Veterans racing. A parallel universe of bike racing that a lot of people don't even know exists. Different clubs, difference licenses, and governed by the International Cycling Federation (ICF), not those wacky pranksters at the UCI.
Each year during the Tour Down Under the
SA Vets put on a number of races throughout the week called the
Classic Adelaide Vets Series (CAVS). A road race, TT, hill climb TT, and a crit. All spread out over 8 days so we can enjoy the TdU too. We couldn't make the road race on Saturday but Von and I made it to the other three events. At $22 a race SA continues to lead the way for value-for-entry (their state championships are about the same).
22km TT: Woodchester to Langhorne Creek-return. Sponsored by Seaton Tyres. Monday.
I've raced the Cycling SA Masters State TT champs at Langhorne Creek for the last two years, it is dead flat. We expected the same when we drove out to recon the course before the race. Berg ahead! The first km was straight up a hill, then into 3km down, then it was pretty flat out and back from there.
The bling on show was impressive. Even I felt out of place with my clincher front wheel and old-school Limar TT helmet with no visor. The ride went pretty well, nailing the key points. On the return leg my motivation dropped. This turned out to be ideal pacing as I was fresh for the 3km climb near the end. 29:30 on the line, just a touch over 45km/h. I rode the fastest time of the day. 1st M35-39 Age group, 1st Age Adjusted, and a massive winners jersey.
Von was 1st in W30-34 and scored herself the Strava QOM for the course.
Results:
Outright,
Age Adjusted
Strava Segment:
Woodchester TT Loop
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| Large jersey! Lots of 'pie room'. |
6km Hill Climb. The Old Freeway (Kennels to the Bollards). Sponsored by Pave Cafe. Wednesday.
A climb much like the 1:20, with a lot more bite. The Strava KOM was sitting at 14:21 and with a 20-30km/h head wind near the top of the climb I thought 15:00 would be what I'd be looking at. With a few aero things thrown on for every advantage I could get, I pegged the watts a little higher from the start and reassessed when I got to the 3km mark. That went something along the lines of, "Fark this hurts... but you're over half way now... keep going...". I only dropped a few watts in the last km while looking like a complete mess passing other riders on the climb who were not competing. 13:44. Fastest, first in age group, and first in age adjusted.
Results:
Outright,
Age Adjusted
Strava Segment:
The Old Freeway (Kennels to the Bollards)
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| Von warming up. |
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| Presentations. |
Criterium. A Grade. 50mins +2. Regency Park. Sunday.
Marked and hands down the hardest race I've done in a long time. Roy Clark and Stefan Kirsch were the two riders I wanted to get up the road with, they were marked as well. The one break I let go up the road ended up with one of the three sliding on his arse through a corner. Not sure of the cause, no major damage done, a lap out and he was back in the race. At 40 minutes we finally established a break of four, Roy Clark being one of them. Solid turns by everyone to keep clear, I was happy to take it to the line in a four up sprint.... until the cat and mouse started 800m from the line and I took off. 1st in A Grade.
Results:
A,
B,
C,
D,
E
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| Toot toot! That isn't a smile, it is a hurt box grimace. |
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| Llamas don't play cat and mouse. |
The racing was good, the competition was tough, and the organisation was smooth. The Bakers Delight overload after each race was impressive! If you're old enough and crazy enough, keep an eye on the
SAVCA website and sign up for 2014.... oh, and check out the Tour Down Under and other support races on in Adelaide while you're there.
