A few things happen when you cross the border into South Australia. 110km/hr speed limits, better roads, different brands of chocolate milk, and dead bodies are found in barrels.
I've been told by a trusted authority of 'some things cycling' on the Interwebs to cut the crap and get to the good stuff in my blog.... no promises, but I'll try...
Langhorne Creek 20km course is almost dead flat, good road surface, not too busy, and always has a bit of wind. My two re-con rides were fast outbound, and a bit of a slog back into the wind. MMAS1 had 9 starters, 4 more than the Victorian titles. I'd met Corey Roberts (MMAS1) at the Victorian Elite TT champs a few weeks ago, and caught up with him at the warm-up/check-in/bike-check stuff around.
Stuff around indeed. 9 or 10 Cycling SA officials standing around, making us wait 15-20 minutes to get our bikes checked. Rumours were floating around that our aero drink bottles were classified as a "fairing", and our bars would be measured to the pivot point of levers, not the end of the bar extension itself......Hmmmm. In the wash up, my equipment and measurements were "spot on the limit". Excellent, only 20 minutes of planned warm-up time lost.... Good to see them enforcing rules though. No checks done at the Vic Masters or Elite TT championships, and a few questionable setups were spied!
"All Masters 1 line up at 11am!"... They attempted to herd us into line. 9 minutes of waiting in line? No. I kept rolling around. Standing still for that long then going flat-out isn't pretty. 3 minutes to go I lined up, and was soon off. Out way too fast, hurting way too much, standard TT procedure! I caught my minute man at 6km, 2 minute man just after the turn around, and passed a few more back towards the finish. 24:35. 46.6km/h on the SRM. The first 12kms felt good, the final 8km were a slog. Enough for 1st place and the gold medal in MMAS1 and fastest time of the day. Second fastest of the day was SA rider Nick Wood setting 26:02 in MMAS2 for that win.
MMAS1 Results:
1 Shane Miller (Vic) 24:35
2 Josh Smith 27:57
3 Lee Stevens 28:16
4 Corey Roberts 28:43
5 Darren Searle 28:58
Full Results/Report/Photos (when posted by Cycling SA)
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| Official results for MMAS1/2/3. |
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| MMAS1 Podium. Josh Smith on the right takes the SA State Title (1st SA rider in MMAS1) |
- Warm up. Rode the 20km course in the morning but I didn't factor time for bike check delays. Final warm up was too short.
- Pacing. Totally screwed it. I knew the course and conditions well. No excuses.
- Didn't crack the 400W average I'm chasing. Not far off. More specific work to get there.
My old man was in town for the presentations. He was headed towards Victor Harbor for the weekend and called past to say g'day. That was pretty cool to have him there at the presentations for a state event. After downing a different branded ice-coffee milk I took off over to Willunga for a lap of the Australian Masters Games TT/RR course we'd be riding in October. We have some nice hills around Melbourne but the rollers around Willunga are magnificent! Can't wait to get back in October for the week of racing.
Thanks list:
- Team Kosdown. Always behind me while cranking out TTs around the country.
- Champion Systems. The Speedsuit is the best skinsuit I've ever pulled on. Amazing kit.
- Raoul Luescher / Luescher Teknik. For slamming my TT bike stem last week. The shoes I'm prototyping are still winning, and there is no way I'd be cranking out those times without my wind tunnel session. Raoul's knowledge of training and performance is endless. It's motivating just talking to him about upcoming races and goals. His take on things is real. No short cuts, no bullsh*t. I'm privileged to have his support.
- Cycling SA. All the officials were up for a friendly chat and had a few questions about racing in Victoria.
- Chameleon Photography for the pics I've snagged from the Cycling SA site.
Random Stuff...
I proclaim Murray Bridge the fake grass nature strip capital of Australia. It's like they're in denial they live in a pretty dry part of the country (discounting that small river that runs through town). I don't know why they can't embrace some Greek-Doncaster style and just cement everything! It'd give the Commodore army more real estate to rip epic burn-outs on.... If the last two nights were anything to go by, this is another past time I'm sure Murray Bridge hosts the world championships for.
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| It's always a good sign when the accommodation has a start ramp installed. |
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| 100km zone. Doing 110km/h chasing a truck with a "100 speed limited" sign on it. |
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| Highway weed dealers not so under-cover with that number plate! |
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