JENNIFER Short battled brutal conditions in which one female rider suffered hypothermia to win the Masters 2 at the NSW Road Race in Gunning on Sunday.
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Short was among four gold medal winners at the NSW Road Cycling Championships, alongside Grant Souter (masters 1 time trial), Ben Nepple (masters 4 road race) and Rod Price (masters 10 road race) from the Newcastle Hunter club.
Aiden Sinclair (under-19 road race), Clinton Edwards (masters 2 road race), Ben Neppl (masters 4 time trial), Ken Hatch (masters 9 road races) and Rod Price (masters 10 time trial) collected silver medals.
Gusty winds of up to 50kph, rain and freezing temperatures made the weekend a battle of mind as well as body.
One of the Short's contenders called the 94km road race on her strava ride, "Never again! Oxford dictionary of Misery" and her description was apt.
"Within 20km, the rain set in along with the regret of wearing our summer kit," Short said. "Rain poured, stopped, poured, stopped again and poured. The gusty wind added another level of pain.
"Most were shivering after the first lap but together the women suffered unable to put out much power or even able to get the heart rate above 100pm.
"The bunch stayed together until the last pinch when the cold induced cramping and a few got dropped.
"My main contender went for the sprint at around 300 metres to go. Just after the 200m mark, I pulled out and dropped the hammer, well what my cramped, freezing cold legs had left.
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"I had suffered too much not to take the win.
"While happy very with my result, I would definitely reconsider racing in such conditions again. One female rider suffered hypothermia and required an ambulance.
"The race was not a race of legs, but a race of mental toughness.
"I had prepared for the race for 21 weeks prior, undertaking structured training with our club coach, Ben Neppl.
"The training, I thought, was all about the legs. That said, if I hadn't done the training, I wouldn't have finished the race."
It was similar conditions for the men's road race over 114km.
"The final lap had the break reduced to five riders, and it stayed that way as we battled the cold, rain, wind and numbing fingertips and toes and wind," Neppl said.
"The riders were strung in a line as we approached the 2km mark. At the 200m the sprint started and I managed to hold them off for a win."
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
