MTN Zoo Lake Crit 40+

The MTN Zoo Lake Crit is one of the very few crits we race, which is such a shame, because it is a spectator friendly form of road racing, and it's really intense as well.



We checked out the course the day before the race. This year the route would be raced in reverse. This meant that there was a shorter descent, and a longer drag. We were concerned that the speed of the drag would make it hard for anyone to get away, but fortunately on race day there was a nice tail-wind up the drag, taking away the draft benefit and forcing everyone to work hard.



The vets 40+ race was 25 minutes plus one lap. The plan was to make it as hard as possible right from the gun. Then, towards the end of the drag, attack when everyone was really hanging on. We knew that if we could get Andrew away, even with one or two other riders, he was more than capable of staying away to win.



The first lap started hard, with Kevin and Issy setting a hard pace. At the planned spot, I attacked and opend a gap and went really hard. The next section of the route had a headwind, but once I had a gap, the others would be forced to close it into a strong wind. Eventually, the gap got closed, but a lot of damage had been done. We applied the same recipe on the second lap, and this was enough to launch Andrew with one of the DiData riders. This was perfect for us, because it meant that DiData (one of the strongest teams in the field) would not contribute to closing Andrew down initially. A small chase group also formed, containing Issy Zimmerman, Bruce Reyneke, Jorge Faria, Gary Beneke and one or two other riders. I was in the main group.



After an easier lap, I saw that the chase group was only about 30sec in front of the main group, and nobody in the main group was keen to drive the pace. So, on Lap 4, I attacked the main group again, and got away on my own. I bridged to the chase group quickly. With no single team dominant in the chase group, there would always be some tactical games being played. So, I waited for one lap then attacked again, getting away with Gary Beneke. I wasn't confident that I would beat Gary in a sprint, but odds of getting a result were much better if I got away with him to the finish. By this time Andrew was 1 minute down the road, and had dropped the DiData rider so we had the win in the bag. Gary and I stayed away to the finish. With Gary taking second and myself third.