"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:that restricted gearing sucks!
It looked like you were on some pretty small gears out there. I saw a
couple of your efforts whilst I getting all my stuff set up for what turned
out to be a very long day thanks to the "just enough to get the track wet"
rain showers.
Quoted message said:The pursuit stuff was interesting. Kept saying to 'MissMarsBar' "Jeez,
it aint that entertainin" and then unable to take my eyes off it!
Unable to take tour eyes off it!!! The change in attitude, was that by any
chance when the women in skin suits hit the track???
Just think of Hippy and the position of trust that was bestowed no him when
he was doing the holding.
Individual Pursuit is something that's hard to fully appreciate unless
you've actually done it. On a bike, it's probably the hardest thing you
could ever do. For the rider the race starts well before you step foot on
the track. Aside from the training, it starts with the equipment, which has
to be perfectly prepared and adjusted. You have gearing decisions to make
based on the track conditions (humidity, warmth of air and track surface
etc) that will exist at the time of your ride. Then there's the personal
preparation to ensure that you personally are physically and mentally
prepared for the ride. Prior to the gun going off you are in the hands of
the officials. Your holder (in the absence of starting gates) is critical
to you getting a good start (A barefooted Hippy had this really important
task for most of the day). Once you are actually moving on the track it's
just you and the person who is calling your schedule (usually your coach).
Your job is to start as straight and smoothly as you can and get the gear up
to speed as quickly as you can with out blowing up the legs. Once you hit
the aero position you then need to concentrate on pedalling as smoothly and
efficiently as possible as well as keeping the bike on the optimal racing
line. Every lap you are kept up to date on how you are riding as compared
to your pre-determined schedule. If you are down on schedule then you have
to carefully lift the pace in such a manner it does not cause you to crack
or if you are up on schedule you need to be careful that you have enough in
the legs to get you to the end. Physically it's a very fine line you are
riding. There is NOWHERE to hide when things go bad. Also remember that
this is only the qualifying round and if your time is good enough to put you
in the medal rounds then you have to go through this all over again. The
main difference this time is you are riding directly against the other
person. The role of the schedule caller/coach changes slightly from the
previous one. Since time is now irrelevant they now call the distance you
are up or down by (usually by standing in front or behind the finish line by
the distance you are ahead or behind by). As the rider, you need to be calm
and in control because, just as before, you need to ensure you do not make
sudden changes to your speed that may lead to blowing the legs. This race
is pure pain in varying degrees from start to finish.
For the casual bystander it's definately good to have times available to
make things interesting especially during the qualifying. But once the medal
rounds start it's not about the times on the clock it's about who crosses
the line first at the end of the race.
Quoted message said:Some beautiful bikes there too.
Did you have any particular favourites?
Quoted message said:
So, Cmn on Geoff. How did you go?
I qualified in 5th place (MMAS2 Category) so I just missed out on the medal
round. My unofficial time was 4m22s (3000m) which considering the
conditions (Outdoor track with a cool surface, High humidity overcast and
slight breeze in the face on the main straight) I was pretty happy with.
From what I could ascertain all but two of the other times where in close
proximity of my time. Funnily enough those 2 riders with the faster times
didn't ride the the 10km scratch race the night before at Brunswick. In past
years these two events have not been held on consecutive days. It just begs
the question "What if?"
Diverging slightly: The Vic Keirin Championship Final at Brunswick on
Friday night was nothing less than spectacular. It's a real pity no one
caught it on video. :-( It was really exciting stuff to watch.
Anyway next year we will be back inside on the boards at soon to be
completed "Darebin International Sports Complex" (DISC). Normally State
Titles are held indoor at Vodafone Arena (VA) in Feb, but this year due to
the UCI moving the Worlds to March the Aus Titles had to move forward a
month to Feb and States had to move to Jan. Unfortunately with DISC not
being complete and the Aus Open Tennis using VA there was no other option
but to hold the State Titles outside.
The great thing about having DISC (as opposed to VA, a multi purpose venue,
which is only occasionally available) is that track racing in Melbourne can
now continue through the winter months. I can't wait.
Geoff
