Revolution 4 Race Report

It was a big night and the stands were 90% full.  Over 4,000 people in attendance.

Like any good track race the night was full of entertainment starting with Santa and his Elves.  There were three elves riding a pace line to start the night.  Because of the time I have spent with the local clubs in town, I knew two of the elves.  I showed a picture of one of them in a previous post... with the crazy cool skin suit and the smallest track bike you have ever seen.

There was also shooting fire things on the back straight like you would see at a concert.  There was famous old footie players (like our John Elway types) racing each other.  There was Robbie McEwen and Baden Cooke as madison partners.  The entertainment factor was high.

Here is a shot of the stands at the beginning of the night.  What you don't see is an additional 400+ people in the infield with dinner tables, food, and drinks.

Race Report-

There were 4 women's races- scratch, points, keirin, and sprints.  I had originally entered all 4 until I saw the start lists and the schedule.  It was back to back races and none of the other competitors were during both endurance and sprint, naturally.  So, I opted out of the points race but still really wanted to do the scratch.

The scratch was first.  The field was strong- Belinda Goss, Rochelle Gilmore, Megan Dunn, Tiffany Cromwell, Tess Downing, etc.  I was real smart about positioning and not getting caught chasing the one big attack.  With 2 laps to go I was 2nd wheel.  Going into the last lap I started to make my move at the same time Dunn was making her move.  She comes down on my front wheel and I hesitate... it was that or crash.  I lost momentum right then.  Bike throw for 2nd and I lost.  So, I ended 3rd.  Not bad for my first international/big endurance event.

The sprints were IMMEDIATELY after the scratch with only a junior kilo event in between.  It was a 3 up sprint and only 1 made it to the finals.  Kaarle McCulloch beat me.  I was 2nd but that didn't matter much... sprints were now over for me.  Bummer.  I was smart about positioning and making the right move but my legs didn't have the jump they needed to beat this world class sprinter.

The keirin was the last event for me.  7 of us- no rounds, just finals.  I take the motor and have the confidence and game plan I need.  Motor pulls off and I take the speed up watching over my shoulder.  Here they come, I am getting ready... CRASH!  5 out of 7 riders go down.  I guess I was lucky to be in the front.  Race called off.  We restart after the men's keirin with 6 riders.  I take the motor again and have the same plan.  I controlled the front and ramped the speed.  With one lap to go Kaarle (Australian) and Fatehah (Malaysian) are making their move.  I see it coming and try to hold them on my hip.  They come around and I take 3rd.

So, two 3rd place finishes and I can end the night with a smile.  I learned a ton and had some fun!

I hope to have some action shots from Cycling News soon.

Here I am with Clint, the race promoter and my host house.

More racing this weekend- Victorian State Champs.  Later!

Cari

"Don't call it a velodrome. They don't like that." This is what my friend Nathan tells me as we are driving our 1.5-2 hours from Melbourne to Bendigo. "It's their track- not velodrome."

Now you see why.

Bendigo is a crazy cycling city a couple hours north of Melbourne. Every Thursday night (and some weekends) they put on a big track race. The racing is big, the announcer is fun, the stands are full, and the track is flat.

Racing a flat track was a first for me. I thought because I race crits that I would be just fine.I thought I could just steer my way through the turns. Well, I found out in the first race that that last corner at speed isn't easy.

The night is full of kids racing (all ages and all categories), athletics (runners doing handicap races on the infield), and senior races (all categories.) So, it is a long night but I got four races out of the deal.

I raced with the B's and the first race was a shorter scratch. I was determined not to let this turn into a fast pace line and a sprint at the end. So, I attacked with about 7 to go and got away with 1 other guy. We stayed away but were caught by the chase group eventually. It ended up being a sprint finish between myself and 1 other guy. I was on his wheel coming into turn 4 thinking I had this one locked up because I would jump around him in the finishing straight. Wrong... the flat track got me and I couldn't keep in down in the last turn. I almost starting laughing because as soon as it happened I knew that's what everyone meant when they said the flat tracks were way "different." 2nd place.

The next race was a women's only handicap called the Crystal Classic. I have only done a couple other handicaps before so I wasn't positive about my strategy. It was "only" 1k so my strategy was to win! Of course, they started me on the scratch line. But, I managed it and won. Here is a picture in the final turn of the Crystal Classic.

The third race was a 3k handicap with qualifying heats and all categories were included. In my heat I started on scratch. (For all those who don't understand what this means- a handicap race basically gives some people a head start. The people who start on scratch are the ones in the back or the ones with no head start. That is a basic way of explaining it.) I couldn't believe they started me here in this field but I only needed to get top 12 to qualify for the finals. I played it smart tactically and qualified. In the finals they started me at 250m and scratch was at 310m. There was only 5 guys behind me. UGH. I played it as smart as possible without blowing up my legs too early but only ended up 7th or 8th or something. I was pretty happy with this result considering. Also, this race really got me ready tactically for Tasmanian Carnivals where there will be a TON of handicap races... the Australian race. It is a very tactical race and I started to understand them during this last race.

The last race was a B only scratch race... a longer one. I finished 3rd but was DQ'd. There was a crash in the last lap and I was DQ'd. Two guys went down but everyone was ok. It wasn't a serious crash. That is all I have to report on that race. :)

Bendigo was a interesting little track world and I wish I had more time to get back there. Thanks so much for Nathan driving me there and back... and he didn't even race! What a trooper! I have said it before but still believe it- track racers are absolutely the most supportive group of athletes. People just love this sport and will go out of their way to make sure others experience it and love it the same way.

I have a lot more to report so check back soon!

Cari