STAGE 3 & 4 JAYCO BAY SERIES: 19 YEARS IS 'OVER THE HILL'

People tell me girls are soft, and that our racing is like watching grass grow. Warranted, sometimes that is true, but the Jayco Bay Series this year seem to be putting a change to that, particularly when at Ritchie Blvd on Friday night. I sat motionless for a solid 5 minutes after the race. I had goose bumps, despite it being 40 degrees and barely had the energy to lift a can of drink to my lips, despite some serious head spins. But that was nothing, winner Megan Dunn had thrown up on crossing the finish line! The attacks started early, and the further we travelled through the 45 minute race, the harder it got. I had decided, in contrast to Thursday, that I was again keen on the sprint jersey, but was up against some serious talent in Lauren Kitchen who had already claimed a stage win at 17-yrs of age. I buried myself to be up for points and never really recovered. A crash from Wood in the closing laps saw Dunn and Rickards (VIS) get a gap. Dunn came into bell with a slight advantage over the bunch, holding on to take a very impressive win and the yellow jersey...a mere 16-yrs old!

Today was a serious...or should I say solid (my new word)...team effort. The first bunch kick of the series also saw our first podium, and in a team running low on sprinters, having 2 in the top 5 seemed slightly odd. Finally a simplistic course in the Botanic Gardens, with poor excuses for corners, gave those that wished for it a recovery day. I was suffering something shocking from the night before and was happy to cruise around sitting wheels. Berry and Kath O’Shea (VIS) made themselves present in early breaks before Jess suffered a vicious crash at almost 60km/hr along the back straight. Despite what looked like some critical head injuries, it was her bruised coccyx that caused most of the pain, putting an end to her week. The pace set into the sprint was a slow one but the sprint itself was long. Kate Bates took the win from Rickards (VIS) and Belinda Goss. Regardless of spending the day in the bunch, the legs didn’t enjoy the sprint, finishing in 5th and putting me back to 10th overall.

Results: Jayco Bay Series, Stage 3, Ritchie Boulevard, 45minutes + 3 laps
Results: Jayco Bay Series, Stage 4, Botanic Gardens, 45minutes + 3 laps

* Images courtesy of WomensCycling.net