Pinjarra Classic - C Grade :: 5th August, 2012

I can finally report that I have now completed my first open graded road race, the Peel Districts CC Pinjarra Classic! My first open graded road race was supposed to happen after completing the UCI World Cycling Tour Qualifier in March but my accident in early April had put the brakes on that until this morning. However, I was not heading into this race the same way I had entered my previous races. This time around I was entering the C grade event working as a domestique in an effort to help another rider to the line. The plan was to try and lead Simon V. through this race in an effort to get him a result - and if all worked out well, perhaps for me too.

The lead up to this morning's Pinjarra Classic was a mixed one with some stupidly hard training over Tuesday (Kings Park group session), Wednesday (in agony from power threshold tests) and Thursday (E3 intervals) followed by fending of a case of the flu I caught on Friday. Thankfully I seemed to be able to shake most of the symptoms by resting on Saturday and felt much better this morning.

I went over a bit of planning with Simon but unfortunately, neither of us had had enough time to check the lead into the finish let alone the rest of the course before the race so we were going in completely blind and would need to go by the feel of the pace and watch for the 1km to go sign (one that I completely failed to notice). We agreed that Simon would make the call if he felt he could make any attempts to attack, otherwise I would ride ahead of him to help get him through the race with enough energy in reserve to compete a possible sprint. With that, we set off from the start not know any of the other riders and headed out toward Dwellingup and our first climb for the day. I'd never ridden the hills in this area so was not familiar with the grade nor distance of this first climb up to Dwellingup so it we approached it with the idea of preserving energy.

It seems the rest of the bunch had the same idea as we crawled out to the base of the foothills at a lazy 30km/h average - hardly the pace I would have expected from an open C grade race but I was happy to be able to help Simon up the climb. About two thirds of the way up, we were over-taken by a small bunch of junior men's under 17s (good lord, did they even know there was a hill?) and unbeknown to me, 3 of our C grade compatriots used the opportunity to go with them and break away. I don't think too many riders had realised this move and they we able to breakaway unchecked.

Back in the bunch, the grade had levelled out as we approached the top of the climb and the first offerings of KOM points. I was second over the threshold for the KOM (5th over in reality) and was surprised to find I had made the climb incredibly easily. Brad had analysed my ride data from my power threshold climb on Wednesday morning and could see that I was riding the climbs with too low a cadence. He offered me some advice on my cadence for these sort of climbs which would not only make the climb easier by using less force on the pedals but would (over time) help to increase my FTP level. I used his advice in riding the climbs throughout this morning's race and what a difference it made - much easier and I felt I could hold my power up the climbs much longer.

With this first climb out of the way I was keen to approach the remaining undulations with Simon on my wheel and try to preserve both of our energy levels until we were able to reach level ground again where I anticipated the pace to pick right up and the work load to increase. This would be where I would need to keep Simon among the lead riders without him doing any work on the front. But we had to get through the remaining climbs first.

As we headed toward the second of the two KOM points, I found out that there had been a break away and that there were only two riders left ahead of us. I was unsure of the time gap and the rider we caught who had informed us of the break away was unsure of the actual gap but knew they were just the other side of two JM17 riders that would could see ahead of us. I let Simon know to stay off the front and let me work to pick the pace up a bit in an effort to haul back the two remaining break away riders. I surged and left Simon back in the lead group and powered up the next two climbs, the second being the KOM point. I'd done these relatively easily and I didn't think at this point that I had spent too much energy in this move which successfully brought back the two JM17 riders and allowed me to catch a glimpse of two riders ahead of us, which I assumed were the two break away riders.

There was still another short climb to go before we headed back down to the base of the foothills and I kept the pace up heading down the short descent leading into the last climb. It was here that I had realised that I may have done too much in trying to claw back the break away and should have let others take more turns on the front. About half way up this last climb, the legs fatigued rapidly and I dropped to the back of the bunch but ensured I did not let the elastic break by remaining in touch with the last few riders. My power had dropped quite a bit but I eventually dug deep to find a bit more and completed the climb well in touch and about half way up the group.

I'd lost track of Simon at this stage and was not completely aware of where he was in the group. The final descent had begun and I was still about half way down the group and I knew that I had not yet passed Simon so he had to be ahead of me. I eventually spotted him and noted he was in about second or third wheel and riding to the edge of the road. The pace was pretty high and I wasn't prepared to risk a fall (or cause a fall) to try to get back in touch with Simon so I allowed him to do some work during the descent. He was riding it well and it allowed me the opportunity to recover a little before we hit the bottom.

The gradient levelled out as we rode into North Dandalup and we crossed South West Highway and the level train crossing without incident and the group began to settle into a rhythm and we dragged the last break away riders back into the main bunch. Simon appeared to be handling the race very well at this stage and the hill climbs didn't seem to have troubled him. I was hoping that he had been able to preserve his energy levels as it was certainly shaping up to be an all out sprint finish for this race which was ideal. Hopefully this would allow me to lead Simon into the sprint and get him up to the line for a place or even the win - it certainly looked like he had the strength.

As we moved along Lakes Rd from North Dandalup, I instructed Simon to sit tightly in on my wheel and follow my moves without letting anyone else between him and I. I felt that at this stage it was important for me to do the hard work for him and allow him to sit in right up to the sprint finish. If I rolled through to the front I ensured that he peeled off with me and avoided doing a turn or at least pull a very short turn if he was unable to peel off with me.

The two JM17 riders that had been with us since the second KOM point seemed to be surging on and off and sparked a bit of a break taking three C grade riders with them as we moved up toward the Corio Rd turn off. I was not too concerned about these three as they appeared to be working quite hard to unsuccessfully maintain the gap. I allowed other riders to come around to the front to help with keeping these riders in check and the group worked well together to bring them back as we continued down Corio Rd toward the Paterson Rd T-junction.

As we turned onto Paterson Rd, the JM17 riders again sparked another surge and at this point I had almost considered scaling up a hard attack on the group until the finish but a number of things stopped me from doing so. I had initially planned with Simon that he should be the one to call any attacks and allow me to lead him out (there was no call so I stayed with him). I also had no idea how far we were out from the finish line so I didn't want to lead Simon into something that neither of us would be able to hold so it would be a case of being patient and not getting us into the same situation I got myself into at Herne Hill. Patience would be the key here and ensuring that I kept Simon in a good position.

The pace was pretty solid at this stage and few riders were beginning to jostle for position as we neared the end of the race. I was keen to stay at the middle of the road as close to the broken white line as possible to avoid being boxed in and any possible carnage at this risky stage of the race. Simon was still on my wheel nicely and was following my lead as I had suggested but somewhere along the line, he had snapped loose and I lost him. I eased up a little without losing too much position to try and find where he had gotten to and it must have been at this stage that I missed the 1km to go sign. Simon had somehow gotten across the the edge of the road which was not where I wanted him to be with the finish being so close.

I noticed the 500m to go sign and realised that it was now too late to try and do anything for Simon and to go into damage control and get myself back into the top 5 riders. I was about 10 wheels back at this stage and had some real work to do if I was going to salvage anything. Thankfully I was still riding to the middle of the road and was able to come around 5 of the riders ahead of me but was forced to the middle of the lane in order to get ahead of them and to look for a lead out.

A gap opened ahead of me and I had to really put on some power to get through it before it closed. If I could get through, it would put me in second or third wheel so a loud yell to the two riders to hold their line allowed me to sneak through and pull level to third wheel. 200m to go and the power had to really increase and stay on for as long as I could if I had any chance of being able to catch the lead rider. Three of us were neck-and-neck behind the leader who had kindly moved to the middle of the road affording us a clear view to the finish with less than 100m to go. With just 50m to go, the other two riders had dropped off and it was now up to me to try and catch the leader but all of the work I had done leading up to this point was starting to take its toll and I began to fade and realised that I was not going to be able to catch him.

I had to sit back into the saddle at this point and a quick check under the shoulder showed the group still coming at me so one last-ditch effort had to be taken in order to retain second place (including second placed C grade Masters rider - don't recall ever collecting two accolades in one race before). It hurt the legs but I got there just half a bike length behind the winner who had performed a fantastic sprint to the finish. As at the time of this writing, I am still unsure where Simon finished the race but he felt he may have been just outside the top 10. He had certainly found himself boxed in thwarting his attempt to compete in the sprint which was unfortunate for him as he had ridden a very solid race and deserved better than to be boxed in on the edge of the road. Hopefully Simon has learnt that position is incredibly important in races like this and one false move can have you in all sorts of trouble.

I was happy with the work that I had put in to my attempt to get Simon to the line. While the plan didn't quite work out due to positioning errors (possibly my bad lead, not sure), Simon should be very pleased with how he rode the majority of the race. We managed to keep his overall workload down by keeping him off the front for as much as possible and he handled the climbs more than easily which is a clear sign that his training under Brad has been extremely beneficial. With a few more races under his belt and a some more hard training, I believe Simon will reach B grade very soon.

For me, I could feel some of the strength in my legs had returned and I was able to be more competitive where it counted in various places through out the race. I still have some work to do before I feel I will be competitive enough to mix it up with the B grade boys but I will certainly enter the B grade event next weekend at Picking Brook and just hope that I am able to stay with the bunch.

I'm pleased with how my first open graded scratch race unfolded and the result that I attained even though I was riding for another rider (another first for me). I'm looking forward to next weekend and getting back to some Masters events. All going well, I can reach Masters A grade before the end of the season.

Congratulations must definitely go to Brad for his win at the Pinjarra Classic. He pulled through with a very strong, well positioned and perfectly timed sprint to take the line honours in the A grade event. His experience was certainly showing as he completed the race and as he mentioned at the presentations, he could not have gotten the win without his team mates. The surprised look on Brad's face was equally as impressive when the guys from PDCC announced he was also the 1st placed Masters rider and handed him even more (gold) silverware. Well worth getting down and seeing the end of his race. Well done Brad.

Thanks for reading and kudos to you Simon. You should be very proud of your effort and I look forward to riding with you again in B grade.