After the initial grading debacle
there were only four of the anticipated seven left in C - Andrew, Jenno, Brad
and I. All road racing virgins but looking really "pro" in
our fresh new club colours. As we huddled together nervously looking at
each other for any sign of confidence, the B boys were away.
Two minutes
later and we were off with no a single stragetic thought in our combined heads.
Settling in we found ourselves together, near the front of the 26 rider
pack. So far, so good. At about the 5km mark we came to the first slight
rise of the day so I pulled out and stretched my legs a little on the
hill. This was taken by those behind to be an attack and from there the
pace lifted and a few riders came forward shouting things like "let's
string them out". Eh, no thanks.
The Cyc'd boys kept our cool
(kinda). There was a lone breakaway but this early in a 64km race even us
newbies figured he wouldn't last. Did I mention that the Cyc'd boys were
at the front of the pack? We seemed to be very comfortable and always at
the front. A couple of times some others surged forward and did some work
but mostly it was all Cyc'd. We were dominating. These other 22
riders were awestruck by our cycling prowess and our flashy new kit. I
already had images of a Cyc'd dominated podium. I didn't care which three
of us were there, but there was no doubt in my mind that all four of us had
probably raced our first and last C grade race and the dodgy gradings guy would
be remembering our names.
Our three-day licence cards would be marked as
"racers" from this point forward. As I drifted through
these thoughts of glory the kilometres passed and yes, we were still at the front.
Still dominating. This continued for 61km. We caught and passed the
lone breakaway. We waved and cheered as we passed the other Cyc'd guys on
other parts of the circuit. Even they thought we were dominating.
The only people that didn't think we were dominating were the 22 other
riders. They thought we were stupid. Looking good, but
stupid.
Our inexperience was as bright as our new kit and must have shone
like an Ay-Up light. These guys and girls sat back and let us "dominate".
They were probably laughing at us all the way, but happy to let us burn
ourselves out while they barely broke sweat. 5km to go and the four of us
has obviously been watching too much TV last year and thought we were part of
the infamous HTC team. We decided to unleash the Cyc'd train. We
weren't sure which one of us was Cav, but I decided I was Renshaw and tried to
lead the train out. Obviously my build and stamina were never designed
for such a challenge.
So after totally misjudging the distance to the
finish I pulled out of the train and took up my place at the back of the
pack. I think Brad then took the front trying to lead out
Andrew. Jenno had succumbed to a cramp in his calf and had given up the
chase. Meanwhile all these 22 other riders surged past on their fresh
legs. Andrew put in a brave sprint but was pipped into 5th or 6th by a
group of strangers.
Despite our racing naivity, it was
incredibly good fun. It was great to be in a "team", working
and communicating together. I think we ALL learned from the experience
and it was great to share Greg's B grade win at the pub (even though he wasn't
there). It was great to see so many Cyc'd uniforms on the road.
Thanks to my C grade team mates. We worked well together. Some
strategy prior to the race would have been good, but hey, we probably wouldn't
have followed it anyway.
There are still 2 more spaces in my
race licence. That's two more opportunities to help my team mates to
get on that podium. After the learnings from the first race I'm hoping that
won't be too far away.
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