Final day of competition
Omnium: 500m TT, Flying 200m, 2km IP, Scratch and Points
This isn't regarded as the iron man event of track cycling lightly! All the races that we had already competed in, plus some all in one day! Not only was it a massive day for the athletes- 6 of the 9 ACT team were competing- it was going to be busy for Gerry the mechanic and newly acquired assistant, Matt!
To put it bluntly I was pretty unhappy with the overall outcome for today's race. I made an enormous amount of mistakes (more than usual) and I didn't really allow myself to race well. But, there were some good things. I also have to remember, this was only the second time I had every ridden a competitive 500m TT and a flying 200m! So, to be brief here is a breakdown of my perspective of each of the events.
500m TT: I over-estimated the gear that I should have been on, went out hard and kind of limped over the line. That was a pretty bad start to the event.
Flying 200m: Being surrounded by sprinters for the week I made the most of their expertise. This was probably the event I performed best in! Whilst not the fastest, it wasn't the slowest, it was a PB for me and technically I almost scored full marks! Thanks Gerry, Danny & Birdman for your help!
Finishing off the Flying 200m (photo from Trish Ellis)
Scratch Race: This race started well, with everyone bunched up and aggressive. About 4 laps from the end one of the other girls decided that she wanted to move lower on the track, squeezing the girl who was above me down. Initially I was on the duck boards as we were approaching the bottom bend, then all of a sudden I was riding on the cement in-field!! Somehow I managed to hold my bike up and get back on the boards around the apex of the bottom bend! Now, that was an adventure! Unfortunately by the time I was back on the boards I was off the back of the bunch and had a hard time making up spots, but I wasn't the last one over the line.
2km IP: Lap times were nice and consistent, but overall I would have liked this to have been quicker. Given the level of fatigue I was feeling I can't be too unhappy.
Points Race: The key point of this race was that I finished and I stayed upright! I was so tired by the time we rolled out for this I wasn't sure I would make it to the end. But, I did finish and I have to be satisfied with that.
Final result for the day: 10th. Not my best performance, but certainly many things to take away.
And that was the end of Track Nationals for 2009. Thanks for reading! :)
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