UCI World Cycling Tour Qualifier :: 25th March, 2012

I must be mad!! Less than 22 months riding a bike, 10 months racing experience, 5 months of training (huge thanks, Brad), never raced anything over 2 hours before and never raced on a course anywhere near as punishing as the Kings Park UCI World Cycling Tour circuit. But it's done and dusted and I'm super happy with how I performed given the quality of the field, the distance and my overall category result.

I must have had every negative thought in the book riding up to Kings Park this morning.

• Have I done enough training?
• Am I going to be able to finish this race?
• The hills are going to undo me.
• Am I up to scratch with such an elite field of riders?
• 75 registered entries in my age group (40-44) including Sam Smith and Matt Dec.
• Matt Dec is the Australian Masters Road Race Champion, how do you compete with that.
• I haven't been doing this long enough.
• I'm gonna get smashed!!!!!

Clearly I was nervous but I don't think it was enough to be to my detriment because my HR while waiting to get onto the bike was settled and nothing to be concerned about. In fact, I think the negative thoughts actually brought everything into perspective and allowed me to set my sights on a level that might just be achievable - top 20. With all the facilities set up in the event village it was hardly conducive to the usual preparation I go through when racing Masters and it was quite an exciting experience. Everything was set and the call was made for riders to make their way on course for the race briefing.

With the short race briefing done, we were taken around as one big group down Forrest Drive and back to the bottom intersection with Lovekin Drive were we were separated. Our 40-49yo group (combined 40-44 and 45-49 age groups) was enormous and was clearly the group that people were waiting to see. The talent in the field was amazing and a little intimidating. It was going to be one incredibly tough race and I was anxious to just get rolling and get the race over and done with.

The groups began to roll out with 3 minutes separating each one. Would it be a case of trying not to get caught while also trying to catch the group in front? It couldn't have been any more accurate. Our peleton rode up to the rolling start and as we crossed for the first time to get the race under way, the pace rose pretty sharply. It was evident that the stronger riders were not in any mood to be caught by the women or 50-59 year old riders.

The first lap had us at just over 38 km/h average completing it in just 00:21:16. This was never going to be an easy race and this opening lap time was certainly proving it. The pace was picking up as the group settled into a rhythm and completed the second lap in a steady 00:21:03 at 38.2 km/h. I don't think there was any agreement in place to chase down the 30-39 year old groups but the peleton were smashing the course and we caught the 30-39 year old group along Mounts Bay Rd on the third lap - a lap which was completed in just 00:20:33 at 39.1 km/h.

As we caught the group ahead of us, I was close to the front of our group as I wanted to avoid any entanglements that might occur. With a combined, 4 age group peleton of what must have been around 180 riders, it was an experience I doubt I will repeat until next year. It was a huge group and had plenty of places to hide but also plenty of places to get blocked in and/or come unstuck. There was plenty of encouragement coming from riders behind me to keep going well past the caught group and even calls to the 30-39 year old riders to ease up and let our group through. Wishful thinking. There was no way they were going to let that happen and I quickly rounded the group and got on the front of the newly formed peleton to avoid any possible crash or clash of bikes (god knows I didn't want to get the new Venge scratched!).

Now in a newly formed bunch, I had thought the pace may have steadied or even dropped a little but the usual suspects were keen to sort out the stronger riders from the weaker ones and continued to push the pace and the 4th lap was completed in 00:21:15 at a pace of 37.8 km/h. At this stage, I was still in good shape and I held on with Brad and AP through the next 2 laps before the legs began to disobey the brain.

The climb up Spring and Malcolm Streets on the 5th lap presented the expected attack from those riders that could use the Malcolm Street incline to attack the rest of the field. They went up at such an astonishing pace that it was near impossible to keep with them. I had used the technique of beginning the climb at the front and allowing the stronger hill climbers to come around me but it was just too much to try and keep the speed that they were doing and by the time I had hit the top of Malcolm Street, the lead bunch had split in two and were well ahead of me. The elastic had snapped and I just couldn't haul them back in. I think what annoyed me the most was not knowing how many of the front groups were in the 40-44 yo category so I had no clue as to how far back in my category I was. I still managed to complete the 5th lap in just 00:20:53 at 38.5 km/h but this would be the last time I complete a lap inside 21 minutes.

I was on my own for the best part of the last half of the 5th lap and was working hard to keep the group from getting too far ahead and to prevent the chase group(s) from catching me. As I climbed Lovekin Drive to the start/finish line, I was collected by another 2 riders in my category (yellow race numbers) and on the 6th lap, another two riders from the 30-34 and 35-39 categories caught us also to make a group of 5. We were able to work together into the slight wind along Mounts Bay Rd which certainly helped as we no longer had the benefit of hiding in the peleton but the climbs were getting more and more excruciating and I was beginning to struggle.

On the 7th lap I could feel the first signs of cramp coming into the legs (behind the knees) as I began the climb up Spring Street but I managed to shake the feeling out and completed the climb with the other riders. I felt I should be able to stay with them for the remainder of the race and we were all riding strongly enough to avoid being caught by anyone else. In fact, we picked up a rider with a white race number (16-29 yo) as we rode Thomas St for the second last time.

As we negotiated the treacherous blind turn into Mounts Bay Rd for the last time, I could feel the onset of cramp again, and again I managed to shake it out as we progressed toward Spring Street for the last time. At the top of Spring Street the cramps came on with a vengeance and I suffered through the most excruciating pain I have ever felt as I climbed Malcolm Street for the last time. I was not in the mood to let Malcolm Street beat me and I was hell bent on finishing the race. The 5 other riders with me had now made a gap on me as I reached the roundabout at the top and the cramp was now intense but I focused on keeping the legs turning regardless of the pain.

Thankfully I was able to catch the small group again before the end of Kings Park Rd and did so without losing too much remaining energy and the cramp had gone. Now it was just a case of keeping with them through to the last climb to the finish. The legs were in severe pain by this time but again, I pushed through it to complete the race with the small group. There was no all-out sprint that I would loved to have been a part of but I was hardly in any condition to be sprinting and was more than happy to complete the race. But what was my final position?

I had anticipated, given how badly I had been dropped by the front group of combined age group riders, that I was well down the rankings at around 35-40 but to my surprise, there were still a large number of yellow race numbers still coming in and finally, Dennis called me over to the computer, punched in my race number and revealed that I had completed it in 19th position in my age category of 70 starters. I was happy with this result but knew it would not be high enough for an automatic qualifying position.

When I reflect on the race, it was definitely the hardest one I had ever completed (as I knew it would be) but considering my race career spans just 10 months and my training for this event was just 5 months, I feel very satisfied with the result. An invitation to the final may not be out of the question depending on acceptances, but I'm certainly not banking on it and if I do miss out in the end, I can at least be happy that I put in my best effort on the day. Not bad for someone who has only been on the bike for less than 2 years!!

Perth will hold the event one more time (as a certainty) so the event will be at the back of my mind for next year and I will continue my training programs until then (and beyond, no doubt). I enjoyed the race thoroughly regardless of the pain and suffering. There were many riders that did no register because of the course difficulty and there were even some that forfeited their start (possibly for other reasons) so I am happy with the fact that I had the courage to enter and to complete the race in a reasonably strong position. The DNF list was also reasonably long and with some notable names.

The hill climbs were definitely my undoing so getting more vertical kilometres into the legs will be a priority before next year so that I can better stay with the stronger riders and compete the final sprint for the line, an element of my arsenal that I believe would be hard to beat, especially if the course were not as hilly but will just have to improve my hill climbing because a flat course will not be forthcoming.

So for now, I shift my focus to the Goldfields Cyclassic in June and the Masters Road Race season opener in April. I will bank the memories of this morning's race into my memory and remember the experience with the intention to draw on them when I compete next year.

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Time and speeds are based on my personal timings published on the race website.

Full results can be found here.

My results and splits can be found here.

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Update 1st April, 2012. An adjustment to the official results now places me at 18th out of 70 riders.