Dirty Deeds Cyclocross 2012 Prologue : 15th of June

In all of my years of riding and racing bicycles, the one type of cycling that has spoken to me the most has been cyclocross. Cyclocoss is a derivate type of cycling created as a form of winter training for professional cyclists to stay fit in their off-season.


Check this video out to see what cyclocross looks like in living colour: 

I have been following cyclocross since I first heard about it in the early nineties, but couldn’t get a bike of my own until 2009.

This turned out to be perfect timing. In 2010, the  inaugural Dirty Deeds Cyclocross series commenced - the first of it’s kind in this country. I raced all of the 2010 and 2011 series along with the Cross Melburn series and Australia’s first National Cyclocross Championships.

Now, in 2012, we have the first National Cyclocross Series. With each series, I have been slowly improving my results, but this year I wanted to really put in an effort to get more competitive, so I made some solid plans to do some running training.,..

All of my best laid plans to put in some running training amounted to exactly ZERO running training. I did manage to practice my dismounts and remounts, but running? None.

It quickly became time to see whether all of this extra riding did me any good. The first race this year was the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Prologue, at the Brunswick velodrome.

The racing started at 7:00pm - dark and cold as you can imagine, but the organisers were able to light up the field. Cyclocross at night. Very cool.

 

First race

The night didn't start well for me; stuck in traffic after a late-running appointment meant I was running late to the velodrome, but I.made it just in time.

I lined up and got all the way to the second person from the desk when they announced that the event was sold out! With a little bit of pleading, the crew gave me a number and allowed me to race. Thanks Dirty Deeds Crew!

Now I had a number and was going to get to race but but running late meant that I had no practice time. When my race came around, I had just managed to get myself ready and on my way to the start area.

The night’s racing format would be two short races each both lasting about five minutes. It sounds very short and easy but these races are like doing a full on sprint from start to finish. It is enough to destroy you.

To give you an idea of how intense an effort it is, I regularly ride Beach Road on a Saturday morning. When I get into an all out sprint, I get my heart rate up to about 85% of my maximum heart rate. But during the race, I got to 95% at about two hundred metres in and 85% was my lowest heart rate which I got down to recovering on the bitumen section.

The course was very well designed as usual by the Dirty Deeds Crew, managing to pack quite a bit of course into a relatively small area.

"The Circle of Death"

So, I was punched in the face by the effort required to stay up the front of the field. I came up on the first barrier of the course and the lack of run training quickly took it's toll. I was holding my position but riders behind me were gaining on me while I attempted to run. Back on the bike; I tried to put some distance between me and the riders coming up from behind.

This took even more out of my cold legs and I quickly dropped back behind and finished about fourth last. The first race was a scratch race and the results of this race determined the starting position you got for the second race; a handicap. This meant I was fourth rider from the start and meant that I was able to take the lead and stay there for the first lap and a half only to be overtaken by the fitter riders starting behind me.

It was still was good to see the view from the front for a change. I ended up finishing about sixth or so for this second race. “Not too bad”, I thought, “Top ten”.

 Footage from the night.

After my races, I stuck around to see how the other riders were faring. I got a good spot on the fence line of the velodrome and settled in with a well earned beer.

A big part of cyclocross is the party atmosphere that is generated at almost every event. Beer and frites (Belgian fries) are a big part of the culture so it is always worth sticking around to cheer on your fellow racers.

There was an awesome crowd at the prologue and it really felt like a party where a bike race just happened to break out.

The Dirty Deeds Series is for everyone from, roadie to mountain biker to fixie kid to BMXer to spectators laughing at us silly cyclocrossers slipping and sliding in the mud. A great night for all.

More information here.

Brad.