Today would be my first race since Collie-Donnybrook three weeks ago and so much has happened training-wise since then so I was keen to get down to Wandi and put everything I have been doing to the test. This included a good one-on-one with the Coach in relation to my hill climbing technique, an area that I have given special attention in terms of required improvement. Brad was more than enlightening in this department after I bombarded him with questions on how best to approach and execute a hill climb (short or long). But for some reason, I was feeling a little uneasy about this race...
It would also be the first time the entire team would be in attendance with all 7 of us showing up for the usual A grade event in absolutely fantastic weather conditions. We were certainly the dominant team in terms of numbers but this would likely trigger collusion between other teams so it would be interesting to see how things played out during the race, but what was to unfold provided us, and the entire field for that matter, a hard lesson in humility.
With only 29 in the field for A grade, there might be chances of respite from time-to-time if needed but with EHBS fielding Ed, Sam and Chris we would need to be mindful of attacks that will certainly be forthcoming as well as look for signs of teams working together to help unsettle us. Again, I would be assuming the role of ensuring Fox was kept out of harms way and ensuring he remained fresh through to the end but I also wanted to get the race off to a strong pace so from the moment we were released, I turned things up and broke away to see what sort of response it would solicit.
From the first few hundred metres it looked as though I would not get much response from anyone other than George Miller (which was expected) but it wasn't until I rounded the bend onto Wandi Drive that I would realise that the main field were pulling me back in with Eddy now leading the charge. He caught me as I rode up the short incline of Wandi Drive and I was sucked back into the pack by the time I crested the final aspect of the climb on the first part of Bodeman Rd. This seemed to result in a steady pace of around 41km/h and it never seemed to shift from that for the remainder of the race.
I had expected Ed to keep his pace going and counter-attack on the main climb through the middle of the course but he seemed happy to take it easy and ride with the group. The head of the group had been strung out somewhat and gaps of 1 or 2 bike lengths separated most of the lead riders with Sam, Pat, Chris Roberts and a few others keeping the pace going. Eventually the lead 6 or 7 riders formed a group and had a reasonable gap on the main field before rounding the corner onto Lyon Rd. With both Pat and Chris among the lead group, the rest of us were happy to let them maintain their gap.
The lead group managed to stay away for the next couple of laps and as we rode up Bodeman Rd yet again, I noticed AP seemed to be backing right off, which unfortunately for him was due to a punctured rear wheel. Perhaps this was the reason for my uneasy feeling given Wandi is noted for its ability to destroy rubber and put significant numbers out of a race. I was about to pull up to offer to echange my rear wheel with AP's but realised he was running an 11 speed that would not be compatible with my 10 speed so pushed on to let the remaining Unicorn riders know of AP's demise.
Up to this point, we didn't see much of Eddy or Chris Glasby within the group, which was understandable with Sam up the road, but it was not long after AP pulled out that Ed would appear near the front of the group. The impending closure of the gap to the lead group was clearly going to happen soon and Ed's move to the front seemed to signify this and the pace quickened a little. Both Fox and I were on Ed's back wheel at this stage and I checked in with Fox to let him know I was happy to try and go with anything that Ed would throw at us. Paul muttered something that I didn't quite catch but figured it was my job to cover any counter-attack so I stuck close to Ed to monitor his movements.
Just prior to catching the breakaway group, Ed seemed to back off and I lost sight of him. I assumed he had moved back into the group while Chris Glasby seemed to be more prominent at the front. The leaders were brought back in soon enough and there didn't seem to be much going on immediately in terms of counter-attacks but I could sense that something was about happen. With about half the race done, I don't recall ever really seeing Sam back in the group and before anyone had the chance to cover it, both he and Ed along with Ian Gregory made the decisive move on Lyon Rd that would begin the day's lesson. It was a very clever and well orchestrated move.
I had made the mistake of assuming that one of our team had managed to go with them and I know I wasn't the only one to think this. But in the end, it was just the three that got away and the rest of the field were either caught off guard or simply had no intention of going with or chasing the three riders down. At this point, the entire Unicorn team dominated the front of the group with a concerted effort to close the gap that had formed and we were provided assistance from varying riders from Arbitrage and Total Travel (Keith Winch and Mike Tapscott). Mark Horn was also a very notable presence near the front for the remainder of the race and appeared to be more than willing to do his share of the work. Others including Simon Verona, Mike Pardon, Magnus Rudisele and Tony Mott were also seen to be among the front of the group during this period of the race.
Unfortunately, no amount of work seemed to put the slightest of dents into the gap that the three leaders were putting into us. No doubt Ed and Sam would be working incredibly well together and would put as much sting into Ian's legs in order to shake him loose, a tactic which had the desired effect toward the end of the race where the two EHBS boys were too strong even for the likes of Ian and he finished some 30 seconds behind Sam and Eddy.
Meanwhile, back in the main group and the result of the race a foregone conclusion, we were simply riding for minor placings but we were still determined to pick up something from this race. An attack came from Chris Glasby during the third-last lap which I suspect was a distinct effort to claim 4th place so I jumped with him and with the help of Mark Horn, we were able to bring him back into the group. With two laps to go, I was feeling far better than I had previously on this course and the hills had not been taking as much a toll on me as they had before.
Singo, Craig and Chris were at the front of the group rolling turns with Pat, Fox and myself sitting just in behind them among a handful of others. Pat put the question to me in regard to how fresh I was feeling and instructed me to repeatedly attack through the remainder of the race to try and wear down some of the potential threats to Paul. I immediately jumped and gapped the field but the pace of the group brought me back in before too long and I sat in to recover for a while before jumping again just prior to the beginning of the main climb up Bodeman Rd in an effort to make the group chase up the hill.
I was certainly feeling the sting by now as the pace of the group was significant even without my attacks and as I prepared to jump one last time, our three powerhouses in Singo, Craig and Chris came to the front of the group and began to form the lead-out train. I sat in at fourth wheel and worked to keep the pace up along De Haer Rd. I took a quick check behind me and noted that Fox was there but I wasn't sure where Pat was at this point so I assumed he was not far from Paul's wheel. At this point my line was being chopped repeatedly as riders tried to implement themselves into our lead-out. I had thought we managed to maintain our train quite well but unbeknown to me for a while, George Miller had managed to get a sit between my back wheel and Paul and I got the call from Fox to break right in an effort to dislodge George from the line.
The move to the right put me head first into the wind but it had the desired effect and Fox was able to move up and onto the back of the lead three Unicorn riders. The head wind took its toll on my remaining energy reserves and I lost a number of places in the group and suddenly found myself well out of position and the group was unintentionally boxing me in. I had no choice but to await a gap that would allow me to break right into the wind once again and move up the outside of the group. It eventually came and I worked through a number of places but was not able to get back to the front and I was squeezed out once again by riders who had more left than I did by this point. All I could hope for was that the team would be able to deliver Fox to the line for 4th place.
Unfortunately, bad luck would still play a role in this race and to my surprise I noticed Fox come out the back of the bunch and slowing right down. He had suffered a slipped chain off the big ring of his chain set right at the point where he needed to be able to apply maximum power and it put paid to his finish. The sprint was taken out by Doug Stewart with Chris Glasby and George Miller taking out the final places.
It certainly wasn't the result we were hoping for with all seven of our team racing together for the first time and no-one could take anything away from Sam and Eddy and also Chris for his strong finish among the group. Ed and Sam caught us completely off-guard and having the likes of those two up the road will nearly always have a result in their favour. While there wouldn't be a single rider at WCMCC that doesn't have respect for team EHBS, they certainly earned a lot more from this result given how strongly the Unicorn team outnumbered them. In my book it was a first class ride from a first class team. Due respect also goes to Ian Gregory for his effort to go with two incredibly strong riders who I can only assume would have been working him over the entire time they were out front.
As a team, we will need to regroup after this "lesson in racing" and be more mindful that weight in numbers can mean nothing when it comes to the likes of EHBS. There were moments through the last half of the lap that indicated that there may have been some inter-teamwork going on against us but that is racing and we need to be able to find a way to counter this. We often do outnumber the other teams and we are strong enough to obtain results from races like this so we will need to improve on our ability to work against one or more teams that might be working together - and never let Sam and Ed get away together ever again!
Personally, I was reasonably happy with my race. I'll be the first to admit that I made some rookie mistakes that may have gone against us and I will learn from this and ensure I work and function better both alone and as part of the team. I found that I was handling the undulations far better than I had during previous visits to this course and similar ones but still need to keep working to ensure I can continue to improve in this aspect of racing.
On other racing, congratulations to Melissa Robinson for taking the step up to B grade and competing strongly. Mel has been racing very well and her ability to keep in touch and finish with a strong field is testament to the work she has been putting in. Congrats to Merissa Cunningham finishing 10th in C grade and to Lorna Henson finishing strongly for 3rd in D grade. A step up to C grade is surely immanent.
Many thanks for reading.
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