Waking up to clear skies and no wind has made things a little easier when it comes to cycling, but unbeknowns to me it was going to be one hell of a hard day. Today was the Annual Sydney Criteriums, held on the premises of the Dunc Grey Veledrome. With a top quality start list, things were going to be fast...

I was a bit unsure of how the race would pan out, especially considering I hadn't ridden the short criterium track yet! Here's a run down of the "40min + 3 lap race"...

Start straight of 200m, long left hander for 150m into downhill, sharp right hander, 90 degree left hander, 90 degree left hander, fast right hander into slight rise, sharp left hander into a slight pinch, then the final turn, a smooth left hander under full power into the main straight. With an average cadence of 94rpm it was quite a track!

Anyway the race started and the field was on it's way - an attack went in the first turn, and this happened again and again throughout the race. With so many attacks, it was impossible to choose which one to follow, so I just followed as many as possible. The furthest I got up the road was maybe 25m, before I was reeled in. This was also the case with any of the other riders, so it was a very unpredicable race when it came to choosing your moves.

A spectacular crash added a touch of nerves to the race, with the final three laps being sounded. I was sitting around 10th wheel, so I moved up on the sharp 90 degree left, only to overshoot the following corner. I ended up back in 10th-15th wheel. A caught my breath on the 2nd last lap, in an attempt to move up again. I tried again, this time on the smooth 150m left hander, and managed to keep my spot for a moment, before a touch of wheels, scraping pedals on the tar and a rider going off, knocked me down the ladder again, this time with a 20m gap in between myself and the lead group of 8. I hammered it to get across just as we hit the final left hander. I don't know where I finished up, but it wasn't the result I was hoping for. I think today could have been a day where I'd have maybe gotten a decent result since my return to Australia.

But as is with anything in cycling - try, try and try again...