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.

Getting Started

My name is Shaun O'Callaghan and I am a 19 year old cyclist originally from Melbourne. I moved to Adelaide to chase my dreams of being a cyclist. Studying Mechanical Engineering at the the University of South Australia in my second year. My dream is to be paid to race my bike, if not, be paid to design sports equipment helping athletes push the boundaries of what's physically possible.

So that's the basics about me and stay tuned to see my thoughts, reports, previews and perhaps a few sea views. follow me on:

Twitter  www.twitter.com/shaunocall

Instagram www.instagram.com/shaunocall

Strava www.strava.com/athletes/252000

Until next time, train hard and race harder.