Hi all,
Since Perth I have continued my hard off season training. Sydney GP was a chance for us to get some quality domestic racing in and test to see where we are heading into the first World Cup of the 2011/2012 season.
The first day was the Team Sprint for both males and females and Anna Meares and I once again donned our rainbow jerseys. We were successful in winning and rode some quite good times for the time of the year which is promising heading into Astana (the first World Cup) at the end of this month. I was pretty happy with my form and its a testament to the hard work that my team and I have been doing over the past few months. A big thanks goes out to my support team who work very hard every day to give us all the best opportunities to be the best that we can be.
The second day saw the Sprint and the Keirin being raced - which proved to be a test physically with both events in the one program. I qualified well in my second fastest ever time of 11.26 just shy of out qualifying Anna who rode 11.24. In the earlier rounds which were best of one I raced against young Malaysian Fatehah, who is proving to be a strong competitor in the Oceania region. I defeated her to move onto the semi finals. In the semis I met Stephanie McKenzie from New Zealand who has just returned from a successful Junior Worlds campaign. Having qualified well I made sure I didn't drop my game and defeated her to move onto the best of three final against Anna Meares. Having defeated Anna in our last meeting I knew I was in for a tough rematch and that it was. Both rides were photo finish close with Anna taking the overall win. Although I was disappointed with not winning I was very happy with my execution of tactics and am feeling confident in my tactical ability heading into what is sure to be a tough season of racing on the World Cup scene.
With the Keirin up last my legs were starting to shout at me to stop! I had to dig deep in the final, after finishing first in my heat, to find something special to bring. Again I executed my race plan very well and thought I had the win wrapped up only to again be pipped by Anna on the line! Again I was disappointed but I walked away with my head held high knowing that I am not only on the right track but that I have made some significant gains in the past 8 months.
A special shout out goes to my family and friends who came to watch over the weekend. I really appreciate all the support that I am getting from everyone as the Olympics get closer and its also important for me to acknowledge those who do support me because I couldn't do what I do without you all. I ride not only for myself, Anna and my support team but for everyone in my family, my friends and every Australian out there!
I am really looking forward to the upcoming races in Astana, which I am sure will be an experience in itself. we have a fairly tough travel regimen to go through before we even get there and we are mostly training though so I don't expect anything too special. However racing always brings the best out of me and I will be going out to do my best and see what happens.
I hope everyone out there is well and you should be hearing from me a little more with Astana and Nationals up and coming. Stay tuned!
Karls :)
P.s. one last special mention goes out to my housemate who feels left out because I have not mentioned him in my blog. Peter Lewis...you smell. Ha-ha
Since Perth I have continued my hard off season training. Sydney GP was a chance for us to get some quality domestic racing in and test to see where we are heading into the first World Cup of the 2011/2012 season.
The first day was the Team Sprint for both males and females and Anna Meares and I once again donned our rainbow jerseys. We were successful in winning and rode some quite good times for the time of the year which is promising heading into Astana (the first World Cup) at the end of this month. I was pretty happy with my form and its a testament to the hard work that my team and I have been doing over the past few months. A big thanks goes out to my support team who work very hard every day to give us all the best opportunities to be the best that we can be.
The second day saw the Sprint and the Keirin being raced - which proved to be a test physically with both events in the one program. I qualified well in my second fastest ever time of 11.26 just shy of out qualifying Anna who rode 11.24. In the earlier rounds which were best of one I raced against young Malaysian Fatehah, who is proving to be a strong competitor in the Oceania region. I defeated her to move onto the semi finals. In the semis I met Stephanie McKenzie from New Zealand who has just returned from a successful Junior Worlds campaign. Having qualified well I made sure I didn't drop my game and defeated her to move onto the best of three final against Anna Meares. Having defeated Anna in our last meeting I knew I was in for a tough rematch and that it was. Both rides were photo finish close with Anna taking the overall win. Although I was disappointed with not winning I was very happy with my execution of tactics and am feeling confident in my tactical ability heading into what is sure to be a tough season of racing on the World Cup scene.
With the Keirin up last my legs were starting to shout at me to stop! I had to dig deep in the final, after finishing first in my heat, to find something special to bring. Again I executed my race plan very well and thought I had the win wrapped up only to again be pipped by Anna on the line! Again I was disappointed but I walked away with my head held high knowing that I am not only on the right track but that I have made some significant gains in the past 8 months.
A special shout out goes to my family and friends who came to watch over the weekend. I really appreciate all the support that I am getting from everyone as the Olympics get closer and its also important for me to acknowledge those who do support me because I couldn't do what I do without you all. I ride not only for myself, Anna and my support team but for everyone in my family, my friends and every Australian out there!
I am really looking forward to the upcoming races in Astana, which I am sure will be an experience in itself. we have a fairly tough travel regimen to go through before we even get there and we are mostly training though so I don't expect anything too special. However racing always brings the best out of me and I will be going out to do my best and see what happens.
I hope everyone out there is well and you should be hearing from me a little more with Astana and Nationals up and coming. Stay tuned!
Karls :)
P.s. one last special mention goes out to my housemate who feels left out because I have not mentioned him in my blog. Peter Lewis...you smell. Ha-ha
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