Fast and Furious Racing at St Kilda

Left-Right: 2nd Nick Walker, 4th Rico Rogers, 3rd Brenton Jones, 1st Duncan Smith

Another day, another race - St Kilda @ South Melbourne Crit Circuit.
With a wet and cold start to the day, the trip from Home into Melbourne was a cautious one, as we waited to here if racing was cancelled or not. Luckily, the weather in South Melbourne was overcast and 18 degrees, perfect for what would be a fast and furious 60min Criterium Race.
The course was very fast, no tight corners, but a strong head wind greeted us up the main straight which was the only tough challenge.
On the start line, a very strong field of 48 riders including ex-national Elite Road Champion and Pro Cyclist Matthew Lloyd lined up in preparation for the A Grade event.
Attacks were a common sight throughout the race, however none manged to succeed until the last lap. We averaged 47km/hr for 60mins (so we were absolutely flying) which didn't seem to be true, but the Garmin GPS never lies.
Legs felt good all race with many short sharp bursts seeming easy. Once again, the bike, CUBE 'Lightning Super HPC Race', Full SRAM Red with SRAM S60/S80 Wheel combination proved to be a fast yet smooth machine. In saying that, my rear gear cable decided to 'play up' with 5 laps to go but i manged to just finish.
In the final few laps, elbow's were out, head butts were thrown and tactics were played! It was a typical sprint and that's why i love it. 48 riders, neck and neck, 50+km/hr....the adrenaline is what i live for!!!
My positioning was good. I couldn't ask for much more without any team mates. Approaching the last lap, 'O2 Racing' took control and set up there man, Duncan Smith for the win. He attacked with 600m to go and had his trusty teammates slowing down the peloton. On the last corner i was 3rd, behind Nick Walker (in 2nd position) who I tried to follow to the finish line. I didn't manage to get over Nick who just missed out on the win to get 2nd, but I came in just behind in 3rd which i was pleased about.
Eventually, the rear cable decided to snap on the cool down, which was very lucky.
But, a good day all round. Thanks to Torq Nutrition, CUBE Bikes, Monza Imports, SRAM, Mum and Dad, Coach Matt Wallace and Photographer Rob Lindblade for capturing some great shots for me today. Rob's website is: http://www.bladecon.com.au/Blade_Connections/Home.html

Big things ahead...keep posted.
Thanks, Brenton