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Charles goes for a ride (or Two) |
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Written by Charles Salmon
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Sep 20, 2011 at 07:28 PM |
Wellington Schools Cycling Champs
Excellent racing was put on over in Trentham yesterday, hosted by a multitude of dedicated volunteers from the PNP cycling club. More than 130 riders made the start sheets, 24 of whom were in my grade (Under 17 boys - 12 from Wellington and 12 from Palmerston North).
Upon having arrived at the YMCA, I got dressed, attended the race briefing and rode to the start of the Hill Time Trial. The U13 riders were first off at 9am, followed by the U15 riders, the U17 riders and then the U19 riders (girls followed by boys). I warmed up, and in doing so covered approximately 20km, feeling ready to frolic up the hill. I saw the U17 girls were getting lined up and so decided that it was probably about time that I went and stood as part of the mob of riders and supporters in the starting area. About 5 minutes later, midway through a conversation, I faintly heard the name “Charles Salmon” being sounded. I quickly worked my way through the mob, lined up and was told, “You missed your start.” This made for great start to the day.
The race manager understood that with the volume of noise in this starting area, that it was totally possible that I was present when my name was called for the first time, and so agreed to slot me in after the remaining U17’s had departed if further time was not lost. I waited patiently, and was told, “Not enough time, maybe after the U19’s.” By this stage, I was shivering. I waited longer, and finally was told that I could make my departure. With a short sigh of relief, I accelerated to 42kmph in my big chainring (as I had estimated would be safe during my warm up, upon suggestion from Greg to see just how quickly the first corner could be taken, while staying inside the cones), had a smooth shift just after the corner, and began to ascend Wallaceville Hill in my 21T sprocket. About halfway up, I was still shivering and my arms (but not my legs) were dying with pain. I shifted into my 22T sprocket to see if I could seek any relief. To no avail, as Greg’s ute went past in the opposite direction, in query of my whereabouts, I manned up and shifted back into the 21T. As soon as the trees opened out, I started sprinting up towards and over the crest of the hill. I was dizzy, my vision was blurry, I knew I had given it my all but had a sinking feeling that it probably wasn’t enough. Nevertheless, from a cold start, I was pleased with my effort. Once I’d recovered enough to see in a straight line, I started rapidly pressing the button on my speedometer, until I saw the time, “4:37.” This, of course, included time taken since having crossed the finish line. I assumed that - worst case scenario - my official time would be in the region of 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Upon comparing this with other’s results, I was fairly unhappy and knew I’d have to make the next stage a good one if I was to have any chance of making the Wellington podium. Turns out (as I found out when I arrived back at the YMCA, upon completion of all three stages), I’d spent a little more time recovering than I had thought... My official time came back as 4 minutes and 10 seconds, placing me 2nd out of all finishers. Much better than I had thought, or even expected possible!
After having eaten and ridden a further 15 minute warm-up (all time coordinated by Greg, making it possible for me to focus solely on the Individual Time Trial which was to come), I was ready to go. In the mindset that my last stage had not gone so well, I was ready to give this everything. I made the start line, on time, this time. I made a smooth departure, adapted to the wind conditions (which were very favourable - light breeze, headwind out, tailwind back) and decided I would not let myself drop below 38kmph before the turnaround. True to my thought, I did exactly this, only reducing my speed below this mark at one point along this straight. At this point, an oncoming cyclist was crossing the first one-way bridge and a car was stopped, waiting, before such bridge. Not too much further down the road, I approached and passed my first moving target. As I neared the turnaround, I could see that I was closing in on those ahead of me and that it was entirely possible that I could pass two more targets before reaching the finish line. On the way back, I attempted to maintain 40kmph. There were, however, quite a few occasions that I dropped below this figure, but not once did I drop below 39kmph. I ticked off target number two in between the two one-way bridges and begun to close in on target number three. I finished up approximately 50m behind them, looked at my speedometer immediately, saw “14:02,” and thought that it was entirely possible that my official time may have fallen below 14 minutes. I knew this was a good time. As it turns out, I was again completely wrong. My official time came back as 14:28, placing me 9th out of all finishers. Perhaps I didn’t go so well, but I can still happily say that I was disciplined enough not to let myself put in any less effort than I could.
The final stage was a Criterium, on a course I’ve been riding on each Sunday for numerous past weeks, as part of the Capital Spin Series. I also wanted to go well here, as I wanted to use this as a gauge for where I’m sitting in the scheme of things, leading into New Zealand Secondary School Champs next month. Rain was pouring, and I was sore. Upon instruction, I obediently agreed to warm down but made the soft decision to get in the ute to be transported to the Criterium. I wanted to rest up and I didn’t fancy getting wet. Greg further kept me informed as to when I should be resting, eating, warming up and getting positioned on the line. This helped immensely because it meant that I didn’t need to spend any more time out in the rain before the race than was absolutely necessary. I warmed up for around 15 minutes, staying far away from any asphalt, so I could keep myself dry from road spray. As the U17 riders begun to line up, Greg told me to get to the front row. Unfortunately, I was too slow and had to settle on the next wheel back (which was also the last row). It was a neutralized start, so I zipped up the inside and put every ounce of effort I had into staying up towards the front of the race. I didn’t attempt any of the sprint laps because I was fairly certain that any of these efforts would impair my ability in the sprint on the final lap. The race went well, couldn’t have asked for any better conditions (perhaps absence of road spray, and hence vision, might have been nice...) and before I knew it, the bell signalling the last lap was sounded. The last lap started off fairly sedate. As we passed through the second corner, out of sight of spectators, some action begun to occur. An aggressive rider unnecessarily cut me off, in anticipation of this action, nearly sending a few of us down. Swerving back around him, I moved closer to the front. The final corner neared and so I begun to sprint alongside the gutter, managing to maintain my position in the group. I didn’t pass anyone on this finish straight and no one passed me. I was however in what I consider a fairly reasonable position, finishing up 5th overall.
Prizegiving arrived. I won a bottle of lubricant, as a spot prize, pleasingly covering the cost of my entry fee and stood on a podium for my first time, taking home a silver medal. I finished 2nd out of the Wellington starters, and 4th out of all starters, 1 point behind 3rd. This (referring to my 4th overall result), as insignificant as it may seem, has probably been my most successful result yet.
As the result of this result, I am eagerly awaiting the New Zealand Secondary School Champs on the 9th and 10th of October. This assurance of possibility could not have been gained without Greg’s help and Mum’s continuous support. Thank you also to Bob who loaned me his racing wheels for this event, and to everyone else who has provided me with support or advice in any form throughout my journey behind the bars thus far.
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