UCI World Cycling Tour 2011 - Perth Road Race

Saturday, Apr 16, 2011 at 13:00

TriathlonOz - David

I have not long arrived home from the UCI World Cycling Tour 2011 - Perth Road Race. Oh my it was tough for me. I am not really a hill rider and there were certainly some hills (as you will see the in activity log profile), Spring St then Malcolm Street then inside Kings Park, then the NW head wind on Mounts Bay Rd. It was a 112km 8 lap course (yes 8 times up the hills and 8 times into the head wind on Mounts Bay Rd). I must toughen up really but on lap 6&7 it was really hard going.

I must confess I think I have not had enough time on the road bike to have entered this race but hey you have got to be in it to win it. I started well with the main pack of 40-44 entrants however on the 4th lap in the Kings Park fast section doing 58km/hr+ my gel bottle decided it was going to try to jump off the bike. So I had to grab it quickly else it would be gone. Taking one hand off the bars to grab a bottle at 58km/hr+ is a very difficult/nerve racking thing to do. Once I had the bottle in my hand I quickly realised I was unable to brake much and I was coming up to the 90deg bend in the road. So I basically put my bottle holding hand on the bars as best I could and braked hard which was ok except that the pack left me for dead very quickly. I got down to Mounts Bay road about 100 metres behind the pack and gave it almost everything I had and was able to get back into the pack. But it was short lived as my effort to catch up killed me during the next Spring St/Malcolm St climbs and I fell away quickly.

So I started the long 3.5 laps basically on my own. I was able to pick up a number of others along the way and we ended up making a few small packs, helping each other in the wind along Mounts Bay Rd.

Activity Log


I will also admit that at the end of lap 5 and again after lap 6 I almost let myself pull out of the race but when I got to the Spring St left turn something kept making me take the left turn again and keep in the race (back up the hill). I am now glad I finished - a DNF is never a good thing.

Results




As this was my first real solo pack road race I can say one thing 'I learnt a lot' and will be able to take what I learnt along with me to the next event I enter in this style. I will say that I do prefer the Time Trials as I am much better on my own with my own tempo and speed and racing the clock takes out a load of variables that you get in drafting road races.

I did get onto the podium today (yippee it has been a long time coming), but I received my medal, sunnies and wine for coming second in the UCI World Cycling Tour 2011 - Perth Time Trial two days earlier.

David

For further information on this event see UCI World Cycling Tour 2011 on BWA
If it's not hurting your not tri'ing!
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David Martin
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