I wish I could say that going lap-for-lap with Mt.Beauty local (and Team Mount Beauty President) Cam Dickinson meant that I could get out on course after just under 30minutes rest each time and smash myself to pieces but my body just doesn't work like that...yet! After so much training to race longer, uninterrupted races and very little short, intense training plus diminishing general fitness from too much work and not enough riding recently, it was a tough lesson.
Cam and I went lap for lap all day. I put in a reasonable first lap after which we were both cutting similar times around the 7.5km course with ~230m of climbing/lap. A slight addition to last years course meant for a smidge more climbing which earned a really fun descent all the way to transition. The inside word was that the real race was to see who could get the Strava KOM for the main descent. At time of publication, I'm sitting in second by just a handful of seconds.
Unfortunately this race was not to be won on the descents (the intermediate descent '3rd Parallel' is another Strava segment of which I share a KOM with the bloke who beat me on the main descent..grrr) and I just don't have the legs/lungs/heart for smashing climbs at the moment.
So despite risking life and limb on the descents, Cam and I held 2nd place in Male Pairs at the end of the day. Which was nice.
More exciting perhaps is how iRide's newest Solo Racer King, Llew Thomas rode throughout the day. After a steady, smart start Llew kept riding comfortably through the pits with a wide smile all day. Reports from marshals out on course were that Llew didn't even look like he was trying but he's assured me he was! Despite a far smaller field at this race than others in the series, Llew's competition was no less stacked as he battled it out with the Chancellor Cousins, Phil Orr and Peter Casey. Llew was leading from Peter for quite a while and I was sure he'd hold his place on the podium but it looks like Casey had the legs on the day putting Llew into 4th place. Bloody stellar effort Llew!
I think Team Mount Beauty put on an excellent event overall, thanks guys and gals! Of course I am biassed and I may have enjoyed the socialising as much as the racing with (at a guesstimate) around 20%-30% of the field made up from Mt.Beauty locals. Unfortunately for the racers and the club (who won't make any money from this event I won't imagine) numbers were pretty low. A Sunday race 4hrs drive from Melbourne is always going to be hard to get people to and the club will no doubt rethink this next year. Those few that did come got to ride our tracks at their tackiest and without a spot of mud all in the finest of weather.
I look forward to seeing you all here next year!
Results HERE
Cam and I went lap for lap all day. I put in a reasonable first lap after which we were both cutting similar times around the 7.5km course with ~230m of climbing/lap. A slight addition to last years course meant for a smidge more climbing which earned a really fun descent all the way to transition. The inside word was that the real race was to see who could get the Strava KOM for the main descent. At time of publication, I'm sitting in second by just a handful of seconds.
Unfortunately this race was not to be won on the descents (the intermediate descent '3rd Parallel' is another Strava segment of which I share a KOM with the bloke who beat me on the main descent..grrr) and I just don't have the legs/lungs/heart for smashing climbs at the moment.
So despite risking life and limb on the descents, Cam and I held 2nd place in Male Pairs at the end of the day. Which was nice.
More exciting perhaps is how iRide's newest Solo Racer King, Llew Thomas rode throughout the day. After a steady, smart start Llew kept riding comfortably through the pits with a wide smile all day. Reports from marshals out on course were that Llew didn't even look like he was trying but he's assured me he was! Despite a far smaller field at this race than others in the series, Llew's competition was no less stacked as he battled it out with the Chancellor Cousins, Phil Orr and Peter Casey. Llew was leading from Peter for quite a while and I was sure he'd hold his place on the podium but it looks like Casey had the legs on the day putting Llew into 4th place. Bloody stellar effort Llew!
I think Team Mount Beauty put on an excellent event overall, thanks guys and gals! Of course I am biassed and I may have enjoyed the socialising as much as the racing with (at a guesstimate) around 20%-30% of the field made up from Mt.Beauty locals. Unfortunately for the racers and the club (who won't make any money from this event I won't imagine) numbers were pretty low. A Sunday race 4hrs drive from Melbourne is always going to be hard to get people to and the club will no doubt rethink this next year. Those few that did come got to ride our tracks at their tackiest and without a spot of mud all in the finest of weather.
I look forward to seeing you all here next year!
Results HERE
Official iRide supporter Laura (my Sis), Llew Thomas and Me
Solo Female podium (L-R): Jenny Kromar (2nd), Eve Burrell (3rd) and Tory Thomas with the prestigious winners sash.
Photo courtesy of someone else
This shot of me was taken near the bottom of the main descent. I was as knackered at this point as at the top of the main climb!
Photo courtesy of someone else
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