Kelly Cycle Coaching track athlete, Jess Laws has recently returned from the Masters Track Nationals, held in Perth.  Jess has been very successful as a track sprinter, but 15 months ago decided to also give the endurance track events a go.  Here is what she had to say about her week in Perth.

So congrats Jess.  You’ve recently returned from the Masters track nats where you’ve had a great week of racing.  What were your thoughts in the final week before competition?  (were you quietly optimistic, nervous, excited to see how your legs would go?)

Tapering in the final week is hard as you notice every little niggle or bit soreness more, I think its because you’re freshening up and not so tired! I was optimistic especially with the sprint events as my training had shown some good signs. I also knew that I had experience which always counts if the competition is strong. I was hoping to get a good time in the pursuit and the flying 200m and also expecting to medal, preferably gold, but you never know what form the other riders may have! I was looking forward to racing at the Track Masters as its always fun, you get to catch-up with old friends and make new ones, its very social, even the commissaires seem to have fun!

Training in Albury on an outdoor track has been great for giving you strength, although I am sure the headwinds, etc, must make it hard for you to get that fast feeling that the boards and disc wheels provide?

Training outdoors has its moments, but it does make you tougher I think. Obviously, the weather has a big impact on the training you can do, especially the wind, but we are lucky to have a track so I dont complain. The biggest issue is trying to relate training gears, times and efforts to their equivalent on an indoor velodrome, which is where the competitions are held. I am lucky in that our track here is a banked 250m velodrome, so visualisation and timing/positioning of efforts are easier. Other things we did to help was to use a motorbike and I also had a training partner most sessions. We have learnt to gear down on the outdoor track to accommodate the conditions, which seems to work. I also have a powertap which definately helps to relate to the indoor velodrome. I have been fortunate enough to have trained and race alot on fast wheels on the boards so I have no worries there – it actually makes you more positive as you know there are always big gains to be made in racing!

What was your first event of the competition?  What gear did you ride and how did the race unfold?  How did you tackle this event?

My first event was the 2000m pursuit, my weakest event. I was reasonably nervous as its a tough event for the first one of the comp and I knew the opposition would be fast. My goal was to ride a time to get me into the gold medal ride-off and go from there. It was really hot too – mid 30 degrees. Warm-up was something we had to really think about as the qualifying wasn’t until nearly the end of the session, so I kept getting on the rollers for a few minutes to keep the legs moving, but also had to make sure I stayed really hydrated. My heat went well, I was racing on double-discs and I rode to time until I could see the other rider in the bends. I wasn’t expecting this so I stayed as I knew I would get in the final. In the final I rode the same gear, and I went out quite hard, unfortunately I couldnt back up the second km and got silver.  In hindsight I should have kept going for a good time in the qualiying round, but I actually think I was a bit flat overall that day, so all-in-all, a good result.

What was your next event?  Was there any particular strategy you decided to implement?  What was the race result?

The next day was the 5km scratch race. I was much more confident for this race, I knew that tactics would be important as I would be racing the women from the pursuit so endurance wasn’t a problem. I decided to ride like a sprinter and wait for a sprint finish, all the time making sure I knew where my strongest opponent was. I was expecting attacks by the enduro types and one went away but I didn’t chase, and in the end we reeled her back in as a collective. WIth about 4 laps to go, the race became a derby – to my liking! Someone attacked with two laps to go and I jumped on her wheel for a lead out. With a lap to go I attacked – a full 275m sprint! In the home straight another rider was at my side and so I lunged at the finish – I won Gold in photo fininsh! Later we got to look at the photo – literally millimetres separated us on the line. I was proud of myself as I initiated and committed and came through with the results.

And your 3^rd event?  Were the conditions in the velodrome suited to fast times? What gear did you select?  What was your warm up for this event?

The third day was sprint day – at last! My legs felt great during the track warm-up. I rode for about 15mins on the track on a little gear and then did some entries including one on my race gear. Everytime I had warmed-up on the track so far I had practiced my 200m line – the Speed-dome has quite different transitions (where the banking goes from the straights to the bends) and so it would be very important to get the timing and line right for the flying 200m. You need to get the most out of the banking as you can, drop down too early and you don’t get the full benefit of height and [dropping down] too late you start going back up and wash-off speed.

I had a pretty big gear on, as it was hot again and I would be using double-discs. Once again our qualifying wasn’t until near the end of all the riders so again, I kept turning my legs over on the rollers. I was second last to ride off, and when I finished, I realised I had broken the Australian record and was 0.3secs faster than my nearest opponent!  When I got into the gold medal finals, I was focused, I had a plan. You have to have a plan going into the match sprints, but you also have to be adaptable so a backup plan is good too! This is where experience really helps as some moves become instinctive. I made sure I controlled the race from the front and when I sprinted my opponent, she couldn’t get over me. As soon as I got back to my rollers I was thinking of the next ride and my tactics for it.  This time I stayed at the back, although I knew she wanted to be there. I was able to jump around her and once I went passed her on the back straight, I knew I had won!

And your final race?  The 500mTT.  Tell us how that went?

On the last day was the 500m TT. My time wasn,t brilliant (for me) but was enough to win Gold again.

And we believe you were crowned champion of champions!  What a fantastic achievement.

Yes, I was awarded Champion of Champions which is like an omnium I suppose. It was very rewarding especially having crossed the country to race.

For those unaware, can you tell us about your injury in Dec/Jan and how we’ve had to adjust your training in the lead up to this event.

In December I was doing a road ride when I developed sever pain down my right shoulder and arm. I have had this pain a few years before and knew straight away that I had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, where essentially my arm nerves were getting squashed causing pain and weakeness. So I basically stayed off the bike for three weeks – which meant I couldn’t do my road block or ride the Christmas carnivals like I had planned. I had lots of physio and did lots of stretching. When I did get on the bike we had to change my training dramatically by reducing the time I spent with my upper back bent over. So we did this by reducing my road kms and doing more shorter rides, ergos and track work, as well as strengthening in the gym and pilates.  [From a coaching perspective, this meant we had to focus and rely on strength/power gained from gym work, ergo’s and track workouts and avoid longer training road rides, so risking losing some endurance but necessary to prevent re-injury.  It worked!!!!]

And so what’s next for you Jess?  What lies ahead later this year?

I intend to race at the UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships in Manchester in October, and after that I go up an age-group so perhaps more records to break on the track!

Well congrats once again.  You’ve shown that with determination and consistent training, you’ve transferred across from pure sprinting to being an all rounder, very much suited to omnium style events.