Lauretta's Season on the track

Last weekend’s Bendigo Madison saw the conclusion of the Victorian track season, and what a season it was. After being selected for the state team in December, many weeks of hard training and racing followed to ensure I would be competitive at a national level ready to race for February 2013.
One of my favourite weeks was the Victorian Christmas carnivals. As usual, it offered some fantastic racing across all four locations; Horsham, Bendigo, Shepparton and Wangaratta. Over the four days I had a few minor placing's and a couple wins including the Ladies silver Bracelet Wheel race at Shepparton and the Godfrey Family Omnium double elimination at Horsham.
The Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic (bay crits) followed Christmas carnivals and although not exactly successful, I definitely learned a lot riding in such a quality field. I also got to ride my brand new Specialized Venge road bike for the first time.
Last year I competed in the Santos Women’s Cup in Adelaide and only finished 1 stage, so this year I came into it with the goal of completing at least two. Stage one around the east end of Adelaide was a thrill to race, with a large crowd leaning over the barriers cheering us on. Stage two, Gastro got the better of me, despite this I still started and launched the first attack to then soon be dropped off the back and quickly removed from the race. The final stage at Unley hosted a smaller field due to several riders scratching  but still offered some fast racing. I surprised myself at this stage as I was expecting to have no chance of finishing but during the race I found myself attacking, chasing and holding position. I finished the race mid field and achieved my goal of completing at least two stages. The whole team road these races, and not only was I able to complete these 2 races, but had also helped team mates throughout the series and gained more knowledge in regards to working together as a team.
The highlight of the season for me was competing in my first track nationals as an Elite woman.  The four days of Championship racing was held at Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney. The team arrived in Sydney two days before the commencement of racing. Unfortunately as we arrived so did the storms and torrential rain. After three days of being stuck indoors Thursday arrived and with it my first and favourite event, the individual pursuit. Being my first year as an elite woman, all I really wanted was a PB. I achieved this with a time of 3:47.064, bettering my previous time by over 3 seconds and placing me 8^th overall. The following day I had the 100 lap point score; once again I surprised myself and finished in 8th after only losing one lap. My final day of racing offered a 40 lap scratch race, which I finished in 9^th place. Although I didn’t win any medals, It was a surreal experience to be racing with Olympians, world champions and some the best female cyclists Australia has to offer. 8^th and 9^th place may not seem as a major achievement but just to compete in that field, without being absolutely demolished, is a big achievement to me.

After a week off the bike, Ararat and Ballarat Track Carnivals beckoned. At Ararat I won the first handicap of the night and raced hard but with no results for my other three events. At Ballarat, I won the opening scratch race, placed second in the handicap point score and won the Victorian Madison Championship with my partner Toni Abbisogni also from Bendigo . The 50 lap Madison was one of the most enjoyable races I've ridden all year. A timely attack, launched by Toni, resulted in us taking a lap which no other team was able to bring back.
The Austral wheel race was an aggressive and successful night of racing. I placed 3^rd in the Victorian Women’s Scratch race after attacking several times, reducing the main field from 11 to 6. I placed second behind Jessica Mundy in the handicap points after once attacking the field resulting in the bunch splitting.
The final track race for the season boasted a first for women’s racing; a women’s Bendigo Madison. The stellar field included teams from all over Australia making for some tough racing. Once again I partnered with Toni Abbisogni and after 60 laps of fast and hard racing we came in 6^th. Although it destroyed my legs and my body aches from the effort, I loved it and will hopefully be doing it again next year.
It is now time for me to start thinking about the road races, and adapting my body for these changes.