Bendigo International Criterium
The Bendigo International Madison weekend always attracts the best riders and this weekend was no exception. The Friday night criterium race on the streets of Bendigo saw a large number of spectators attend to witness what was a fast and furious bike race.
Looking at the start list, I was up against a quality field of 70 riders, 1/3 being international riders. The main street of Bendigo was where the finish line was positioned and out the back of the track was a narrow footpath through the park. It wasn’t my ideal race circuit but you have to deal with these kinds of obstacles in order to gain experience from them.
From the start, the pace was on. My teammate Robbie Hucker has some awesome form at the moment and we were riding smart up the front for the first 15mins. A break established at the 20 minute mark and Robbie had the legs to bridge across “Great, I had a teammate up the front so no chasing the break down, just follow wheels and stay out of trouble!” With most of the teams being represented in the break, the bunch was restricted to a steady tempo with the odd individual attack only lasting half a lap or too.
The break was gone, the race over, but that doesn’t mean I should give up – it’s all a part of training after all. I stayed out of trouble up the front and coming into the finish I was out of position despite trying to place myself further up in the ‘lead out train’. I managed 13th or 14th with 8 riders in the break. Robbie was out of the podium but rode a very strong race none the less.
I now look forward to my New Zealand Oceania Championships race next weekend. Stay tuned for the race report.
Cheers Brenton
Looking at the start list, I was up against a quality field of 70 riders, 1/3 being international riders. The main street of Bendigo was where the finish line was positioned and out the back of the track was a narrow footpath through the park. It wasn’t my ideal race circuit but you have to deal with these kinds of obstacles in order to gain experience from them.
From the start, the pace was on. My teammate Robbie Hucker has some awesome form at the moment and we were riding smart up the front for the first 15mins. A break established at the 20 minute mark and Robbie had the legs to bridge across “Great, I had a teammate up the front so no chasing the break down, just follow wheels and stay out of trouble!” With most of the teams being represented in the break, the bunch was restricted to a steady tempo with the odd individual attack only lasting half a lap or too.
The break was gone, the race over, but that doesn’t mean I should give up – it’s all a part of training after all. I stayed out of trouble up the front and coming into the finish I was out of position despite trying to place myself further up in the ‘lead out train’. I managed 13th or 14th with 8 riders in the break. Robbie was out of the podium but rode a very strong race none the less.
I now look forward to my New Zealand Oceania Championships race next weekend. Stay tuned for the race report.
Cheers Brenton
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