WCMCC Wandi Road Race Season Closer - A Grade :: 21st October, 2012

This morning's road race clashed with the State Road Race Titles in Chidlow and I had thought numbers would be down across the WCMCC grades at Wandi. I arrived pretty much at my usual time to allow a warm up prior to the race and overheard some murmurs that A grade may be combined into the B grade race and when I picked up bib #5 it looked like my thoughts and those rumours might be right. As I finalised my prep, what seemed like the entire field of A grade regulars rolled in like a band of outlaws into a sleepy Texas town. So it was all set for an A grade show down.

What I would not realise until after the race was that among those riders rolling in to sign up for A grade was Matt Dec helping bolster what turned out to be a pretty strong field considering the clash with the State Titles. Within seconds of being given the all clear to ride, George Miller and Ian Lyne burst out of the blocks and took an immediate break on the field. This break last for at least two laps with the main field not really too concerned about the likelihood of success given the 75km course comprising 9 laps of the Wandi circuit.

The two breakaway riders managed 500m at best before they tired and the main bunch began to real them in. Prior to catching them, an attack came from a rider I didn't recognise at the time and the main field didn't seem to consider his bravado to be too much of a concern. In hindsight, had I known who it was I would have been more likely to jump with an attacking Matt Dec. I'm still surprised at how happy the main field was let him go - perhaps I was not the only one not to recognise him.

Shortly after Matt's great escape, Ian and George were both pulled back into the main field and the expected counter-attack was on by a small number of riders. None of these riders stayed away long and the group was back together again apart from Matt, however one rider in Ian Gregory managed to get another jump and crossed the now short gap to ride with Matt. On or around the 3rd lap in, Doug Stewart also made the jump as we rode down Lyon Rd with one or two riders attempted to go with him, but his kick was strong and he managed to successfully get across to the two lead riders to make up three leaders. At this stage I must have been snoozing on the job as it had not occurred to me once during all of this to go with any of them.

The main group were still riding strongly and there was once or twice during the initial chase where it would seem we would pull the three riders in but by the time we completed the fourth lap and crossed the line to begin our fifth, there was a significant gap to the lead riders and no-one in the main field seemed keen to do any work. The only significant team for the morning was Keady Humble Tognini and given they had a man in the breakaway strong enough to take a win, they were in no mood to help chase them down.

As we rolled over the start/finish line, past my load cheer squad in Kathy, Jade and Jordan and on toward the turn into Wandi Drive, my want to chase the breakaway down and the group's lack of interest seemed to create a short gap of about 10 metres which the group allowed me to extended even further before the turn into Bodeman Rd. I took the opportunity to go after the leaders in the hope that someone might attempt to break from the group and go with me but the end result was that this attempt would go solo.

The wind was no help at all and at the base of the climb up Bodeman Rd I noticed the B grade bunch ahead climbing to the crest. I used the chance to chase them down and pass them as motivation to increase my gap and to help get across to Doug, Matt and Ian. It was hard work climbing this hill on my own but I pressed on and managed to come around the B grade bunch as they made the descent down the other side. I had completed the pass before turning in to Lyon Rd again but the gap had not increased that much and I had seemed to only make a small dent in the gap to the leaders. This suddenly seemed like a bad idea and I was beginning to cook but still I pressed on.

The group would not catch me again until the final bend into the home stretch and again, no one seemed to want to come around so I sat up and let the field swallow me in to try and find some respite from the wind and see if I could recover somewhat in case there was a final sprint for 4th place as it seemed highly unlikely that the breakaway trio would be caught. This was pretty much how the race would continue for the next two and a half laps.

I was really hurting as the group powered on through the next 3 laps but I managed to stick with them and was not keen to drop to the back so I remained between the front and about mid-way back into the field. On the climb up Bodeman Rd during the 8th lap, the attack came that would see three more riders in Matt Tognini, Greg McCoy and Paul Lamond get a break on a now tired main field. These three would hold enough of a gap to keep from being caught before the line leaving the main field to sprint for 7th place.

As we ascended the small hill at the start of De Haer Rd for the last time, I was seriously hurting and felt all but completely cooked. I had dropped to the back of the group and struggled to make the top of the climb. This produced a gap of about 50 metres to the main group but I was not alone as Greg Stoyles appeared to be fatiguing as rapidly as I was. I was not keen to let the group get away and as the road levelled out, I put in as much of an effort as I could to get back onto the tail end of the echelon that had formed across the width of the lane.

The group shuffled around a number of times leading up to the final bend and allowed me to get around most of the riders and slide into second wheel. The anticipated jump came on the inside and I was in a position to go with it so jumped onto the riders wheel. There was no evidence of anyone else coming around at this stage so I assumed that were all collecting on my wheel waiting for the opportunity to make their jump. With 200 metres to go I mustered whatever energy I had left to jump but just couldn't get enough power up to maintain a sprint that would allow me to get to the line for 7th place and the main field came streaming around either side of me and a sat back into the saddle completely spent. That 5th lap solo effort had completely cooked me and I finished 15th.

While I may not have been successful in my effort to cross the gap to Doug, Matt and Ian, I was happy that I had made the attempt, even if it did cook me and was probably my most damaging mistake for the race. To have put in such an effort and still finish with the main field is an encouraging sign that my training is paying off and I am able to be competitive enough with the same riders that dropped my like a hot potato during the UCI qualifier earlier this year. I feel more confident now to be more competitive in next year's UCI event and hope to automatically qualify as opposed to waiting for someone not to take up the invitation to go to the final.

With this morning signifying the end of the WCM Road Race season, our attention now turns to the impending Criterium season. I will look to take up my place among the A grade ranks for this season and hope that I can be a little more competitive during these races. A big thanks goes to Kathy, Jordan and Jade for coming down to support not only me, but also Dennis and Emma in C grade and Dave Ellis in B grade. The exuberant cheering from the side lines was certainly noticed by all of us - including Wayne Lally as he officiated over proceedings.

It seems the racing up in Chidlow for the State Road Race Titles was just as tough. From feedback I have even the best of them in AP and Brad did not manage to complete their race (A grade open) but the news is not so glum for one Leone Burford who managed to place 5th overall among the B grade men and an outright win among the women. Congratulations Leone, a thoroughly deserved win.

Thanks for reading.