30.08.08 - Pit Stops in Stromlo World Cup
After a few months racing smooth, grassy, unimaginative tracks in Japan, I was really looking forward to getting on the new Stromlo track and seeing if it was as good as everyone was saying. The first challenge upon getting back into town was getting used to the cold again. Going from 35-40 degrees and 90% humidity to about 10 degrees was a bit of a shock. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about drinking 24/7 like in Japan lately.
I met up with Ben Henderson, who knew the new World Cup track pretty well. We rolled out to the race site, which was already mostly setup for the event. It was impressive. There was already some atmosphere about Stromlo. As soon as we got on the track, I was enjoying riding again. Hendo showed me some good lines, and we tried to check out some alternate ones. This was definitely a cool course! It wasn't technical the whole way, but there were some cool bits in it. The technical climbs suited me for sure. So far so good.
After a few days of resting and catching up with friends and family, I started to focus more on the race. Everyone seemed amped to do well, so it was easy to be positive and enjoy the riding. I realised how much I've been missing out on fast group rides in Japan. Training with other fast riders is where it's at! With a week to go, my legs started to feel better and better. Maybe it was a matter of getting used to the winter chill too. No complaints at this stage.
Race day came around quickly and I was glad it wasn't super windy, as my firetrail riding (driving it) was pretty limited compared to the Euros. I was just hoping there were no pile-ups in the first stretch, where it would clearly be a roadie-type run for a while. It was exactly that - nervous and twitchy, with riders bumping each other and fighting for a good spot going into the first single track. This was critical, because, as expected, there was a massive bottleneck at the first rocky section of the very first single track. It reminded me of Europe last year, but with less swearing and fighting. I got tangled up with a few riders, but no damage was done. After a few moments, I ran around the head of the bottleneck and moved up the trail to move along. By then the top 15 or so had reached the top of the first couple of pinches. I just took in some air and tried to get the tempo back.
After being stuck behind a couple of riders on the climb, I managed to take the A lines to get around them, leaving a clear run into the berm track. I treated this as a downhill race and as a result managed to bridge the gap to the second group of Euro hitters. There was still a group just ahead of them, trying to break clear. My aim was to stay with this group for the rest of the race. But this group ended up splitting once we hit the next singletrack sections. So I had to go with who was with me.
By the time I got to the top of the climb on the second lap I was in the top15, ready to make some places on the downhill. I was feeling good and recovering well. But on the berm track my tyres started to feel softer than before. It seemed the hard cornering had pulled the tyres off the rim a bit, leaking air. So half way down the berms my rear tyre was all the way flat. I rode the rest of the way and got to the pits. Changing my wheel took a while, but I was thankful I could keep going. Having a moment where you think you'll DNF normally makes you appreciate just being in it and, personally, makes me go harder. So I did...
On lap 3 I made another 2 places, although I was also passed by Sauser (he'd flatted) like I was standing still. I tried to hold his wheel, but had no hope. It was like motorpacing on a firetrail! But I kept pushing and held 14th. Then on the berm track the next time round, the same happened, this time my front. This time the tyre went down to about 10psi and in the pits I just topped it up with a CO2, then kept going. This was a mistake, as the tyre went down again. I had to do the whole back section with no pressure. I limped around and made it to the pits on a flat again, changed wheel, and kept going. I'd lost 6 spots in the process, moving back to 20th.
This is where I'd finish, which was disappointing. I knew I could've held 14th and just wanted a clean race. But then again I was happy with my form. I was suprised. I know this track suits me, so with some more hill training, I'd be keen for Nationals in January and maybe Worlds next year. But that's a long time away.
