Cyclocross State Championships 2013

If we ever needed any proof of the leaps and bounds that cyclocross has made in this South Australia, and Australia in general, then the fact that we are having our first ever State Championships should be more than sufficient.  Full marks to Gemma and Neil for bringing their vision of mud splattered racing to fruition in Adelaide.

The 2013 state championships are being held in the town of Tanunda, about an hours drive out of Adelaide in the Barossa Valley, and more specifically on the grounds of the Chateau Tanunda winery.

Saturday

 Miss V and myself decided to make a weekend of it and stay in Tanunda overnight. We booked a room at the Valley Hotel, which is within easy walking distance of the event venue. On arriving at our accomodation we unloaded the car and walked over to see where we would be racing tomorrow.. Wow..  what a venue. Gemma and crew were still setting up some of the course, so we gave our two cents worth. The section that we were looking at looks insane with barriers, chicanes and a crazy steep hill to contend with. In all honesty, I'm not really looking forward to this bit!  The rest of the course  looks like I might enjoy it, though the run over the train line might mean running higher tyre pressures than is ideal to prevent pinch flatting.  My chances of walking away with a medal in the race tomorrow is, if I'm completely honest, zero. With a bunch of regular A grade and top of B grade riders to compete against, there seems no doubt that I'll be out of the running. Fortunately fellow PACC Man of Steel Gus K  is racing in my masters category, so I think we will end up having our own little race, somewhere near the back of the field no doubt. If I can finish ahead of Gus, I'll count this race as a "win" :)  Given that Gus takes part in something apparently referred to as "training" , I think I might have my work cut out for me.

PACC Barrier, masking the hellish descent beyond.

Sunday

Sunday morning arrived, and so it was a fairly lazy effort to get ready, pack up the car and head down to the course in time for sign on.  The weather was looking to be absolutely sensational, almost summer-like.

Signed on and number pinned, it was time to scope out the course. As predicted, the steep downhill section was no more enjoyable on a bike than on foot. Try as I might, I couldn't see myself riding down the slope without requiring hospitalisation immediately afterwards. Decision made to run this section. There was also another hairpin which had an awkward ditch on the apex which I felt better to run than risk nosediving into the ground.  What became apparent during this warm up was the uphill drags at the start and end of the lap was going to take a massive toll on the legs.

Race

With a few minutes to start, Gus and I waited to be called up to our starting positions. On account of my better placing in the previous series I was starting a row in front.  With the whistle we were off. The group stayed relatively bunched up through the vineyard and through the technical section in the wooded area. Through the hairpins I could catch a glimpse of Gus behind me. I also had another rider not too far ahead. So I immediately had two goals set. To catch the rider in front and to try to shake Gus off my tail.

Gus and CLP awaiting the start.

I pushed hard through the remainder of the first lap in an effort to get on the wheel of the rider in front. In doing so I put a bit of time between Gus and myself. By the downhill chicane, I was on the wheel of the rider in front and managed to run past him at the base of the hill, remounted and tried to open a gap. The problem I found was that in running down the hill I was taking so much out of my legs that I was struggling to get back up to speed on the uphill stretch to the finish line. Compounding this was leaving the bike in the wrong gear before dismounting. Each.And.Every.Freakin'.Lap.

Pushing hard!

Laps 2 and 3 were spent trying to maintain the gap to the riders that I had passed, while trying (in vain!) to catch up to riders ahead.  What I was finding was that I was getting more confidence and it seemed like I was cornering faster. Counteracting this was my legs getting tired and travelling slower on the straighter sections!

On lap 4 as I was running down the hill I noticed a bike overturned, with a couple of people attending to it. At the same time, commissaires were yelling "Number 61, no outside assistance!" repeatedly.    As I had been lapped, this turned out to be my final lap, so I struggled up the hill, rounded the final bend to take the chequered flag. Finishing position was, as predicted, somewhere near the back, though for what it's worth I felt that I raced a lot stronger than I have done in the past.

All things considered I'm relatively happy with how I rode, I just wish I could ride faster..  more training required! Each lap I think I was riding more confidently, no doubt helped by the cheers from the sidelines from friends. I think I pushed myself harder than I have in a long while, which seems to show in the heart rate data for the race sitting just under 180bpm for nearly 30 minutes.

Post race, there were calls for a rider to see the chief commissaire regarding receiving outside assistance, interestingly a name I recognised from my age group. Now, at this point in time I thought there were only five riders in my group. So with one rider behind me, and one looking like getting disqualified, I was thinking that I might be in the medals!  Sadly, it seems I (and maybe others!) misread the start list. My name was called out to get third place. Sweet! But then a last minute protest revealed that there were actually six in my group, so I had to give the medal back..  drama on the podium!    Fair call though, and congratulations to those that finished.

Handicap Race

Attacking the Cobblestones.

The final race of the day was an all-in two lap handicap race. I was given a time of 2:30 ahead of the scratch rider, which seemed like an absurdly low time over two laps. When I rolled up to the start I found PACC president and newly crowned MAS5 CX State Champion Marky G in my handicap group. Yep, this was going to go well!

We were lined up and watched the first groups go away. Listening to the count down from the starter until "two minutes thirty" was called and then we were away. Marky G blasted off the line, up the short rise towards the vines. I hung on until the cobbled section, but after that he was gone, pretty much as expected.

I found that the course felt much faster and with much more grip than in my race which gave a bit of extra confidence going into corners, though I think I still held back a little.

Even on the first lap I had a bunch of riders come past me, which made me feel unbelievably slow. I struggled over the line, to start my second and final lap. I think to this point I hadn't actually caught and passed anyone, which was a little disappointing.

Exiting the Vines.

Second lap I attacked the corners a bit harder and generally carried more speed throughout the course. Goal was to catch someone.. anyone!  This goal was looking a bit out of my reach until I saw Gus up ahead entering the downhill chicane near the dam. I attacked the corners just a little bit harder before dismounting and getting over the barriers. Running down the hill I passed Gus and quickly remounted, climbing up the hill to the finish.  Obviously not in the money, but oddly a fun way to end the event.



Massive kudos to all those involved in organising and hosting this event. Awesome venue, organisation and exciting racing. What more could you want?

Job Done! :)

Strava data for those that are interested:
Race
Handicap race

All Photos c/ Miss V :)