The Perth Criterium Series

Raging on the Riverdrive

The Perth Criterium series. Cycling does not get any bigger in Perth, I was told. The Crits is the event that any cyclist is keen on entering. I just joined the Aussie Crates team and was in such luck that I was selected for the support race. But due to illness of Bret I was ‘upgraded’ to the ‘Open’ race. Me, who’s biggest Criterium achievement was finishing the Haren criterium in Holland (in all fairness, a big crit in Holland of 80k), had now the chance to do 4 days of Criterium races. I could not have any expectations: I did not know anything about the level of competition, did not know in which state my fitness was (it is winter for g#@ sake!), and moreover, did not know anything about the difficulty of the courses. A safe, but still challenging goal would be to finish one of the four.

Joondalup, 23^rd of January.

The course is marvellous. Nice tarmac, nice turns, nice straights. I really expect to do well here. The turns are all ninety degrees, but wide and that is to my advantage. I cycle to Joondalup and feel good. The weather is cool with some 26 degrees. A little breeze, a good day for some racing! All stars seem to align: I was going to make a statement today. This feeling was getting bigger when I saw Logan having a go in the support race. “What he can do, I must be able to do”. The Aussie Crates support team tried to get away a couple of times, but it was tough to really achieve that.

At 19:30 the Open race is gunned away. I’m in a world class field with Matt Illingworth (former British time trial and pursuit champion), Luke Durbridge (junior world champion), Bernie Sulzberger (2009 Australian Crit champion), Ben Kersten (Commonwealth gold medallist and vice-World Champion on the kilometre in 2006), Ben Cureton (silver medallist rowing Athens 2004) and last year’s series winner Adam Semple. Luckely I am not aware of this all. Within the rolling lap it is already clear that the mentality is similar to Dutch racing: nervous, to the point of trying to overtake the safety car, whereas that is not allowed. All in all, the end result is that, just as in the Dutch crits, I am hanging at the back of the bunch when the race officially starts: not good, especially in a criterium.

I have to give everything to keep up with the pace, and after one lap I am already wondering how long this pace is going to last. It couldn’t be very long. I have a quick flick at my heartbeat. The 180’s pop up, indicating that I am fresh, fit but close to my maximum. During my National Championship time trial I was able to sustain that for over forty-five minutes, but at this stage of my season, I would already be happy if I could keep it up there for five minutes.

As laps and time progress, I gradually loose contact with the bunch. The speed is insanely high and the speaker translates that correctly in “this is going to be a very tough race”. I just lack the shear power to accelerate after a turn. Or, to give credit to all other guys, riders here have a jealous-making explosive power. As raging bulls they attack every corner and catapult themselves out of the bend. As I cannot keep up with the rest I make it an intensive training and stay in the race as long as possible. The only statement I will make today will be: how was that guy with his jar open on this steering bar?

When the clock strikes twenty five minutes I am lapped by the Porsche and proclaimed out. For a moment I feel deception: Twenty five petite minutes! How on earth is it possible that I am so much slower than these guys? Or is it just matter of hanging in there just a little longer: the pace does seem to come down every time I see them pass by.

Roy is amazing: not feeling well, or rather, being ill, he finishes the race. A show case of a pretty exceptional piece of mental strength. However, the moral is high, the team-spirit is there, and in the long run that will make us stronger.

Getting ready. A Porsche cabrio as safety car…

Race to be viewed on Facebook from a ‘trunc-cam’. Still hanging on…

Making lonesome laps, while Sulzberger (Ozzie shirt) e.a. is cruising along

Leederville, 24^th of January

At the hearth of café corners and shopping streets of Leederville we make ourselves ready for the second Crit. Whereas the Joondalup Crit was a smooth circuit with wide bends, the turns here are narrow and really close to 180. I fear them: not a good state to be in. But when I see the support race going through them it makes me more comfortable: there are no cowboys in this bunch and everybody seems to have respect for one another. I see one rider being airborne but the rest seems to do alright.

To everyone’s surprise Aussie Crates wins the support race with a huge uphill jump by Rowen in the last lap. At the finish there is some 5 meters left between him and Brad who comes second. With all the work that … has done throughout the race a true example of team work.

The Open race is a continuation of yesterday: lacking the acceleration power. The 180º-corner at the top of the ‘hill’ almost grinds the pack to a hold, just as you have given everything in the sprint up the hill. After that turn it is off again, stampeding down, headwind in your face towards the lower section. Every lap I need to chase down the pack, making up for the small gap I let at this 180-turn. It is frustrating knowing what you must do, but unable to make it happen. As I have all sorts of trouble hanging on, I see the first group of riders making a successful breakaway. I don’t dare to think of the speeds they must be at.

After lap 10 or 15, gap needs to be redefined to ‘dropped off distance’. Although I was able to remain in some sort of contact with the bunch it was deemed to end in a lonely chase, keeping myself in the race as long as possible. From the team I managed to stay in the race the longest, which is giving me somewhat confidence. In a couple of months I will be up there.

Along the side of the circuit there is a lot of support from the Aussie Crates team and also from the Elite Racing Cycles, which is warming. Leederville feels like home already.

Warming up with Logan (left), the support peleton with Brad at the front, Rowen and Darren following (middle), Rowan winning the support race

the last easy heart beats awaiting an effort with eventually ended in

a quest, seeking acceleration, doomed to end in a lonely outage (left). The Open race swirling by (middle). Blake persistent (right).

Michael keeping his spirits high. The podium in Leederville

Victoria Park, 25^th of January

It’s 37 degrees… not the optimal conditions for a bit of cycling menace. It shows in the support race where the pack is not able to hunt down an exploded Logan. He told me before the race that he was so disappointed with his racing yesterday. He knows (and I know from training with him) he is in good shape, but for some reason it did not materialize. Today he has trouble not spilling his confidence before the start. He takes off really early but almost eats the rubber of the safety car. Two rounds before the end he leaves Sean O’Neil standing almost in front of me, and rides solo to the finish. An absolutely brilliant performance. “I thought I would take off where all the fans where standing”. Again, I can’t restrain myself from thinking that I can do that as well. Especially with these long straights and this wind.

But again it’s the 180 turn that literally is the bottleneck: my acceleration is pathetic and am left chasing the peleton, or what is left of it. The race is torn in 3 small packs, and very soon I am loosing contact with the last one. Probably these last days are perfect training, but I certainly would like to be some 100 meter up the road right now. After, again, twenty-five minutes I am lapped by the top that Australian cycling has to offer. It takes a couple of hours to appreciate the fact that I was up there. The easy defence ‘I have a job you know’, is probably not going to work, as most of them will have a job. Silver medal winner Ben Cureton in the Athens Olympics (rowing lightweight) wins solo, almost lapping the leftover peleton. It’s a déjà vu with Sven Kramer winning de Ronde van Kerspelen. Some have it all...

Logan winning the support race in Victoria and wearing a champaign dress. Ben Cureton solo in the Open race

Ben King having a closer look at the course (and continuing…). Darren cooked himself after gazillion attacks.

Bret, not fit but still racing in 3 of the 4 Criteriums, having a successful go in the Victoria race

Start of the Open race. The peleton around a mad hay-stack 180, Matt Illingworth still in yellow.

Perth, 26^th of January.

A cycling event along the Riverdrive of Perth on Australia Day. At one side the skyline of Perth, at the other side the Swam river. Can it be any better? The course: two long straights, two corners, wind from the river. This is more my course and the legs don’t feel too bad. From the start I am able to keep up and stay in the front, but the accelerations after a turn are painful. After a couple of laps I even start to enjoy it, because I manage to close the gap every time. But then the gap gets a little bigger, more than a bike length, and I need to use the contingency engine, that I had to use yesterday, before yesterday and the day before. It is the prelude of another ‘dnf’. And rather than hanging in there as long as possible, until that light blue Porsche is surpassing me, I mentally crack. I cannot convince myself for another anaerobic session. During this Crit series I haven't seen a single heartbeat indicating I wasn't acidising, equaling 4 time trials in a row. It’s ok to be up there during a break away, but you need time to recover in the peleton, but these insane turns prevented that.

As soon as I let go I get furious with myself: "7 minutes??! 7 bloody minutes and you let go?! How pathetic!!") and drowning myself into negative self-talk. And that was the end of the Perth Crits.

Conclusion must be, although cliché: on this level it's 70% mental fitness, 30% physical. The higher the level, the more this ratio gets skewed..

I did enjoy it though, it is definitely on my radar screen for next year. And I'll be ready. Aussie Crates closes the crits with a very nice barbeque at Blake’s parents place, where we cool down in the pool. Four fantastic days, but next time I’ll be up there.

Aussie crit champ Bernie Sulzberger

Left: Ben Kersten showed up for the last Criterium… Roy hanging in there, and finishing his 2^nd crit.

When did champaign make it across from F1?

Foto’s © Florentin Jaeger, Bruce Rollerson, Troy Coulthard.