Kelly Cycle Coaching cyclist, Nick Bien (Essendon SKODA cycling team) finished a close 4th in the Shipwreck Coast NRS event held in Warranmbool.  This was a great effort in Nick’s first season of NRS racing.  Fellow team mate, Gus Lyons (guest riding for the team) got into a chasing group and finished 13th.  Great work guys.  Here is what they had to say:

Nick Bien’s Report

How you felt about the race that morning?  Did the weather conditions put you off?

The morning started very still, there was very little cloud coverage and the sun looked to be drying out the roads. The race even started in quite reasonable conditions and it was only after 30kms or so that the rain started to fall. The legs didn’t feel amazing in the warm up but after the first 10km of hard racing the system was all fired up.
To be honest, I was a little bit excited to have some strong crosswinds on the narrow roads to really sort out the field, it favours my strengths to have a selection of riders rather than a bunch sprint.

How did the first 15-20km unfold?

After the first 2km of neutral racing we were confronted straight away with a short hill where a few attacks were launched and the bunch thinned out significantly. All the Skoda boys were well positioned for the first few km’s of fast tailwind and it was unlikely any moves would stay away at this point. It was only after a left hand turn into the cross wind that some more significant gaps were forming as riders with tired legs after the previous days 260km fell back through the pack. At roughly the 11km mark a group of just over 10 riders jumped away and I followed the wheels to make sure I was in it, knowing that even if it didn’t establish a gap the intermediate sprint wasn’t too far away. After claiming second in the intermediate sprint and the small group I was in still having over 100m on the main bunch, I committed to rolling turns to establish a larger gap.

Nick Bien - happy with 4th place

What was the group like that you were in?  Was everyone working and contributing?

Most of the riders were riding really well together. Having 3 riders from Drapac, 2 from Euride and a Budget rider meant that the chase would only be coming from one other major team. Because of this we knew we could have a strong advantage with the numbers in the break. A few riders possibly with tired legs did sit on for certain sections in the headwind and crosswinds but overall it was a cohesive bunch to work with.

From 25kms to go the attacks came thick and fast and the winning move came around 10kms to go. The strong head/cross winds meant riders were trying to hide as much as possible but still minimise the gap to the two leaders. A group of 6-8 formed behind the 2 leaders after the final decent and it looked as though we might catch the lead 2 playing cat and mouse coming into the finishing straight. As it panned out, the two that had been away claimed the top 2 spots on the podium by 4 seconds over a group of four others including myself. I was holding 3rd in the sprint until around 50 metres to go where I eventually finished 4th.

During the first 40km I was able to get in plenty of fluid and sports drink while establishing a gap to the bunch. Ultimately I only ended up having two pieces of muesli slice as it became too cold to grab food/open it in the latter stages. I focused on drinking every 5-10kms, with the majority of it being sports drink due to the lack of food.

SKODA in the convoy	The break with the clouds looming behind
Listening to the debrief	DS gives the riders feedback 'post race'

Angus Lyon’s Race Report

The first 15 km to the start of the first intermediate sprint was just about holding position and not letting a split in the field drop you whenever the race turned south into the crosswinds. I actually didn’t notice the first group go and by the time I did it was a little late to cross the gap. I was just hoping that as Team’s Genesis, African wildlife and most of Drapac had missed the break that they would bring it back so when a group of about 15 went up the road including members of these teams I knew it was the last shot at getting across.

After that I sat on and conserved most of the way across to Port Campbell. Around the 45km mark the weather decided to turn nasty with some rain, hail and some thunder and lightning but the group was working fairly well  and pulled the gap back to 30s on the climb coming out of Port Campbell. Going over the top of the “major” climb I got a front flat but Bobs change worked like clockwork and a quick motorpace later I was back onto my bunch.

Gus Lyons - post race

African Wildlife put in a massive turn on the way home doing most of the pacemaking to 30km out when bad weather and some gutter action made the rest of the bunch to come up and pull some turns to get a sit. 10 km out the bunch was looking at each other so I drove it into a corner, looked back and I had about a 50m gap so took the opportunity and pushed on. The last 5 to 4 km to go was the longest km I have ever done but I stayed off the front to the finish and pulled 13^th.

This was actually the best I have ever felt in a 100+km race, I ate well and looked after myself, didn’t have to bridge big gaps and managed to stay in the front for the crosswinds so had enough in the tank for the last 10km push.

Kelly Cycle Coaching masters cyclist Steve Payne, (who rides for Team Svitzer) tackled Melbourne to Warrnambool two weeks ago.  Here is how his day unfolded:

Report by Steve Payne.

After crashing in the first 10km, puncturing at the halfway mark and taking a 5km detour (missed a turn) at last years Melbourne to Warrnambool I felt I had some unfinished business to do. Last year I made the 100 minute time cut by 13 minutes finishing 1hr and 27min down on the winner. This year I was looking for a bit more luck and the chance to truly see how close to the 125 NRS (National Road Series) riders that were competing for the win.

I spent 8 weeks over in France and England from mid June to mid August. The trip revolved around cycling and watching the tour of course. Whilst over there I did 600km of cycle touring, competed in a race that finished at the summit of the Col de Tourmalet, and rode the course of le Marmotte which is a 180km course with 5000m of climbing over the Col de Telegraph, Galibier and finishing up on Alpe duez. All of this was sandwiched in between lots of other mountainous training rides.

Looking relaxed before the start

My mind wasn’t really made up to take part in this years race until I returned back to Melbourne. I knew that the riding in Europe had provided me with a good base and all I had to do was find the time to continue on until October to make the start line which fortunately personal circumstances allowed. I continued to train and took part in a few local races to help sharpen things up. The last of those races was the Damien McDonald Road Race in mid September out in Eildon. I had entered B grade for the race. I realised I was on for a good workout when I got there as we were thrown in with the A graders. I nervously lined up at the start line when I noticed directly beside me was the winner of last years Warnie (and favourite for this years race), Dutchman Floris Goesinnen from Drapac Cycling. This changed to excitement though when looking through the results from the race. I had finished ahead of a number of A graders including Floris! OK, so he may have had a mechanical but still, it was a confidence booster for me and I knew I was riding well.

The days leading into the race involved routinely checking the weather and wind forecasts for the race and consuming copious amounts of pasta, crumpets, bagels and sports drinks to the point of feeling sick. Thankfully the forecast was looking good and I was feeling good and starting to really look forward to the race.

Having ridden the race last year I knew what I was letting myself in for and was confident of getting through providing lady luck was on my side. I had the support of the Switzer racing team. We had 3 other riders in the race along with 3 helpers/soigneurs in 2 vehicles.  Pete was taking care of my mussette’s (feed bags). He had the job of handing them out to me at each of the 3 feed zones. The first mussette had 2 bottles, one with water, one with a sports drink plus a couple of energy bars.

Waiting to start the big day

For the second and third musettes I opted for some Coke in with the water (learnt from Bob), along with gels and crumpets coated in honey. I carried as much food as possible from the start, the reason being that the NRS riders were able to feed from the team cars and so would be unlikely to slow in the 1st feed zone. If I were still with them at this point then at least I had enough food with me not to have to slow too.

240 riders left the Werribee Equestrian Centre at 7.30am, the skies were clear and forecast to remain that way for the rest of the day and there was very little wind. The bunch slowly rolled out through Werribee. The 10km neutral zone took us through the built up streets before we hit the open road. Maximum concentration was required at this point. From last year’s experiences I knew it was important to try and stay as close to the front as possible to minimise the risk of getting caught in a crash. Of course this is how everybody is thinking so you’re constantly trying to move up through the bunch whilst avoiding the traffic islands, support motorbikes and media motorbikes and keeping your eyes on the wheel in front of you and those around you. I did see one guy go down beside me but otherwise I remained unscathed after 10km and the official start of the race.

As soon as the race started the hammer went down. The first 30km of the race is a series of straight roads heading south or west. By this time a fairly strong north westerly wind had picked up. I managed to stay with the main bunch for the first 30km averaging a speed of 46km/h. At the 30km

mark we came to the first short climb of the day that headed west. I held onto the bunch to the top of the climb but as the climb opened up with flat paddocks either side the cross winds caused a huge number of splits. 2km further up the road I had a look around to assess the damage. Riders were strung out everywhere. A group of around 35 of us formed at that point and we worked together spread across the road in an echelon to give ourselves as much shelter as possible from the constant cross wind. Everyone was working hard, having to concentrate on keeping the rotation going. I soon realised it was important not to allow myself to get strung out at the back of the bunch where there was no protection and that rolling a turn in fact made things easier.

We reached the second feed zone and shortly after took a left turn. The bunch stopped for a ‘nature break’ and then continued on with a much appreciated tail wind. A quick count of numbers and I realised we were down to 15 riders. 20 riders dropped in the cross winds. Everyone was looking for a bit of respite from this point on and we all knew that if we kept a steady pace on together from this point on we could easily make the time cut. The pace dropped of notably and the majority of the bunch were not willing to work. At the 50km to go mark I slowly rode off the front of the bunch, one other rider followed me. We rolled turns for approximately 5km but then chose to sit up realising the wind was too strong for us to ever gain much of an advantage. Once back together as a group of 15 and continued on into Warrnambool.

There were a few little attacks on the approach but all of them were covered. Approaching the finish line I chose who I thought was the strongest rider and stuck to his wheel until the final stages of the sprint.  I managed 3rd from the bunch which gave me a position of 111th overall, 1hr10min down on the winner. Close to a hundred riders didn’t finish the race due to the brutal cross winds, almost twice as many as last year so I was pleased with the result.

I felt good throughout the race in comparison to last year and my recovery seems to have been much quicker. I think most of this is down to having an extra year of km’s in my legs as my volume of training leading into the race was comparable.

Will I be doing it again? The history of the race, the sheer toughness of the race and the opportunity to race against the best riders in the country are the attractions for me. At the end of last year’s race I said that if I have the time to train I will definitely be there again. The same definitely applies this year.

KCC rider, Josie Simpson (Total Rush team) races mountain bike, cycle cross and on the road.  Her dirt skills certainly came in handy last weekend as she finished 3rd in the elite women’s Cycle Cross State Championships.  Well done Josie.  Here is Josie’s report of what the race as like and how she raced it.

Josie Simpsons race report:

We arrived in Seaford for the CX state champs not knowing what to expect as we’d never raced there before. Upon arrival the first thing you noticed was the incessant sound from the motor-cross course located next to the BMX track we were racing on, Ah the serenity! This went on all day. Anyway, I digress.

The CX course was quite flat, yet varied terrain. There was grass, gravel, mud, mulch, barriers to jump and a BMX track to negotiate, as well as many tight corners on a loose surface, and howling wind. This course was definitely more technical and generally favoured the mountain bikers in the field. The BMX track was particularly fun because we dropped in and out of the track through swooping and technical corners, riding on grassy sections between . On higher points of the course the wind was a real battle, and de-celerating and then accelerating in and out of corners kept heart rates high as we wrestled our bikes through them. All in all it was a great course which tested many aspects you’d encounter in cycolcross races.

These races are a real threhold session from the gun. We were all lined up at the start line and the starter told us 15 seconds to go, about 2 seconds later off went the gun which took many girls by surprise. My reflexes fortunately kicked in and I found myself in 3rd wheel behind the eventual 1st and 2nd place-getters.

My strategy was to try and hold their wheels, this lasted a grand total of 1 lap. After losing the wheel it was just a matter of riding as fast as I could for the next 45 minutes.  Because the course doubled back on itself you could see how far in front (and behind) you were of the girls around which provided extra incentive to keep going hard, particularly when I saw Jenny Mac moving her way through the field towards me on the last 2 laps. Fortunately I managed to hold her off and cross the line in 3rd place, very happy to have podiumed and equally as relieved to stop!

Josie looking to see who is coming

The sport of cyclocross has really grown over the past three years and this year we have seen many roadies take up the sport and do very well. It’s a very friendly and social crowd, the racing is serious yet you have kids on the sidelines spraying you with water guns and your mates heckling. As this was the state champs the crowd was instructed that they were not allowed to hand beers to the competitors, however at many of the other races this is permissable and encouraged. With the momentum the sport has gained, I expect it to be even bigger and more competitive next year.

KCC Masters rider, Peter Quibell, raced in Geelong in the Australian Veteran Cycling Championships last weekend.  Here is how his racing unfolded.

Last weekend I raced in the Australian Veterans Cycling Championships held at Paraparap near Geelong and hosted by the Geelong Vets. There were 175 riders aged from 35 to 88 from all over Australia. There was 8 in the 80 + age group which was terrific and 30 in my age group of 50 – 54  or as my kids affectionately call it “the old fart category”.

The Crit was on Friday which I did not enter as I have the bike handling skills of a wombat but by all accounts great racing was had.

Saturday was the 25 km Time Trial on a testing undulating and what turned out to be windy course. I was seeded last which I thought was quite nice and complimentary until I realised  the categories started from youngest to oldest  age groups  and the youngest of the age group went first so as it turned out I was last because I was oldest in my age group. Blast, oldest of the old farts category. Anyway I  rode a 36’ 25” for the 25km which placed me 4^th by nine seconds, just missed the podium. I was happy with my ride, as I gave it my all and that’s all you can do.

Sunday was the 70 km road race which I went in to make up the numbers. It started off at quite a civil pace until about 5 km in. Because I was out the back in the gutter once again I thought I may as well be at the front in the wind as out the back in the wind. Before I knew it I had a 200mtr gap and Gerard Donally crossing over to me. This was definitely not in the brochure. We worked our turns and another 2 crossed over. We stayed away for about 5 km’s until we were chased down. Oh well I thought done my threshold effort for the day now to go back to my customary role at the back of the bunch.

The pace stayed pretty high for the next 20 km’s with the typical surges up the hills etc and a few riders spat out the back. At about 40 km’ t another attack came from a few likely lads, Gerard and Co. which I thought would stick, game over. They stayed away for about 15km’s but then the bunch really started working and shut them down. Before I knew it I had attacked up a hill and was away by myself which was defiantly not in the game plan. Why did I do that I thought to myself as the lactic acid pooled and the pain increased. I had a 100  meter gap,  I thought the bunch were just toying with me dangling me out the front to suffer.

I just kept riding at threshold waiting for them to put me  out of my misery however the gap had increased to 200 mtrs.  The guy who won the time trial crossed over and we had about a 250 mtr gap and 10km’s to ride, the last 5 km’s slightly up hill and into the wind owie owie owie.[ouch, ouch and ouch again!].

Any way long story short we managed to hold them off and I came second, which I was out of the blue and I was totally over the moon about.

The training appears to have worked. Thanks Bob and Helen for the programs and advice.