I enjoyed my early season races placing 11th in the elite women for the Oz Champs and riding with a great bunch of girls for NSWIS at the Geelong tour and World Cup and we did pretty god placing Leonie Burford 6th GC and I finished 25th in the World Cup for my best result. So things were off to a god start and the plan was to have a real crack at the NRS, but the dreaded whatever sickness hit me and I had to miss the first three races and that plan out the window. Start again in May and just getting a steady base together and racing NSW and it’s going ok. My form is improving along the way and I am enjoying my racing with the local girls.
The first serious outing was to freezing Mudgee: a great combo, with a two-week virus and minus 4 degrees on the first night, mighty chilly. Thankfully I had the comfy uggs. The weekend consisted of a 90km handicap on the Saturday where I was blown out the back of my group at 10km wondering if I would ever be over this bug, but somehow I managed to stay with the next group until 10km from the finish. I think it was the thought of being alone out there that motivated me to stay with them. Sunday was an 80km scratch race. It came down to a sprint finish and unfortunately I had lost my lead out man Steve who punctured on the first lap. However, with good weaving skills through the thirty strong bunch I placed first woman and 7th overall. After that it was travel back to Sydney to the real world of work and try and recover and build for the next weekend: Rosemont and the monster Muswellbrook Explorer.
The 55km Rosemont was pretty boring; I tried a few attacks, but nothing stuck and it came down to a sprint finish and that’s where the excitement started with 2km to go Kate Finnegan [Hunter] lost her seat (her main aim: not to sit down, ouch!); Sue Forsyth [Nth Sydney] won from Carly Hibbard [QLD] and I placed 3rd in a frustrating hour long photo analysis between Kate and myself. The next day was the “biggy”, 160km, a bunch of 100 riders and many rolling hills on one bumpy road, and a water crossing! The start was fast, several riders hoping to smash the group, but we were all together for the first 40km, before the real action began at the decisive Owens Gap with the bunch breaking up on the 3km climb. I was just short of holding onto the leaders over the top that contained Carly and Sue and found my self in a small chase group. We were slowly gaining but not fast enough and then the “now or never” move had to be made at 50km or I was racing for third. I was fortunate to team up with an equally determined guy and 5km of hard slog had us on the back of the leaders, however, before I had time to recover the strong winds were battering me and the “dead-leg” hills had me blown out the back with Sue and back to my original group, big bummer!! Sue, though, couldn’t stay with us so I set about securing second woman with more than half the race remaining. Team mate, Steve was in the bunch behind with the hard chasing girls, so if they did catch I would have support in the sprint; I just kept working with my group, not gaining nor losing ground and a 2nd woman placing for the day and a nice bit of cash. Next year’s aim is get that 1 litre Rosemont red wine.
North again the following weekend for the NSW Time Trial Championships at Calga and a chance to role my new American Classic wheels in competition, very fast and light, I love them and my highest placing at this event, 4th
Last weekend was the NSW Road Championships, 99km, 3 laps; a 10% 2km climb each lap. The aim was to break my competitors on the first climb and then attack on the second climb. It didn’t quite go to that plan; in fact it went even better. Over the first climb I managed to drop all of the riders except for Heather Evans [[Nth Sydney] and Judith May [ACT]. We immediately knew what to do without even speaking, hammer and pull some strong turns. We worked together like clockwork, no one missing turns and each of us pulling even turns. We had no idea how much time we were putting into the main bunch, so we just kept on going. With 22 km to go we finally got a time check: over 3 minutes on the main group. We knew then we were going to get the win if we continued working together. At 1km to go Judith attacked hoping her TT ability would get her home, it didn’t; Heather went straight after her and I couldn’t believe my luck, I had second wheel with 400m to go. No mistakes and hit the pace at 200m and immediately opened the gap and forced it all the way holding them off for the win, YAY J, and gaining all the QOM and Sprint points. My reward for winning? My first ever Drug Test by ASADA and yes it was the full deal: blood and urine. I tell you it’s a very intimidating process that took over an hour to complete, constantly under watch, nothing can be contaminated, everything is touched and opened by me only and to top it all off you have to try and rehydrate yourself after a 99km race and pee in a cup with your top pulled up to your breasts and pants down to your ankles in front of someone, NO pressure or anything! You sign your life away and hope your samples make it safely. I think after this weekend I can call myself a true elite athlete.
Next up is the Tamworth two-day tour.
Happy Cycling.
Jemma
