When Plans Go Astray

Race 9 of the winter series should have been fairly straightforward.  With the big boys away the the BenchMark Race there was an opportunity to pick up some extra points.  The course was up 88 Valley and return so there wasn't going to be many places where you could get away and without the big guns splitting up the field you would have to be lucky to make a break that worked.

My initial plan was to try and get away up the 88 Valley climb.  I hoped that if Chris C and a couple of others could get away with me then we would have a chance.  Plan B was to try my luck with the sprint (hopefully with a handy lead-out from Chris).

Henry made a couple of half hearted attacks at the start of the race but was soon brought back.  I rode on the front going up the climb and just increased the pace.  I was soon by myself with only Thomas for company.  We rode past Henry and picked up his escape partner.  I tried to keep the pressure on down the hill and up to the end of the road where the turnaround was.  There was a small group slowly coming across and Thomas gave up.  By the time we had got around the turnaround the group was pretty much all back together.  We lapped out on the return trip and while I contemplated making a run for it I didn't want to risk any potential points if it didn't succeed.

Chris and I had tried to talk about a leadout at the end but in the general race confusion part of our conversation was never completed.  I had planned to move to the front in the last 2 km so we could control the runin to the Ranzau corner.  Chris had taken my movement to the front to mean that we had to get going and so he came up and started leading out.  I was trying to tell him to ease up but its almost impossible to hear anything being said at 46kph.  We came round the corner and he continued.  I had originally planned my launch point but as I came to it I saw that Henry, Gary and Murray had already started.  I struggled to get up to speed and in the end I placed 4th - pretty much where I normally get.  So the opportunity slipped away - mainly because I left my sprint too late.

So the lessons to be learnt are - communicate the plan and don't sprint too late (for me that is).  Chris did a great job, I'm not sure that I could have led out for so long.

I'm now placing 2nd in the series.  The final race finishes at the top of the Aniseed Valley hill so that will be a gut buster.  If I can finish in the top 5 I'll be pretty happy.