Getting to the start line (20kms away) by 6am on Christmas Eve was always going to be a big ask. So instead I left my house at 6:15am and headed off towards Black Rock until I saw the pack approaching (a convenient excuse to get out of riding the full 150+km). I intended to travel a fair distance and get in a good warmup before joining the ride, but the headwind was ferocious and I ended up crawling along at 15kph. Somewhere between BonBeach and Chelsea I saw the pack approach (at least 70 riders big) and I u-turned and joined in about mid pack.
Seaford Sprint
The first Sprint started at the Safeway traffic lights (Seaford Rd) and ended at the next pedestrian lights (about 1km away). Less than an ideal warmup, but at least I would be fresh. Once we crossed the start line the pace picked up. I hung 20 riders back not wanting to go too early. About half way I saw a couple of riders make their move towards the front and I decided to follow. Unfortunately they were able to slot in to position near the front leaving me exposed in the wind. Without any coverage (ie. no drafting advantage) I decided I'd just make my move early and sprinted as hard as I could. Initially I gained about 10 metres, but the pack quickly regained my wheel. However nobody else took the lead, so I kept on sprinting as hard as I could. For I few seconds I started to believe that the riders behind didn't have the legs to pass and that I could be in for the win, but with only 20 metres or so to go, 4 or 5 riders surged past. This was probably the worst result for me - all the effort and no points.Oliver's Hill KOM
The first King of the Mountain (KOM) climb was only 3 or 4 kilometres after the sprint. It is very steep, but being only 600m long it is more of a power rider's climb so not ideally suited to me. Despite this and the recent sprint effort, I decided to attack it anyway. As we crossed the start line I was in about 5th wheel - perfect position. A small lead bunch pushed the pace on the approach to the hill. As we hit the first steep section the bunch slowed, so I went wide and accelerated, immediately building a nice gap out front. I climbed with confidence until another rider in red zipped past incredibly fast. Glancing behind I could see my gap to the pack was growing, but this other rider in red was just a class above. Roughly three quarters of the way up the steep gradient gets even steeper and the hurt starts to really set in, even the Red Rider looked to be struggling. Unfortunately the pack behind me was now starting to make ground, so I had to start digging deep. Lots of negative thoughts started to enter my mind and I had to fight an overwhelming urge to give up, but then the Red Rider stopped his effort. Unlike me he hadn't studied the course notes and didn't know the KOM finish line was not until the true top of the hill. The possibility of winning the KOM filled me with new found energy and I surged past the Red Rider to take the KOM by a clear margin. In fact the Red Rider ended up only scoring third place as young Matt (who had been chasing me) also managed to pass before the crossing the line. This was my best ever effort up Oliver's Hill, averaging 27kph.Balcombe Hill KOM
Not surprisingly I now felt really stuffed, but there was over 10km before the next KOM to try and recover. Balcombe hill is not as steep as Oliver's, but lasts 2.4km so I always figured this climb would suit me better. The start line was at the top of a smaller, preceding hill and my strategy was to surprise the peleton and explode down the hill to gain a lead before the actual climb started. Sadly my brilliant plan was spoilt with a badly timed red light at the start line. Lacking imagination I persisted with my original plan. Predictably I hit the bottom of the climb with several riders on my wheel. Still believing the climb suited me, I charged up the hill only the see the Red Rider fly past once again. A couple of other riders also passed by, but their charge was too hard, too early and I re-passed them just after the half way mark. I was now in second place and was slowly reeling in the Red Rider, although he had established quite a gap. Unfortunately I hadn't dropped all the others off my wheel and with 100m or so to go Clint (head coach) and another rider (who we'll refer to as the 'Black Rider') pulled out and immediately pulled away. Having dropped out of a points position I lost any incentive to push further and young Matt passed me as I cruised the remaining distance. I ended up cresting the hill in 5th position which was disappointing, but even though I backed off at the end, it was still my best ever effort up that climb.Dromana Sprint
Naturally the peleton gets very strung out at each Sprint and KOM point, so we soft pedal until everyone is back together. After Balcombe hill, young Matt and I ended up at the front - not the best position, because you are doing all the work against the wind whilst everyone else enjoys the benefit of the draft behind you. Despite his young years, Matt showed more experience and cunning than me and managed to slip back through the pack and was replaced by South African Kevin. Kevin was riding well and was keen to contest all the points, but sadly was even greener than me when it came to tactics. Being new to Melbourne (and Australia), he wasn't familiar with the area. Oliver's Hill finished much quicker than he expected and he was one of the riders who went too hard and early on Balcombe hill (longer than he expected). So I was explaining the exact location of the next Sprint - starts at the Dromana Drive-In and ends under the freeway overpass. Unfortunately being at the front of the pack was to our disadvantage and when the Sprint effort went past, the immediate gap it obtained was too much to make up, so we didn't even try. On the plus side, we were no longer at the front of the peleton. As we continued onto Sorrento, I managed to have a nice chat with a friend of Peter's and mine called Rob. He has qualified and raced the Hawaii Ironman for the last 6 years, so Peter and I usually refer to him as 'The Legend'. However having had a hernia operation only 4 weeks ago, 'The Legend' was taking it easy and not contesting any of the Sprints or KOMS, just an easy 154km ride (he'd ridden 150km the day before as well).Sorrento Sprint
The Sorrento Sprint was a tricky one. Nepean Hwy does a sharp left turn and goes up a hill (about 150m or so) to the shopping centre. The sprint ended at the top of this hill where the shopping centre started. I wasn't really fussed about trying to contest this one, but as we got closer my enthusiasm sparked and I found myself in a good position 100m before the turn. Another rider Sean, make a break and I immediately jumped on his wheel. Frustratingly Sean didn't take the sharp corner as fast as I would have liked which slowed me a little. With this slight loss of momentum I was now in way too bigger gear on the hill and in my haste mucked up the gear change by going down too many gears. I was still in front half way up the hill but the moment I thought I was a chance, Clint and both the Red and Black riders flew passed. Out of the points again, I eased up for the rest of the hill as numerous other riders sped past. We stopped at the shopping centre for a toilet break and to refill our water bottles, plus it provided an opportunity for all riders to regroup back together.Bradford Rd KOM
Bradford Rd is a detour off the Mt Martha Esplanade. The Esplanade is a winding and undulating road overlooking a picturesque bay - one of my favourite places to ride. But it keeps experiencing landslides and the latest issue has had the road closed off for the last 6 months. Unlike the Esplanade, Bradford Rd is featureless and seems to go straight up - not one of my favourites.The KOM started from the turn off and ended at the top of the hill where it meets Hearns Rd. South African Kevin, still coming to grips with the rules of the ride, took off before the official start point and charged off creating a big gap before we reached the start of the climb - making him ineligible for points. Not that it mattered, cos again he underestimated the hill and went out way too hard, so I passed him about a quarter of the way up.
I was following my usual tactic of going hard from the start to try and generate a gap, but I could tell two riders were holding onto my wheel and I knew one of them was the Red Rider. The other rider was a triathlete called Tom who often races in the Elite category. Knowing that I wasn't going to drop these two, I eased off a little to try and save some energy for the second half of the climb. About half way Tom made a move off the front quickly countered by the Red Rider. They were way too fast for me, so I moved into survival mode to try and maintain my third place.
The second half of the climb contains a nasty pinch (ie. really steep section). Glancing behind I could see another club member Andrew making ground on me. I know Andrew rides with a compact crank, so he was always going to do this section better than me (34/28 compared to my 39/25). As he passed, I could see he was really hurting, maybe even more than me. This gave me new confidence and as soon as the gradient eased off a little, I charged back and regained 3rd place which I was then able to hold for the rest of the climb. It was easily my best effort up this climb and I've moved into 2nd place for the climb on Strava.
Beleura Hill KOM
Beleura Hill is the last KOM of the ride. It is short like Oliver's Hill, but is even steeper, probably the steepest gradient of the whole ride. After Bradford Rd I was really feeling fatigued and I very much doubted I would be able to contest another KOM, but decided to try anyway.The starting point for this KOM was the round-a-bout at Main St, Mornington. I positioned myself very near the front and when Tom launched a huge attack at the round-a-bout I was able to go with him. We immediately pulled a 50m gap and I was sitting on Tom's wheel suddenly feeling confident again.
The first part is mostly downhill. Then the road gradually inclines up before an extremely nasty last 100m. My initial thought was that I'd conserve energy sitting behind Tom and then pass him at the end to take the KOM and overall King of the Mountains title. In hindsight I should have taken the lead and helped maintain the gap over the others. As we hit the bottom of the nasty incline, I looked behind to see the Red and Black riders on an almighty charge. Tom saw this too and immediately kicked, but my legs had nothing left. Red and Black passed me halfway up (I was barely moving) and then continued on in chase of Tom. Tom managed to just hold on in front of the Black Rider. The Red Rider gave up the chase and struggled the last bit of the climb. If I hadn't given up once they passed me, I could have stolen 3rd place back off the Red Rider, but instead I finished 4th with no points and the Red Rider had won the King of the Mountains classification.
Seaford Sprint
On the way back we stopped at the Frankston BP. Another toilet stop and another chance to regroup and refill water bottles. By this stage I had finished my two Infinit bottles and had also eaten a gel washed down with water.The start of the Seaford Sprint was only about 2km after the BP, so there wasn't much time to get into a good position. Unfortunately I found myself further back than I'd like and then unable to move up further due to passing traffic.
Once I found a gap in the cars, the move off the front had already happened, but I decided to chase after them anyway. Using Infinit nutrition seems to provide a very constant supply of fuel and you don't experience the highs and lows you often get with gels. But the last nutrition I'd had was a gel and I was definitely feeling the high now. Even though the front guys had gapped me, I was reeling them in. Just not quite quick enough. The Red Rider won (again) followed by the Black Rider, Clint, Tom and I was half a wheel further back.
Parkdale and Finish Sprints
After the Seaford Sprint I was feeling really good and would have loved to contest the last two Sprints. Especially as there were no start points after Mordialloc, it was just flat out for the last 7km or so. But as I approached my house I'd already ridden 123km - longest so far this season. Riding the last 20km to the finish line would also mean riding an extra 20km to get back home and I'd already consumed all my nutrition. More importantly, my daughters had spent the morning doing there open water swim training (in very rough conditions) and were due home right about now.So I made the wise decision to drop out of the ride and go home. Elaine and the girls drove down the driveway just as I was opening the front door.
I haven't had a clear answer yet, but I think it was the Black Rider than won the finish sprint - and therefore the overall race. The Red Rider won both the Sprint and KOM classifications. Although I didn't do as well as I hoped, it was only because better riders turned up on the day. Overall I was very pleased with my efforts and it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've ever done.
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