June 2013 Wrap - TTs, TV, & Tweets

A lot of what we've been up to has been covered on Twitter and Facebook, but I've thrown together a summary for the site here for those who are in web-only land.

Magnetic Island - Beach holidays!

A few days with family on the island after the Wang Tour was a great break from winter in Melbourne.

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Kew TT - Blackburn CC. Zonta Group TT Round 4. June 16th 2013.

From 28°C on a beach to 2°C and a damp course in Kew. My numbers were good after six days off the bike, just not good enough to stop a stomping Dave Kelly coming in 1st place with a 29:12. 2nd place for me at 29:32. Thanks to Contour and The Peloton Cafe I captured my entire ride on film/SD card!

Full Results: http://www.bbn.org.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=138560  (PDF)

Photo op with Hayden Veld (BBN CC), winner of F grade!

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CV Open ITT: Harcourt / Castlemaine CC. June 23rd 2013.

This course is a sleeping gorilla. You don't realise how tough it is until you're out of the saddle grinding at full gas... only 3.8km into the race! We were sprung with an additional 5km on the start line, meaning we'd be doing 25km not 20. With still conditions and the lovely HED3 front wheel, I managed 1st place in Elite. Ace!

Photo (c) jxpphotography.com

Photo (c) jxpphotography.com

Event Photos: http://jxpphotography.com/2013-castlemaine-itt/

Cycling Victoria Event Wrap/Results: Link

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Geelong TT - 23km. June 29th 2013.

Only a 'clubby' race but when you're up against someone who is never too far behind on the results, it is game on 100%! The circuit is getting rougher every race, really sapping any rhythm you get into. Lap 2 was a bone shaker. 1st place. I didn't quite make the 1 minute catch on Nick Squillari (AWS) who had the Contour camera on for the race.

Full Results: MyLaps

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GreenWedge Photochop

After 7,500 Tweets one of them has hit the mark. The photo I 'shopped after seeing the GreenEDGE bus get wedged under the Stage 1 finish line at the tour did the rounds on Le Tour Prologue (Fox Sports), Cycling Central, GreenEDGE's own Backstage Pass, CyclingTips Facebook, even a few GreenEDGE riders re-tweeting it. Only a few gave credit to where the photo came from. Interesting to see how the popularity game works on social media with the 'big players'. (I watermarked the image so I could see who ripped it)

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Le Tour Prologue - Fox Sports / YouTube

Von and I were a part of the Strava segment on Fox Sports' "Le Tour Prologue" last week. We had a blast filming up Yarra St, then going into the studio to talk about Strava with the panel. Despite what I said on the show, it was 'made for television'. I'm no Strava addict, not any more. I must have come across pretty convincing as I've had to explain to a few people that it was a bit of a piss take. 

Behind the scenes - Von!

Behind the scenes - My own fluffer!

Control room - Busy place!

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I AM Specialized!

Yep! I've been on a Shiv and SL4 Tarmac for the last 12 months and loved them, so I was keen to get on board with Specialized. A few phone calls and emails later and I'll be throwing my leg over these machines for a while yet!

2013 Metro Champs, May Kew TT, Kit Giveaway!

The 2013 Metro Road Champs were back in Harcourt and back onto the extended Sutton Grange loop that was missed last year due to road resurfacing. 80km to be covered for the combined MMAS1/2 field. Adam Versteege (Zoom Video Racing) MMAS1 spent around 45km dangling off the front of the bunch. With two different championships in one race, he wasn't a rider I had to worry about, it was up to the other MMAS1 riders to chase. A few accelerations by MMAS1 riders were covered by other MMAS2 riders, so I kept those in check. A few of us finally started rolling turns at 50km into the race.... for 3km until someone rolled through like a steam train and blew the harmony. Luckily it was a bike race, not a singing contest.

With 16km left to race and the always decisive hill coming up, I threw away the idea of trying to win and went to the front and got on the gas. Smart move? No. Good timing? Yep. A few kms to string out the bunch before stomping up the climb. Across the top we had 4-5 left, sweeping up Versteege in the process. With 6km to go Nick Youngs (Zoom Video / MMAS2) puts in an acceleration that I jumped across to. No reaction from the others. "Let's do this" was the agreement. A few kms later we were out of sight. I swung off the front at 800m from the line. Youngs lead out and opened up the sprint. With a few rounds of Carl Brewer's ABOC Sprint Series a few years back still up my sleeve I kicked for the win. After throwing the idea of winning out the window 16kms before and just riding the bike as hard as I could - I was pretty happy with the result.

Cycling Victoria wrap up (and results)
Jo Upton Metros Photos

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Back to Kew the next morning for an over-and-under ball breaker TT with Blackburn CC. The good conditions we unequally matched with not so good legs. Thankfully the other hitters on the A Grade start list were in the same boat. Tom Leaper (Croydon CycleWorks) had smoked a massive 170km on the day prior, and Dave Kelly (Total Rush) had been lighting up the dance floor at a wedding just a few hours prior to hitting the start line. I've been doing TTs against these guys for a few years, so I'd overlooked who was knocking on the door at the last round. The next generation are coming! Specifically Oscar Stevenson and Tom Russel. Oscar had ridden a 29:59 for his first TT at Kew last round. Thankfully these guys have been spotted a few months ago by Kosdown team boss and are both team mates.

A Grade
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  1    1    MILLER, SHANE              29:19     29:19 Coburg Cycling Club Inc    
  2   13    STEVENSON, OSCAR           29:31        13 Hawthorn Cycling Club       
  3   19    KELLY, DAVID               29:58        40 St Kilda Cycling Club Inc   
  4   22    RUSSEL, TOM                30:14        56 Hawthorn Cycling Club   
  5    2    LEAPER, TOM                30:27     01:09 Blackburn Cycling Club Inc  
  6    5    LANE, STEPHEN              30:38     01:19 Coburg Cycling Club Inc    
  7    4    ARETA, JOSE                30:51     01:33 Coburg Cycling Club Inc  
  8    3    CAIN, JOHN                 30:55     01:36 Carnegie Caulfield CC 
  9   12    ROSS , MATTHEW             30:55     01:36 Carnegie Caulfield CC     
 10   15    DONOHOE, ALISTAIR          31:13     01:54 Blackburn Cycling Club Inc

Full Results

Four Kosdown riders in the top 6. Ace! I was a few seconds off my time last round, good enough for my 10th A Grade TT win at Kew over the years.... but as I said, the next generation are coming! Oscar's time in 2nd place is only a few seconds off Alex Morgan's previous course record that stood for a few years. Tom will crack the 30 minute barrier this season too.

I think my words were - Watch out for this kid!

With the little help from an anonymous artist, we've graphed the Winning A Grade times over the last few years. Very interesting to see the downward trend of the times. Sub 30 minutes in dry conditions is the new benchmark.

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I've been supported by Kosdown since 2009, amassing an impressive wardrobe of team kit over the years. There is only so much 'training kit' I can use in a week, so it was time to do something with it.

A few weeks back I put the word out on Facebook that I'd send a top to anyone who'd wear it, and who'd send me a picture of them wearing it. The kit was gone in about an hour....

Trip #2 to the post office...

Now the pics are starting to flow in! It'll be good to see this kit out and about again.

Smiths Gully!

Tony Reeckman - 10/10 for creativeness!

Ben Culton rocking the K - 427m above sea level!

Blackburn CC / Zonta Kew ITT - April 21st 2013

NRS riders don't just show up to big races and expect to do well. On any given weekend they're plugging away at club events getting valuable race 'sham time'. The Blackburn CC ITT at Kew is no different. A Grade always contains a number of well known riders who are up to the task of one of the toughest 20km TT courses in the country.

Although they're the fastest, they're always outnumbered by the other grades. 107 riders hit the start line today across all grades (A to F). 107. This is a phenomenal turnout for a club time trial. Blackburn CC and the Zonta Group (series sponsors) have a formula that works. Early starts, an accessible course right in the city, a good spread of grades, and a $15 entry fee. Holding 4-5 TTs over the series on the course means anyone of any level can challenge themselves to better their PBs. Add to that sunshine, cool conditions, and we have a perfect event..... although the coffee cart was missing today. :(

SLane dressed up as Chris Hoy in his Kask.

Back to A Grade - Representatives were there from NRS teams Charter Mason, Croydon Cycleworks, Search2Retain, BikeBug, African Wildlife Safaris. Also club level teams Giant Celtic, Kosdown, along with solo riders representing their clubs. Not bad. Notable absentee was Tom "160km motorpace yesterday" Leaper who'd Tweeted in his DNS late last night. Blackburn had me off last chasing Tom, so now I was chasing both Trevor and Jason Spenser at 1min and 1:30.

Who needs a Kask when your head is already shaped like one?
Still keen to try one in testing though...I want to see the numbers!

Lap 1 was a struggle. I'm still getting over Baw Baw last Sunday (physically and mentally). My lap split at the first turn was well up on where I expected. Back to work on the return leg for a first lap just over 14 minutes. At the final turn I knew I was within 30 seconds of Jason Spenser who had put in a sub 30 minute TT on this course before. The final 5 km is a fine balance of leaving it all out on the road but not blowing up on the two final climbs. After a dance with a car and other riders, I was on the final stretch and knew I might be within the course record set by Alex Morgan in 2011 of 29:26. One last time check at 250m to go. Wow, shit! I was well up! Sprint! My Garmin stopped at just over 29mins. Official time 29:07.

I managed the the win, and a PB by 33 seconds. My first ever TT was at Kew, 8 years ago almost to the day. I've been chipping away at those Kew TTs every year hovering around the 30 minute mark. Today was a true breakthrough. It didn't hurt any more than the others, I didn't ride it much differently, I just went a little faster. It is these improvements through training that keep me motivated. I hope everyone else who set PBs or posted their first time are as keen as me to get back on the start line in round 3 and do it all again, faster!

Time for a new skin suit... This one has been pulled on a few too many times.

A Grade Top 10:

 1    1    MILLER, SHANE      29:07   29:07 Coburg Cycling Club Inc
 2    2    SPENCER, JASON     29:44      37 Blackburn Cycling Club Inc
 3   13    STEVENSON, OSCAR   29:59      52 Hawthorn Cycling Club   
 4    9    SHEPPARD, ERIC     30:18   01:12 Carnegie Caulfield CC 
 5   12    SQUILLARI, NICK    30:32   01:25 Geelong West Cycling Club Inc
 6    4    CAIN, JOHN         30:36   01:29 Carnegie Caulfield CC
 7    8    ROSS, MATT         30:37   01:30 Carnegie Caulfield CC
 8   14    JOHNSON, BEN       30:38   01:32 Footscray Cycling Club Inc
 9   17    RUSSEL, TOM        30:40   01:33 Hawthorn Cycling Club
10    6    LANE, STEPHEN      31:04   01:58 Coburg Cycling Club Inc

Full Results
John Cain's race report. With GoPro video!
Strava Linky of my ride

Two Kosdown riders the top 3. Four in the top 10. The team boss was pretty happy with that news today. Always good to see our young chargers lining up at TTs and putting in 100%.

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Coming up....

Tour of the South West - This coming weekend. Part of Cycling Victoria's state road series. I'm looking forward to that 12km ITT stage. I was warned the crit was brutal too. Can't wait!

South Australia State TT Champs (the following weekend) - If I can sneak across the border again this year, I'm there. Dead flat out and back. Well worth the 1,400km round trip! Anyone else keen?

More dirt - After the Mont I'm still keen to get stuck into some off road stuff. I'm still hunting for that 'cant turn down' deal on a bike.

Blackburn CC Kew ITT - June 10th 2012

73 pre-entries for the 20km TT from hell yesterday morning in inner city Kew. A really impressive number in the middle of winter for such a tough course. While a few others were battling wandering cows, TT bike bans, and very interesting interpretations of what constitutes 'mass start only equipment' out in Kyneton, Blackburn CC went about running another impressive time trial. The Zonta Group are the naming sponsors of this series, so I'll give them a plug. They're into concrete slab construction and I hear they make a mean fitting pair of concrete shoes for those special occasions.

Kew TT Elevation Profile - Just as brutal as it looks.

The A Grade start list contained the usual suspects and a few new names: Tom "Thoroughbred" Leaper on his shiny new Cervelo P4, Martin "The real Lama" Lama, Big John Cain, Mal "Good Cop/Bad Cop" Sawford, Reece Emerson Van Beek just back from his Gold medal ride at the Asia-Pacific Deaf Olympics, Nick "Everyone knows @Tinea_Pedis" Squillari, just to name a few.

As seen anywhere on a weekly basis - My standard warm up set up from the back of the Subie.

The event also draws a pretty big crowd for a bike race. With people there to support 'their rider' or just passers by standing on the roadside captured by the spectacle and elegance of riders swooping past.... with big long spit dribbles hanging off their chins and their eyeballs hanging out of their heads. Wayne "The Gerbil" Gebert, Bridie O'Donnell's #1 fan, was spotted on the sidelines taking happy snaps along with the Australian editor of cyclingnews.com, Jane Aubrey. I was hoping Jane was there to cover the event, but no, she was there supporting her 'worse half', Nick Squillari.

Big John Cain

Black Caviar's bother, Tom Leaper.

Me not watching Tom ride away from the start.

The road was still a little damp from the overnight rain so the corners were still a little tricky. I was off last and chasing Tom Leaper, who looked like a race horse riding a jockey on his super slick TT bike. I had Tom within sight at the 5km turn around and was able to slowly reel him in while completing the first lap. Into lap 2 I'd over taken Tom and was committed to keeping ahead of him so I could pick the fastest line on the course without getting in his way. Ripping into the Kew TT course at speed does involve picking lines that you just don't do without a number on your back and marshals on the corners warning cars of the race that is under way. My legs were getting pretty heavy after the handicap on Saturday so I stated trying to save as much energy as I could. Coasting and tucking in on the fast sections, then jamming the hills. That pacing worked pretty well, I stopped the Garmin with a 29:46. Enough for the win, and under the golden 30 minute barrier for only the second time!

Tom and I going head to head into lap 2....

Shiv'ving it to the finish line.

Post race catch-up with the guys.

After the usual post race catch-up we'd all been done by a +11 second discrepancy on the official results sheet. Thankfully this still put me under the 30min mark. As we all had the same penalty the placings were all accurate. Rule #1 of a TT: Time yourself! Something to note for those chasing PBs based on time too. $105 for the win was well worth the 30 minutes of pain. I'm more motivated than ever to rip this course apart on a dry day when we can light up the corners at full speed!

Very generous prize pool from BBN! I'll be eating well this week.

Links:

Official Results
Blackburn CC website / Twitter / Facebook group.
Linky to my Strava ride of this event
Photos of the race were by Wayne Gebert. More here: Facebook Linky