Summer Racing

My summer schedule has consisted of lots of racing and training which has been great although with lots of travel I haven’t had a chance to do be based anywhere and get a job...so unemployed I have been aaallllll summer, Its cool at the time but I’m sure I will regret when I’m around any shops..

anyway this has given me the freedom to concentrate on cycling and plan out the year (I have got a diary for planning etc, ill see how well I remember to use it..) After some good training around xmas time I was off to  melbourne for Michelton Bay crits. I don’t know of any other crit series like it for the women, each circuit is tough in its own respect and with a bunch of world class girls on the start list I knew brutal was going to be a fitting description.

Vanderkitten had 4 riders for the event, myself, kate, miranda and jeannie. Unfortunately we were pretty much unable to work together in any race as most of the time we were on the back hand with none of us being pure sprinters. I was hoping for consistency in all races so I could get a good overall placing. The first two races went ok, I wasn’t feeling amazing but I seemed to be able to mix it at the front for most of the race but was just outgas’d a bit in the last few laps when the big lead outs started and I found myself just holding my position unable to move forward, and the kick for the finish started a few riders in front of me each time and I wasn’t able to match it. So both days I slipped into the top 10 at 7th but not as high as I was wanting. Port arlington on the 3rd day is very tough circuit with no recovery. we were looking to miranda who can climb with the top girls and I was again just going to try and stick in there and sneak another top 10. Unfortunately for me my legs weren’t in on the plan and I was in the red far too early and just couldn’t keep it up. miranda however still had a top ride and was unlucky with the team tactics played against her. the last crit I was ready to redeem previous days efforts but I wasn’t sure how the legs would go. It was full gas and I don’t think my HR went below 180 (max is 190 odd). In the last few laps I tried to hold a good position and move up with 2 to go but i was on my limit and over cooked a corner and that of course ruined my chances of a high placing. overall i still finished in the top 10 and so it wasn’t all bad but still plenty to improve on for next time.

With only a week in-between I flew straight into christchurch for Elite road nationals. This is my first year competing as I have either been too young or injured..although watching it 4 times feels like I know the race well!

Coming into the race I wasn’t too sure how i would fare as I hadn’t been able to test out my climbing but I just gave myself goals in the race to tick off which worked well for me. I surprised myself with my climbing and managed the fast paced hill 6x much better than I thought. How the race panned out however was not ideal, with the early break getting out to 4mins at one point I knew the hill was only going to get faster and then there would be some hard chasing along the flat. in the final few KMs we were within reach of Rush who had been out there most of the day, unfortunately when the action started my legs were cramping up and I couldn’t do much apart from follow. coming into the finish I sprinted to 5th place which I was happy enough given how I had come into the race.

After nationals I opted for some summer, only to be found up north these days..summer has disgracefully deserted the south this year so I was glad to be out in the sun and of course by the beach!

My most recent adventure was then to Adelaide for the Santos Womens Cup. I only have good things to say about Adelaide as I enjoyed the weather, city, rides, beach and overall the people were super nice! also the racing was pretty cool. For me the races were just fun training and I had nothing to lose going into them. I tried a few different tactics out and was keen on getting in a break each day. However the race was dominated by the green edge team who had a number of riders in the race and each of them strong enough to win in their own right. This made it near impossible sneak away as you were always covered and then countered, your only chance was to get in the break they wanted to get away.this proved difficult to pick as I found myself attacking and countering to no avail and then one break I don’t go for slips away. It was frustrating to say the least but its how racing goes sometimes and you just have to make the most of it. At the end of the 3 days however I had scooped up the U23 category which was a small reward. 

Now I am back home, recouping and reorganising before my next phase where I will be based up in the other-less important island..in the north..for some track training and racing leading into track nationals. I hope to carry my form onto the track and get myself some decent results to put my hand up for Comm games later this year.

Hope you enjoyed reading and keeping up to date with my racing. don’t forget to follow me on instagram and twitter (s0phw) for photos and tweets from wherever I am!

soph