Tuesday 24 April 2012

CCCC Glenvale C Grade - 2nd

It has been a little while since I have been in the money but given that it has been crit season and I am riding B grade in more clubs than not, this is not much of a surprise (I am more suited to hilly road races). A day at the CCCC Glenvale crits makes for a nice 100km day on the bike with the obligatory coffee at Brown Cow on the way home. In the two previous weeks, I have had decent cracks off the front but they were always pulled back before the final 3 laps.  
 (Copyright to Michael Eaddy, link)

At the 30min mark as I was moving up the bunch, the pace suddenly slowed and I decided to have a crack and gapped the bunch. Bit early than I hoped and no one had come with me, but since I was out there I might as well put the hammer down and tried not to look back. 5 minutes later after A grade had passed, I was still out by myself doubting the early move but was finally given some hope when joined by a Total Rush rider 5 minutes later. We worked well together taking turns pulling half a lap each holding the bunch steady at 20s. The longer we held the bunch steady, I figured the higher the probability that the bunch would stop working and we could increase our lead. Before we knew it, gap had suddenly blown out to 30s and then 40s by the end. Unfortunately I got out foxed on the last lap but I didn't have much left after riding on the limit for the past 20+ mins (180bpm and 41km/h avg). And most importantly, I earned myself a promotion to B grade for the final race of the season. For the official results and report, click here.