It was then on to the madison and Scott had come down from the hospital (despite the birth of his newborn Leilani) to give me a few pointers prior to race start. I was partnered with Peter Ladd in a pink jersey, and nervous as hell about my ability to perform a correct hand sling despite pre-race practice with Kess Jelbart. I missed my first change, and came in wayyy too slow on my initial attempt. Had it not been for the guys continuously reminding me to stay above the wheel and keep both eyes open, I would have crashed earlier than 10 minutes in! I wasn’t thinking ahead and found myself caught under the wheel, behind a change. As predicted, I ran up the arse of Tim Decker and bought myself down :( Following a quick recovery I don’t remember much of the race. Jarrod Moroni towed sprint specialist Damien Keirl through the race for a convincing win, and I lost second on a count back to Mark O’Brien and partner. I even won sprint points…which came as a surprise considering I never even heard the bell ring!
Friday 12 December 2008
MADISON DEBUTANTE
As summer approaches, the weather turns foul and the solitary training begins. Solitary training means time at home, and time at home means social outings. In the past week I’ve celebrated Cathy’s massage graduation, Sammy’s going away (for two weeks to QLD) and the Traralgon races. But celebrations are aside now and it’s time for me to don my helmet (to cover my ‘top deck’ look after putting some colour through my hair) and get back into racing. After three weeks away from the track bike, my coach Scott McGrory had no trouble convincing me to trek to Bendigo for their local track racing, doubling as their club madison championships. My legs felt great during the night, giving me 2nd in the B grade scratch race and 3rd in the Men’s handicap. Clearly I suffered when given the task of a standing start, finishing where I had started in the women’s handicap…last! lol
It was then on to the madison and Scott had come down from the hospital (despite the birth of his newborn Leilani) to give me a few pointers prior to race start. I was partnered with Peter Ladd in a pink jersey, and nervous as hell about my ability to perform a correct hand sling despite pre-race practice with Kess Jelbart. I missed my first change, and came in wayyy too slow on my initial attempt. Had it not been for the guys continuously reminding me to stay above the wheel and keep both eyes open, I would have crashed earlier than 10 minutes in! I wasn’t thinking ahead and found myself caught under the wheel, behind a change. As predicted, I ran up the arse of Tim Decker and bought myself down :( Following a quick recovery I don’t remember much of the race. Jarrod Moroni towed sprint specialist Damien Keirl through the race for a convincing win, and I lost second on a count back to Mark O’Brien and partner. I even won sprint points…which came as a surprise considering I never even heard the bell ring!
It was then on to the madison and Scott had come down from the hospital (despite the birth of his newborn Leilani) to give me a few pointers prior to race start. I was partnered with Peter Ladd in a pink jersey, and nervous as hell about my ability to perform a correct hand sling despite pre-race practice with Kess Jelbart. I missed my first change, and came in wayyy too slow on my initial attempt. Had it not been for the guys continuously reminding me to stay above the wheel and keep both eyes open, I would have crashed earlier than 10 minutes in! I wasn’t thinking ahead and found myself caught under the wheel, behind a change. As predicted, I ran up the arse of Tim Decker and bought myself down :( Following a quick recovery I don’t remember much of the race. Jarrod Moroni towed sprint specialist Damien Keirl through the race for a convincing win, and I lost second on a count back to Mark O’Brien and partner. I even won sprint points…which came as a surprise considering I never even heard the bell ring!