Had my first ever 'competitive' race this week (that is a race where I wasn't dropped or back in a second group) while on holiday back in AUS.
Northern Veterans DC Cycles Crit Series.
The first race of the series was postponed due to heavy rain, so I got a sleep in on Sunday morning - always nice after a 9 hour plane flight the day before.
Second race was on the Tuesday public holiday (Melbourne Cup Day, 2 Nov) on a lovely course around an industrial estate behind the Ford MoCo head office in Melbourne.
By a bit of guess work, I was put in Cat 4 (or 'D' grade) and this seemed about right. Although not needed, I had been asked by the organisers to hold back if it was too easy so that no one got upset about any potential miss-grading. Riders varied in age from 35 (min) to a couple of guys who would have been 60+. There was also one guy who told me afterwards that he had a heart attack 3 weeks ago!
First couple of laps seemed a bit slow, so I was worried that I should have been up a division, but once everyone warmed up the speed improved.
Race was 50 minutes plus bell with an intermediate sprint about 20 minutes in.
Once we had the whistle to indicate the sprint lap, I tried to get into position on the top of the course so that I could have a clear run on the last corner before the straight, but
my inexperience saw me boxed in a bit and I didn't get an early clear run. I was still building speed and catching the guys in front when I hit the line, but I was fourth and just out of the points. 58km/h top speed.
The race was decided here, just after the sprint. Two guys broke away and the group let them go. Too tired from the sprint to react and probably thought they went too early.
The pack continued for another half an hour, but no structured attempt to haul in the two guys out the front. They stayed between 300-500m ahead for the rest of the race.
On the last lap I again tried to get into a better position for the sprint,
but again was boxed in at the last corner. Once I did get free I had good speed, but crossed 6th in the bunch (8th overall).
Was quite happy with the 36km/h ave speed, but might have been able to go higher and keep up with the Cat 3s based on times.
Just lacking experience in how to position and push myself.
The Cat 1 and 2 guys were fun to watch later on. The ave speeds were well over 40km/h and the sprints close to 70.
Being actually in the race (and not dropped etc) meant that I learned a lot more about racing.