Battle on the Border Race Report
This year’s Battle on the Border was my first and certainly one that has been my focus for the past few months.
It was going to be a tough weekend with 4 stages in total. A 75km road race around Murwillumbah with a few pinches on Friday, a 9.4km Individual Time Trial on Saturday morning (one which was going to suit the power men), followed by a 30 minute plus 2 laps criterium on Saturday afternoon and a pretty hilly 77km road race around Kingscliff on Sunday.
Those 2 x 20min sessions, the 4 x 4’s, the max rev efforts, the gruelling Mt Nebo sessions each week and all the other sessions leading up to the event would hopefully have me firing for the 3 days.
As always, this year saw a huge start list with 94 riders in Masters C. We had 4 of us from the MIA Rouge Coffee team and a great bunch of guys that were certain to work well together. Being all of a very similar ability was going to make us a force to be reckoned with and hopefully we could get some good results for the team over the 3 days.
Stage 1 – Murwillumbah Road Race
Stage 1 was the Murwillumbah Road Race. Although I had ridden this stage previously on a reconnaisance ride with a few of my Certa Cito training mates, I was a little unsure as to how the day would pan out. I knew that it wasn’t a day for the tour to be won but certainly one in which it could be lost if you were unable to keep contact with the lead bunch.
Our team’s focus for the stage was to get Brynley over the climb with the lead group and then see what we could do coming back into town for the finish. Hopefully we could get him in a good position for the sprint and ultimately have him sitting inside the top 3 on GC.
The climbs today were not too nasty and quite a big bunch managed to stay with the lead group. If anything it was probably the second climb that caught a few people out but there were still 45+ all in contention at that stage. I was certainly expecting the bunch to splinter a little more than that but I think most of the riders were aware that it was a long 3 days and it was probably very unlikely that a break would stick.
The climbing was pretty much done and dusted by the 30km mark and it was then a fast tempo to our finish at approx. 75kms.
At about the 35km to go mark, Peter Williams (my MIA team mate) attacked the bunch while myself and Brynley sat on the front of the peloton. Some individual riders attempted to draw Peter back but Bryn and I would catch their wheel when they jumped and when they looked around for assistance, it was only us (who were obviously unwilling to help) in 2nd and 3rd wheel.
It worked perfectly for us as some of the contenders got a bit jumpy and wasted probably more energy than that had too, trying to pull Peter back into the bunch.
Peter finally was caught and things settled down somewhat and it wasn’t until about 15kms to go that the MIA boys made our presence known once again and controlled the bunch to the finish.
Peter and I were swapping turns on the front and maintaining a speed that was just a little too high for people to attack.
Bryn was suffering with cramp (as I was too) but we wanted to ensure he was in the best position possible for the final sprint. With about 1km to go, it was still Peter and I on the front driving with our man sitting nicely at 3rd wheel.
It was a ripper of a finish and although Bryn couldn’t get out of the saddle due to his cramping, he still managed to pick up 2nd place and was only narrowly beaten across the line by Pedr Harvey.
I rolled across the line in 7th and Peter in 33rd. Stage 1 done and mission accomplished. Byrn in the money and 2nd in GC.
Shane Elliott, our other MIA Rouge Coffee rider lost contact with the main bunch over the second climb and took a few wrong turns leading into town but still managed to drag a few home with him well within the cut off time. It sounded like a pretty tough stage for him as most were reluctant to offer much in the way of assistance and he gallantly did most of the work by himself on the front.
Stage 2 – Individual Time Trial
The individual time trial was run over an essentially flat and fast circuit. There was a short climb within the first few hundred metres and then it would be an all-out smash fest to the line. Who could suffer the most, who could chew their bars the hardest……the race of truth and certainly one which was going to change things in the overall GC.
I had a time I was aiming for and things were looking pretty good within the early stages. I was either 5 or 10 seconds up on where I needed to be and was feeling quite good. Maintaining a high cadence and punching out an average speed of approx. 41.7km/hr….which would have seen me cross the line with a time of 13:20-13:25. Going on last years’ times I thought that that would have kept me towards the top 5 and hopefully in a good GC position considering I finished with the front bunch in stage 1 and only lost time to the top 3 who took time bonuses.
Although things started well, they quickly turned to shite at about the 6km mark when my visor started to fog up. By about 6.5kms I could only see out of a very small section of the left bottom of the visor which made the rest of the ride rather interesting.
I pretty much just had to follow the orange blur that I could see (which was obviously the witch’s hats to the right) and try not to lose too much time.
The tail end of the Time Trial includes about 3 or 4 turns and these were taken at a very cautious speed to ensure that I stayed on line and most importantly on my bike. I didn’t want to have to claim on my insurance this early into my weekend….or at any stage to be honest.
The stage that I thought would be the one where I would have the best chance of a decent result ended up turning into a bit of a nightmare and I rolled across the line with a time of 13:43….some 23 seconds off target…..and only good enough for 12th
Brynley finished with a 13:20 (which was good enough for 4th), Peter with a 13:50 (in 16th) and Shane on 14:59 (62nd).
On GC we had Brynley in 4th, myself in 9th and Peter in 13th.
Stage 3 – Murwillumbah Criterium
This is a brutal crit track if I have ever seen one and pretty much one that saw me well and truly above threshold for the 30minutes plus 2 laps. Don’t get me wrong. I loved it. Probably the best crit circuit I have ever ridden and one that dished out more pain that I and probably a fair few others had bargained for.
My aim was to stay within the front bunch. With over 90 starters it was going to be dangerous and towards the back with that rubber band was nowhere I wanted to get caught.
It was less than 2 minutes per lap and at the 15 minute mark I was starting to count them down….9, 8, 7, 6……
As always the last lap was off the hook. Some of the moves that were going on were absolutely ridiculous and I was lucky to not get caught up in anything.
Some people need to realise that we are not racing for sheep stations and if they are sitting in 71st in GC, why wreck someone else’s day.
Rant over and soon the race too. I again managed to stay in the front group and crossed the line in 7th. Still sitting 9th in GC.
Although it was tough to get in a good position to lead Bryn out for the sprint he managed to get across the line in 3rd. Still in 4th on GC but now only 2 seconds off 3rd. Stage 4 was where it was going to count and after a tough first 3 stages, things were about to get busy for myself and Peter once again as we would try our darndest to get Bryn onto the podium.
Stage 4 – Kingscliff Road Race
Stage 4 was definitely a lumpy one with quite a few pinches and 2 decent climbs that were sure to sort out the men from the boys.
Again our aim was to get Bryn across in the lead bunch and set him up for a final assault at Salt (our finish) and hopefully a podium finish.
Burringbah was the first climb of the day at about 36kms in and with a gradient of 11% in parts, it certainly broke things up a little. Those that were maybe feeling a bit delicate after a tough few days were probably wondering why they do this shit but our man Bryn gritted his teeth and managed to stay in tack.
This stage never really flattens out and even the smaller pinches start to feel like cat 1’s after a while.
Clothiers was where it was really going to count and considering this climb was only 20kms from the finish, it was a case of make it across in the lead bunch…or enjoy your solo ride to the finish.
Peter and I paced Bryn up and he did a stellar job to stay with us. I considering myself a decent enough climber and he stuck to my wheel like shit to a blanket. He did say that he was starting to see things by the time we crested the climb but his determination to stay with the front pack and on my wheel was commendable.
We did it. Bryn, Peter and I all within the lead group and with the 3 of us together, it was going to be an all out to the finish line.
My tank was pretty much empty having dragged Bryn’s 92kg frame up the climb but Peter took the reins and controlled things on the front once again. I managed to recover a little and then it was my turn to help him out on the front and to continue controlling the pace.
Coming into Casuarina Way I think we must have had a pretty decent tail wind as we were clocking 60kms/hr. Things had thinned out well and truly by then and it was only the real contenders that were left to sort things out at the finish.
I must commend Craig McDonald as we threw everything at him over the last stage but he held his own and stayed well and truly within the lead group heading to the final sprint.
Because it had been raining and the roads were still very damp, it was always going to be a very hairy finish. The final sprint followed a tight right hander and unfortunately Craig McDonald and one of the Atom Racing boys went down.
Bryn and I were together coming into the final sprint and although he was running on empty, he needed to cross the line inside the top 3 to secure his podium finish for the tour.
BOOM…..3rd across the line and 3rd in GC. Our man had done it and we were over the moon….Mission accomplished.
Obviously bummed that Craig had gone down but I guess that is racing and I am sure he will be back better than ever next year.
To be a part of this team has been something else. The friendship, the camaraderie, the feeling of being part of something special made it all the more enjoyable.
There was never a dull moment and I can’t wait until next year.
I finished up 5th on GC and Peter in 14th. Not bad for a couple of domestiques….
Now for the shout outs….special thanks must be bestowed on Gary Kristensen from Certa Cito Coaching for his tutelage and advice over the last 4 months. His training program, encouragement and words of wisdom have been invaluable, so a huge thank you.
To my family who made the trip down with me and put up with my nerves and grumpiness, the race organisers, the volunteers, my fellow competitors and those that made the trip to watch. Thank you to you all.
Some photos of Murwillumbah, Kingscliff and surrounds....what stunning scenery. (Photos courtesy of Emma Bartlett)