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.