WHEN Emily Watts lines up for a women’s criterium race she is always a rider to watch, but on Saturday at Tamworth she made male rivals nervous as well.
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The Bathurst Cycling Club and Western Region Academy of Sport graduate was in Tamworth to take part in the inaugural Tamworth Cycling Festival.
Representing her Sydney Uni Staminade team, Watts lined up against male riders in three events – a criterium, a hill climb and the 100 kilometre Nemingha to Trundle Handicap.
Impressively Watts was the quickest female in all three of those events, while she also showed up a number of male competitors.
The best example came in the criterium on Saturday as she was active near the front of the bunch in the division three race and ended up fourth outright.
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Only Joel Baker (Coffs Harbour), David Gerrish (Dubbo) and Justin Hills (Dulwich Hill) beat her in the sprint to the line, clocking the same time of 31 minutes, 44 seconds.
“At the start I was chasing the breaks which was a bit silly, I should’ve just let the men chase things down. It was like a race inside the race which was cool,” Watts said.
“I actually came into the last corner and I was sort of like ‘I’ll just let the men sprint and make sure I keep all the women behind me’. But then I felt kinda good and was in alright position to sprint, so I just sprinted it out.”
Watts was also ninth overall and first female in the hill climb on the Saturday at Oxley Lookout. She clocked a time of six minutes, 43.95 seconds, her effort +1.11.69 slower than victor Steve Roberts from the host club.
Though her legs were a little sore, come Sunday Watts lined up for her first 100km handicap. She was 24th outright, the second female to finish and her time of two hours, 37 minutes, 52.13 seconds was the quickest of the women in the event.
“I was my first crack at a 100 kay. The course was, for my legs, was really good, it wasn’t too hilly,” she said.
“But the men were really panicky and really fast and when the scratch people came across to us, it was crazy.
“There were a lot of riders there, so it was easy to stick on wheels. It was more just the men just yelling at us to stay left, the women trying to get in to good position and me valuing my life and thinking ‘Nah, that’s a bit too risky for me.’
“It is a very good learning experience.
“It was good to have a race were we – well I was – out numbered by another team. It was very exciting.”
Watts enjoyed the festival and is keen to make a return to Tamworth next September.
“They’re hoping for it to be a bit bigger next year and they’re hoping not to make it on an NRS [National Road Series] weekend so they can get a lot more riders,” she said.
