Yes Summer is here already and it's time to start racing again now the weather has turned good.

I'm still smacked out from my glorious winter campaign so feel free to beat your chest and grunt shamelessly about how well you are going to go!

Entered on the hotline which is up and running. C grade for me. Expecting a hiding but hopefully with good weather will have some fun. Just got to find $40 bucks for entry and buy one of these timing chippies.

D for me on Saturday.. Looking forward to it..

tony_11 wrote:What grade are you riding?

I'm riding D Grade after my fisrt experience at these races saw me threw out of the back of C Grade.. For the first 20kms in C we weren't under 42kmph.. I knew i was in trouble after 5kms..

Hopefully D should be more where i should be riding. I have heard a few C Grade riders can ride comfortably in B at prebbleton though.

Dunno, I told them I was a newbie and how I did at Prebbleton , sounds like the formula for this series = Prebbleton grade + 1?
... so maybe E grade for me?

Hopefully D should be more where i should be riding. I have heard a few C Grade riders can ride comfortably in B at prebbleton though.[/quote]
Dunno, I told them I was a newbie and how I did at Prebbleton , sounds like the formula for this series = Prebbleton grade + 1?
... so maybe E grade for me?[/quote]

Did you ride D grade at Prebleton on Sunday? D grade in the summer is usually a bit faster than that but if you finished with the bunch on Sunday you will finish with D grade on Saturday. Just a couple of kph quicker but you should have a bigger bunch to hide in which helps. It's a flat course on Saturday so even if the pace does jump up a bit you will be OK. It will be the first week back for a lot of people which could also help keep the pace down. Saturdays course is laps round a block so if you find youself in to hard a grade you can stop at the end of a lap.

I'm sorted myself yesterday for "D" and looking forward to it ....

Hope I am feeling half as good tomorrow as I do this morning ...

For us that are riding in D Grade mark CHCHBob.. Riding a Blue Jamis.. He's going well so lets close him down.

What will be the average speed be for D Grade? I'm having a discussion at work here and a coiuple of the guys are saying i should be in C Grade.. I beg to differ and just wondered what the average speed would be in D as i feel I'm not up to C Garde in my current form.

tony_11 wrote:For us that are riding in D Grade mark CHCHBob.. Riding a Blue Jamis.. He's going well so lets close him down.

HA thanks MATE !!!! Just cause you were hurting last Saturday after only 100kms ...

Ha ha no breaks for you tomorrow now....

For the record i was hurting after about 30kms last weekend...

Should be some fun racing tomorrow. Weather looks like cool but not raining.

My plan (for a guy who has raced for years, won three races on this circuit in 87, 89 and 90:-) and finished 2nd in the season opener here three years ago in D grade is pretty simple....

-Lap 1 look after myself
-Lap 2 lift the tempo
-Lap 3 go hard
-Use the cross wind section to hurt some legs each lap
-Be 1st or 2nd into the final corner

If your a newbie my suggestion would be...

-Look for someone experienced in your race, let them know your new and ask what to do
-Look at what the experienced guys are doing and do that

There is a tendency for races like these to go the other way in terms of intensity. Everyone goes from the blocks thinking they can go solo for the distance (only in the movies mate) and by the last lap everyone stops thinking their Jens Voight and starts acting like Mark Cavendish and starts seeking shelter so the pace drops off (cause Renshaw and the other lead out boys are off doing some other minor event) and you get 20 riders who think they can win the sprint.

My predictions for A grade.

Someone who has done a little maintenance work over the winter will smash the riders who have been clocking up long rides because their little but hard training is better preparation for racing then JRA at 30-32kph and as the season progress's the smart riders will increase their riding hard time from 60min to 2hrs and by Nationals will be able to smash it for the 2-5hrs needed to be competitive while the guys doing the miles wonder why they can't do any quality training a wee hint would be "accumulated fatigue verses progressive overload will do that to ya".

noel_whiteside wrote:

tony_11 wrote:Hopefully D should be more where i should be riding. I have heard a few C Grade riders can ride comfortably in B at prebbleton though.

mfw wrote:Dunno, I told them I was a newbie and how I did at Prebbleton , sounds like the formula for this series = Prebbleton grade + 1?... so maybe E grade for me?

Did you ride D grade at Prebleton on Sunday? D grade in the summer is usually a bit faster than that but if you finished with the bunch on Sunday you will finish with D grade on Saturday. Just a couple of kph quicker but you should have a bigger bunch to hide in which helps. It's a flat course on Saturday so even if the pace does jump up a bit you will be OK. It will be the first week back for a lot of people which could also help keep the pace down. Saturdays course is laps round a block so if you find youself in to hard a grade you can stop at the end of a lap.

I did 14th+21st June at Prebbleton and came 3rd and 1st in E grade, the pace in those races was 1h11m & 1h14m respectively.

So is it 6 grades = A to F?

"So is it 6 grades = A to F?"

It depend on how many turn up as to how many grades there are but usually A-E with E being handicaped to accomodate many abilities. As E is handicaped they don't have an F usually. If you got placings at E grade Prebleton then you'll be able to ride OK in D or E grade. E grade is good as it will teach you to lap round in your group as it's in everyones interest to work together to catch those who started before you. D grade is good as it's just a straight out race. Depends on what you prefer Handicaped or scratch racing as to what grade will be best for you.

tony_11 wrote:For us that are riding in D Grade mark CHCHBob.. Riding a Blue Jamis.. He's going well so lets close him down.

What will be the average speed be for D Grade? I'm having a discussion at work here and a coiuple of the guys are saying i should be in C Grade.. I beg to differ and just wondered what the average speed would be in D as i feel I'm not up to C Garde in my current form.

I'll be hopefully sitting with the D lot as well. Tony, I'll be in the HUB top riding the grey Ridley. If you need someone to give you a hand crushing CHCHBob give me a tap on the shoulder....

Nice guys, nice. Great to see your doing some pre race planning. Kind of hope I get shelled in C grade to see how you guys put it into practice

Look forward to it Millsy..

I like your descriptions Fergie.. Just sounds like every race I've ever been in..From races in the UK to races here... Everyone turns from Jens Voigt into Mark Renshaw in a spilt second..Obviously the higher the grade the more organised it becomes. Sorry I don't think I'll ever reach those dizzy heights..

My plan is to go out there and watch and learn.. And to stay near the front out of trouble.