Two golds and a silver - what a way to end a busy year!

by Pip Read - World Masters Gold & Silver Medalist & Australian National Masters Champion

After the buzz of competing in the 2002 World Masters' Games in Melbourne and coming home with silver and bronze medals, I was looking forward to the 2009 masters games in Sydney and improving my medal count. After a week on the NSW coast at Bodalla with friends, I headed off to race the criterium at the Dunc Gray Velodrome and the time trial and road race at the Eastern Creek Raceway.

Race 1- Criterium championship, Dunc Grey Velodrome criterium circuit

The women's five and six groups were marshalled together for the start of the race, which was preceded by a few passing showers. A strong tail wind on the finishing straight was noted. On completing my customary check of my fellow competitors I noticed a few familiar faces and started to formulate a race plan. I was fairly sure of what was going to happen during the event and after a few laps I'd decided to have a bit of a dig and see what would eventuate.

I created a gap from the rest of the field and recognised the person who was trying to bridge it; I decided to wait as she was in a different age group and a very strong rider. We ended up working well as a team, lapping constantly and passing the remainder of our competitors. We finished one lap up on the second and third placed riders and to both our surprise we finished in a dead heat! Both the electronic timing and the photo had not been able to separate us. I must congratulate the course announcer for the informed and entertaining race calling. It was really interesting to hear what was being said about us as we passed the commentary point. That was one race down and my first World Masters Games Gold Medal!

Race 2 - Individual time trial championship, Eastern Creek Raceway

Before the race I found the talk around the pits rather amusing. Some of the riders were concerned about what wheels to use in the windy conditions that recorded strong gusts. One competitor in an earlier start had literally been blown of the circuit. I decided to go with the full time trial set up and as it turned out I was rather pleased with the move. As my partner Fran pointed out, I had been training in similar conditions and I didn't get stressed when being pushed around by the wind.

After getting used to a starting gate during the Victorian Masters Time Trial Series, it was nice to see that we were going to be using another for this race. It was not as nice looking as the one at Wangaratta, with someone describing it as 'looking like a horse float'. I was a bit peeved at not being allowed to ride up the ramp. Having raced this particular circuit last year I was not too concerned about the course layout, which featured some technical sections made even trickier with the gusty winds. After two laps I was happy with how I raced and felt very happy with the second place but a bit disappointed with the time. That was a silver medal to add to the tally.

Race 3 - Road race championship, Eastern Creek Raceway

Unlike the previous two races we had almost perfect race weather for this event. It was fine, sunny with a little wind. The wind did increase by the time we started, so we were to finish slightly downhill with a tail wind. My pre race planning was keeping me occupied and the nerves under control or so I told myself.

Again we had a combined age group start. My plan was to work with my break-away companion from the criterium race. We had planned to increase the pace around lap three, but as it turned out we had two other riders from my age group with us. After forcing both of them to do some of the work on the front, I placed myself on the inside of the last, slightly uphill left hand turn that led to the finishing straight where I quietly grabbed the big ring, picked up the tail wind, quickly changed up three gears and put my head down and headed for the finish. This all happened with my heart rate monitor alarm screaming at me! The download later showed that my heart rate max was 193bpm and my speed was 66kph. My second World Masters' Gold Medal was in the bag!

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout the year. It has been a very busy and satisfying year with three Victorian championships, two Australian championships, and two world gold medals and one silver. A great big thank you to Fran; none of this would happen if not for her support and encouragement. Thank you to my coach Madam Lash and my training partners. And above all thank you again to SheSpoke Cycle Wear! The new (2009) race kit not only looks great, it's super comfortable. I thought the original was good but the chamois in the new version is perfect. Thanks to you all for reading my ramblings and coming up and saying hi at race meetings. I really appreciate your support.

Talk again soon.

Cya!

Pip