Ausenco Summer Series #2

If bike racing is a numbers game, then our QSM team was already ahead even before the start of race two in the series.  In race two, we had Claire, Jessica, Jemma, and myself racing, with our star coach Kirsty Broun.

The Campos team unfortunately had two of their 4 team riders out of the race due to illness, and Pensar was also limited to just three team riders.
To mix things up a bit, our team goal for this race was a bunch sprint.  So in contrast to the week before when we had been trying to help initiate a breakaway, this week we were aiming to chase everything down.

Since Pensar currently had the leader’s jersey (Jenelle), the pressure was on their two team riders (Sam and Nicole) to chase all the breaks down.

This was a pretty tough ask against another dozen or so other strong women.

Although Campos had only two riders (Jasmin and Louise), they both jumped at the chance to make the race a difficult one.

Louise managed a solo break to stay away for both the intermediate primes, before being reeled in by a marathon effort on the front by Sam from Pensar.

Although a few strong individual riders (such as Britt, Marianne, Alex, Linda) tried to get away during the race, they were usually fairly quickly shut down again by our QSM girls, or by Pensar.

Towards the end, I think most of the bunch realised the race was going to end in one final kick.

Channelling all of Kirsty Broun’s previous criterium winning experiences, we tried our best to form a QSM leadout train.  Practising it on a track in non-race conditions was definitely easier than in the real race.  Suddenly you are not only faced with keeping the train together for your team sprinter, but being on the lookout for other things such as another team’s train surging past; other riders getting in between your team mates; and individuals jumping past the train to get a gap up the road.

In the end, we did the best we could on the day, but we are all aware this will take some more practice before we become truly proficient in lead outs.  On a high note, despite minor deviations to our team plan, we got Jemma second in a bunch sprint at the end of the race.  Jasmin (Campos) took first, with Britt Lindores (Crino) a close third, and Jess (QSM) fifth.  Another very positive thing about this result was that Jemma had now accumulated enough points from her third place last week, and her second place this week, to put her in the leader’s jersey.

QSM in the leader’s jersey!!...

Amazing what a good team tactician and mentor can do.  When we recruited Kirsty Broun a few weeks ago to help us learn a thing or two about racing as a team, none of us imagined we’d have the leader’s jersey going into the final race.
There will be enormous pressure on us as a team in round three, but I believe we can rise to the occasion.  Winning isn’t everything, but working as a team is certainly building both our confidence and our team camaraderie.
Photos (above) are again courtesy of Brad Gooda.
For more on Kirsty Broun's coaching go to:
www.facebook.com/kirstybrouncycling

Ausenco Summer Series #1

Round one of the Ausenco Crestmead Summer Series of criteriums was held on Sunday.  With torrential rain the previous day, the light rain on Sunday almost made the day feel "fine" in comparison.  Luckily the series is held on an excellent circuit, with fast drainage.  This first round was also the Logan Cycling Cup for 2013.

With teams from Pensar-SPM, Campos-Avalon, and QSM Racing, along with women from Crino, QAS, Riders Morningside and Lifecycle, it was always going to be a good race, even in the rain.

Our team goals have changed a bit this year, and we were determined to get a girl in the break this race.  Rather than being on the defensive as a smaller team, we were going to throw everything we could at this race.  With Jemma, Jessica and myself on the start line, we attacked as much as we could from early on.

Surprisingly early into the race, I was already in a break with two other girls (Jenelle from Pensar, and Sally from Campos), and we had a fair gap on the main bunch.  I looked at my Garmin at this point and thought to myself "this is way too early" for a break to stay away, but we kept up the turns just in case this was going to be "the one".  Britt (Crino) bridged to us shortly after, and Jemma (QSM) also.  We still had a fair gap on the bunch at this point.

Sally, Jenelle and Jemma were riding strongly and were determined to keep the pace high.

They each put in some strong turns, and Britt and I soon found ourselves back in the main bunch, leaving the three of them to battle it out to the end.

Since all 3 major teams now had a single rider in the break, there was not a lot of need to chase the break down.  In the last corner, Jemma seemed to be forced to the front to lead out, with Sally putting in a powerful attack to get to the finish line, but Jenelle was firmly on her wheel and came around to claim first in the last few centimeters.  Well done to all for a fast-paced but safe race in the less-than-ideal conditions.

Well done also to our two B grade ladies in the other concurrent race (Jane Youdan and Kerry Westwood) who both had an enjoyable race, and attacked to the best of their abilities.  That's what it's all about.

Thanks also to Brad Gooda for the photos.