A discussion about female club racing and grading
Submitted by Competitive Cycling Blog
Brisbane’s racing scene allows people to choose between two race venues most Saturday mornings, one being the Murrarie Criterium hosted by the Balmoral Cycling Club and the other the Nundah Criterium hosted by my own club, Hamilton Pine River Wheelers.
Therefore Nikki and I contemplated racing options during an eventful Friday morning training ride, which saw us waiting for Nikki because of a flat, abandoning John somewhere on the Southside with a broken free hub and some involuntary cross country racing, jumping fallen trees and navigating debris and sandpit land slides over bike paths.
The choice fell on Murrarie (lovingly referred to as “Muzza” by Brisbane cyclists) as they put on a women’s grade at 6:45 AM. However, this plan changed this morning as I only woke up at 6:30 AM. Too late for Murarrie and too late for B-Grade at Nundah but I was able to make it for the C-Grade starting time so it had to be C-Grade or no race at all. I was prepared to argue with the club handicapper. He is 71 years old and I have a lot of respect for him, which just shows how strongly I feel about this. I’m still prepared to argue my case.
Club mates Mark and Matt and I went down to the “Coffeeguys” after today’s race and Mark questioned my C-Grade racing. He seemed disapproving initially.
After last week’s Fusion Criterium our club handicapper also came over and mentioned in a nonchalant way that he had watched me racing and that the race had been the same speed as a club B-Grade race. It was his way of hinting that it was time for me to move up again.
I could probably hold the speed of B-Grade and I would get a great workout. Agreed! But is it the only aim of a Saturday morning club race to get a good workout? I can join one of Brisbane’s famous and fast bunch rides like the legendary Zupps Ride to get a really good workout. Riding the Zupps ride is like motor pacing for me and it doesn’t cost $8 to enter. However, it’s not about the money. It’s about learning how to win a race.
Last Sunday’s Fusion Criterium made me realise that it is confidence as well as skill that delivers the winner to the line first. For the past four years I have been racing mostly against guys with the goal to “just hang on”. Not the right mindset if I want to start winning races but it seems so ingrained in my brain that it is hard to shake. It seems I’m lacking the urgency to be at the line first. When it comes to the final sprint I catch myself holding back. I always finish with heaps in the tank, lacking the hunger to beat everyone else in the race.
Racing B-Grade would just maintain this mindset but I want to learn to race aggressively, to attack, to take turns on the front … in short … to actually race. What better place to practise race craft than a Saturday morning club race? Am I wrong?
My goal today was to spend as much time as possible on the front, to stay within the top ten spots, to chase down breaks or get into breaks myself. That’s what I did. It was a tough race with an average speed of 38.1 km/h (=23.7 mph) and a strong headwind down the finishing straight, which was absent last week. I was definitely not out of place or stronger than the guys in C-Grade. Is the tendency to grade women higher an indication of the fear of a male dominated sport to be shown up by a girl?
At the end I didn’t have enough left in the tank to contest the final sprint. Lucky me! There was another crash 300 m from the line. I hate seeing ambulances on supposedly safe race tracks.
Next Saturday I will definitely get down to Murarrie for the 6:45 AM “women only” grade.
I’m off to wash my bike now. With all the rain and storms we had this week, it is in a pitiful state. At least it proofs that I have been training. 
