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Time: 5:14:46
Category Placing: 41st
Well it’s done and dusted – and I’ve got the best tan lines to prove it!
I was feeling pretty confident going into this race, mainly because having done it last year I knew a bit better what to expect in terms or terrain and pacing myself.
The ordeal really began the Thursday prior, when I hauled myself out of bed at 4.30am and went for an AM ride. Repeat Friday, but minus the ride. I was attempting to adjust my sleeping patterns to make that somewhat elusive sleeping thing easier on Friday night, and getting up at 3am on Saturday to drive to Taupo less of a stress.
Unfortunately it didn’t go quite to plan and I failed to get any sleep at all on Friday so I drove to Taupo on Saturday morning without having slept since 4am Friday. This is exactly what happened last year – next year I won’t be such a cheap-skate and I’ll pay for accommodation in Taupo!
After a 30 min warm up I got into place at the starting gate. I was starting in group 4 which is for estimated finish times of 5.00 to 5.30. My secret goal was sub 5.00 but I assumed that was a bit of a pipe dream – for this year – and I was aiming for under 5.30.
I was running my beloved Schwalbe Stelvio tyres. These tyres are so good – really smooth and fast and beautiful to ride and they handle great on corners, but they also have good puncture resistance which in a long race on less-than-perfect terrain is essential for my mental peace of mind.
The race started at a fairly easy pace; I assumed everyone was being semi cautious at this point with so many riders clustered together. It all felt a little too easy though, so I broke away from my initial bunch in the first 10 kms and rode up till I found a slightly faster group to ride in, but it was a big group, maybe 100 or so riders after a while of picking up stragglers. Being anywhere other than the front of a 50+ bunch is a big lose. You get bombarded with too many surges and irrational riders swerving all over the show. I was amazed at the lack of self-awareness or consideration by many riders - not keeping their line, randomly without warning standing up to stretch and simultaneously decelerating. It's hard and takes a lot of mental concentration when you have no trust in the wheel a few inches in front of you.
Things were going pretty smoothly in the bunch until the first little incline which must be about 100 m or so. I climbed the hill at about double speed as most in my group and kicked up my pace a bit on and over the crest to catch another much smaller bunch I could see up ahead.
Kuratau, the longest hill of the ride, at about the 80km mark, was awesome fun. I remember this hill being utter hell last year so I had consciously paced myself a bit prior to approaching it. No worries at all this year though – legs were still feeling pretty fresh so I do what I know I can now do proficiently and charged up the hill passing at least 100 or so riders (or basically everyone on the hill!) without really exerting myself. Man I am loving hills right now! This might sound stink but I get huge satisfaction/motivation from effortlessly passing riders on hills when I can see they are hurting.. heh heh.
I had a few riders along the way comment on my hill climbing technique and speed which is pretty cool – my daily laps up
After Kuratau is a 40 km flat section. I had anticipated this to be the hardest part of the course for me because I often struggle to keep good pace over flat terrain for long periods. I initially passed a lot of riders that were going a lot slower (20-25 km/h) but eventually hooked onto a sole rider who was going about 30. I sat on his wheel for a bit then we alternated and took turns on the front. Our little bunch eventually grew to about 20 riders by the time we got to just before Hatepe. It was a really functional group with numerous riders taking turns up front. I was still feeling reasonably fresh and I would have really liked to have pushed the pace a bit more with this group. We were going about 30-35 where we could have been doing 35-40 km/h. I could see my pipe-dream of sub 5 drifting into the ether. I tried a couple of times when I went to the front to push the pace a bit but no-one seemed keen to reciprocate. I figured it was safer to stay in the bunch though, there was a bit of a head wind at this point and I was not confident I could sustain a faster pace solo for the duration required.
A few km’s from Hatepe hill the bunch started to splinter and about four or five of us broke off the front – finally (I assume these riders were playing the same safe card tactic as I was)!
Hatepe was cool, I stood up and sprinted for most of the hill (my last chance to shine for the day). I remember thinking near the top, "How I am still feeling so fresh? I should be feeling toasted by now". At the top of Hatepe I started feeling a bit angry about the whole thing and I really picked up my pace and pretty much went as hard out as I could (Hatepe is the last hill and is about 15 km to the finish line). Halfway down the decent I got caught by about 5 riders who were in my last bunch and we rode together until the last km where everyone splintered and made a mad dash to the finish (I think I was about mid pack).
Overall it was a pretty good ride with no mechanical or hydration issues – despite the scorching 30+ heat. I’m a little (a lot) gutted I didn’t do sub 5. In retrospect I think I was certainly capable of starting with the wave ahead of me (group 3). The pace of the riders around me just wasn’t blistering enough a lot of the time – it felt more like a training ride than a race at times and I still had a decent amount left in the tank come finish. But at the end of the day I still think I made the right move by staying with slightly slower riders rather than initiating a big hero solo effort though.
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