Yesterday I raced in the Peter Stevens Memorial Road Race at
Gumeracha, SA. This was a graded mass start event ie you are just racing the
people in your grade. Before hand, I was not sure whether or not I would be D
or C grade, as at the Alphutte Classic,
I was in the group of riders who are on the fence between the two and I
suffered keeping up. So I was kind of hoping to be in D grade as I was not
feeling that keen for a 72 km smash fest.
When I arrived I discovered C grade had such a big field it
had been split into upper and lower-C1 and C2, and I’d been placed in C1. This
shocked me and I realized that I was going to have to believe that I could keep
up, if I were to have any hope. I reasoned with myself that the NRS women I
have been racing would be B/C grade and I had proven I am able to keep up with
them, so I could give keeping up with these guys a fair shot. Still, I was
prepared to be in the hurt box from the start.
Soon into the race I discovered I felt quite good and had a
lot of punch for the climbs and any attacks. I also felt far more confident
than I’ve ever felt on a bike before, persisting to stick to wheels that I
wanted and not let people steal them from me. My positioning the whole race was
worlds better than I’ve managed before (much easier with only 22 people in your
field rather than 67 at Battle on the Border though). My race consisted of 4
laps and so I got to practice my positioning into the final corner a few times
before the final uphill sprint to the finish, which was handy!
The race was mostly calm and not too difficult, most attacks
were solo and did not last, and I was able to pick up the pace when I needed to
and quickly worked out which wheels were the safest options to a) not crash and
b) not miss any attacks which might stay away. On the 3rd lap up to
the finish line area, a break of two went and I was left in no man’s land in 3rd.
A man caught me by the top and tried to work with me to catch the other two but
I had lost my legs and wanted them back in a few hundred metres for the next
climb. So I recovered and waited for the bunch, in the hope that we would reel
the 3 guys out the front back in. It took us most of that lap, and the pace was
fairly high but I was glad to start the final lap knowing I could get a decent position
because there wasn’t anyone up the road. I managed to position myself really
well coming into the last few kms but was swamped at the final corner and a few
guys tried to take it too fast and I had two guys out to my right in the gravel
and another two to my left with the wobbles, and so I hesitated momentarily
trying to find a gap so I could sprint, and lost contact with the top three
guys. I worked my way through the rest of my bunch and had a sprint finish with
another guy which I took out (rare moment) for 4th place, $80 and
memory of what the power of belief can do!
Doing this race was extremely good for me. I proved to
myself that I have the confidence to position myself well in a smaller bunch
and that I can keep up with people I didn’t think I could. I love to see
improvements, and this was a noticeable one! After I finished racing, I got to
watch Roey smash it up in A grade to finish 2nd, and so we came home
with $180 between us and I think we were both pretty happy.
The past week I have finally been able to train properly
again because I don’t feel under the weather, and life has been swell. However
I have been reminded that I am here for uni, and not riding and need to
remember to keep a balance between riding, uni, college life, studying for uni
and spending time with friends and Roey. With uni exams coming up, and a lot of
SA cycling racing, things are going to get super busy for me so I’ve got to
make sure I keep switched on and manage things as best I can.
There are heaps of people I need to thank in SA for helping
me to develop into a cyclist and I hate just mentioning some names, knowing I’m
missing others that I appreciate too, so to anyone who has been friendly to me,
thank you! Obviously I need to thank Liz and Specialized for all their support
and great equipment-I could never have imagined myself on such a fantastic team
with top gear, particularly the bike. I’d still be stuck on my Giant which
breaks down every few weeks.. but also Chris Taylor, Lucky and Roey for their
attempts to make me more confident at cornering, descending and sprinting. It
may not look to them as if I am improving at these areas but I know I am and so
appreciate their help heaps! Plus we have heaps of fun, which is the main thing
to me! I also really need to thank Carla ‘CJ’ Franson. This girl has become
such a close friend and is so much fun to be with but is also really supportive
and we can quite literally talk about anything. She also inspires me out on the
bike because she does not give up and just works so incredibly hard. I often
think about this when I’m hurting or off the back because I know Carla would do
everything she could to get back on, and so I should too. Thank you to Roey,
for being such a top guy J
I also could never forget the people back home-my parents,
my step dad, my brothers, my sister-in-laws, my close friends, training
friends, Natalea and Tom Doering. These people continue to be amazing and I
miss them heaps! I can’t wait to see them again in July. Before then though, I
have uni exams, lots of racing and the NRS Canberra Tour and I am keen to do
well in all of these. Once I tick them all off, it’s home time for either two
or four weeks. Woo!
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