Tour of Tassie Stage 8

Hard to believe it but the Tour is over, and what a fantastic but tough Tour it has been.

Full credit to the organisers for running such a professional event with the magnificent Tasmanian scenery as the backdrop.

Today’s final stage of the Tour was a short stage of 54 kilometres in the sunshine around a 1.8 kilometres circuit on the Devonport beach front. There was an aggressive start to the race as riders tried to escape in an early break. The pace was on from the gun with the bunch stretched out in single file for much of the stage, with an average speed of just under 50kph nothing was allowed to get out of sight.

The VBC boys have really gelled on tour and had a good time between stages – the experience has been second to none and a great launch pad for the future.

For me it has been a privilege to ride with a great group of guys and mix it with the best of Australia’s road cyclists.

Our support staff on tour featured Sam our Physio, who did a super job keeping us fresh for each stage as well as driving our back up car, and John did a good job helping with driving and logistics allowing the riders to just focus on pedalling making life a lot less stressful.

Thanks once again to all our team sponsors, this would not be possible without your support, and to Team Director Mike Slater – thanks for the tireless work that he has put into the team.  The Chapman’s trailer was a huge asset on tour providing an organised and secure set up for our bikes.

Tour of Tassie Stage 7

The day began with nice sunny skies. The mood of the bunch was generally very tired and relaxed. The stage’s profile looked very undulating and similar to previous stages. Which means there is no flat road; only up or down. Together with some technical sections would make for a hard stage. The team had decided that we should look after Justin Gassner sitting 13th overall in the General Classification. So keeping Justin out of the wind and in a good position was the main priority.

Todays race started in simular fashion to stage 6 with attacks coming thick and fast. A small group was able to escape quickly opening up a gap. As usual it was the orange army that was left to do the chasing setting the tempo over the middle section of the race. The sharp steep climbs took there toll on the field with numbers quickly thinning out as attacks came from the Drapac squad. The last 10km of the race saw the leaders advantage hold firm at about 1 minute as Euride took up the chase over the fast undulating run into the finish.

We’re almost done with only one 54km crit to go and then my first Tour of Tasmania will be done. I’d like to thank everyone that has thrown their support me, especially my team mates and major sponsors at Veneziano Coffee Roasters and Blefari Cafe & Cucina.

Tour of Tassie Stage 6

A morning of sunshine soon the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped, a little bit of wind was swirling and the race was set to be a hard one. 108km was set to take the peloton from Ulverstone to Penguin, although the two towns are only separated by 18km along the coast.

The stage today started with a bang. With nearly every rider trying to get off the front. The field was quickly split into many small groups as riders scampered to hold the wheel as the pace was turned up and put in the gutter. It wasn’t until about the 50km mark that the pace levelled out and once again the orange army moved to the front leading the way. The second KOM was where the winning move was made and a small group of riders jumped clear of the rest of the field. I found myself in the small chase bunch that rolled turns to the finish finishing 1 minute behind the leaders. I was lucky enough to get my first NRS top 10 finishing 9th in the stage and move into outright 3rd position in the young rider classification.

Only two stages to go, seven seconds between moving one place higher in young rider. I’d like to thank our dedicated sponsors at Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Blefari Cafe & Cucina and everyone else behind the scenes. Can’t wait to cross the finish line for the last time and celebrate what an amazing tour this has been with a group of great mates.

Tour of Tassie Stage 5

A perfect morning greeted the team today, not a breath of wind nor a cloud in the sky, today was a sunscreen day. With an unplanned but welcomed rest day yesterday everyone was raring to go, Westbury was the start location and with only 79.4km on the cards and a dead flat lead in to the day’s climb, it was going to be a fast start to the day. Unlike the short sharp climbs of previous today’s climb was 17km long but still tough enough to put pressure on the best.

The team plan was to help me get in the early break or in the hunt for the sprints. Putting myself at the front of the bunch was the best option and trying to make each break was taking a toll on the legs so I decided to take a break before having one last crack. Unsuccessful and the climb beginning to cast a shadow on the peloton I moved to the back and gave debutant Matt Gassner a hand hiding from the wind before making an assault on his terrain. As we began to climb I let the mountain goats go have their fun as I say up and rode tempo to the top only loosing five and a half minutes to the stage winner.

Due to the ascent, I’ll let Justin Gassner voice his comments on how the leaders played out:

A fast pace was set to the bottom of the climb with the Orange Army leading the way as riders tried to position themselves near the front. A steady tempo was set for the first half of the climb with the break holding a lead of around 45 seconds. The second half of the climb saw attacks come from many riders as the wind picked up across the top. The main bunch was split in two by a small gap of around 10 seconds as the break away held there advantage to the finish.

Thank you once again to Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Blefari Cafe & Cucina, Team Manager Michael Slater and everyone else who has thrown their support behind our small team. “What goes up must come down” well that at least keeps me optimistic as the kilometres pass.

Tour of Tassie Stage 4 - Cancelled

Today’s stage 4 of the Tour of Tasmania started at 7am as everyone awoke to howling winds, hissing rain and the local ducks struggling to stand. Reactions were mixed from each member of the team, some keen to race and some wanting to get back in to bed. Nevertheless we made our way to the start line where the managers communicated that the start time had been pushed back from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

First call of business was to head straight to the coffee shop, on the way we walked past Paddy Palin where heat packs were purchased in preparation for a cold day on the bike. After coffee was consumed we made our way back to the flooded start line where we were given confirmation that we would be starting the race. 15 minutes before we were set to start the rain was still horizontal and the racing was called off to both cheers and a few disappointed riders.

Yes it may have been nice to continue racing but ultimately the riders safety is paramount and if the police deem the racing to be too dangerous then we have to respect their decision and take it with a pinch of salt. Granted there was enough rain to drown a fish, anyway a rest day ensued and now each Veneziano rider is prepared for whatever tomorrow throws at us.

Tour of Tassie Stage 3

Absolutely abysmal weather woke the Veneziano Blefari team early this morning to pack the cars and move on to the start line for the third stage of the Caterpillar Tour of Tasmania. The morning was cold but as we reached the start line the rain had disappeared and road had started to dry. As the gun blew the peloton started the 103km journey from Hamilton to Lake St Clair. With a strange course profile tossing up some challenges as each KOM was not followed by a descent but an undulating terrain until it dropped into the start of the second KOM then levelled out to the finish.

No early break was allowed to go and coming in to the first intermediate sprint of the day I found myself near the front of the bunch and just had some good luck. Luke Parker jumped up the road at 800m to go then I got myself onto the wheel of Alex Ray as he started his sprint, my legs already under pressure I could only hold onto his wheel to take 2nd place by the time I crossed the line. From then I pushed on holding on to the peloton until halfway up the first KOM where a small groupetto formed which kept a good pace until we reached the bottom of the second KOM. As we climbed out of the valley we caught a group of around 30 riders, from there on we rode to the finish just quick enough to make the time cut.

Veneziano pocket rocket, Justin Gassner continues his good form to finish top 20 in today’s stage. Here’s a few words from the front of the race:

“The freezing conditions took a toll on most of the field leaving only a small front bunch to race for the win. As we passed through the 25km to go marker I put in a small attack that lasted around 2min off the front before the Budget Forklifts train rocketed past me. The remaining 25k saw a mixture of teams take turns on the front over undulating terrain as the 4 leaders built an advantage of around 3 minutes after their bold attack part way up the second KOM. The paced picked up with about 5km to go and I decided to just look after myself and make it to the finish upright. Across the line and it was straight to the car to eat, drink and warm up to get ready for the next day.”

Great work by Justin today as consolidated his position in GC as well as holding equal third in the Young Rider Classification.

Another thanks to Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Blefari Cafe & Cucina, Sam Bushaway for his awesome work with a crash course in convoy driving and Michael Slater for his ongoing support as team manager. After three stages we’ve sprinted and climbed, sweated and frozen, surely there’s not much more the apple island can throw at us.

Tour of Tassie Stage 2

Today’s 2nd stage of the 2013 Caterpillar Tour of Tasmania took a slightly smaller peloton along the 120km journey west from New Norfolk to Strathgordon. Yesterday’s TTT saw the cream rise to the top yet even with the extended 25% cut off time, six riders were cut due to such a quick pace set by Genesys. The talk of twitter last night was Cycling Australia’s 3 minute policy that saw almost three quarters of the field sitting in equal 20th position, a few unhappy comments but with the talent Genesys possess, if anyone is able to pull back 3 minutes they certainly deserve their position in GC.

The morning was warmer than expected and a few of us were considering making the 10km descent from Heimat Chalet down to the start line. As the gun blew and we crossed the start line a strong cross head wind reeked havoc with a few early crashes on each side of the road from either a touch of wheels or not concentrating properly. A group of eight took the opportunity to leap off the front quickly building a lead that stretched out to 7 and a half minutes at one point which was quickly brought back by Genesys to a more manageable 4 and a half minutes. The kilometres ticked by and all of a sudden we had left the first KOM behind with a little bit of suffering, hoping to recover before the second KOM of the day. Despite pushing hard some of us stayed in the bunch and a few of us didn’t. Everything came back together just before the 25km to go mark. At 10km to go we could see the last of the hard climbs for the day and then taking us into an undulating run to the finish line however as the top of the climb was crested, the remainder of the break was caught, all except for Alex Edmonson. Edmonson powered onto the descent solo, despite being caught he was able to hold off the field to take the win.

A strong win be Alex today, all of the guys here in Veneziano certainly cooked themselves to get good position, with Justin Gassner sitting in the top 10-15 riders all day long, Lachlan Ambrose spending his day milling around the bunch and finishing with bunch time, I struggled up the final berg at 10km to go and finished around two minutes behind the winners, Andrew Clarkson put in strong turns after being dropped to get a small group of 10 riders back in to the peloton after the 2nd KOM, Luca Giacomin rode strong all day but just came unstuck with 10km to go as well as young fella Matt Gassner, 17, who in his first NRS tour has certainly jumped in the deep end head first, is currently holding his own and showing some impressive climbing strength for someone so young.

Yet again another massive thank you to all of our sponsors, especially Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Blefari Cafe & Cucina and First Pour Boutique Cafe. And another thank you to John Gassner for driving the team bus as well as Sam for driving the team convoy car as well as post race massages. Two days of hurt done, it can’t get much worse.

Tour of Tassie Stage 1

Tour of Tassie Stage 1

Veneziano Luck Strikes Mt Wellington TTT

A 17km team time trial finishing at the top of Mt Wellington, this day was set to be built for Huon Genesys after last years domination. Nonetheless as a little team paying our own way we didn't come thousands of kilometres to put in an average effort and just be happy with whatever happened. With two steep ramps very close to the start a good warm up was essential and so was a steady pace.

Three, two, one and we were on our way, the first stage of hurt was underway. The team plan didn't have anything to do with watts or speed, the message was simple 'communication is key' keeping everyone updated on how the slower climbers (like myself) were going/struggling. As soon as the road levelled out I took my turn to set pace as I knew that as the road turned skyward I'd become useless, and as I thought we turned right off the main road and onto Mt Wellington itself, the boys took off setting a good pace pulling slowly further and further away. Nothing left in my tank I just tried to keep the guys in sight in case anything went wrong, just the Veneziano luck at 7.5km to go Lachlan Ambrose dropped his chain getting it caught in Cervelo's infamous wide bottom bracket making sure that getting back on quickly wasn't an option. With the team time being taken on the 4th rider and only 3 guys ahead of me, the level of pain was about to rise.

I just concentrated on turning the legs over as hard as I could without blowing, the guys talked to each other for me keeping me in second or third wheel and at least one eye on me to make sure I stayed in the wheels. The kilometres ticked past but not quick enough, my legs were shouting to slow down but this was for the guys. 2km and I started to drop the wheel coming in to 1km to go and the pain left, the finish line was close and I had a second wind, only problem was that if I slowed down I was going to blow and badly. The guys were calling out to slow down and it was hard to ignore but luckily they jumped straight on my wheel. I couldn't do anything except for push and push, across the line and it was done everyone was shattered. We took the bad luck in our stride and gave everything we could, each of the guys put in an awesome effort and I couldn't ask to be around a better group of guys.

We now recover and get ready for the rest of the tour, a massive thanks to Michael Slater our team director, Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Blefari Cafe & Cucina, First Pour Coffee Boutique, Sauna King, Swiss Wellness, Boon Digital Media and IT Constructs. Great ride guys only seven stages to go.

No one likes to crash

This blog isn't quite the lighthearted race report of norm. Actually it's not a race report at all. For those who have followed my blog they will know what has happened in the last month for those who don't let's begin.

On the 7th of May I was in Toowoomba with the Veneziano Blefari team to race the upcoming NRS Tour of Toowoomba, when I had a collision with a car that had pulled out in front of me whilst on a training ride. No moving allowed and a very uncomfortable neckbrace became a new accessory until I reached the hospital, where I was then able to further view my injuries. The usual road rash on my right hip was expected, but on removal of my knicks the doctor pointed out a centimetre deep hole in my left thigh about the size of a fifty cent piece. This meant stitches and therefore no racing the tour we had come so far for.

The news really didn't get much better after that, I came back from getting X-rays to find the police beside my bed, with the interview finished the rest of the team came to pick me up around 10 with the news that my beautiful Cervelo S5 VWD was in pretty bad shape. Much to my surprise someone was at the scene of the
accident which can be found here: http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/cyclist-lucky-escape-injury-after-rangeville-crash/1859601/

The worst part of the crash by far was the following days, being unable to walk properly, not being able to use my hands to do something as simple as taking the cap off the milk. But easily the most horrible part of the crash was sitting down standing up and getting in to bed, with my leg so badly bruised and cut up I was unable to lift my foot an inch off the ground under my legs own strength. Frustration was the first emotion to set in which turned to anger and then just feeling low, I thought to myself "I'm a 19 year old elite cyclist who couldn't even move his own leg." Times did get pretty tough both physically and mentally over the following days, no improvement in movement starts to get you thinking the worst like "Will I ever ride again?" and "What if I can't use my leg again?". It was times like then that I could count myself lucky to have the full support of the Veneziano Blefari Cycling team by my side as well as my friends and family back home keeping me in their thoughts and checking on me each day to see how I was going.

At the moment with insurance hanging in the balance and no end in sight, as well as needing to replace my bike I have put some bike stuff from the garage that I don't use anymore on Gumtree for sale. Take a look at what's there, it's not much but every cent will be going to buying a new bike after everything that has happened. If you find anything you like just contact me and something can be worked out.

Merida Time Warp TT Bike
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-region/bicycles/merida-time-warp-tt-must-go-/1020905756

3T Aura Pro TT bars
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-region/bicycles/3t-aura-pro-tt-bars/1021729590

3T Ergosum Team bars
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-region/bicycles/3t-ergosum-team-handlebars/1021729919

ISM Adamo Prologue saddle
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-region/bicycles/ism-adamo-prologue-saddle/1021730120

Mavic Podium shoes
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/adelaide-region/bicycles/mavic-podium-shoes/1021757022

It shows that while cycling is a sport of many highs, one moment can turn everything around within a second. I can admit that hard times lead to low thoughts and a tear or two were shed, but the support of the great people around me helped day by day to start me on the road to recovery.

Northern Combine 3 Day Tour

Northern Combine stage 1

Club Tour or Pro Tour?

Today's stage 1 of the Northern Combine Queens Birthday weekend 3 Day Tour made me question in fact which one we were racing. 

What a weekend of racing it was though. Not often do we get 4 stages over 3 days without having to take time off work. 

Stage 1 was set around the Lancefield - Newham circuit, with 3 laps on the menu and a strong field of 45 in A grade we set off. Only 90km for the day the racing was fast with a small group establishing itself early Target Trek was left to bring it back with none of their team up front. Before long it became certain that it was going to be a day for the sprinters. Not sure of who would be the fastest I searched for sprint ace Shannon Johnson's wheel hoping to hedge my bets knowing that come the final 300m he would be up near the front. Frustration set in as riders were attacking in hope of surviving to the finish and being caught quickly, but instead of sliding down the side of the bunch they say up in the middle of the road hampering everyone's run to the line. Separated from the ideal wheel I soon saw Shannon on my wheel and tried to move through the bunch to shake him off with no luck. 300m to go and it was flat out and just had to wait and kick by the time I moved Shannon had already kicked and there was no way I was bringing the gap back just kept pushing to hold on for 3rd place.

Stage 2 was a simple 6.5km ITT with the temperature gauge in the car hitting -2 degrees it was a chilly morning. I had an 8:49 start, between needing to warm up and wanting to stay in the car and keep warm it was hard to decide when to start. Feeling frosty in a skinsuit there was no time to slowly build in to the ride it was go from the start. Nothing really to write about such a short TT but it was hard. After 8.26 I was finished and took 5th place which after stage one had me in 4th overall. 

Stage 3 was the stage that I really disliked. I've the past 3 years I've blown up on stage 3 every time. Everything about the day for me was to conserve energy and wait for a sprint finish. Just after the halfway mark of the race a group of 4 jumped away, with no threats to overall there was no urgency in the bunch. As the climb started I moved to the front and just did the very bare minimum to make it to the top. After the climb I was still with the main bunch and decided to wait for the sprint. This time I put myself on Shannon's wheel and no matter who tried to push me off I pushed back harder. Coming into the final kilometre Rowan De Ver was still away solo from the early break, James Butler and Jeremy Cameron hit the bunch with 1km to go, I held on to Shannon's wheel but when he jumped I was half a second too late and there was already a 2 length gap, no bringing that back so I just held on and took 4th across the line. With time bonus' from the sprint and a small gap in the bunch I moved up to 3rd over all now 18 seconds behind leader David Kelly. 

Stage 4 on Monday was delayed until 11am due to the heavy fog, the race was also shortened by a lap from 105km to 83km. The mission for the day was to not lose time and try to hold on for 3rd place knowing that it was going to be difficult to jump past James Butler and David Kelly, nonetheless I had a dig at the first KOM and so did everyone else so I sat up and took it easy enough to stay in tact with the main peloton. Soon enough we got the bell for the final lap, not a lot was happening in the peloton until 2nd place James Butler and Rowan De Ver both of Target Trek began to attack and counter attack David Kelly time and time again hoping that he would soon blow. I sat second wheel do about 15km as Kelly sat on the front setting a constant pace slowly pulling back the pair as the kept on putting in attack after attack, a super impressive display of strength from the Total Rush rider. As we reached the final climb before the final 2km descent into the finish Butler put in a big attack and held a gap, up the final climb we pushed hard and brought him back dropping tour leader Kelly in the process. As we crested the climb I was on the limit and felt as if I was about to pop, the pace didn't ease as Nic Katsonis drove the dwindling bunch down the descent. African Wildlife Safari rider Jeremy Cameron stepped out with 500m to go and hit the front, with a downhill sprint I kicked at 300m and put everything into it. Shannon Johnson moved up beside me and the drag race was on, no one had the lead until the last 15m when Shannon just had that extra revolution that I didn't. 2nd place and with that I moved up to 2nd overall, on 2 seconds off 1st. 

Overall I was surprised that I did so well yet disappointed to have missed out by so little. A massive thank you to my girlfriend Mikaela for doing a lot of the driving to and from the races while I slept, to my family for all of their help over the weekend and everyone from the combine who helped to put he whole weekend on. Last but not least my sponsors at Corsa Cycle Centre, Lightsview and Cervelo for their help and support. 

Adelaide Tour Stage 3

The final stage of the Adelaide tour was set to be flat out. The Budget Forklifts team was only 11 seconds from the lead with Blair Windsor, yet Euride still had three riders on equal time in first position. The KOM and sprint king jerseys had not yet been decided which made for a fast days racing.

Everyone lined up early trying to get prime position on the front of the bunch and fighting for that front position made for a quick start. Straight away I was pushed to the back, not the best position yet nor is it the worst. Being near the front was where everyone wanted to be which is the cause of crashes, ridiculously slow corner speeds and a lot of unnecessary power being wasted. On the back I was able to leave some distance and corner faster, roll a lot more often and just relax, not having to waste the brain power was something I had been working on of late. Attempting to move up one lap I reached the top 30 riders up the Gorge Rd climb and this gave me confidence for later on. I slipped back towards the rear of the peloton and reassumed what I was doing before. 

Only 7 laps into the 22 lap race just after the finish line I had another bout of bad luck with a rear flat. No lap out so when I had the rear wheel it was go time, chasing and chasing but no luck, I tried to survive as long as possible but eventually I was pulled out by the officials.

All in all I had a good weekend, hurt a lot, had a lot of bad luck but there's always next time. A massive thank you to Lightsview and Corsa Cycle Centre for all of their help in setting up the team and the support they have given to everyone in the team.

Adelaide Tour Stage 2

Stage 2 of the Adelaide tour was set to be aggressive beyond belief with only three stages and Budget Forklifts only 16 seconds behind on GC it was on the line for young and old. 160km around the undulating Adelaide hills, I honestly had no idea how far I could go with the bunch especially with all that has happened in the past weeks. 

The race started at a sensible pace for once and with 160km on the cards so I was happy to sit in. Constant attacks coming from Budget Forklifts and Huon Salmon Genesys the pace sat around 50kph as Euride put their whole team on the front to look after their small lead. The pace up the climbs was quite steady as Euride didn't want to blow any of their 'flatlanders' too early in the race. Milling around the front of the bunch there were a few people pushing me around the bunch because they were trying to line the team up behind me. Sitting on the back of the Euride train the touches were happening more and more often honestly making me want to hit someone. Every touch was on my hips where I had my stitches or road rash from crashing. As we headed up the climb and through the feed station for the first time the pace picked up as everyone wanted to be first onto the dirt. Euride led around the corner, no crashes but a few people dropping wheels on the unfamiliar surface. All of a sudden the ride seemed to become a little rockier, a quick look down and move straight to the left of the road, get off the bike, change all the way down the cassette, take the wheel out and wait for a replacement. I did have Budget Forklifts stop offering me a spare wheel but alas 11speed cassettes won't work on a 10speed derailleur. Eventually my team car reached me changed the wheel and I was back on my way. Chasing along the second dirt section was a dream, so many laps across that section and sitting on 60kph was what I was used to. Soon I joined the convoy, worked my way through and back into the bunch just after the finish line to begin the second lap. 

Much the same as the first lap except this time a break established so there was less surging than before. Trying to stay up the front wasn't easy work but easier than moving to the back then chasing back to the front and repeating the process over and over again. This lap for me was so much smoother and a lot less effort which was welcomed. The next lap and a half flew by and I think the first time in the race I looked down and actually read my Garmin, we had done just over 130km in just under 3 hours. 

The final time through the feed station no one really needed a bottle for the last 6km but for some reason people still took food and trying to dodge a rolling 'hand grenade' a few guys went down on the left side of the road. Everyone went everywhere trying to avoid the prang, the extra effort to get going again put my legs into cramp territory (the moment when you know you're going to cramp soon). All of a sudden the legs locked up and I put it in reverse and just tried to get over the final climb on the road before the final two dirt sections. Strava shows that the climb was only 15% except for the last lap where something went wrong, then again the climb did feel like the 34% Strava is displaying. Last section of dirt and then the race was over just rolling in about 5:45 behind the main peloton. Happy to have finished the days racing and impressed with how hard I pushed myself and still managed to hold on until so close to the end. 

Adelaide Tour Stage 1

Wow!! What a way to come back. Today saw the start of the Adelaide Tour, stage 1 was a technical teams time trial down Gorge road, starting in Cuddlee Creek and finishing at the after the roundabout at the bottom, all up a windy 21km race. Riding for my hometown sponsors of Team Lightsview we had local knowledge on our side. 

Warm ups started for each of the guys on the team at close on half past ten, with a quarter past eleven starting time we had just enough to get in a good warm up which was certainly needed. Warmed up, signed on and lined up ready to leave, as soon as we were on our way it was the first climb of the day. Not too steep but hard enough to lose time if not prepared. As we reached the top everyone was pulling good turns, I led through the winding section and with a team of locals who ride the road weekly there was no dropping wheels. Taking tight lines around every corner and keeping the hands away from the brakes we held our pace through each bend. Climb two of the day was where the legs were tested for the first time, keeping a solid pace everyone was able to stay together and roll onto the third climb. Tristan Jones, Michael Stallard and Russell Van Hout were the front three with some of the guys starting to drop the wheel as the heart rate began to rise. 

We moved through the rolling hills keeping the pace pretty high, knowing that soon there would be some respite everyone pushed well into the red to maintain contact. Next section of the course was the descent, it's fast, winding and a bit intimidating if you haven't seen much of the road before. Pushing speeds into the mid 80's, there's not a lot faster to rev. Across the bridge and the road starts to flatten out and so begin the hairpins, all of the guys held single file so well that no one lost any ground around the corners. The 'km to go' signs started to fly by pretty quickly. As I saw 1km to go, I put myself on the front and pushed until there was nothing left with the simple hope that we had saved some time. Turn right around the outside of the roundabout and sprint for the line. 

You could tell by everyone's faces that they had put everything into the ride. Sitting 2nd out of 3 teams the results could have gone any way, team after team came through some faster some slower. Slowly we were pushed down the order to 6th place in the end. A hugely impressive ride by a team where 7 of the 8 riders have a full time job, 50% of the team being eligible to ride masters and many with wives and families. A massive congratulations to all of the guys for an awesome ride today. We beat some good teams today and can only go up from here with more horsepower to joining the team. On behalf of the whole team I'd like to thank Michele Primaro, Steve Nash, Duncan Lock and Alan Miller for all of the time and support they have put into the team. Also thanks must go to Lightsview, Corsa Cycle Centre and Cervelo for helping the team and getting us to where we are today. 

Congratulations to SA locals Euride Racing for taking the win ahead of Budget Forklifts and Huon Salmon - Genesys for filling the podium respectively. The next two days are going to be good so stay tuned.

No one ever wants to be forced to miss a race

We packed everything into bags just roughly enough to fit everything in the car, as we arrived at Brisbane airport to swap from our 8-seat van to a 12-seat bus and a trailer. At the same time we picked up Chris and Melinda Harper as well as Travis Frisby who all joined the team as we planned to head west. Two and a half hours of 'getting to know you' and a bit of sleeping later we had arrived in Toowoomba for our next tour. For most of us this was to be our second NRS tour, so not quite used to everything that goes on and with no real support team around us, the experience was slightly different than racing for any of the bigger teams.

Again we had to unpack the bikes from our bike bags, put them back together and then get out for a ride to help the legs recover from the previous tour. Just out following our senses until it was time to use google maps to get ourselves back to the house, I could say for myself that I was really hoping to get the legs started was tough. Heading home and with only one kilometre to go we had a slight problem, I had a car pull out in front of me. Lots of yelling and pain later the ambulance arrived later to find me laying on the ground. Everything was happening so quick with paramedics testing me and asking questions before loading me into the back of the ambulance and rushing me into the hospital. I Thought I'd still be fine to race, feeling bruised with the usual gravel rash on one hip it seemed that everything could be alright, until all the news came at once and I knew racing wasn't an option. My bike had been snapped in three places so there was no bike to ride, then the doctor came in and had a look at what I thought was a corky on my left leg only to tell me I had taken a twenty cent piece size chunk out of my leg and I would need stitches. After that it was obvious, no racing for me. Arriving back to the house everyone was a massive help, juiced up on pain killers and barely being able to walk the guys really helped out with everything I needed.

The race started on Thursday with a rolling stage with William Walker taking a very good win and most of the guys finishing in the lead bunch. Except for Dave Parsons who was unfortunately a casualty from the days racing, coming off early in the race and being taken to hospital to be patched up and also have stitches put in his lip. Stage two was set to be a day that helps decide GC, with the final climb taking place up Bunya mountain. Going to the second KOM then racing to get to the finish before the riders got there, I had to give Melinda a crash course in convoy driving as we were two cars off the back. We then left the peloton as they headed west and we went straight to the finish. The stage came down to a sprint finish, with Nathan Earle taking the win ahead of young talent Matt Clarke. Another early stage crash saw Veneziano Blefari rider Andrew Clarkson come down and he was third rider out of the race from our team, at this rate we weren't going to have anyone finish the tour.

Stage three was a team time trial and with no real time trialling prowess in the team the decision was made to take the ride as a recovery spin in preparation for the afternoon's stage four. The profile painted relatively flat picture, with no such thing as an easy NRS race reports told us that the whole day was spent in the gutter with only a group of forty forming the front bunch. As the peloton entered the final lap of Toowoomba's specially built crit course every single rider looked ruined but it was Team Polygon's Ben Grenda who had enough left in the tank to take the win. Luckily no one came off but we did have Travis Frisby retire from the race due to fatigue. The final stage of the tour was set on the edge of town around a 2.4km circuit. an attacking race but no one was allowed to get out of sight. In the end it was Neil Van De Ploeg taking the win.

The whole experience was one that I certainly won't go forgetting ever, the trip away was my first NRS race, my first big crash and one of the first times my horoscope has applied to life. I spent two weeks away with some great guys and I'll certainly be back to race NRS soon.

Lost to the Battle

Upon arriving in Brisbane, picking up the hire car, driving to our accommodation and putting our bikes together, I saw on channel 7's 'Morning Show' my horoscope for the week. As a cancerian, it was predicted that I would spend time and create bonds with people who I did not know and endure experiences that would leave me hungry for more.

I was to be guest riding with the Adelaide based Veneziano Blefari Cycling Team, a group of guys who I had never really met until the airport, and never really talked to besides organisation of the trip. We were first travelling south of Brisbane to race the 'Battle on the Border' before heading back to the airport to pick up two other riders and a parent to help drive the team bus for us, then heading inland to race the 'Tour of Toowoomba'.

Going in to The 'Battle on the Border' I knew that I was going alright seeing as only the week before I had finished 7th on GC at the 'Tour of the South West', but as this was my first race at an NRS level I planned to take baby steps to start with. We arrived at our beautiful accommodation organised by acting team manager Lachlan Ambrose, bikes were the first order of business. Beds were claimed by riders and bikes unpacked we began to have a look around the masterpiece that we would call home for the next week. A beachside, three story townhouse only 250m from the beach. A massive chapeau to Lachlan for booking the house without blowing the budget.

Every stage of Battle on the Border was flat out, no one was being allowed to get away whether on the flat or uphill the pace was on. Despite knowing this on the second stage I attempted to break away, successful for around ten minutes I was caught just before the base of the days first K.O.M., this is when I knew I made a mistake. The rest of the day was spent solo and stuck in 'Struggletown' and despite my best efforts, I was forced to DNF. Not quite the way I wanted to ride my first NRS tour but every event has a reason a moment to learn from. The rest of the tour I spent look out for the rest of the guys on the Veneziano Blefari team, making everything as easy as possible for the guys. A really good showing by every one in the team, very impressed with all the guys that rode especially seeing as this is the very first race ridden by the Veneziano Blefari team.

Battle on the Border Stage 1

Oh wow, that was a hard day in the saddle. The day started slowly with a 10 o'clock race start. As we were riding down the Pacific Hwy under neutral no cars were allowed to stop to service riders therefore the race was stopped so everyone was able to start together. 

As the race restarted I moved straight to the front hoping for a break to go away, after 10km of attacking and being bought back I started to feel like I was struggling so I made the conscious decision to move to the back and relax. As this is my first tour I decided to make sure that I actually finish. After around 30km there was shouting and screeching I looked up the road and headed for the grass, a motorbike that was trying to move through to the front of the peloton had apparently stalled collecting a few riders before falling over and taking down even more. I followed the wheel of William Walker through the thick grass and back on to the road to begin chasing the front group back. Soon after the race was neutralised so that everyone was able to rejoin the peloton. For around 10km the race rolled through town after town with people parked on the side of the road taking photos as we passed by. Up and over the KOM was very quick the pace was touching on 30kph as we climbed up and over the hill towards the turn around. The pace seemed to steady as the road flattened out sitting on close to 45kph until we headed back over the KOM in the reverse direction. Second time over the KOM was in fact the steeper side yet the pace was no different. With a break of twelve establishing themselves over the top of the climb and that was the break for the day. As we descended towards the finishing climb the peloton stretched into a single file and just try to hold on. The road started to climb skywards and everyone started to slow. As this sort of terrain isn't really my cup of tea I decided to back off and climb a steady tempo to the top. This in turn played into my favour, towards the end of the climb I found myself creeping past person after person. As I reached the top I put in just a little dig to get myself past another four riders, overall it may not seem like much but it is a small person win. 

All in all the first day of racing of my first NRS tour was a seriously hard day. Time to recover and get ready for the next three days of racing. 

What a Windy Weekend

My Tour of the South West  journey began with packing the car on Thursday night, with a 6am departure Friday morning from Adelaide. I wanted to wake up as late as possible and simply jump in the car and leave. The tour marked my first open tour that I was racing A grade, up against many guys that will be going on to race the NRS series. With my trip to Queensland coming up soon I knew I had to put in a good weekends racing before heading north.

Stage 1

The first stage was a 102km road race around a 17km circuit with K.O.M. and intermediate sprints each lap. Starting at 10:30am the day was already beginning to warm up, with the wind starting to pick up as well. As all 109 riders lined up in the marshalling area, it was made clear that the race would be

on as soon as the countdown started, sure enough it was. With the neutral zone lasting 100m there was no time to get settled, the peloton was whittled down to about 50 guys in the first 6km. The first time up the K.O.M. was flat out, down and around the corner and the bunch hit the crosswind and everyone was everywhere looking for somewhere to hide from the 50kph wind gusts. I wasn't the only person who ended up on the grass from being blown across the road. Crossing the line after the first lap and the peloton now looked more like a break away with only twenty or so guys left. Most of the work was being done by the African Wildlife Safari team, Eric Sheppard (Search2Retain-Health), Brenton Jones (Huon Genesys) and Scott Mcphee (Euride Racing). Lap after lap the story was the same thing, easy in the headwind and tailwind but as soon as there was a crosswind everyone was in the gutter fighting to stay on the wheel in front. Coming into the bell lap we were caught again by a group of 25 other riders, only a few kilometres later the move was made and two groups of four went up the road, so I made the decision and put myself in the gutter and went hard and didn't stop until i was on the back of the group. with only nine of us away I was confident that I could hold on as we headed towards the finish. with 5km to go a group of 6 riders came across and that was it the pace was on so no one else would be able to make it. as we headed past the 4km to go Eric Sheppard and James Butler (Target Trek) jumped off the front, the African Wildlife Safari team jumped on the front and the pace picked up with 1km to go and it was just a matter of survival to make it to the finish line. In the end I finished 8th across the line 22 seconds behind the eventual winner Eric Sheppard. A bloody hard race that barely let up all day but there was still a TT to get ready for in the afternoon.

Strava Data from the road race:

http://app.strava.com/activities/50930797

Stage 2

The second stage of the day was a 12.7km individual time trial, with such a tough stage in the morning the only people pushing the pace were those who were in contention for overall honours and time trial specialists. Unfortunately for me the wind had picked up to a steady 45kph with gusts that reportedly reached 70kph, this was also my first race on my new Cervelo P5 three. With a rear disc wheel and wanting to use an Enve Smart 6 front wheel unfortunately almost being blown off the road setting up the bike so I decided to go with a Bontrager Aelous D3.

My warm up consisted of trying to recover as much as possible and get warm for the race ahead. Flat out from the gun was the way to go with such a short TT and just hold on, the wind was howling so I just had to hold on and keep pushing. After only 1500 meters my legs started to cramp and I knew

I was in trouble. Eventually reaching the tailwind section and the pace picked up hitting a maximum speed of 70kph and then turn into a crosswind that felt more like a headwind. around a few more bends and uphill to the finish line. feeling pretty dirty with myself for how I performed I set about warming down and then heading to the beach to have a swim and cool the muscles down. In this stage I finished 14th and managed to move up one position to 7th overall one minute and two seconds behind Eric Sheppard.

Strava data from the TT:

http://app.strava.com/activities/50930784

Stage 3

Sunday morning was a slow and lazy start to the day with racing not starting until 2pm. This gave me time in the morning to catch up with some of the guys riding masters A grade who were part of the original coffee shop bunch I rode into the city with every weekend while I was just starting out.

The race started off the same as every other stage, flat out. With the course laid out over 1.2km and 400m of climbing at 6% each lap this was going to be a tough race. the first few laps I spent dodging wheels after being caught up at the back. when the pace settled I dropped to the back and stopped battling for single positions in the middle of the bunch and decided to ride my own race. by moving to the back I was able to lose a few metres in the straight and hold more pace than the guys in front of me through the corner and up the hill. With six laps to go I took a bit of extra pace into the corner and moved up into 5th wheel behind Shannon Johnson, the only problem was everyone else wanted to be there as well. A few pushes and bumps later and we were both sitting 20th wheel, I tried to hold the wheel but just got pushed backwards with three laps to go where I just decided to sit on the back and finish with the bunch and out of trouble which I did and claimed my 7th place on GC. 

Strava data from the crit:

http://app.strava.com/activities/51286526

I would firstly like to thank the sponsors of the Tour of the South West and all of the teams and riders who participated on the weekend as well as the sponsors that continue to help me make racing possible. Secondly to my dad for making the drive down to Warrnambool so we could spend some more time together. Last but not least I'd like to thank Mikaela my girlfriend for doing a majority of the driving from Adelaide and back, as any cyclist knows the drive home after a weekend of racing can take a long time when stopping to sleep, and having someone to help makes life so much easier.

The whole weekend was an experience that has shown me what racing at the national level is going to be like. I honestly cannot wait until I have the opportunity to perform in the sport I love on an even bigger stage. 

My review of the Cervelo P5 three

I have purchased from my local bike shop a Cervelo P5 three. First impressions when looking at this bike is for me "how is this legal?". Such a large seat tube gets you wondering how the engineers at Cervelo interpret this as three to one, yet the UCI legal sticker quells all fears. With the P5 being the big brother of Cervelo's flagship P3 and quirky P4, there are big shoes to fill when it comes to the performance of the bike. I will be going through the details of the bike after only riding it once, this is all about first impressions.

The Frameset
The only way to describe the P5 three frameset is difficult at best. The weight when you lift up bike seems a bit on the heavier side, but once you throw a leg over and start to ride the weight seems to disappear. Accelerating is easy, you have the ability to get out of the saddle and push the bike around without feeling like you're being over powered by the sheer weight of the bike. The UCI legal forks look like they aren't going anywhere, the bottom bracket junction is beefy and feels like all of the power is transferred through to the rear wheel. In fact I must compliment the bike on the stiffness and performance of the frame, there is no flex in the frame whatsoever. With minimal flex you can really feel how rough the road is below you, every bump in the road seems to hit you hard especially across the shoulders, not so much through the saddle though. As for handling, all time trial bikes are built for straight line speed and this is made very apparent when trying to turn the P5 three. Take turns wide as this bike isn't as whippy as a road bike and will take some getting used to before hitting the corners at maximum pace. When tucked in the aero position the bike feels stable when the wind is hitting from all directions, it's a strange feeling but the bike feels like it was built around having good stability when in an aero tuck. The Cervelo P5 three is a stiff and stable frame when in race position, when sitting with hands on the bullhorns the bike feels slightly sluggish but get out of the seat and the bike accelerates as if riding an S5 VWD.

Cockpit
The standard P5 three is assembled with 3T components namely the 3T Aura aerobars, however I used a set of 3T Mistral Pro bars that I had from my days riding the team pursuit on the track. The reason behind this decision is solely based on a change in position. The Aura bars may be slightly lighter but the Mistral bars allow you to place the extensions underneath the base bar and by placing the arm pads on the base bar I am able to get an overall lower position. Accessorised with SRAM S900 shifters, nothing amazing about them but they do the job well. The big talking point about the P5 is the hydraulic brakes, with the P5 being one of the first bikes sold standard with hydraulic brakes I thought wise to mention them. Many bike companies seem to believe that having the brakes hidden under the bottom bracket can effect the stopping power. With the Magura RT 6TT brakes 'oh how they are wrong', the only problem I initially had with these brakes is previous experience. My previous TT bike lacked any sort of stopping power, the first time I used the brakes I found myself in a double wheel lockup. Caution, care should be exercised when applying these Magura brakes because unlike many other time trial specific brakes, they work and very well. Cervelo supplies with its bike, a quality cockpit as standard with the bike but the standout is definitely Magura's hydraulic brakes.

Drivetrain
There is nothing that stands out about the drivetrain supplied standard by Cervelo. SRAM S900 bar end shifters get the job done, SRAM front and rear derailleurs add to the look of the bike with the red accents. The cranks that come with the bike are a set of Rotor 3D+ Aero cranks, the interesting point about these cranks is, they are 167.5mm cranks. Cervelo has gone against the convention of longer cranks for more leverage and have replaced them with shorter cranks giving the rider the ability to get a lower front end. All up the cranks are really the only change between the P5 and any other time trial bike.

Wheelset
The bike arrived with Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels, a brand of wheels that I have never ridden before. The wheels are certainly from first impressions good training wheels and perhaps racing on if you don't want to use your good wheels. They roll well, accelerate about as well as any other basic training wheel eg. fulcrum racing 5.

Overall
Overall this bike is insanely fast. Everything seems to have been designed to perfection, put the power down and the bike takes off. I can't wait to race this bike and see how it performs with race wheels fully kitted out to see how fast this bike really is. The Cervelo P5 three is honestly the fastest bike I have ridden and when race kit is applied I'm sure it'll be even faster.

This weekend I will be racing the Tour of the South West as a part of the Victorian Road Series. A 102km road race Saturday morning, a 12km time trial on Saturday afternoon and an hour long criterium on Sunday. With such close racing planned for the weekend there is no doubt that the time trial will play a critical role in the overall standings. This bike leaves no excuses, the best bike possible and the best opportunity to show how good it is.

2 from 2 at Glenvale

Starting out on a sunny yet cold morning on my way along Springvale road to my second Glenvale crit I was hoping for more of a race this time around. Last weekend was good but not quite the standard I was looking for a tougher race this week would prove helpful in preparation for the Tour of the South West in a weeks time. With no Baw Baw Classic and no NRS tours on this weekend I was expecting a stronger field and that is what was delivered. 53 riders showed up on the start line, this included Alex Morgan (Jayco AIS World Tour Academy), Brenton Jones (Huon Genesys), Stuart Smith (Search2Retain Health) along with riders from the African Wildlife Safari squad and close to a dozen riders from the Bob Kelly Coaching program.

The race started off slowly but by the second lap one rider was off the front trying to go solo less than three minutes into the race. Not long after did a group of 6 including myself break away to build a solid group of 7 riders, we started working hard together straight away. Soon after we were joined by another group of 8 riders still continuing to work hard after half an hour of racing my average power was sitting at 294 watts. All of a sudden we could see the back of the A grade field then a truck entered and we had to sit up allowing another group of 10 to catch us. With a field of twenty five to thirty riders with only twenty minutes to go I attacked solo, not looking at my speed or heart rate I concentrated solely on my power output and keeping it steady. This was one of the very first times I actually worried about what my power output was and it does honestly make time trialling easier. With less than five minutes to go I turned around to see a group of seven working to come across to me, I sat up and waited to join the bunch and try my luck in a sprint. Not knowing how good the guys in the bunch were in a straight line I was unsure of how the race would turn out. As the bell rang James Rendall (African Wildlife Safaris) hit the front and drove the break across the top of the course and down the back straight, with two African Wildlife Safari guys in the break Daniel Nelson was going to be the team sprinter. With less than 50 meters until the final corner Brendan Rowbotham (Hampton Cycles) and Drew Morey (Park Trent) jumped around the outside of the field, I put myself into third position as we rounded the corner, the wind was blowing from right to left so I headed straight to the left hand gutter hoping no one would be able to get onto my wheel. I just put my head down and kicked for the line and was happy to come away with the win.

A great days racing seemed to be had by all and this couldn't have been made possible without the volunteers making it possible for us to race and Carnegie Caulfield Cycling club for hosting yet another great days racing. I would personally like to thank my sponsors as well for the continued support from Lightsview, CIC Australia and Corsa Cycle Centre. Fingers crossed for next week and hopefully a good showing at the Tour of the South West.

Review of a theory not a product

After meeting who I believe is one of the nicest guys going around at the Tour Down Under I did a bit of reading on the man and this is a review of a theory not a product.

Out for a ride along the beach during a sunny January day I was passed by the Lotto-Belisol team and began talking with Australia's own Adam Hansen. Instead of just 'fobbing' me off as some tourist looking to ride with the pros, he talked and listened to me and my story. After this I saw an interview with Adam in RIDE magazine, after reading this I decided to try out a theory he mentioned, which is one of narrow bars. I originally rode 44cm c-c bars and after much deliberation and thinking I purchased a set of 38cm c-c bars.

Through a bit of logical thinking, physics and maths I believe that narrower bars are beneficial to a cyclists performance.  Logical thinking says that narrower bars bring the hands closer together and in front of the body creating a more aerodynamic form as well as being able to fit through smaller gaps in the bunch. Maths and physics shows that there is less leverage, distance and upper body strength needed to create the same motion as a wider bar.

Past all the theory the real test is, does it work in the real world? Personally I think the answer is yes. Climbing on the tops for me is really no different because my hands sit quite close to the stem. Riding on the hoods is slightly different but after a few hours I am now used to the new position. In the drops actually feels better than ever, coming from a track background I like the twitchy, move at anytime feel of the bike and the narrow bars give me that feeling. Sprinting is on a whole different level, first time going for an all out sprint was against Shannon Johnson, not quite the best person to test things against. I felt a bit awkward, a bit uncoordinated at first but Sunday putting the power down in a sprint out of the last corner in a crit I felt at home again. The bike seems stiffer, more responsive and just all round faster.

In finishing, the feeling may take some time to get used to but definitely in my eyes worth while when wanting a more responsive ride then this is an easy, cheap and effective way of bettering your ride.

Glenvale Crits 14/4/13

Beginning at a very leisurely 8:30 in the morning I took my time leaving the house after studying Google maps so I knew how to get to my first Glenvale Crit. With the race beginning at 10:15 I gave myself plenty of time to make the 30km trip to the race. With many of the regulars either racing in Perth, at Baw Baw or not at all only a field of 30 lined up for an hour of pain.

The race started slowly and began to shift into top gear after five minutes, with attacks beginning to flow quickly and constantly, there didn't seem to be a moment of the race where the pace slowed up or there wasn't someone off the front. Everyone seemed to have a turn at attacking the peloton but it was a tactful move from Haydn Bradbury (Croydon Cycleworks) and David Sturt (The Hurt Box) that decided the race outcome. With Bradbury and Sturt putting in a strong attack to move clear by almost 30 seconds at one point, Jack Hickey (Avanti Plus) and myself attacked the peloton to build a gap up the front straight. Down the back straight I put my foot down and rode straight across to the duo up the road just in time to receive the three laps to go sign. With the three of us pulling strong turns it was evident that we would stay away but as the bell rang the foxing began, whilst also having to be careful of Jordan Stannus (Seight) and Warren Knevitt (Omara Cycles) bridging the gap behind. Stannus made the back of the group as we rounded the final corner while Knevitt attacked around the outside. Bradbury started to drag race Knevitt up the final straight, with Knevitt in the gutter and Bradbury moving to the centre of the road I took the centre line and kicked hard, not stopping until I knew the win was mine. Another great day of racing with another good result.

A big thank you once again to Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club and all their volunteers for making the racing possible as well as my sponsors who make it possible for me to race.

Strava data below:

http://app.strava.com/activities/48694997

"Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get."

Was it 'hell'?

Did the 2013 version of the 'Hell of the West' really live up to its name? in short, no.

Arriving at the Balliang town hall at nine o'clock on Saturday morning, the weather was certainly going to play a huge factor in the race. The wind was blowing a gale, a 3km gravel section and a 20% climb there were plenty of cards to play. Shannon Johnson was the overwhelming favourite to win the race with his blistering sprint but only if he could get up the climb with the front bunch. 

As the race started we were sent straight into a headwind before turning left and lining the whole peleton out into a single file. Up Granite hill the climbing legs were tested with a small attack but nothing bunch breaking, a slippery corner later and we were driving along the gravel and people were everywhere. Taking inspiration from a lot of Adelaide Tour recon on the gravel and drove the front of the peleton where we formed a group of 8 and pushed on through the crosswind almost to the base of the days big climb where we were joined by another group of 8 totalling 16 for the days climb. The pace was certainly very easy until we hit the 20% gradient where I put in a small dig to try and get a smaller group together and away to the finish, unfortunately the effort was in vein but we did get a group of 8 away and thats how it stayed to the finish. With a tailwind finish it was always going to be fast. One Giant rider attacked with about a kilometer to go and Shannon was straight onto the move putting himself in seond wheel and myself into fourth wheel behind Peter Smith of Giant Satalyst who I just hoped could kick at close to the speed of Shannon. I was wrong, the sprint started when Shannon kicked with around 250 metres to go, Shannon got a two bike length gap and started to take off when Target Trek's Dean Sanfilippo jumped down the other side of the road and then it was my turn to kick. 

Lock your core, grip the bars tight, finger at the ready and give the cranks all you've got. 1,336 watts later I was moving around Peter then Dean and coming at Shannon quickly only to be meters too late missing out on the win by a wheel. All in all the days racing was good fun. 

A big thank you to the Northern Combine and all the volunteers for making the days racing possible. I would also like to thank my father for taking me out to the race today as well as Lightsview, Corsa Cycle Center, CIC Australia and Cervelo Australia for the ongoing support without I wouldn't be racing.

For today's race data click the link below:

http://app.strava.com/activities/48522620

Night Before Hell

The Hell of the West is the Northern Combiner's version of Paris-Roubaix. This morning I woke up nervous and excited about seeing my family for the first time in a while, I was awake at 3:30, slightly earlier than the five o'clock wake up I had anticipated but decided not to waste time. It was straight into the car at four o'clock on the nose, waving goodbye to Mikaela was tough knowing that I wouldn't be seeing her for the entire holidays. The first five hours were plain sailing with no one on the road, the time and kilometres seemed to just fly by. With an eight hour drive from Adelaide to Melbourne in my legs and because of leaving so early I arrived home in time to get a quick 60km spin in before dinner. Pasta for dinner while lying on the floor and rolling my legs out I am just doing my best to get ready for a tough race ahead.

Last time I raced the Hell of the West, was half way through 2011 around the time of mid year exams I hadn't ridden a bike for about 4 months and decided to race C grade. Much to the anger of many fellow racers I lined up to give it my best crack. 1st place went to someone else, fifteen miutes later I crossed the line in dead last place, and yet still people thought I should be racing A grade. Lets just hope that this time around there is a different result all together.

"Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work"

Home For The Holidays

Today marks the last day in the sunny south state before heading home for the South Australian school holidays. After not seeing mum, dad and the rest of the family properly since Christmas I'm starting to miss them again. Best of all I'll be able to get in some good training and racing. With nothing to do, no distractions like uni or work for two weeks, the weekdays will be good for training and with the extensive racing calendar in VIC, extra racing never hurt. With 3 tours over three weeks now is the time to get some hard double days on the bike before double days of racing starts.

Two weeks in Victoria finishing with the Tour of the South West, its back to Adelaide on Sunday night washing and packing again before flying out on Wednesday morning to the actual sunshine state for my first crack at the NRS with 'Battle on the Border' and 'Tour of Toowoomba' .

Also with lot of racing and a new bike coming I know this page will be getting busy with reports and reviews.

"Success is being knocked down nine times and getting up ten"

Why 57?

No one has asked but I've decided to answer the questions before they come. I started riding a bike by my second birthday, started riding on the Brunswick velodrome at the age of six. Under the watchful eye of Alan Grindal I moved through the grades over the years and then moved on to the next phase. This was for me purchasing a racing lisence and beginning racing on the road as a second year under fifteen. I certainly wasn't the largest kid on the block which made winning much harder and so much sweeter, this just fueled my passion for competition and winning.

As a first year under 17 I began to be coached by Brad Robbins who instantly bought the best out of me shown through winning the Victorian Road Race Championships in a solo breakaway over what can only be described as a classy field, with the likes of Calvin Watson and George Tansley filling the minor placings. This is where the number 57 arose. Not only is the 5th of July my birthday but on the day of my Victorian Championships win I was number 57, this win is also my favourite win ever.

Finally every cyclist has a race that they would dream of winning, for me it isn't the Paris - Roubaix or Tour de France but in fact the Grafton - Inverell. With the man (Alan Grindal) who taught me the craft of riding a bike winning the inaugural edition of the Grafton - Inverell I believe that as a tribute to Alan I hope to win the one day race hopefully in the near future so I am able to share the victory with a man that whom without I'm not sure if I would be where I am today.