Melbourne-Eltham-Melbourne:
Met
Steve early for a roll around the Mt Pleasant Rd loop. We didn't go overly fast, choosing instead to talk and take in the serenity, that said I did make sure he knew his place on the climbs. Front wheel at least an inch behind mine.
It was such a gorgeous morning, and looked to be becoming an even better day that over coffee we joked about continuing to ride rather than head to our separate work places.
D: 74.3km
A: 890m
Sandown:
I had a simple mission, win. With 86 blokes rolling around and a tail wind up the home straight I didn't think a break away would get up, so I contented myself to just sit in the bunch and let others destroy themselves into the headwind up the back of the course.
With 2 to go I moved up to around 20th, with 1 to go a few
Omara guys were driving the pace leaving the front of the race single file. I took a couple more places and scanned for guys I suspected were strong enough to contend the sprint. Everything bunched up a bit over the top and suddenly I was 4 corners from home and in the middle of 40 guys. The rest gets somewhat blurry, I'm sure I chopped many wheels as I searched for riders moving forward. Out of the last corner I was 6th-ish and I believed there was a 1-2m gap behind us, everyone started to fan out to get their own sprint going and I dived up the left. Low as I could get, all the nerves that had built up to this point evaporated like the thoughts about who to be on, it was time to
just fucking GO! (My HRM tells me we hit 65kph)
I made sure to go for this line, not this one like last time.
On the line it was close, it was between me and one other, both of us hoped we had it, so I told him that I was going to claim 1st, and if he wanted to do so as well I was happy to let the officials decide.
When they read out a name for 2nd and I processed it wasn't mine, the flood of nerves and excitement that had been building finally coursed through me. I'm frankly surprised at just how much it effected me... how much it still is.
CCCC have thrown up some photos, including
one of the finish. I think the dude in black/grey/blue was coming up on me and I was trying to hold on, I presume the difference must have been in the throw, but honestly, I can't remember shit. The adrenalin has burnt it clear out of my mind.
I would highly recommend winning to anyone wanting to race Sandown, the normal long ride back up Dandenong Rd felt like it only took 5 minutes.
D: 86.7km
A: 410m
PMPW: 90kg