Benalla Storm

Benalla Storm

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

JG - Contest Day 3

Wednesday, 15 December.

We woke up this morning with very marginal conditions. I was very skeptical during task setting that the day would actually improve as forecasted. I also have been battling a cold the entire contest, and I woke up this morning so congested that I was feeling nauseous. Needless to say, I was hoping the day would end up being scrubbed. My wishes were not to be fulfilled as the day improved, and the start gate was opened. Although conditions were good for a short period, they ended up being rather good. The task was set as a fixed racing task of 163km.

I started slightly behind a few other competitors at an upwind start point. The tactical error of the day happened right here as I should have waited a little bit longer before I started. On the grid someone mentioned that it might be a gaggle day, and this is exactly what happened. Halfway through the first leg I found myself in a gaggle with 8/10 competitors. Through the second leg we flew pretty fast as a group. At one point I pushed on ahead of the group and found a killer climb that earned me a few beers in the evening. I flew this leg with an average speed of 100kph. However, I think it was due to the over-confidence of the group that several competitors, myself included, found ourselves a bit low at the second turnpoint. Heading for home I was still flying with some other competitors, but it was due to one mistake in a climb that I ended the day 2kph slower than the 5th place pilot. I finished the day in 7th place, still earning 780.5 points for the day. 

A direct quote from one of the competitors is, "This was the funnest competition day I have ever had." I would definitely agree.

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