UCI World Cycling Tour, Perth 2011 – Just so I could say I did it.

On the 14th-16th of April, Perth hosted the Australian round of the UCI World Cycling Tour, of which the Road Race held on the 16th, was a qualifier for the UWCT Final.

From the UCT Website, here's their intro blurb:

“A new cycling tour for amateur riders that will ultimately crown age group World Champions is being launched by the UCI in 2011. The UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) is a series of UCI-sanctioned races that will be held all over the world. The UWCT will comprise a maximum of 15 qualifier events, leading to the UWCT Final, the former UCI Masters Road World Championships. The top 10% in each age group of the qualifier events will automatically have the right to compete in the UWCT Final and race for the coveted UCI rainbow jersey.”

Run by CIC Events Management and Bicycling Western Australia, the 2011 event is the first year of a 3 year contract for CIC to run the round, so hopefully it will be around in Perth for a while.

So, I decided that I too would join the ranks of the elite and undertake the race, with no thought as to personal triumph, glory, or an invite to the Finals: rather my thoughts were to whether I'd die in the process of completing a lap of the course.

One incentive for competing was that, if one was lucky enough to be 50 or over (yay me!), one got a reduced distance/lap burden: 6 laps of the course, as opposed to 8 for the 18-49s! Well, with concessions like that, who couldn't take up the opportunity? Well, as it turned out, lots of cyclists, but then it takes guts and supreme confidence in one's abilities to submit oneself to such a challenge: neither of which I had, more just a complete lack of perspective of just what I was getting myself in for.

Now, it could be said that the course wasn't that hard in the overall scheme of things – 6 laps totaling 81.5 km and 800 meters of climbing – but given it was the first race I've ever been involved in, I wasn't too sure how I'd pull up, or indeed if I'd pull out part way through!

For interest's sake, here's the links to the road course route and elevation profile maps:

UCWT Perth 2011 Route

UCWT Perth 2011 Profile

The 50-54 and 55-59 age categories were started together, with the overall start times staggered from lower to higher age groupings, hence we went off near the end. There were a total of 51 entries into the 50-54 age group, quite a turnout, and, combined with the 23 riders in the 55-59 group, it made for a biggish bunch start and peloton for the first 3 laps.

After those initial 3 laps, I was basically doing a solo around the course: after getting dropped off the back of the bunch via the twin hit's of Spring and Malcolm St inclinations 3rd time thru, it was farewell to the pack and hello to me, myself and I.

Had fun trying to stave off cramping calves and then quads on those last three laps, with my inflating lap times testimony to my physical predicament and the necessity of hauling my own fat bum around the course sans the 'suck' of the group.

Still, made it home in 2hrs, 39mins and 55 secs, at an average of 32.1 km/h, in 30th place out of 51 (quite a few DNF's), so I was relatively happy, even if my legs weren't. Whilst a vast 20-odd minutes behind the winner of the 50-54's, my finishing position was, apart from a very brief spell in the top 10, the best of the day for me in my age group, so I had soldiered on after losing contact. The last lap was pretty much a dawdle, with my quads refusing to function above 30km/h. My heart rate dropped from an average of 171 to somewhere in the low 140s, so at least my cardio wasn't too bad!

Would I do it again – yeh, why not! Given it was my first ever race, and with bugga all training, I think I could make some definite improvements with a program and some weight loss (87 kgs is too much to haul up any kind of rise!)

Kudos to the organisers for a sweet event, cheers to the fellow intrepids of the Wolfe Pack who competed in the race, and many thanks to the Wolfe Pack Cheer Squad who made it memorable!

So, roll on UWCT Perth 2012.

Ride Safe!