im still awaiting the for the final results to be posted but i at least know i placed at last.
i just went back over the old racing results. with my first race at WSMTB being 1.5yrs almost to the day it is amazing to see the improvements all documented.
back then it was Rnd 1 last year and i was racing D-Grade. i finished but i just remember how difficult the whole race was. i still remember coming home and pretty much pass out on the lounge.
yesterday when we – as a family [wooooooottttttt] – returned home i felt pretty much the same. i guess the 100km Angry Doctor last weekend did take its toll. Saturday morning, before race day on sunday, i rode a very short 30km leg warmer up to faulconbridge and back. nothing hard, well one pinch climb, but that was all.
i was feeling not to bad at the start and had my usual strategy planned. ride out in about 4-8th wheel and keep an eye on what is happening up front. from memory i was about 7thish after the first left [just when the video cuts out] and took that place all the way to the first fireroad climb. once we hit the fire road i passed 3 people and sat in behind ryan davies [current c-grade point series leader] wheel. we entered the gorge and climbed out and i wasn’t feeling too bad.
back down to the fire trail then up into the single track to cross at max’s bridge. at this point i had gone wide on a corner and dropped another spot. i went into the rock garden [climb] with the thought of riding it but it wasn’t to be. the guy in front lost traction so we all ended up hike-a-biking it. we entered the berms and i was still trying to keep pace but around another corner i dropped the bike – as the front wheel washed out from under me. luckily i had paced enough to put a gap on the person behind and they never caught me.
roy was taking the piss out of me at this stage – “get back on it matt, you’ve still got 99km to go”. i took off and it wasn’t until i had passed ryan, which was coming up towards the transition palette jump that i really started to settle into a rhythm.
i think i have worked it all out now, i am a shocking starter of a race. i panic and i just try to keep a pace with others that isn’t mine. i need to just chill and find my rhythm then i can bring it all back and charge. i passed through transition with a comfortable gap back to the others and i was now settled. i did have a couple of issues mechanically. under power the chain was slipping and i know why. the crank rings are shot to bits and i really need to just pull my finger out and get a new XT crankset asap.
settled & comfortable i pressed on. again the rock garden came up but i had to clip out as the rider in front from B-Grade was a bit in the way so i couldn’t get ride it. i grabbed the bike, hiked up and jumped back on. it was here i realised pedro was catching me and i also thought i was in second place.
pedro is a classic, he rides a scott genius mc20. he wears football shorts, a normal t-shirt and a bum bag. just not the usual attire some of us get around in but. like every race before this one when i have hit the front early, pedro rides at one pace, his pace and he almost always ends up rounding most people up on the second lap and sure enough that is exactly what he did to me. as we past half way on the second lap – the palette jump near transition – he would have had a good 10 seconds on me. about 1/2 a km down the track i dropped the chain and had to pull over and put it back on. i passed through transition, slamming down a GU and swapping bottles and still thinking i was in third place.
we again round to the firetrail climb at the first part of the course and i was now fully settled, climbing perfectly and really starting to kick it up a notch. i made my way around to rock garden and this time went straight up it. normally on the third lap i just wouldn’t have had the strength but no issues today.
i entered the berms and saw pedro knowing he was still in sight. coming back up again towards half way, the palette jump, i realised there was a rider slowly catching me. it was then that i just turned it all up two notches and started to really get serious.
i lost the rider behind within the next 1/2 a km and when we entered the 3/4way switch backs pedro was now with in close range. we climbed up to the telegraph track and turned right onto it and both took off. as we hit the bottom part – the fastest part of the yellomundee circuit it was really loose sand and pedro went into the slight right bends a little to hot and before i knew it we were both under full lock.
it was one of those slo-mo moments as i watched him fishtail to a full hault but how awesome to see it so close from behind. i to stopped as i didn’t want to slam into him. we both took off again and entered the small bottom bridge. as we climbed out of it he said “pass on the right” – he knew i was way faster than him at this point in the race so i went to take him on the inside only to have the front wheel was out on me as it clipped a small branch or log. i dropped and was pretty pissed off.
i jumped back up and just mashed the living shit out of the pedals. i caught back up to him but it was all a bit to late as we crossed the tar road and entered the final stretch home which is all single track. i tried to conserve what energy i had because i knew at this point it was going to be a sprint finish.
i dropped it down a gear was we emerged from the single track and just hammered. i passed him without a worry looking back now but man, i was on a mission. as it turned out only a few seconds ahead as i crossed the line was what i still believe do be first place.
i later found out it wasn’t 1st place but actually 2nd which kinda sucked big time. it wasn’t too bad though i still had a podium finish. 3rd place with a sprint finish as well.
i did get a sneak peak at the times and from memory my last lap was my fastest which again is a great sign. can’t wait to see the full results and see what my times are in relation to B-Grade. i also saw my average speed which was something like 17.89km which is the best news of all. i have broken the 17km/hr and almost taken 18! that first race 1.5yrs ago my average speed was 12.26 for only 2 laps.
here’s a video karen shot of my start and the first time i passed through transition [lap 1]
it was so good to have the family down there as well for once. i will try to edit the video K shot of the boys race…
bahh. video still doesn’t look good… need to work on it