WCMCC Kewdale Graded Scratch Criterium - B Grade

(15th January, 2012)

My first race of 2012 after missing last week due to a shoulder and neck strain. A hot one to help us all settle in to the new racing year and we had the pleasure and privilege of being out-smarted by Emma Pooley this morning. B grade was 45 minutes + 2 laps with a nagging head wind up the back of the course.

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A large group at the start with 26 riders out there. My plan was to keep an eye on Ian McFall and Roger Middlebrook based on my experience from Rockingham and the fact that the both of them have been among the most consistent place getters in B grade this Crit season. Unfortunately this plan was thrown out the door when Emma Pooley rolled up and donned a B grade number.

Emma was definitely going to be the one to watch out for given her profile and her 8th placing in A grade the week before (21 riders). The thought was that if I can be on her wheel if and when she breaks away (I had heard she is not the greatest sprinter so her chance to win would be to attack repeatedly and then break away) to try and go with her as best I can.

The pace did not seem to be that high for the first two or three laps (of 23 in the end) and I was handling things more than comfortably at about 6th wheel (1 behind Emma). I don't think there was a moment in the race where I was less than 10th wheel so managed to keep an eye on the lead group and who was coming in an out. At the same time, it allowed me to note whether Ian or Roger were riding ahead or behind. I recall only seeing the both of the once or twice and neither of them were appearing on the front for long so it would be a case of having to seriously watch them if Emma didn't break away or there was no gap on the field toward the end of the race.

It wasn't long before Emma started attacking and she really knows how to make it hurt. Her strength during an attack is remarkable and rivals anything I've experienced before - in racing or training. I managed to keep with her just enough to not lose touch with her back wheel although it required me to continue to work quite a bit once she sat down again.  It was apparent that the rest of the bunch was not keen to let her go and they were as close to my wheel as I was to Emma's when I sat down and the regroup was pretty quick in most cases.

Emma repeated her attacks 2 or 3 times more. These times the group seemed disinterested in chasing her down with a lot of chopping around going on at the front which was only killing the pace and allowing her to get a decent distance on us. I was not prepared to let someone that strong get away early so I ended up chasing her down a number of times which was beginning to take its toll. On the last chase there was an attack from a group of 3 or 4 riders at about 25 minutes in so plenty of action going on in the race. Given Emma (nor Ian or Roger) were in that group I was not overly concerned with it until I realised that no-one was prepared to chase and again, the pace of the group slowed allowing the breakaway to get a decent gap.

I wasn't sure why Emma was not interested in chasing them down as it was apparent that she was keen to win the race and certainly strong enough to do so. I was sitting at around 4th wheel in the chase group and looked around to see who was there and there was no sign of Emma or some of the other contenders and with the gap to the breakaway only getting wider I started the chase down with the group right on my wheel. Thankfully, it seemed to work as I was able to move off the front and one or two other people were willing to take over and help chase down.

Thinking back, I believe this is where Emma outsmarted most of us. There were about three riders chasing down the group (me being one of them) while the rest of the group were content to just follow and not offer any help. At about the 30 minute mark we had brought the breakaway back and I was pleased with my effort and participation in the chase but was beginning to feel some fatigue. It was right at this point that Emma played her trump card and immediately attacked the rest of the field. Given the work I had just done, I couldn't hold her wheel and she and two others who had been dwelling at the back of the group had formed another breakaway.

The group was trying its best to hold on and keep the gap manageable but it was still getting wider. I could only hope that it would not get too wide before I could recover from my previous efforts and try to chase down again. Emma had certainly timed this attack perfectly and I knew it would be the winning break if I couldn't catch them. With just over 40 minutes completed the group appeared to be struggling to begin a chase down and the gap had now gotten out to about 100 metres. It was now or never if there was any chance of catching them.

Once again due to lack of interest from group in chasing, I started yet again but this time (as expected) I was on my own. The rest of the group seemed to have resigned to the fact that they were not going to chase down the likes of Emma Pooley. I believed I had recovered enough and had the strength to at least give it a go and, if anything,  would be a good test of my training progress. Slowly but surely I was closing the gap and with 3 laps to go I had passed one of the three riders who could not cope with the pace that Emma was setting. With 2 to go, I recall Emma looking back and must have decided that there was a real threat closing in and she floored it. The gap was down to about 30 metres at this stage.

I was riding quite strongly and my speed was seemingly steady enough to continue closing the gap. The main group was quite a way back now so I put them out of my mind and concentrated on continuing my chase. The bell lap saw me close the gap to about 25 metres and again, Emma was out of the saddle and putting on some power which allowed her to drop Micheal Buytels who was riding on her back wheel (I recall Michael saying at the end of the race that Emma was doing most the work and he was just trying to hang on). By the time I rounded the last corner I had it down to 20 metres from Emma's wheel and about 10-15 metres from Michael's.

So I at least managed to cross the line comfortably in 3rd place. The work load had certainly taken it's toll but I was very pleased with the chase efforts I put in and the distance I had put on the rest of the group (not sure of the final distance to 4th - didn't care at that point). I chatted with Emma after the race and even after her 8th placing in A grade last week, she felt that although the pace was not great in B grade (thus her break away), she felt she had to work to keep my chase at bay.

I certainly take pride in how I finished the race and feel that even though I came third, it was to a true champion rider. Emma is certainly impressive and as mentioned, it was a pleasure and a privilege to have ridden a race with her.

I had forgotten to stop the Garmin after the race so I recorded a 38.8 km/h average pace but everyone else I consulted reported a pace over 40 km/h for the race so certainly one of the faster ones I've ridden.

So a podium place for The Garland Crew on Sunday morning. This was also backed up with a 5th place by Rob Brand so kudos to him as well.

It was nice to don a race-fit strip this week with the white Garland colours. Also used my new pair of S-Works race shoes and if the other guys were right about the 40km/h pace, then the shoes added the additional 2-3km/h - or maybe it was the training over the Christmas / New Year break.