Happy New Year!

2009 is here and is set to be bigger and better than 2008- more ambitious goals, new doors opening and quite a few big events off the bike. But before we get too far into that, there are a number of people that contribute to "Team Becstar" that I must mention for all of their support throughout 2008.

#1: Matt- fiance, mechanic, bank & #1 supporter!

#2: Pothole- coach and mate


#3: Dean- Strength and conditioning coach
#4: Mum, Dad, Alan, Sandra, Phillip, Kylie & CJ- family!

#5: Susie- #1 mate

#6: Mick and the guys at OnyaBikeBelco and now Civic too- sponsors


#7: Tammie Ebert- NTID program co-ordinator

#8: Glenn Doney- ACTAS head coach


#9: Lyn Heritage- advisor from the female perspective!



#10: Everyone else that either on the sidelines as my mates or that train and/or race with.

Now back to lamenting that I couldn't race tonight's crit because the antibiotics I am taking for this silly chest infection are making me feel worse than the infection :( Oh well, should cure my non-smoker's smoker's cough!

Podium Practise

Victorian State Track Titles
DISC
19-21 December.

Three days, three events: 10km Scratch Race, Individual Pursuit and 25km Points Race.

Friday: The state titles started very promising with a silver medal in the Elite Women's Scratch Race. Congratulations to Tess Downing who took the gold and whom I couldn't quite get over in our sprint to the line.









Saturday: Whilst the pursuit has been occupying the bulk of my training focus lately, it has been something of a disappointment on race day. I qualified for the bronze medal ride, but was unable to achieve a result. Somewhat frustrating, yes, but not the end of the world.









Sunday: To make up for Saturday's poor showing, I had the Points Race to make things right on Sunday. This was a tough race, made worse by the small bunch putting up a fight when Tess and I, later joined by Chloe McConville, initially refusing to let us catch them! We eventually got there, but it seemed to take forever!! Tess had a clear win going in to the final sprint which I needed to win to claim the silver. Somehow I found something to come over the bunch to take the final sprint and the silver medal! Might have had something to do with my brother, his fiance and my niece along with Matt screaming in the stands and the support in the infield- thanks Pothole, Lyn and Matty :)

So despite Saturday's "failure" (I've told you before I am an over achiever!), it was a pretty successful trip to Melbourne! Full results can be found at Vic Cycling.

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!


















Photos (l to r): Top: Trying to get G'd for the Scratch Race as it got later and later on Friday night- Pothole looking somewhat bored!; Leading the Scratch race; Elite Women Scratch Race Podium (Nicole Whitburn, Tess Downing, myself)
2nd row: Pursuiters everywhere: Alex Carle (4th U19 Women), Myself (4th Elite Women), Matt Miesel-Dennis (Diesel)
Bottom: Points Race Podium (Tess Downing- gold, myself silver, Chloe McConville-bronze couldn't stay); with my niece, CJ.

Playing with fire!

Melbourne Cup on Wheels and Revolution 4
Hisense Arena, Melbourne
Wednesday 17th December

MCOW is the warm up carnival before Revolution at Hisense Arena. And was a good opportunity to get the car legs moving- Matty Meisel-Dennis and I had driven down from Canberra on Tuesday.
Three races in the afternoon session for me- elimination, wheelrace and a scratch race. Knowing that I had tougher races ahead of me in the evening I was probably a little more conservative than I would normally have been. I ended up 4th in both the elimination and scratch race, both times I think as a result of holding back a little, should have given a little more to get a few $ though :) The wheelrace was a bit of a disaster! I am flattered that Peter Tomlinson holds me in such high regard that I got to start of scratch, however with a Malaysian sprinter in front of me with no intention of working together, a big gap to the cover to get to anybody else, plus the front markers close to one another and well organised, Kendelle Hodges and I had nothing and just had to watch the race get away from us! Oh well, you win some, and you don't!

A short break and then it was time to get ready for the evening's fun. Revolution is an entertainment event, it is about putting on a show! And what a show was put on. Apparently there was 5000 spectators! For me and my limited experience, that is huge! The infield was packed with the corporate sponsors having a three course meal at one end and a bar at the other end- not sure that it was the nicest experience for dinner with sweaty smelly bike riders about 1m away dripping sweat as they sat on their rollers! And, with the attraction of seeing Robbie McEwen, Bayden Cooke and Graeme Brown, along with a whole stack of up-and-coming riders, there were a lot of people in the stands as well, in fact the start had to be delayed to get the last of the spectators inside! Needless to say it was a pretty awesome atmosphere!

The elite women's endurance field of about 15 featured Megan Dunn (triple 2008 world junior gold medalist), Belinda Goss, Rochelle Gilmore, Peta Mullens, Tess Downing, Lisa Friend, Jessie McLean, Tiffany Cromwell, Liz Greghouris and me (there were some others, but I don't have the start list). Our two races for the night were both short- 15 lap scratch race and a 30 lap points race (sprints every 5th lap)- and were going to be fast! First up was the scratch race. The start was reasonably routine, everyone rolling through taking their turn, then we got bored and the attacks started. Nothing got away- the race was too short to let anything get away. In the end it came down to a bunch sprint which Megan took out over Tess. Myself, I kind of pedalled out on the last lap and could only manage 8th in the end. Not too unhappy about that though, this was a classy field to be mixing it with.

The points race started around 10pm, just in time for bed!! The pace was still fast as well. The first 2 sprints I was in with the bunch but not far enough towards the front to get any points. Then there was the bit of the race that I was back in the box, I was tired, I was on a bad wheel that I couldn't get around and I was thinking of calling it a night. After a bit of a TTFU conversation with myself, it was decided- I was invited here to race and race I was going to do! Somehow I managed to find some more in me and get on with the bike race! There was 10 laps to go and got back in the main bunch and started following some decent wheels, that made such a difference. Second last sprint, was in a reasonable position to have a go was 5th over the line, damn, not enough for a point! Then we were down to 5 laps to go and the pace stayed on. I managed to time my run at the final sprint pretty well, and just missed out on taking 4th place in that sprint. So whilst I didn't end up with a notable final result, there were a lot of things to take out of this race and a lot of mental toughness developed! Possibly had something to do with racing with flame throwers in the in-field!

We hung around to watch what had been talked up as the event of the night- the men's maddison. And can safely say it didn't disappoint!

This link will take you to the SBS highlights of the MCOW final, won by Josiah Ng of Malaysia. Note the flame throwers in the back-straight :)

Firing on all cylinders requires getting in and out of the box

So after being sick with flu for a week, coughing up a lung everytime I did anything and losing a phenomenal amount of fluid through my sinuses, it was time to get back on the bike. Surprisingly the moto efforts didn't hurt my legs so much as my lungs and after every effort I spent a fair bit of time coughing and spluttering on the grass at BundaDome and hoping that this would go away before I headed to Melbourne.

The Wednesday night crit was more of the same- trying to have a bit of a dig without leaving too much of my lungs on the crit track. Unfortunately for me I missed the break, but Bron Ryan and Bec Henderson from my Onya team were away in it so I was kind of happy to let them go. 6^th at the end of the night and at least one and a half lungs left in my chest! But I was starting to feel a bit healthier on the bike which was a good thing as there was only a week before I hit the boards at Hisense Arena in Melbourne for Revolution 4.

The wind on Saturday made training a non-option at BundaDome due to danger of being flicked off the bike! Which meant back-to-back moto sessions on Sunday and Monday and capped off with the Vikings Monday night ITT. Sunday's session was good, and I was definitely feeling back to full health, which was an awesome feeling. Then Monday's session rolled around and suddenly I was in the box,-at the time it was a pretty big box! The first km of every effort was possibly the worst training I have done in a long time. All I could think was “man this was hard and so better not be a sign of a bad week- surely it could only get better!” I did my best to recover during the day before going out to smash it up at the ITT. By resting I mean, packing all the stuff required to head to Melbourne on Tuesday, and maybe sneaking in a nanna nap!

Before I knew it, it was ITT time and it was blowing a gale! Oh dear, could today get any better! The ITT course is out and back along Uriarra Rd and whilst there are no big hills, it is anything but flat (see profile below- coming soon). As always I was riding fixed gear, and the first 6km was directly into a block headwind that was getting stronger. Yep, day is definitely getting better.. At least it would be a taily on the way back! As expected it was a tough slog out, the wind was getting stronger and at times I was wishing for a derailleur! I caught a few of the people ahead of me before the turn around so that was good for the confidence which the wind had been trying to strip away! Then it was back with the taily which helped me recover a little, though as I approached the last 2kms I was starting to feel the damage that the wind had done on the fixed gear. There were two people left in front of me- Lewis Hopkins who had passed me and was spinning along on his U17 gears and the guy who was first away and I was closing in on him. After passing the front marker, there was a stretch of descent which would have been nice to freewheel down, but instead my legs were spinning at about 130rpm! Kind of fun and kind of hairy! Then over the finish and some heavy braking and back pedalling to try and stop the weapon- always tough on the downhill! In the end, the time was 19'37”, disappointingly a little slower than last time out, but given the box I was in after my morning session and the weather I really can't complain. And it was enough to be fastest female on the day, so no real complaints!

The only way now is out of the box and I am definitely pumped and ready for Revolution. Bring on Wednesday night!!

Sick and it sucks

After managing to dodge the colds and flus of winter, I have come down with one now. It started to hit me Sunday night and has only just started to leave me alone now :( Perhaps the sore throat I had on Saturday morning on the way to the pursuit was a sign of things to come...?

I had hoped to have recovered enough on Wednesday but alas that was not the case. Disappointingly I have withdrawn from Friday's Omnium in Sydney. I think this was the best move given that I have a massive week of racing coming up in Melbourne in two weeks and I want to make sure I am 100% to get back into training on Monday and be ready to hit the boards at DISC flying!

Next on the calendar: local crits and ITTs
17th Dec Revolution round 4 and Melbourne Cup on Wheels
19th-21st Dec Victorian State Titles

Finding my inner pursuiter... I know you are in there!

Alright, I am a little behind with my updates here so bare with me and I'll bring you up to speed.

After getting home from Adelaide somewhat exhausted I went out and posted my first time of the season for the Vikings Monday Night ITT- 19'27" over the undulating 12km course. Not too shabby given my fatigue, but will be aiming to bring that under 19' soon. And on the same day Matt left for his two week work visit to Chile (photo below is the telescope where he will be based).


Wednesday night crits are in full swing and as a bit of a confidence builder I won round 4 (19th Nov) and placed 4th the following week. Here is a link to Greg Long's awesome crit photos. Pretty happy with that really! Wednesdays are usually my heaviest training days so being able to back in the crits is a nice feeling.

Other than that is was bum on saddle and training for NSW Pursuit which was held on Saturday (29th November). Coming into this I was feeling like I was finding some good form and was determined to better the bronze medal I won last year in my first outing in this event. Unfortunately, fate saw things a little differently and 4th was the best I could do.

In a nutshell the day went something like this. I had a good warm up and was mentally well prepared for qualifying. The schedule was set and at first it was looking good, but things started to go pear-shaped at the 2km mark. In the end I missed qualifying for the gold/silver ride by about a second. Bugger.
Mechanic extraordinaire, Reggie, getting the wheels ready

Toireasa Gallagher and I went into the bronze ride with only 100th of a second separating us, so it was going to be close to see who got the medal. Maybe it was Toireasa's experience, my fatigue from being possibly over-geared in the qualifier, whatever, Toireasa got over the line ahead of me. Frustrating, but not as disappointed as I could have been. At the moment, I am determined to ride the time that we have set by the end of the season. I know there is a pursuiter inside, it is just a matter of looking at all the data that we have accumulated and tweaking a few things in training.

The pursuit titles were followed by Clarence St Cup- nothing like a bit of carnival racing to put things right! First up was a keirin... hmm not sure that this will become my next event, but a bit of fun even if I was last over the line! Then a "Miss'n'out" elimination race. The first two laps of this I was kind of sitting in and not doing much, but that was a bit of a dangerous option for me, so the plan changed to dominate on the front. And what a plan that was! As the sprinters fought over not being last over the line behind me I tapped away safely on the front and when the bell went for the last lap picked it up a little more to secure first place. The final two races were the women's wheel race, which I didn't quite have the legs for, and the motorpaced scratch race (think keirin for endurance riders!) finishing in 5th place.


Pothole (coach) and Joel (NSW Scratch Race Bronze medalist), hatching something for later in the evening ;)

Congratulations to Alex Carle for taking silver in the 2km pursuit in her first attempt at the event! And to Joel Stewart for bronze in the NSW Scratch Race.


JW19 2000m pursuit podium: Alex Carle (silver), Megan Dunn (gold), Chloe Geyer (bronze)

Next up- NSW Omnium Titles, Friday 5th December.

Only those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly (Robert Kennedy)

Oceania Track Champs
Adelaide SuperDrome
13-15th November

My competitive, over-achiever nature means that I sometimes find it difficult to accept that even though there may not be a result, every time I set out on the bike- either on the boards or the road- it is still a step towards the greater goal. And that is precisely why it has taken a little while to get this post up, I've been trying to find some perspective.

The plan was always for this trip to Adelaide to be about getting amongst the scene, getting time on boards and really more a training exercise than racing for results. So with that in mind, this is how the week panned out.

Thursday 13th: 20km Points Race
This was the last event of the night, and due to crashes earlier in the program we didn't roll away until after 10:30pm!! That is well past bed time for most bike riders so none of us were particularly impressed! The pace was one from the get go and for the first 30 laps it was difficult to tell when the sprint laps actually started we just seemed to be going fast the whole time. About half way through Davina made a move off the front in an attempt to take a lap, initially I had thought I'd try and go with this but was stuck in the middle of the bunch and wasn't able to go. Unfortunately for D this didn't amount to the lap but she did pick up some handy points to put her in 4th at the end of the night. I went off the front with a Kiwi girl with about 15 laps to go. We got about a half lap on the field before they decided that wasn't what should be happening and reeled us back on the sprint lap. The hammer went down for the sprint lap and pretty much stayed down for the last 10 laps. About 4 to go I was spent, had to let the bunch go and call it a night. All things considered, I was pretty happy with how this panned out.

With Davina before the start of the points race

(photo from Davina)

Friday 14th: 10km Scratch Race
Second last race for today's program, but we were away a bit earlier, thankfully! The plan was to race aggressively and see what happened- which seemed to be the plan of everyone else in the race. There was a lot of attacking, chasing and counter attacking but nothing stuck. It was a bunch sprint for the line which I was 10th over. Given my lack of ability to sprint well on the track I was pretty happy with this finish.

Saturday 15th: 3km Individual Pursuit and Women's Omnium
I really should have given a lot more thought to my entries for the final day of competition, I wouldn't advise doing an IP and an omnium on the same day! But rather than think about what could have been, there were a lot of positives from the day (in hindsight :p). I now realise how vitally important a good warm up is for a good pursuit, and how much damage will be done by doing the first 2 laps way way way to fast! I can now say that I have done a flying 200m- I had never done one prior to this one in competition, but hey, you have to start somewhere! Though I never realised they were quite so technical! Reckon I could nail it with a bit of practise though!

Photo with my mum after racing had finished on Saturday night- looking a bit tired!

Despite posting a shocking time for my IP, on the whole I am not too unhappy with my omnium performance, given that I hadn't done a flying 200m or a 500m TT before! I got through it and was 10th overall. Lots of things to improve on but consequently the only way is up from here! I think my overall performance would have been helped if I had had a better scratch race but after the 3km pursuit my legs were a bit cactus and I couldn't hang on for the last 200m of the what turned out to be a 3 lap sprint!

3km IP- looks a bit a lonely out there! (photo thanks to Davina)

Lots of people contributed to this week and I'll try not to forget anyone:

• mum and dad (photo at right) for coming down from Menindee to see me and watch me race
• Tammie Ebert and the NTID program for $ support, chaffeuring and team mum
• The NTID sprint boys- Maddison, Nathan, Boxy and Coops- congrats for your medal haul and thanks for letting me hang out with you
• Hilton and Bob- thanks for your advice and mechanical expertise
• Davina- thanks mate
• Michael Hardy for calling my pursuits and general advice
• Coaches Pothole and Dean- you guys do a great job (one day I'll get it together to make you look good!!)
• Mick and the guys at Onya Belco for everything bike!
• Matt (you know what you do!)
  

Boxy, Madison and Coops lined up for their Keirin final- Maddison (2nd from top) took gold and Coops (bottom of track) got bronze.

Hey, that's me in the paper!

"Barwick's front-running display a winner"

BY CHRIS DUTTON
CYCLING

10/11/2008 1:00:00 AM

While her world-class competitors fell around her, track cyclist Bec Barwick avoided two dangerous crashes to win the 19th Tour de Femme yesterday.

A crucial breakaway 5km into the race proved the difference as Downer resident Barwick beat triathlete Jennifer Dixon in a sprint to the line to claim her first Tour title.

A record 677 competitive and social riders, aged 10-70, jostled for position in the opening stages of the 20km race.

With her more fancied opponents in a group of more than 50 riders, Barwick made a break and challenged her rivals to stay with her.

Dixon was the only one who chased Barwick and managed to stay with the eventual winner until the last 100m.

Barwick finished in 32min 10sec with Dixon two seconds adrift. Just six seconds separated the top eight riders.

''It was an early break and it went and stuck so that was pretty cool,'' Barwick said.

''We had a little... plan... to be aggressive and I went and that's pretty much it.

''The crash was well behind us so we didn't even know it had happened, that's what's nice about being out in front of the field, you stay out of trouble.''

The top four seeded riders became tangled in the chase group minutes away from the finish line at the Canberra Yacht Club.

Two-time winner Chloe Hosking, Australian elite squad member Vicki Whitelaw, third seed Myfanwy Galloway and junior star Rebecca Henderson fell before they could mount a challenge for the lead.

Whitelaw failed to finish while the other three managed to cross the line in the top 20.

''It's unfortunate but there may have been some riders a little inexperienced about riding in packs,'' Hosking said.

''That's cycling, it's the way it goes sometimes.''

It was a change in luck for 28-year-old Barwick who finished 16th in 2006 after being caught in a similar crash.

She normally races on the track in individual pursuit and will compete at the Oceania Track Championships in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Tandem riders Kerry Knowler and Brandie O'Connor were the first to cross the line in 31.53.

They were bewildered when they finished almost two seconds ahead of Paralympian Lindy Hou.

''I don't know what happened,'' Knowler said. ''I think we went so fast because we were scared and didn't want anyone to pass us.''

O'Connor, who is visually impaired, collected her third Tour de Femme but her first with Knowler as the pilot.

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllAT A GLANCE19th Tour de Femme: Tandem: 1 Knowler/O'Connor 31min 53sec, 2 Hodges/Hou 33:47; Individual overall: 1 Bec Barwick 32:10, 2 Jennifer Dixon 32:12, 3 Gracie Elvin 32:16

Suck it up, Princess

Reality Check (RC): Bec, I think we need to have a little chat.
Bec: Oh, yeah, what's up?
RC: I think you are taking this pursuit business a bit too lightly.
Bec: What do you mean, lightly? I have been training pretty hard and doing everything I am meant to be doing. It's all been going pretty well, don't you think?
RC: Yes, but a little too well. I get the feeling that you are forgetting how tough this race is meant to be. You seem to be getting through your training a bit too comfortably for my liking.
Bec: What do you mean? I've been in the box since Wednesday's crit.
RC: Doesn't count. What you do with your pursuit, that is what counts.
Bec: Oh, what are you going to do about it?
RC: Here, catch this?
Bec: What the...? What's this?
RC: That is a shocking time for your trial pursuit.
Bec: That was a bit harsh. Did you have to devo me that much?
RC: You deserved it.
Bec: Oh, are you sure?
RC: Yep.
Bec: Geesh, alright, if you say so.
RC: Actually, it looks like you are getting over that kick in the pants. Take this.
Bec: Man, what'd you knock me off my bike for?
RC: Reinforce my previous message.
Bec: What?!
RC: You can't take this sport for granted.
Bec: Reality, you suck.
RC: I know, aren't I grand?!
Bec: No, I hate you.
RC: You say that now, but you know you need me.
Bec: You know what Reality, I am so going to prove you wrong. I am going to ride the target time whether you like it or not, and I am going to keep loving this pursuit. You can go to hell. I am so much better than you think.
...
...
...
RC: Told you you needed me. ;)

Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel

Saturday & Sunday 1-2 November
Details and results here: Wagga Cycling Club

Track carnivals are loads of fun- generally lots of racing, racing with the boys and some dollars to win as well. It is a pretty laid back atmosphere with everyone out to have a good time and hopefully take home a bit of coin. The 2007 Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel was my first ever track carnival, so it was nice to head back this year, and thankfully the weather was much kinder. Last year Saturday's program had to be cancelled due to wet weather and Sunday's was drastically reduced to fit in some racing for everyone. This year it was all blue skies, despite the BOM forecasting thunderstorms, and then a bit of wind towards the end of Sunday- good times!

My race line up went something like this:
Saturday: 10 lap moto race, 4 lap handicap, 2 lap handicap, 5 lap Golden Wheel heat, 5 lap Golden Wheel final, 15 lap scratch race
Sunday: 8 lap scratch race, 2 lap handicap, 5 lap Rules Club heat, 5 lap Rules Club final, 10 lap scratch race.
NB: a lap around Wagga is ~420m, it is also a flat track.

Results wise- frustratingly I was often 4th or 5th and just out of the dollars for the smaller races, hmm too much pursuit training and not enough sprinting!! Highlights for Saturday: making it into the final of the Golden Wheel for the second year (one of 2 girls in the final, Megan Dunn was the other) and then finishing just behind the boys that won; placing 3rd in the scratch race (I thought I was second but Carly McCoombe was on the bottom of the track and they gave it to her). Highlights for Sunday: making the final of the Rules Club Wheel race and hanging on for 4th place after the train went through! Hence the podium photo! (More photos in the photo album link on the right.)

All up, it was a fun weekend. Made some finals, rode well, won some dollars and had a good time! Looking back at the number of rides I had, no wonder I was a tired bike rider on Sunday night!

Now the focus has shifted somewhat- Oceania Track Championships are next week! And whilst this is not an even that we have targeted specifically for riding target times in the pursuit, it will give me a good opportunity to see where I am at after all this training. Special thanks to Davina for giving me the nudge to go, hope that she is recovering from her broken wrist and is able to ride in Adelaide. I am starting to get a little excited about it!