CCCC Glenvale Crit: C Grade. Cycling Superstitions.

I have finally become reasonable at crit racing and the season has basically come to an end. Even though I wore the unlucky number 13 upside down and didn't shave my legs on the day of a race (both are required to to cancel out bad cycling luck), a early break got away and stayed away till the end. This meant speeds were slightly higher in C grade averaging just over 40km/h, but no one was working together and my couple of attempts at the front were futile.

On the last lap I was working a hard turn at the front attempting to chase the leaders who had long gone and was promptly cut off mid corner by a guy who decided he liked the look of my line. Luckily it didn't cause a accident behind me and was absolutely not necessary as there were no placings to be had. Oh well, next week is the last crit to prove myself in C grade before I switch to the winter road season. On a side note, it is interesting to point out that there is significant cultural differences between clubs. All in all, I prefer my local club races which have been known to end in a sprint finish to the bar for a scotch and cola.

CCCC Glenvale Crit: C Grade . New track and new pain face

 It was good to ride a new track today and a new Grade. Unfortunately I had to wear a not very fashionable fluro green head band, signifying that I was a newbie but at least it matched my bike. I had no real game plan today except to sit in and get comfortable with the circuit and practice pain faces for the camera. This is only because last week I was told off for smiling because racing is serious business. It was a great little square circuit with wide corners which allowed for some higher speeds. Overall we managed a average of 40km/h.

It was kept interesting with a constant stream of people trying to break away, I had a bit of a dip to keep things interesting but as usual nothing would stick and it came down to a sprint finish. I went a bit early on the last lap (again) and was first through  last corner but couldn't hold on for even a place. I manged to finish comfortable inside the top 10, but it is probably time to start some more dedicated sprint training. Luckily I got chatting to Steele von Hoff from the Genesys Pro Cycling team yesterday and got some tips. Time to practice my 3 out and back just at Bill Dove told us in Adelaide.