The Tracey Gaudry Diary 2000The Local East Coast Australian Time is
National Individual Time Trial Championship, 29kmMelbourne, Australia, March 18, 2000 The moment of reckoning has arrived. The past 3 months of training, topped off with a fortnight of racing culminates today with the Time Trial Championship. I was in much better shape than last year, where I was running on empty after the gruelling Tour de Snowy, Tour of New Zealand and two World Cups. Today was always destined to be close with all contenders in good shape. Beautiful one day, atrocious the next! The fickle Melbourne weather lived up to its reputation yet again. I awoke at 2am this morning to the sound and vibration of gale force winds buffeting the walls. No getting back to sleep now so I lay waiting for the 4.45am alarm to go off. Yep, that's right, the first rider was scheduled to start at the ungracious hour of 7.30am. As we drove to Black Rock, Melbourne, at 6am in the pitch black with intermittent rain, I was thankful that I couldn't see the storm clouds looming. A 2-lap steady warmup as the day struggled to dawn was necessary to wake the body up and assess the state of the 9.6km circuit along the beach front. The gusts of crosswinds were literally blowing riders across the roads, and the small undulations on the otherwise flat 'drivers' course were emphasised in the conditions. Decision time: rear disc and front deep rimmed aero wheel, or swap the front for a normal spoked wheel to maximise control in the winds. The aero wheel for me, it was all or nothing today. I felt good this morning and was more than ready when I launched down the start ramp into what felt like the longest time trial of my life. With 3 laps of a hotdog circuit, we were required to execute 6 u-turns throughout the race in a true test of pacing strategy. I set out steadily, a dull ache in the quads, breathing deep but lungs not yet heaving. Being able to see riders come the other way (having started at 2 minute intervals), I estimated my time against Kathy Watt after the first turn. It looked ok. It was nearly a lap before I knew anything official. I was close with Kristy. I kept my wits about me, concentrating on efficiency and momentum in the tailwind and strength and technique in the headwind and up the drags. I had mastered the winds as they gusted across the road at breaks in the trees and let the bike drift sideways until the disc picked up the wind like a sail. At the 3rd turn, Anna's time split was equal. No time to waste energy panicking. Now was the time to dig in. I had enough left. At 2 laps she was 5 seconds up on me, but I didn't get this time check. U-turn, 5km tailwind, steadily faster. The fire in my lungs fought with lactic acid burn in my legs. Power up the drag. Last turn. Arrrgh. 2km of gut wrenching driving into the wind. Harder, harder, harder. C'mon flag. Where is it. Go, go, go. Done... The wait was excruciating, the exhilaration worth it. I won by 7 precious seconds. Overwhelming relief. This was the result I wanted, needed. Good stuff, job done, pressure off. I was happy. |
