WCMCC Mark Keyser 2 Day Tour :: 30th Sept & 1st Oct, 2012

The Mark Keyser 2 Day Tour was the one event I have had in my calendar since it was published earlier this year on the West Coast Masters web site. It has to be the stand out event of the Master's road racing calendar and pushes riders to their absolute limit to be completely spent by the end of the criterium on day two. The two days are comprised of an individual time trial (ITT), two road races and a criterium to finish the event off. General Classification (GC) was determined by the rider who would accrue the least amount of points across the four stages.

The two stages that I had thought would trouble me would be the ITT and the Road Race at Pickering Brook. My approach for the ITT was to go into it as consistently hard as possible and drive my average power well beyond my FTP as I knew that placing in the top five for the stage would be vital to kick start the tour with as much of an advantage as possible.

The Wandi circuit comprised one small rolling hill through the middle of the course and the wind driving head on into us during the longest straight was going to make it tough to maintain a decent speed but this would be the same for all riders so it still remained that I would need to maintain wattage and take the climb and wind as it comes. I thoroughly enjoyed the ITT and was really surprised to have completed the stage with the 3rd fastest time of the morning with an average speed of 40.3km/hr over the 8.5km loop. It was the perfect start I had been hoping for.

The mercury had risen to about 29 degrees by the time 12:00pm ticked over for the 7 lap, 60km road race on the same circuit. It was a comfort knowing that the peloton would be supported by a spares vehicle (something that was missed in last year's tour) as without it, a puncture would pretty much put you out of overall contention, if not out of the event altogether.

I felt comfortable in the peloton for the duration of the race and my list of "riders to watch" stuck to the top tube of the bike came in very handy in helping keep track of my biggest threats - a strategy I will use again where necessary. It turned out that the 8 riders I had down on my list were the ones that remained in top 10 contention throughout the two days of the tour. I maintained contact with any of those riders that attempted to break away however this did mean I had to go with the surging as most of the attacks came from these threats.

In the end, I made the mistake of doing too much on the front of the main field for too long, however I had good company with Frans Buissink rotating turns with me. It meant that I was not keeping tabs on the other strong contenders in the field, especially one Phil Deisel who had ridden a conservative race within the group and did not seem too concerned with the break attempts. If he knew something I didn't, I'd love to know how he figured it out because the race resulted in an all out group sprint where I made my second and possibly my most costly mistake of jumping too early. I placed 4th in the sprint behind Phil, Paul Hearne and Frans however I still managed to maintain 3rd overall.

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Day two was comprised of the Pickering Brook road race and the Kewdale criterium. As readers of this blog would know, Pickering Brook is not a course I enjoy for some reason and I seem to carry a "trunk monkey" on my back during races there. I wanted to change this relationship with this course and prove to it (and the other riders) that I was better than what this course had shown me to be.

Of course, it was important to maintain contact with Frans and Phil through this race however Paul Hearne and Greg McCoy were still in touch with the leaders. My list had been altered slightly but the plan for the tour remained the same. We rolled out onto the course and the pace was easy until we reached Pickering Brook Primary School toward the bottom of the descent where the attacks started, however all it achieved was to kick the pace up to around 45km/h before levelling out to about 38km/h as we reached the first climb out the back of the course.

As we rolled into Repatriation Rd for the first time, Jamie Kirkwood and I kicked up the pace again and hit the climb out of the gully hard and fast allowing us to create a gap on the field of about 10 seconds which we stretched out to about 20 seconds at most before the main field pulled us back in at the bottom of the descent past the primary school on the second lap (of eight laps, not seven as listed on the web site). It was pretty clear that the field was not keen to let any breaks succeed not just in this race but through the entire event.

Repatriation Rd, as usual, was a favourite for hard attacks and I used the "descend fast and roll into the climb" tactic to ease the work required to keep in touch with the hill climbers but the attacks were strong and really had me working through to the top end of Repatriation Rd before getting back onto Pickering Brook Rd. I was concerned that these attacks were beginning to take their toll and I was taking on board plenty of fluid to help replace what I was losing which also had me concerned that I might run out but it turned out I had just enough to get through.

On the 4th lap (I think), the stronger riders in the bunch combined and executed a devastating run up Repatriation Rd that split the field in two with all but two of the top 10 riders comprising the 12 strong break away. Thankfully I was able to keep in touch with this without losing too much energy thanks to most of the rider's willingness to roll turns into the wind and up the climbs in an effort to bring the gap to an unbridgeable distance.

By the time we passed the bell and entered the last lap, we had an unassailable gap between what was now about 10 riders and the rest of the field. Frans, Phil, Paul and Greg were in the break group so it was set for one hell of a sprint finish as we climbed hard up Repatriation Rd for the last time with Paul and Greg combining to put the pressure on the other riders. As I was the rider in their sights (3rd overall at this stage), I had to match their attack and continued with them along Pickering Brook Rd toward the finish line.

With about 300m to go, I was in third wheel behind Greg and Paul and holding the pace comfortably. I knew Frans was on my wheel but Phil's whereabouts was not so clear and I had assumed him to be on Frans' wheel over my right shoulder. Then the shout "Phil on the inside" came and a green flash sprang past on my left completely unexpected. It was a bold and solid attack for the line and I instantly jumped around Paul and Greg (who seemed slow to react) to try and catch his wheel.

With 100m to go I had caught Phil's back wheel and knew I still had it in me to complete a strong sprint. I kicked out one last-ditch effort and pushed the power to 1,523 watts to create the closest photo finish of the day. I was of the impression I had just missed the line to Phil but had it confirmed by Dennis (who had come to watch and support - thanks mate) not much later that I had managed to pinch the win by a mere 50mm putting me on equal 2nd overall with Frans on 8 points and 3 points behind Phil (which was not what I had initially calculated).

So it would come down to the Criterium (40 minutes + 2 laps) and with just 3 points separating myself and Frans from Phil, it was going to be hard to shut the gap down so it would mean keeping tabs on Phil and Frans as the gap to 4th place was 7 points which would be even harder to close. I had spoken with Brad prior to heading to Kewdale and his advice still applied to how the race should be handled however it would rely a little on Phil making a mitake. So it was more Frans that I needed to keep the closest eye on and prevent him from getting the jump on me and getting that one point needed to separate us.

With the mercury closing in on 34 degrees and a strong wind blowing down the back straight, we rolled onto course and I immediately found Phil's wheel and stuck to it for the first 25 minutes of the race. He was pulling some long turns at the front which I hoped would wear him down but he continued to look strong throughout the race. On the second lap, Magnus Rudisele broke away and stayed away for the best part of the race to take the two Prime laps collecting $40 for his efforts.

After about 28 minutes, Paul and Greg must have decided that their only chance to gain a podium place was to attack. A move that would take Phil off the front of the group and left me with no choice but to prevent any loss of overall placing and go with them. The group continued to cover the attacks so more often than not I was able to cover the breaks without much effort but the pace was still being maintained at around 37-38 km/h which was proving difficult for most of the field by this stage of the event.

2 laps to go and we had pulled Magnus back into the main field and once again it would come down to the sprint. I was keen to stick to Brad's advice and keep tabs on Phil and Frans. It was not difficult to know where Frans was as he had been on my wheel the entire race. I was happy with this as I knew where he was but Phil was not see easy to spot but I knew he would be lurking close by.

As we rode up the back straight for the last time, things were hotting up and the pace had lifted to 40 km/h with just about every rider keen to finish strongly for the best overall place they could get. I was about 5th wheel as we rounded the second last corner and I suddenly found myself hemmed into the kerb with about 320m to go. Phil and Frans (and a few others) spotted this and jumped which had me searching for gaps and losing places.

I had fallen back to about 7th wheel as we rounded the last corner onto the home straight and I had to pull out a hard and strong effort to pull back as many places as I could. Phil had prime position at the head of the sprint and it was highly unlikely that anyone would pull him back so I had to focus on getting past Frans before the line.

Frans had already proven through the road races that he had developed a solid sprint but I knew I had the the ability to push large bursts of power that could get me through to the finish ahead of him and I had a clear line ahead of me to the checkered flag. It was a bit of a blur as the pain was severe but I have a vague memory of looking over to Frans (two riders over on my right) and giving him what he might have thought was a cheeky smile as I pulled ahead of him to finish 3rd. Sorry Frans, but that was no smile - it was a grimace of sheer agony.

So with Phil taking the line honours in the Criterium, he finished the tour with a 5 point buffer on second place (me) and second place having a 1 point buffer on third (Frans). It really was an epic tour and was once again thoroughly enjoyed by everyone from the riders to the fantastic turn out of spectators. A huge thank you goes out to all of the officials and race marshalls and to the organising committee for putting on a memorable two day event.

Day two would not be complete just yet, however, as AP and Troy Coultard put on one hell of a show in their criterium to finish off a hard fought tour in their grade. AP and Troy would lap the field but it would not be enough for AP who continued to demoralise the main bunch by continuing his onslaught on the stage and finishing almost 1.5 laps ahead of the field and collecting data that I am sure Brad will be happy with. It was incredible to watch and something that wont be forgotten as we head toward the Summer Criterium series.

I congratulate everyone who managed to complete the gruelling event in the heat and wind. The event could not be a success without the turnout of riders that make each stage as exciting to watch as it was to be involved in. I acknowledge Phil and Frans for keeping me totally and utterly honest throughout the event and a big congratulations to Emma Gillard for attaining best placed female rider to finish all four stages and 15th overall in her grade. Also, to AP who managed a 6th overall in his grade to round out an eventful tour for him and a great showing for the Hall Cycle Training team (myself, AP and Emma. Oh, and Jamie - even if he was in RCCC colours).

Finally, a big thank you to my family who gave up their long weekend to come out to Wandi and Kewdale to support me from the sidelines. It's always great to hear the cheers from them as you pass by the start/finish line each time and helps get you through and do your best.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you out there soon (if I survive tomorrow morning's training that is).