Flight Centre Epic 2012

17/9/12

Before deciding on my race schedule for the Australian domestic Season, I sat down and made a list of all the races I have competed in over the last few years and the ones I really enjoyed and therefore wanted to return to.  The Flight Centre Cycle Epic, held just out of Brisbane, was certainly one of them.  Perhaps I didn’t quite remember the pain I went through to take out last year’s event, but I had some great memories of some sweet bits of single track and so made the decision a month or so ago to make the trip up North once again.

The race started and finished at a traditional Australian Homestead called ‘Spicers Hidden Vale’, situated in the Lockyer Valley, around an hour’s drive from Brisbane.  This is a venue well worth visiting if you’re a mountain biker and keen on some cool trails.  The homestead is surrounded by 50km worth of rocky, twisty fun….and there are some nasty climbs too!

It was to be a bit of a rushed trip for Ed and I this time, due to work restraints (pity we have to pay the bills hey!) So we departed Melbourne airport at 7am on Saturday, and arrived in Brisbane around 9am to sunny skies and 24 degrees. Two days of warmth ahead of us, yay!  We then drove out to Hidden Vale, registered and I did an hour or so spin to get the legs ticking over. Ed spent the afternoon washing and prepping the bike meticulously as he always does.  What would I do without him?

We stayed in Ipswich for the night which was around 30min drive from the course.  Ed and I quite often have a laugh about the ‘bogan-ish’ suburb we live in back in Melbourne, but this was nothing compared to the bogans we came across at the local RSL in Ipswich.  They provided a good meal though with plenty of carbs for the next day.  Although Ed informed me that the mashed potato I was eating was actually packet Deb (I think this is fake potato?)

We woke to clear skies on Sunday morning, and headed out to Hidden Vale once more, arriving just in time to grab a quick coffee, give myself a 30-40min w/up and take my place on the starting line.  I was strangely nervous standing and awaiting the start. I hadn’t had those butterflies in the tummy for quite a long time and it felt weird yet also exciting to be back into some more serious racing.

I always find the mass starts in these races a little hairy.  I guess I should probably get out in the bigger bunches more and practice (mental note to self). It wasn’t long before we headed up the first of several nasty hill climbs and the pack started to sort itself out.  I pretty soon remembered from last year just how steep some of those early climbs were.  Once over these there was a pretty crazy descent where I managed to gain a small gap on local favorite Jodie Willett and Epic Veteran Naomi Hansen.   I decided to push it a little and see if I could gain an advantage, however once onto the long flat road section I could see that the other 2 girls were gaining on me so decided to sit up and wait and work with them as I’m certainly not known for my roadie skills! Meanwhile, Terri Rhodes was not far off the pace sitting comfortably in 4^th place.

With the road section out of the way, the 3 of us were still together as we started on the longest climb of the day. However I rapidly lost contact as I suddenly had no energy at all, and the muscles felt on verge of cramping.  Uh-oh, maybe I had underestimated the Qld heat and forgotten to drink enough for the conditions. Such an amateur mistake to make!!  I quickly drank as much as I could and also jammed down a Torq gel.  I then decided to let the other 2 girls go and not try to force the pedaling but instead ride my own rhythm and hopefully come good.  So I plugged away up the climb and then along the bumpy grassy sections across the top. I remember actually finding this section the toughest last year also.

Naomi, Jodie and I finished the road section together

The gassy sections soon turned into dirt and some nasty rocky climbs, one of which I failed to get up and had to push the bike over the top.  I came across Naomi down one of the trickier rocky descents and went by her just as we got onto the first of the many sections of single track.  It seemed from this point on, I was constantly struggling with energy levels. It certainly showed with many silly little mistakes including a couple of minor crashes as well as 2 wrong turns, all of which cost me valuable time. Sometimes when you haven’t ridden a long race like this for a while you forget just how important nutrition is and I guess I needed this race as a reminder!

The last 37km was predominantly single track and, even though I was mighty buggered by this stage, I still had a ripper of a time throughout.  Jodie was continuing to dominate up front, but I knew from the time checks I was sitting pretty comfortable in 2^nd, so was able to settle in and enjoy the ride.  Terri Rhodes was riding a well-paced race and moved her way into 3^rd place by the halfway mark.  All 3 of us retained these positions over the last half of the race.  As much as I did love the single track, I can assure you I was well ready for the finish line by the 87km mark.  This was certainly one tough marathon!

Me with the ‘hurt’ face on

So, I’m real happy to start off the Season with a podium result.  Having started my early Season training a lot later than usual, I had very little expectations coming into the event.  Although I’m a little frustrated with my nutrition complacency, it was a successful weekend up North.

Thanks so much to my awesome sponsors Anytime Fitness, Trek, Momentum Energy, Lifecare, Adidas and 4Shaw.   Next up race for me will be the Kowalski Classic in Canberra in 2 weeks’ time.