Sizziling Summer Series Round 1

The annual Sizzling Summer Series is when the real racing kicks off in the greater Brisbane area. All of the new teams and kit are out on display, and eager to get some early season results.

As seems to be usual now for this criterium series, the rain was persistent across the whole day, with none of the races being dry. Despite this, there were no crashes and the riding was safe and fast. The A grade race still managed to average 47kph in the pouring rain with no crashes. Well done boys!

Women's Race

Sunday 3 March saw the start of the Ausenco Summer Series, a three race series that will see the girls race 45min + 3 laps at Wayne Goss Drive in Crestmead. Race 1 saw a great line up of elite women despite wet roads and the threat of torrential rain.

Typically keen for some aggressive racing Jazzy kicked-off the first attack of the race, getting a small break away which was countered by Lou and once brought back countered by Sally. Sally’s attack resulted in a breakaway of five riders including Janelle Crooks, Brittany Lindores, Nataile Langer and Jemma Brown.

Concerned by the fast gaining bunch, driven by Marianne Westacott & Alex O’dea, Sally attacked again to sustain the break, only Jemma and Janelle were able to follow. With one rider from Pensar, QSM and Campos-Avalon-Champ Sys in the breakaway, team tactics prevailed and the battle was too tough for lone riders to bridge the gap. This provided a great opportunity for Corissa to observe and practice what is involved in controlling the bunch when you have a teammate up the road.

The rain came down hard, the break lapped the bunch, it rained a little more. Jemma led into the last lap with Sally on her wheel, Sally kicked from the last corner and got a gap on the other girls, Janelle came back strong and pipped Sally on the line for the win.

The team is looking forward to going into race 2 on Sunday 10 March. The girls are excited about working together to try and attain the leaders jersey, the battle for the series win will be interesting given the strength of the Pensar team and the developing team tactics of the QSM team.

A Grade Race

The A grade race was the second squad to race, and the rain really started to pour down for this event. Some early break away attempts, saw the race start very fast, but no early break was allowed away. Budget Forklifts really controlled the race well and managed to ensure Jessie Kerrison was well placed to take out three of the four primes. Given the strength of the Budget team and the overall speed of the race, it was very difficult to get away.

While Condy waited for the sprint, both Dan and Matt tried to get into some small moves, but these were never allowed much latitude. As such, the team just made sure Condy and Dan were able to be in position for the inevitable sprint.

Budget lead the sprint out and managed to get Jessie the win, while Condy was able to get 5th, with Dan in 8th. The boys did well to get into the points, and can build on this platform for hopefully better overall results.

B Grade Race

The B grade race was also held in wet conditions, but this didn't stop the race from being aggressive. Early on it was JJ and Gleggy who did plenty of work to try and get into a bit of a move off the front, but the group didn't want to see any big splits in the peleton. This suited the versatile team, as they were prepared for a sprint if it were to come to that.

Jack and Mark were left to look after Ben for the pending sprint and help bring back any late moves. As the laps went by, the sprint looked more and more likely, which meant Ben was preparing himself for a went and dangerous finale. Coming into the final lap, Ben was well placed in about 6th wheel, but into the final bend, fell back a bit and managed to take 4th place.

The results means he is well placed to improve his overall standings and no doubt contest for the overall win.

Stay tuned for next weeks results