13/04/2014 Race report: Burggener Strassenpreis. On front all dayyy!!!

So after a week pretty much off the bike and in Austria, I returned back to Germany with a fresh pair of legs. The race would once again be a case of riding blind for the first lap. This is because usually the actual race course is not listed just the start line this goes the same for Belgium, so the first lap even though were racing full blast it is also a case of riding blind and your directed by Marshall's standing on corners. I was hoping for abit more of a flatter race but i was quickly proven wrong with nice 10% climb in the middle of the course, not too long but long enough to break some legs this couldn't be unexpected though as the town we started in was right near the Alps.




As most the racing i had done in Belgium was mainly flat  with short,sharp climbs i made sure to pace myself up the climb to ensure i wouldn't blow up. Though because of this i missed the deciding breakaway that went away on the third lap about 20k into the race, as I was mid bunch. I made many attempts after to break from the peleton to try join the break as i could tell it would stay away but with only a handful of riders willing to work with me and the front group containing 12 riders i was racing a losing battle.

Keeping the pace high

 After a couple laps of unsuccessful attacking and trying to form another group, I settled back in the peleton, content to pull turns with only about 5-10 guys in a pack of almost 90 riders. The legs were feeling surprising good especially up the climb with the lack of hill racing Ive had lately. Each lap on the climb i would try to break away but with a long descent straight after the climb it was quite impossible to stay clear. To put in perspective one lap up the climb i attacked revving up the speed to around 40-45 up the climb then rode like a madman hitting over 80k an hour in my biggest gear, going well into the red on the descent only to eventually be gobbled up by the peleton again.

Embarking on a solo breakaway

Me and team Aichach rider stretching out the peleton

  Though in the last 2-3 laps after the front group of 12 riders were well and truly gone i decided i had nothing left to lose. I rode the front making sure to string the peleton out and try drop as many riders as i could.

This to a degree worked, i got clear a few times with 3-4 riders which made the peleton stretch out and by last lap the 2nd main pack had dwindled down to about 30 riders. Though i had paid the price and on the last lap on the final climb i lost a small group of 10 riders and spent all my energy solo riding to only catch them just near the finish but had nothing left for the sprint and came in 25th.

 Its a shame they didn't have a most aggressive rider competition as i think I would of been a shoe in for that. Though I'm happy with my form and its a nice change from last weeks flat tyre.

Feeling good

Daily life

Well since my last race in Germany, Me and my girlfriend decided to head back to Salzburg Austraia to visit Ankes (my girlfriend) sister and friends. This was my second visit, the first 2 years ago when i was living in Germany, it still seizes to amaze me how beautiful the place really is, settled in the Alps.

Rainy day

I took some much needed time off the bike as pretty much Ive had the last almost 2 months of just racing and training. Although i was off training I still ended up climbing a nearby mountain called the Gaisberg (1265m) with my girlfriend. Its so hard not to go hiking when your in the alps cause their literally hundreds of hiking trails.

Gaisberg

View of the Alps along the way

The Gaisberg left me walking with a limp for a day a two :P legs aren't use to walking i guess, just riding. Beside that we just enjoyed catching up with friends and borrowing there commuter bikes to tour around some of the neighbouring castles and mountains.

Riding to a nearby Castle

The trip was what i really needed to refresh and be ready for the weekend of  racing back in Germany. Sometimes the biggest problem with bike racers is that we just don't know how to take a day off and in the end it can really just drag your performance down. So to all those aspiring riders remember to just have fun and listen to your body.

Salzburg

06/04/2014 Race Report: Aichacher Frühjahrsstraßenpreis am. First Race Germany, flat tyre and no team car!!!!

 A Hilly, Wet, Windy day, I was in for some pain. The race kicked off fast with a 8% climb 200m from the start this really put the heart in the mouth.

  After the first 3 laps my heart rate finally came down and i settled in to a nice pack off 110 riders much smaller fields compared to Belgium racing but never the less just as fast. On the first the lap i remember looking down at my garmin to see we were hovering around 45-50k up the hill ahhh from the flat windy roads of Belgium to the Hilly side of South Germany definitely was a shock to the system.

 Though it was short lived in the peleton as i got a flat and was lucky to have a bystander lend me a tube. This is were it really sucks when you don't have your team car following the race to give you another wheel.

Lonely wet chase

Covered in dirt

 Oh i think i forgot to say I'm racing in Germany on my own as i came back with my Girlfriend to tour around awhile. So obviously none of my team mates or team directors are here for problems like this. This left me chasing for the rest of the race only to end up being lapped with 3 laps to go roughly 30k. The weather took for the worse and rained the last 50k or so of the race making for a quite slippery course. After being lapped I pulled out covered in dirt and quite disappointed as the legs were feeling good. Oh well that's racing I will have my next race next Sunday so fingers crossed all goes well :)

26/03/2014 Race report: GP Des Commercants Esplechin. Finally getting in the groove

Getting ready

This would be a repeat of last Wednesdays race in Esplechin on the same course. To recap easy long hills with lots of open space meaning big cross winds well last week at least. Though it seemed the day was turning to be a pretty still day in wind terms, which is still crazy windy compared to Australia but i wasn't complaing. It was real nice to have my girlfriend from Germany visit for the week with her car, It really made pre race routine much less stressful being able to be early and have plenty of time to get ready. The main reason i try arrive early is that for registration with usually 150, 200 riders including many internationals this means a big waiting cue. If you arrive a hour before almost half of that time is spent in the line, so with putting your numbers on and packing your jersey with food, rubbing down legs, you really only get 10 mins of warm up time.

Munching on some rice crackers before the race

The race was much calmer this week round, though we were still averaging 43-45k/hr, I was able to stick around in the top 40 or so making sure to try keep shelter up the climbs. By midway it starting heating up with a few early breaks getting away in the back straight hills. Though with a big peleton including many lower class pro teams (Omega Quickstep,Lotto Belisol) It is always hard to stay away in a break.

Me and Jacob

Can see my arse up further in the pack with jazz writen on it but just posted as its a good pic of the race.

Finish

With 3 laps to go 34k i was feeling real good, i started moving up to the front preparing for what seemed was going to be once again a group finish. A high finish would be really hard as the final few corners before the line were small and tight meaning it would be very hard to get near the front. So come final lap i was riding like a madman trying to squeeze my way up front but come the last kilometre in the small roads i got caught midbunch sprinting for minor places coming in 74th. The thing people dont see usually on the results sheet is the times of each rider. For example this race from 1st to 123rd we all finished on the same time thats how big the final sprint was. Makes me think back to the times of Robbie
McCwen he really made it look so easy getting to the front. Racing in these big bunches now I can really appreciate all the tactics and skills needed just to make it near the front, as many say its not always the strongiest rider that wins but the smartest. Anyway in the end i was very pleased with my form and i am looking forward my next race in Germany this Sunday. If your curious you can always see the race results i put a link at the end of each blog. This race had 154 starters 124 finishers but you can see that all in the race results.

Race results