The beginning of 2012 began like no year before it. Leaving my mountain bike behind for a week I got on board the Suzuki Road Team bus and headed to Geelong for the 2012 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. Four days of flat out road criterium racing. I was privileged to be invited to ride with the Suzuki Trek team for the Bay Crits and also the Road National Championships.

We left Canberra on New Years eve with racing beginning on New Years day (Sunday) at 6:00pm. On Sunday morning we all went out for an hours ride and a coffee stop. We checked out the course for the evening’s racing. We were in for a crazy and tough day with a 600 meter hot dog circuit in a car park. Basically a standing start every 300 meters and plenty of opportunities for crashes!!

I went into the first race a little nervous and quite unsure on how I was going to attack it. My form was a mystery but I knew one thing, I was going to stay as close to the font as possible – to avoid crashes and the rubber band effect that the course was going to cause.

There was 60 Women in the field and the pace was on the whole time. I managed to stay right up the front and out of trouble for the race and even got in a few of the breaks. Unfortunately I missed the break that went later in the race which stayed away until the finish. There were a couple of Green Edge team riders, Chloe Hosking from Specialized and Rochelle Gilmore and a couple of her team mates from Bike Exchange. This meant that there were not many people left in the chasing bunch who were either strong enough or willing to chase down the break. I pushed it on the front of the bunch for four laps with the only riders coming round those who had team mates in the break who were trying to slow the pace down.

With 8 laps to go there was a huge crash in the main bunch and the race had to be stopped. The ambulance came in and picked up one of the girls with a broken collar bone. The race started up again but it was a mass start with the riders that were still left. I found it really hard to get going for the last 8 laps but still managed to finish in 8th position. I was stoked and out of the 60+ riders who started only 26 finished.

Day 2 was the toughest day – temperatures reached 46 degrees and we were racing in the hottest part of the day – from 1:40pm. The course was longer than the hot dog and included a false flat start/finish straight, a short descent with a tight corner with another long flat and then a short steep hill. The wind was blowing harder and harder as the 45 minute crit went on. I hung in the bunch sometimes feeling strong, other times just hanging on as best I could. I was doing it tough on the climb and the start finish straight as the girls on the front stretched the bunch out and into the gutter. The pace got quicker and quicker in the last few laps and as the last attack went on the final lap I got dropped from the small bunch of remaining riders. Unfortunately the event organizers were running late and had the elite men straight on the start line after the women’s sprint so while I finished the race I was recorded as a DNF. Officially only 17 girls finished.

The third day was the one I had been hearing about since we arrived in Geelong. It was the ‘hilly’ stage. With a short warm up on the rollers I headed to the start ready to tackle the course. With a last minute decision they decided to run the race in the opposite direction advertised. The start went straight into a downhill U turn and then into a steep stretch of up hill before the gradient backed off a little for a couple of hundred meters more. It then descended into the start finish. There was carnage on the first lap and I could hear behind me bikes and girls going everywhere but I managed to stay safe in second wheel. That was about the extent of the happiness of my day! I was feeling really average in the early laps of the race and was already starting to get dropped on the climb. The pace was hot and I knew there was no way I was going to finish the race so I decided to pull out. I figured I could try and hang in the race and blow my own doors off to survive another 10 minutes and still be cooked for day 4, so rather than doing that I decided to stop, hopefully have a good day of recovery and then come back strong for the last crit in Portarlington. Also in the back of my head was the thoughts of road nationals coming up on Saturday – Today was Wednesday.

The last criterium of the Bay Crits was definitely my best race. It was basically a square course but on the first corner was a roundabout which you went around Euro style (backwards). The pressure was on for the top Women’s teams today – Bike Exchange have gone 3 days without a win, Chloe Hosking from Specialized was only a couple of points away from winning the Bay Crit series and Green Edge had the pressure of the crowd to get a second win!

The pace was on from the start and I positioned myself well in the bunch. Attacks went, and got bought back as riders got dropped from the bunch. It was an action packed race and it was a fight just to stay in the front of bunch for the early parts. As the race got close to the end the bunch was smaller and you could drift to the back to rest as you got more worn out. With 5 – 10 minutes remaining one of the Green Edge girls made a solo attack. The bunch didn’t react so I sat in patiently. Chloe’s specialized team mate hit the front chasing hard and swapped off with one of the Bike Exchange girls. With only one team mate left in the bunch and Chloe being a friend from Canberra I decided I would help them try and bridge the gap and hopefully give Chloe the change to be in the sprint for the win.

I rode to the front of the bunch and pushed as hard as I could. A couple of us swapped off the front and we were closing the gap, but time was also running out. Chloe’s team mate hit the front with one lap to go and the remainder of the bunch was strung out and gaps were forming. I was lucky enough to have the punch to stick with the front girls and into the finish the sprint was on. I got 5th out of the bunch sprint which put me in 6th. Amanda Spratt who went on the solo break ended up winning by a mere three seconds. Another lap and she would have been swamped by the bunch – but I was really happy with how I rode, I felt strong and positioned well, and most importantly avoided any accidents.
Overall the Bay crits was an awesome experience and I look forward to coming back again next year with a bit more insight to how it all works. I finished 11th in the General Classification for the Bay Crits which was quite good with only 2 official finishes.

Thanks a lot to the Suzuki Trek team for taking care of me for the Crits and for having me as a guest on their team! A huge thanks to Shimano for the Dura Ace groupset and wheels which were super fast!

With 2 days recovery next on the cards is Road Nationals at Ballarat. Hopefully the form will only improve…

Yesterday morning I took my New Trek 9.9  for it’s first ride – all was going smooth until I decided to ride down a set of stairs – designed specifically to be ‘unfriendly’ for bikes.  I am still unsure how it happened but somehow my brand new bike managed to do a few cartwheels over the top of me and I hit the deck harder than I would have liked.  The bike some how made it through the crash scratch free and I guess I am happy that the first crash (which ALWAYS happens on a new bike) is done.

Other than crashing the bike felt great and more importantly – looks the part so I am sure I will be right in place lining up on the start line at the first World Cup in March.

Yesterday evening CORC hosted the annual Mt Taylor Christmas Anti-gravity.  aka.  Hill Climb.  It has been a few years since I have done the Christmas hill climb and the record set by Niki Fisher a few years ago was the one to beat.  Since Niki’s record the incredibly steep fire road to the top of Mt Taylor has been well improved but the long fire road drag to the bottom of the hill remains equally tough.

After a bit of a late start and standing around for about 15 minutes racing got underway.  I was racing in B grade and the pace was on from the start.  My legs were stinging and I was struggling to hang on to the bunch.  I knew I just had to get to the ‘flat’ spot to get a short recovery and then I knew my legs would be fine for the climb.

Dad and I swapped off on the front of the bunch and then there were only 3 of us left.  As we got closer to the bottom Dad continued to drive the pace and I got dropped to a few seconds back.

We started the climb and I was going hard!  I could tell Dad was putting it in too and I was just holding the gap.  After we crested the first of three sections of the climb I put it in and caught up to his wheel on the steepest section, but I had blown!  He powered away again and then started to get away.  I was giving it everything I had, the sweat was pouring off me and I wanted to vomit!  It was HOT!

As we crested the next section the gradient eased off but I had given up hope.  Some how I forced the chain into the big ring and gritted my teeth and puffed and panted all the way to the finish.

I crossed the line in 16:23 which improved on Niki’s record by over 2 minutes – but lost the all important Family battle!

Thanks to CORC and Russ Baker for hosting the event – it was well worth riding up the hill for the BBQ and drinks that were put on at the end.

Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas and hopefully everyone will find some time to get some riding in!

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and to my sponsors for a successful 2011 season and I look forward to another exciting season of mountain bike racing in 2012.

Thankyou to Shimano and Trek I am celebrating an early Christmas!  Last night I arrived home from Victoria after picking berries on Dan’s family berry farm for a few weeks.  I walked in the front door last night to discover a new road Dura Ace groupset and Dura Ace C35 wheels and couldn’t wipe away the smile.  Perfect timing for the upcoming road races including 5 days of crit racing in Melbourne and Road Nationals.  This afternoon I also met with Rich from Anytime Fitness and picked up my new MTB machine for 2012… The Trek 9.9 – kitted up with full XTR I just need to throw on my XTR wheels and it’s ready to race!

Check out the pictures below for a sneak preview of my 2012 rides…

Tour of Bright is a well known road racing tour around Australia.  Held over two days with three stages it is an enjoyable event if you are fit…  With entries capped at 550 riders and a sell out Dan and I were lucky enough to have remembered way back in June to enter.

The race is based from small Victorian town Bright and covers plenty of climbing meters!

Dan and I headed down to Bright to meet with good friend Luke Fetch and some of his roadie mates.  We had a really nice house about 1 kilometre from the action.

Prior to the Tour my training had been going quite well and I was happy with how everything was going.  I was feeling like I am ahead of schedule and really looking forward to January/February so I can start racing.  About a week and a half before the tour began I came down with a cold.  I just started to get better when Dan got sick and I got worse again, by the time the tour came around Dan and I were considering not turning up.  So with two weeks of only easy pedalling I was not too excited for a smashfest!!!

The tour began on Saturday morning – my start was at 7:25am.  I rolled to the start line half asleep, and with no warm up.  (Something you can only do at a road race, as you always literally roll out and have a neutral zone for a few kilometres).

Women’s road racing is never the most exciting – and today was no exception.  The stage was about 80-90 kilometres with two main climbs, the rest was either flat or undulating.  The first climb was about 4 kilometres and was about 30 kilometres in, and the second climb took up the last 7 kilometres of the race.

The bunch rolled out of Bright at 7:25 and nothing too much happened.  We rolled along at Grandma pace for kilometres and kilometres, it was like torture.  Nobody wanted to make a move, everyone was waiting for the climb, either worried they would get dropped.  Or waiting to attack.

Things were so boring that at about the 25 kilometre mark one of the girls called out ‘wee stop’ and half the bunch ducked into the bushes.  One of the most ridiculous things I have experienced in a race less than one hundred kilometres!

So after the rest of us politely waited for everyone to catch up we got going again.  Once we got to the bottom on the first climb called Rosewhite the pace started to increase.  With the King of the Mountain points up for grabs you could see a few girls eager to be first to the top.  The pace never got too hot and we stayed as a bunch and with about 500 meters to go a couple of girls sprinted to the top.  I rode through just close enough to hold the wheel for the long descent.  The pace was on by the VIS (Victorian Institute of Sport) girls and I was starting to enjoy myself.

Once we reached the bottom that was it for the pace!  We ended up riding so slow to the bottom of Tawonga Gap (last climb) that B grade Women ended up catching and passing us!  It wasn’t until the sprint at the bottom of the hill that we caught and re passed them!

Unfortunately for me, even though the pace was super slow for the entire race I still wasn’t feeling too fresh!  I started the climb with the leaders but their pace was one that I could hold, but not for a 7 kilometre climb.  So I dropped off early and rode the climb at my own pace.  I got to the top in 10^th position with a 15 kilometre time trail to go that afternoon.

I rode back down into Bright and got a Recoverite straight into me before having shower and putting my feet up.  The Time Trail was at about 2:30pm and I was going to lose my top 10 position in GC.  Unlike 90% of people at the race, I didn’t have a time trail bike.  So I just had to go as quick as I could without wasting too much energy for tomorrow.  The time trail was pretty undulating but I got through at a reasonable pace.  After the time trail we all headed back home and cooked up an awesome BBQ!

Sunday morning and it was the boy’s turn for the 7:30 start and I had a ‘sleep in’ and started at 8:30.  Each year the race goes up Mount Hotham – a 30 kilometre climb which can be broken up into three sections.  The first 10 kilometres are quite steep with one section a category 1 climb, the second 10 kilometres is a false flat and the last 10 kilometres are super steep with some fast and steep descents included.  The last 10 kilometres are well and truly the hardest!

Luckily for me the weather at the top of Mount Hotham was so horrible and windy and it would be too dangerous to ride to the top.  It was on the start line that I found out we were only doing the first 20 kilometres of the climb!  I could have kissed the lady who told me!

We rolled out at 8:30 in true roadie style – slow and steady and headed out on the 30 kilometre road to the bottom of Mount Hotham.  Before the start we were warned that if we were caught by B grade again today we would be stopped for a few minutes to give them an advantage and then the race would re start.  Nobody in the bunch was willing to pull turns to keep the pace up which left the VIS girls on the

front for a good percentage of the race.  It was only once we had the warning that B grade were 43 seconds behind that the pace picked up.  The whole bunch, barring a few individuals rolled turns and when we got to the bottom of the hill the pace was on.  I hung with the leaders for a little bit but then an attack went and I just settled into my rhythm.

I rode the whole climb by myself – didn’t pass anyone, didn’t get passed.  I pushed it pretty hard on the false flat section, hoping to gain a few minutes on some of the riders behind to sneak back into the top 10.  Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and I came 11^th by 12 seconds!

Overall it was a successful weekend.  It could have been much better if I had of been healthy but that is the luck of the draw and hopefully it’s out of my system now!  Training has started back up and I have been picking berries at Dan’s parents Raspberry farm over the last couple of weeks earning myself a bit of money!

Next on the agenda is a bit more road racing with the Bay Crits in Victoria coming up and then Road Nationals.  I will be riding for the Suzuki Trek road team from Canberra in the Bay Crits which I look forward to!

The website is up and Registration is open for the 50km Duo Classic!

Visit www.duoclassic.com for more information

The 50km Duo Classic is a joint initiative of Bec Henderson and Canberra Off Road Cyclists.  The 50 kilometer mountain bike pairs race will be held at East Kowen Forest, just outside of Canberra.  The race will be held on the 14^th of January 2012.

Riders enter in teams of 2 but this is not a relay style event like the common endurance events. It’s about you and your teammate working together and having a good time while riding some of the best single tracks that Canberra has to offer.

Each pair must start and finish the race together.  The course will be one 12.5km loop of single track and fire road in which each pair will have to complete four times.  This will ensure riders have the chance to discover, learn and rail the course while having the opportunity to pass through the start/finish area to pick up water and nutrition supplies for the next lap.  The finishing time of the pair will be recorded as the second rider crosses the finish line.

Today Dan and I picked up our kit for tomorrow morning’s charity ride with CCS.

Starting at 6:00am from Stromlo Forest Park – visit pedalpursuit.com.au for more details on the event.

Dan and I in our new kit:

The Cycling Australia awards were held on Friday night in Sydney.

I was super happy to receive the 2011 Female Mountain Biker of the Year award.

Previous Winners:
1997 Katrina Miller
1998 Katrina Miller
1999 Katrina Miller
2000 Mary Grigson
2001 Mary Grigson
2002 Tai-Lee Muxlow
2003 Katrina Miller
2004 Lisa Mathison
2005 Katrina Miller
2006 Katrina Miller
2007 Tracey Hannah
2008 Caroline Buchanan
2009 Caroline Buchanan
2010 Caroline Buchanan

After getting up at 4:00am on Friday morning the crew of Pete, Dan, Ben, Dad, Mum and I piled into two cars and drove up to Sydney.  Our flight was departing at midday to Singapore.  Everything went smooth with check in and we all managed to sneak just under the 20kg baggage allowance each.

We had a bit of a messy flight arrangement – Sydney to Singapore, then Kuala Lumpur and then swapping airlines to go from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi.

Our first two flights with Singapore Airlines ran a little late, was had less than an hour between flights and had to swap terminals.  It all went smoothly but we didn’t have any time to spare.  As soon as we arrived to our gate we were already on the last call.  The second flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur also ran about 20 minutes late.  We knew it was going to be a struggle to make the Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi flight.  We had 90 minutes and we had to pick up our baggage (providing it made it), clear customs, check in and then get to the gate.

After the plane FINALLY landed we were all anxious to get our gear and get going.  We waited and waited for our luggage to come out on the conveyer belt.  It felt like we were waiting for something that wasn’t coming – but just when we had all given up hope we saw our boxes coming towards us.  Phew.  We piled up the trolleys and were out of there!!  Luckily for us Customs was a ‘Stop if you have anything to declare’ system, so we got through super fast.

We came out of the arrivals section and headed straight up to the domestic check in.  We were going to make it!  We roll up to the Malaysian Airways counter to check in with a few minutes to spare.  It wasn’t until they looked at our itinerary that we realised we were booked with a partner airline – at the Low Cost Terminal – 15 minutes away.  We were shattered.  We all ran around like headless chooks trying to find a ticket counter to try and get on a late flight to get to Langkawi – unfortunately the only flight going out was booked out.

Spirits were low – everyone was exhausted, starving and frustrated.  After trying to deal with some agents who we thought were from Malaysian Airways  we were quoted with a morning flight for a bout $200 each.  After much debate, Dad and I went for a walk and found the proper Malaysian Airways counter and booked a flight for $100 each at 2:00pm.

The next step was to find somewhere to sleep.  While we were organizing flights mum had been trying to find some accommodation for us to stay the night.  Having no luck with the limited amount of hotels around, all being booked out, Dad took a walk to the Airport Hotel – The Pan Pacific.  Assuming it would be as expensive as it sounds we had a plan that we would all get into one room – we were so desperate we were happy to sleep on a floor so long as there was carpet.

Dad came back with the news that it was 550 Malaysian Ringgit ($170 AUD) and a room key.  We ended up getting two rooms, one with a big king bed and one with two doubles – lucky for Pete and Ben getting the romantic room .

This morning we woke up to sunshine and a massive breakfast!  The most variety of ‘breakfast’ items I have ever seen.  Muesli, yoghurt, crossants and the standard breakfast to doughnuts, cakes, dragon fruit, fried noodles, curry and anything else you could possibly think of!

So we will pack up our things again after an awesome sleep and hopefully this time we will make it to Langkawi!

Anytime Fitness had a very successful weekend at the 24 hour this weekend.  We had two teams competing – a mixed team of 6 and a Male 40 + team of 4!  We had heaps of fun and the weather held out pretty well – we only had a few showers on Saturday afternoon and the spirits remained high through out the race.  Congrautlations to Rich Peil, Pete Dowse, Dave Medlock and Garry James who were the Anytime Fitness team winning the 40 + Team of 4.  Our team of 6 – Ben, Dan, Dad, Amanda Sanderson, Greg – Captain Canada and I came 3rd in the Mixed 6’s.

It’s now time for us to wash our bikes and pack our bags ready for Langkawi.  We are leaving early Friday morning.  I will do my best to keep the results updated on the website, otherwise stay posted on www.mtbmalaysia.com.