't want to get it to come down to a bunch sprint but I was getting chased by everything that moved.


Sure enough the lead-out started, in the last corner before the finishing straight there was a bad move and one girl ended up riding in the grass and lots of shouting going on. This messed up my front runner chance, but I thought I was in for 3rd until just before the line I saw another headband pop into view and I was 4th overall.

The Results online are about as confusing as the race finish!

Danielle Garden - Bronze Womens Masters 1, Veronica Micich - 4th Womens Masters 1. Criterium @ Victoria Park. PHOTO: ADAM TRAFFORD

 Road Race

There was an extra day of rest before the road race. I always said there was NO WAY I'd ever do the elite nationals as I would be dropped on the first lap. Now this was my chance to ride the same course (3 big loops in this case) and put my money where my mouth was. There was massive expectation to win this race for my grade. I reset my expectations pretty early that this would not be the case, but I desperately wanted to get at least a top ten. We were going to race as a whole group of Masters 1,2 and 3 with no headbands and not in number order.


The start line trying to stay calm before the storm
We rolled out quite civilised and set a good tempo up the climb with Bridie O'Donnell and Jessica Toghill on the front until a rider from QLD rolled to the front and proceeded to rip our legs off. I made it up the first section with the group, but after the left-hand turn I was slipping through the pack. By the time the main climbing group had crested the KOM I could just see their wheels and gasp to CHASE! It seemed like there was nobody behind me, but suddenly on the descent we'd formed a group of 6 and managed to catch them in a few kms of hard work.

I'd burnt a book of matches doing this and started coughing up a lung. It hurt so bad to breathe and tasted like blood. In no time at all we were descending into town and taking on the climb again. I started up the front with Nicole Whitburn and didn't quite make it as far as the previous lap before everything was hurting again and I was going back through the pack. By the time I'd made it over the KOM they were out of sight and I noticed a few familiar faces join me for the chase.

Cresting the top of Bunninyong - yowch!

We had a bigger group chasing this time but we never caught the leaders again. Working together through the back section we nearly got to the follow car again, but lost group motivation. The next time we saw the follow car was heading up the hill again for the final lap.

Our group shattered and I just gave it all I could to keep on the pace and keep up on the final climb. We reformed into an even bigger group rolling consistent turns and started sweeping up riders. I was floored when I saw three riders rolling alone with about 10km to go. They were the Masters 1 race leaders! The lady I trailed 1 point behind to win champion of champions jersey was right there... and I had nothing left.


Early on in the race through town

As I helped make the catch right before the descent I couldn't believe it was going to come down to another bunch sprint for medals. I'd ridden the last section a few times ripping out some great sprints so I knew it was possible. We had a mixed bunch in our group, but I didn't think there were any other podium places left for the other grades, so it was a matter of picking through the finishers to get over the line first.

I was on Lisa Hanley's wheel and let her know. When we rolled in faster and surged on I was out of position and boxed in around MAS2 riders and it was all over, I rolled in for 5th overall. (Results - they divided the results)

It was finally over with a tough course and strong competition where anyone of us could have been the winner if it was up to the gods! I was pretty disappointed, but relieved it was all over and I could just rest. I must have been pretty tired when I got back to my parents place I fell asleep outside on the sun lounge fully kitted up.

My mini mention in Shane's article in the Wimmera Mail Times

Well the training will need to step up next year as I move up to Masters 2 category and they are FAST! Looking forward to that journey and I hope you join me on the adventure.

Amy's Otway Classic 2014

11:09 pm Unknown 0 Comments

The last few years I have competed in Amy's Gran Fondo and had an absolute ball! First year winning the women's team classification and last year just off the podium for 4th in my age category. It is such an amazing course with fully closed roads and we were again blessed with fine sunny weather without much of a strong breeze.

This year I was offered a guest ride for the inaugural Amy's Otway Classic. Same course, 1 hour before the Fondo and racing proper as part of the National Road Series for Building Champion Squad. It was hard to say no to trying to better my result in the Fondo last year to see if I could make it onto the podium. But this was the first year they were going to run this race as a Spring Classic, it was NOT to be missed!!


I arrived Saturday night to watch the hotly contested Amy's Wall which was a 120m hill sprint up a side street off the Lorne main drag. You could pretty much pick any side road to run this kind of competition and it would be a good choice. We found a vantage halfway up to watch the carnage. The first rider snapped a chain and other riders had gear mechanicals. But the victors at the end were Liam   Hill (who was staying with us) and Peta Mullens (freshly back from Europe season).


We arrived at our share accommodation to find a palatial guest house at our disposal for the weekend. A king size bed, private balcony and bathroom was allocated to us and we setup for the race the next day. Many thanks to the friends of BCS for hooking this up for the weekend!

The next morning Shane was on team car duties and we had a full set of soigneurs on the job with Jill and Adam helping out.  Our other guest teamie was Nikolina Orlić and it was team duties for Minda and I to get Tayla positioned well for the sprint at 20km and Nik for the start of the climb at 40km. From there on in - I was not so confident that I would be able to help out much, but I'd give it a good stab.

Tracey Gaudry spoke about the race and then we were off and running!

1.4 kms of neutral to start up and then 40km of roller coaster! I have to admit that I had a lot of fun over this section. Punching over the small rollers, driving the pace on the descents, cruising in the bunch to recover - rinse and repeat. I saw a bike change, a police motorbike wedged into a wall, what sounded like 2 crashes and I just kept moving up. FOCUS. There were a few attacks but nothing was going away before the climb.

Close to the sprint point Minda moved up to the front and set the pace, it took me a few minutes to get around the bunch to join her then take over. I kept it at a slow simmer and then kicked it up a notch at about 500m to go and swung my elbow for the sprinters to do their thing.

Things were going pretty well with Tayla getting up into 3rd or 4th place on that sprint and I went in search of Nikolina. I moved her up to the front and she stayed perched in top 10 position for the first climb.

Nikolina in BCS kit

Unfortunately by this time I found myself about mid pack through the apex of the corner onto the climb, I had a close encounter with the concrete lane divider and was pushed back further. Just to spice things up, someone broke a spoke and pulled over in front of me and then the whole bunch was up the road and I was playing steam train with the stragglers. We'd formed a group of 10 or so up the climb and pretty much stayed together all of the rest of the race.

After the descent, flat section and climb back up Deans Marsh I was starting to get my second wind. We all rolled in to finish 18mins down on the leaders time of Holden's Ellen Skerritt at 3hr15min. I came in 36th place with a slower overall time than last years Fondo, but much better climb times.

Von on far left in the BCS kit

I think it was a great race and well run. The fully closed roads were absolute bliss to be able to climb and more importantly descend using the whole road. One addition would be to open registration the night before so numbers could be pinned and timing chip stickers stuck on with lazer accuracy before  the early start the next day.

With 55 entries in the first year it was great to see so many ladies racing. This will  be an epic one day classic on the women's race calendar for the climbers that will endure. I just hope the weather so good every year!

Next race up for me is the Australian Masters Road Championships (TT, Crit and Road Race) in my home town of Ballarat. The courses are the same as the elite nationals that are run in January each year except for the criterium that is in Victoria Park. Here is the metal race pace version of one lap.