Tour of Bright 2014 - Masters A

While there are more races on the calendar these days, to most of us Bright will always be as Wade Wallace describes it, "Australia’s amateur Tour de France." The CyclingTips post "Tour of Bright: A Legend Two Decades in the Making" is a fantastic read if you want to know about the history of the race. You'll see many familiar names in the history books from Cadel to Keeno who've pinned a number on in Bright at some point in time.

This year was my 7th ToB start since 2007. The MMAS123 GC win in 2012 has taken the pressure off in the lead up in the last two years. Last year I was team work-horse for Stephen Lane (Kosdown) who managed a top 5 in stiff competition. This year we were both TTing and climbing well and managed a good block of training after our Masters Nationals and Tour of Fiji. There was no two-man team tactics, we were just there to race as hard as we could and see where we ended up.

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Stage 1 - Time Trial

Having spent a lot of time on the course, we were getting to know it very well. The only thing we didn't train in was the rain, which came thundering in right on queue making for a damp TT and some very careful cornering.

Photo (c) Peloton Cafe

Using the same 17min30sec ergo/prep session as last year worked again for 2014. The warm conditions and low wind also made it a faster course than last year. I rolled in 1st with a 17:31, one second off my ergo session! SLane had a great TT knocking 20 seconds off his time from last year and taking 2nd with an 18:05.

Masters A - Stage 1 ITT Results

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Stage 2 - Gaps Loop

Sitting 1-2 on GC in a teams race put us in an interesting position. Somehow SLane managed to slip into a good sized break within the first few kms that would have likely stayed away if they all committed to driving the pace. The chase was only organised once the break wasn't pulling away and riders were attempting to bridge across solo from the bunch.

A few kms later a group of 6-7 riders rolled off the front containing a few sprinters looking for points. Nothing too dangerous, so we thought. And with a number of teams with a lot of fire-power not represented, they'd have to ride to pull their GC guys back into contention.

There appeared to be some confusion in the bunch when a team of 5 sent two guys up the road to collect the sprint points..... points that were already snapped up by the riders in the break. A lot of head shaking in the bunch ensued. Without any representation in the break, and lots of legs in the bunch, they should have been straight on the front and driving the pace.... but it wasn't the case.

With the break out of sight and hovering around four minutes, the chase was still less than organised. I had a shot at lifting the pace up Rosewhite that was marked by Michael Gallagher (The Hurt Box) with the rest of the field on his wheel.

SLane and Adam Versteege (Charter Mason) had a few attempts at lifting the pace of the bunch after the descent with little luck. So we rolled along and watched more than one team ride their GC contenders out of the race by not committing to the chase.

Luckily the group up the road had broken up and our chase up Tawonga was swift. With 3km to go the climbing group was down to 12 riders with only two riders up the road. The best result would be a 3rd on the stage. I channelled my inner Cadel (complete with matching bum-chin) and rode the front to limit the GC time gap.

Post by Cycling Victoria.

The rain soon started belting down and I couldn't see a thing. 300m to go, five riders kicked to the line for 3rd on the stage.  One rider on my wheel was yelling at me to close the gap. I was cooked! Words were spoken.

Local rider Aaron Knight (Fitzroy Revolution) took the win solo. Thankfully the effort to limit my GC losses up the climb was worth it and I was still leading GC, by 2 seconds. With most of the GC contenders still within 90 seconds, Mount Hotham was going to be a showdown!

Masters A - Stage 2 Results

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Stage 3 - Mount Hotham

The rain that started falling on Tawonga didn't stop overnight. 70mm had fell on the area and conditions at the top of Mount Hotham were not suitable to send 600+ riders up. The call was made to cut the stage short. Taking out the steep climbs suited me perfectly. I'd managed a 3rd on the short Hotham stage back in 2011 so if I could make the selection in the climbing group over the Meg I'd be confident of my chances of holding on to a good GC position.

The twist this year was they added my old nemesis to the shorter Hotham stage, the Toll Booth climb. 1.5km ~8%.

The race to Harrietville was brisk. The teams/riders going for the sprint points were doing something, we weren't sure what... although it was keeping the pace high and the group intact so that was a good thing.

The climb started at the standard pace, flat out. Knight who needed to make up only 2 seconds on me hadn't made the front group, having paid the price for his monster effort up Tawonga during Stage 2. I didn't do a lot of homework on the other riders, the only plan was not to let Gallagher too far out of sight.

Gallagher knows his craft well and put in a number of surges towards the toll booth that put the pressure on the 6-7 of us at the head of the race. The roads were saturated as we hit the false flat section, the ruts in the road were hard to see and almost caught us out a few times. There was a lot of one-eye-closed head-tilted riding going on just so we could see.

Photo (c) Jo Upton Photography

1.5km to go we hit the final climb. Gallagher went hard with a few others trying to match his pace. I knew it'd be a tough ask for him to pull back 60 seconds on the final climb although he gave it everything trying!

Thankfully the Garmin was so wet I couldn't see the numbers. This was a good thing. The first minute of the climb was 482W. The next four minutes were an eternity.

The water was streaming down in rivers on the climb as we pushed toward the Dargo turn off. 500m to go and Gallagher and a few others had a 10 second gap. This was fine with me, I was only thinking of GC position.

An evil twist from the event organisers was to add a final kick to the race just past the Dargo road.

200m to go I could see the finish and I got out of the saddle for the final push. I saw Davey and Gallagher take 1-2 and I rolled over the line at +11sec for 3rd on the stage.

Photo (c) Peloton Cafe

Masters A - Stage 3 Results

I found the nearest ditch and collapsed off the bike for a lie down. As I posted on Twitter, I've never had to dig so deep in any race before. I'd started with a 2 second lead and managed to defend the lead and everything that Gallagher threw down. I didn't believe it for a few minutes. I'd won my second Masters Tour of Bright Yellow Jersey. The first one meant a lot. The second one will go on the wall right next to it.

Masters A-Grade GC Top 10
 
1. Shane MILLER       4:29:33.71
2. Michael GALLAGHER  4:30:27.08 +53.3
3. Matthew RIZZUTO    4:30:27.67 +53.9
4. Stephen LANE       4:30:37.40 +1:03.6
5. Alexander DAVEY    4:30:38.24 +1:04.5
6. Michael TOLHURST   4:30:48.64 +1:14.9
7. Mark CRAWFORD      4:31:17.93 +1:44.2
8. Cameron CLAMP      4:31:34.40 +2:00.6
9. Aaron KNIGHT       4:32:09.00 +2:35.2
10.Brett KINGSTON     4:32:21.49 +2:47.7

Masters A - Overall GC

As fans of the sport we daydream of winning bike races on beautiful roads, with the sun beaming, everyone cheering. Here I was yesterday, laying in a muddy ditch, soaking wet head to toe, totally numb, completely exhausted, and loving every second of it.

Experiences like this money can't buy.

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Always a privilege sharing a podium with MickyG.

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Links List: -

Event / Cycling Victoria:
Full Results (All Grades)
http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/News/hotham-provides-testing-tour-of-bright-finale-117274

Jo Upton Photography:
http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/tour-of-bright-2014---time-trial.html
http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/tour-of-bright-2014---stage-2-tawonga-gap.html
http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/tour-of-bright-2014---stage-3-mt-hotham.html

Peloton Cafe:
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-bright-stage-2-photo-gallery-con-chronis/
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-bright-stage-2-photo-gallery-jxpphotography/
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-bright-stage-3-photo-gallery-con-chronis/
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-bright-stage-3-photo-gallery-jxpphotography/

Australian National Masters Road Time Trial Championships 2014 (MMAS2)

First up - What a day! Another Masters Nationals TT done and dusted for the year. The one TT that is always in our thoughts as our 'target event of the year' comes around so fast. I mentioned to Von on the start line that it was hard to believe we were standing there today. The 'nationals' TT is always weeks or months away. Always plenty of time to train harder for it, right?

We were lucky to have the TT championships return to Ballarat after two years on the windswept course near Goulburn in NSW. In that time they had changed the course from the Avenue of Honour to.... you'd never guess... a windswept course out in Burrumbeet. And just like Goulburn, it has a wind farm nearby to remind you it'll be a bloody tough day on the bike.

And bloody tough it was. The 24km/h south west wind hung around all day and everyone rolling in had war stories to tell about their ride. With a late start time I was able to be Von's soigneur/mechanic/manager getting everything sorted for her ride. Always a stressful task as I built her bike, worked on her position, picked out the right wheel combo for the course, and talked her though the pacing strategy for the course about 50 times. (side note: While I 'say' I'm helping her, it is really the way I use to remind myself how to ride the course, shhhh).

When she rolled over the line in 1st place, taking the WMAS1 National TT title I was a little emotional. I was so proud of her. I can honestly say she works harder than I do when it comes to getting up early and getting in the kms. There will be more work for her in the step up to WMAS2 next year, which I'm sure she'll take on at full speed.

Back to the MMAS categories, man mountain and speedy unit John Cain (Giant Celtic) set the course alight with a 24:28 to win MMAS5. Flying! That was the last benchmark I saw before getting out on the course myself.

The iconic Mr Pink was a familiar face as the start line holder. To the amusement of those standing around, I had to tell him to "take me from behind" after he went to hold me from the side.... What I meant was to "hold me from behind", but he knew what I meant.

Thanks Mr Pink!

Nothing much to write up about a flat-out time trial other than it went to plan. The pacing strategy, the numbers, and the speed. All spot on. If Anthony Tan thinks the Women's World Championship Road Race was lacking entertainment, I won't dare give the world a run-down on how a TT plays out.

I rolled over the line in 23:45. 1st place MMAS2 and fastest on the day. The course was a little shorter than the 20km they calculated everyone's official speeds on. I held 47.4km/h. I haven't looked further into the data. That can wait.

MMAS2 Results:
1.     102     Shane MILLER (VIC)       23:45.25        
2.     107     Tom LEAPER (VIC)         24:28.89     +43.6    
3.     105     Jon HOUSTON (SA)         25:11.98     +1:26.7    
4.     112     Jesse GRAHAM (ACT)       26:09.80     +2:24.5    
5.     114     Joshua GOODALL (VIC)     27:10.47     +3:25.2    
6.     109     Lee LINDSAY (VIC)        27:14.97     +3:29.7    
7.     108     Peter VARRICCHIO (SA)    27:28.78     +3:43.5    
8.     103     Clinton BAIN (QLD)       27:51.88     +4:06.6    
9.     104     Simon BERRY (NSW)        28:13.11     +4:27.8    
10.    106     Rodney UPTON (VIC)       28:30.47     +4:45.2

There are a swag of people and companies I need to thank behind the scenes, I'll do that in person over the next few days. For now, thanks for reading. Time to roll around in the crit and road race here in Ballarat, then we're off to race the Tour of Fiji next week!

Links:
Official Results (Metarace)
Jo Upton Photos The Courier - Shane Miller aims for sixth national time trial title in a row in first day’s racing.
WinTV News - Sports Report Oct 1st 2014:

Cycling Victoria: Wangaratta Open ITT August 2nd 2014.

A massive turnout for the who's who of junior cycling in Victoria at the Wangaratta Livestock Exchange (also home of Wangaratta CC) this weekend. The juniors had their State TT and Road championships to race, and the Elite/Masters/Para cyclists all had their own TT on Saturday afternoon.

12 months ago I had a very ordinary ride at the same event. My lead up wasn't right, the ride I had was a shocker, and I ended up finishing with a broken collarbone and a broken bike.

My collarbone has been twitching about this event for a few weeks now. While working with a number of riders on their own TT goals and preparation with my new project, timetrial.com.au, I've been reviewing a few areas where I need to work on too. Pacing, bike set up, and mental prep for the actual demands of the event. The latter being most important given how last year ended up....

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The Bootiegate Scandal

3.1.04 - It is forbidden to wear non-essential items of clothing or items designed to influence the performances of a rider such as reducing air resistance or modifying the body of the rider (compression, stretching, support). Items of clothing or equipment may be considered essential where weather conditions make them appropriate for the safety or the health of the rider. In this case, the nature and texture of the clothing or equipment must be clearly and solely justified by the need to protect the rider from bad weather conditions.  “Booties” are not allowed to be worn on indoor velodromes. (1/11/2012)

An event official had made the wrong call early in the day not to allow shoe covers for the ITT event, then had to continue enforcing it for consistency. It wasn't a very popular call on the day. 

I can only assume they'd classified shoe covers a "non-essential items of clothing". When the ITT event got under way at 10am on Saturday it was 5.3°C in Wangaratta (2.8°C with the wind chill), I'd safely say that shoe covers were an ESSENTIAL item of clothing. They are certainly not banned for use in road time trials.

Cycling has enough rules as it is, which we all adhere to as part of our CV/CA membership. The last thing we need are additional rules 'made up' on the start line based on incorrect interpretations. This was a State Championship event (an Open for us seniors). I had no bike check, no helmet check, no doping control. Yet I had to remove my shoe covers to take to the start line? Ridiculous.

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Back to the event itself, be it with bloody cold feet, the change in approach to this year's event was spot on. My pacing to the first U-turn was right on the money, though the tailwind northbound leg wasn't as friendly as I'd have liked. The changes made to my TT set up worked well on the course, and I rolled in fastest with both collarbones intact.

Great shot Tony!

 
A Grade Results:

1. Shane MILLER (St Kilda)             24:55.3
2. Stephen LANE (Coburg)               25:57.3 +1:01.9
3. Sam FUHRMEISTER (Seymour Broadford) 25:58.7 +1:03.3
4. David STURT (Carnegie Caulfield)    27:05.5 +2:10.2

Full Results

SLane in 2nd place, with a very close battle with Fuhrmeister. Von had a great ride on her new TT bike, setting a PB by over two minutes and winning the Women's category on the day!

Aside from Bootiegate, the day ran very well. Timing was spot on, the start ramp is the best around, and the presentations were lightening fast. Disappointing to learn the official event photographer didn't bother sticking around for the seniors....... So thanks to Tony for his perfectly timed #tdfselfie! :) 

Winners are grinners.. except for Horgz, I think he was still in the box!

8 weeks until the Masters Nationals TT in Ballarat. Time to start planning that one for myself and a number of others who are keen to give that event a good shake, bootie covers and all!

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TT done and dusted, we headed off to the snow!

Then this guy showed up.....

... and took Von's prize money.

We escaped.... to the serenity of Bonnie Doon.

... with its large ducks...

... and hotel staff suggesting we take this from reception and watch it!

nekmorning - UCI "regulations" don't apply here! Bloody freezing!

Sunday was perfect!

CV Castlemaine Open ITT & 2014 Mirabella Trophy Race

Excellent entry numbers for the Castlemaine 20km ITT held last Saturday. Going head to head with the CX racing (better suited to the wintry conditions) almost 100 riders tested themselves against the clock.

The 20km course is on the old highway. A fast section of road, except for all the hills. Last year I recalled being at the top of the first pinch in a world of pain and hating life. This year I had a few specific points on the course picked out that I wanted to nail at full speed while in the correct mindset. This made all the difference. With the slight tail wind I was at top of the climb 7km in around 60 seconds up on last year. The return leg was harder than usual into the breeze. I had Nick Bensley (StayTrue) pegged at 30 seconds with a few kms to go, but the run back into town is super fast, so no dice on pulling him back any further.

We were back on hand timing which caused havoc with the initial A Grade times. These were sorted by the time we went home thanks to some quick mathematics and someone's dad keeping the time keepers honest. :)

Going up against NRS riders, some stomping TKM guys who are knocking on the door of TT wins, and Drapac pro Lachlan Norris who rocked up ready to play - I was pretty happy that the my ride was good enough to take the win.

Finish line Garmin lap press... Photo by Jim Morey

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Eureka Vets CC -  Mirabella Trophy Race 2014.

Windy, 7°C, wet roads, and patchy rain in Ballarat usually means a good sleep-in at the in-laws. Not this Sunday. Local legend Tony Mirabella along with Eureka Vets CC were running a race with his name on it and I was keen to help the scratch bunch have a crack at the title.

Limit had 22 minutes over the 48km. The eight of us off scratch instantly became six when two riders missed the start. We were going to wait until one of the riders yells "We've got Miller, we don't need them!". hah! Oh shit, he was serious, and we were off....  flat out!

Mirabella took a few kms to start firing on all cylinders, I had to drop back and pull him back to the storming scratch bunch who'd hit the first hill way too hard. After that we used the crosswind section to do most of the damage to the time gaps. On the second lap we timed the catch of 'block' meter-perfect. Catching them unaware just as they turned into the headwind.

15km to go, Mirabella and I upped the pace on the climb out of Learmonth. The two of us were clear of our group and had the limit riders in sight. The catch was made with 8km to go. Straight into the crosswind only Graeme Parker was able to stick with Mirabella and myself.

5km to go Parker dropped off the back and looked like calling it a day. Mirabella and I could see we had enough time to throw Parker a tow-rope to the line. We dropped back and kept him out of the wind and clear of the chasing riders. Parker dug deep to keep with us and to secure a top three finish.

I had enough left in the tank to kick clear to the line once I knew we'd had 1-2-3 sewn up. Parker took a well deserved 2nd place, with race sponsor Mirabella in 3rd.

Finish line shot... pressing the Garmin again!

With the amount of work we had to put in with a reduced scratch bunch, I didn't think we'd close the limit riders down. It was a bit of a surprise we'd caught them all. It was a pleasure to have ridden the whole day with race sponsor Mirabella, and an honour etch my name into the 2014 winner's trophy.

The hospitality and post race spread of food put on by Eureka Vets is second to none. I even managed to pull off the meat tray raffle win (thanks Mega Meats!)

Eureka Vets CC Website

Eureka Vets CC Facebook

Racing into Winter - 2014

Back to regular programming after this tack business on the Kew boulie... Seven races in eight days to report on. I'll try to keep the reports snappy, ain't nobody got time fo eight detailed race reports!


Cycling Victoria Open ITT - Waurn Ponds (aka Geelong) May 24th 2014.

New course for 2014. Just over 23km with 3x laps of a surprisingly hard giant hot-dog. I drove down to Geelong a few weeks prior to scope out the course. Time well spent. I rolled in with the quickest time, 26 seconds ahead of Melbourne's hardest training bearded nice guy, Nick Bensley (StayTrue).

A Grade Elite - Top 5
1     Shane MILLER     31:17.393        
2     Nick BENSLEY     31:43.945     +0:26.552    
3     Peter RISELEY    32:17.167     +0:59.774
4     Tyson CHAMBERS   32:32.832     +1:15.439
5     John CAIN        32:57.868     +1:40.475

Full Results (MyLaps)

Photos (Jo Upton Photography)

Von had a great ride in Women's A Grade, coming in 3rd! But no podium, no envelope, no mention at presentations. Only 1st place awarded.... C'mon guys, this is a little embarrassing. Any podium spot at an Open event deserves more.

We made a weekend of it down that way and stayed in Torquay for the night. Pizzas and Giro on the telly, a perfect night in. (hot tip, code 7777 will bypass LG TV security code. Just in case you need to retune SBS in a hotel.)

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Geelong Vets CC Autumn Sash Race (49km Handicap) May 25th 2014

Four riders whittled down to three off scratch after a few km. At the 20km mark I put in a solid 3km turn to catch the chopping block group. I swung out of rotation and missed a turn... yeah, I was a little tired after that effort... I was quickly and not so politely "informed" I was stronger than any of them and I should get back on the front. My legs were hurting and now thanks to this chopping block guy, so were my feelings. ;) I was working my arse off.... and about to get back to that task. Bark all you like, just hold that wheel when the shit goes down.

15km to go, 10 minutes to make up, lots of passengers in the group. A little crosswind bunch trimming took place. 15 of us, then three of us, then two, then me. Yes, shit went down. My feelings were still hurt but my legs were good.

3km to go I caught a group of 10 riders who were all watching each other. I rolled in asking the guy on the back "Is this the race?" (as in the front of the race). The reply was interesting, "Yeah mate, this is a race, we're racing..."... After pointing to my number and informing him I was also IN the race and finding out there was still one limit rider up the road, I was off in pursuit.

The solo limit rider took the win after a rock solid ride all day with no company. I picked up 2nd and fastest time. GVCC put on a great event, and in true vets style, there were plates of food to get stuck into and plenty of race tales back at the clubrooms.

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Eastern Vets CC Midweek Kew Crit. May 28th 2014

These are sneaky year-round Eastern Vets CC crits at 10am almost every Wednesday that nobody knows about. Kew loop. Same as Hawthorn CC. Entry fee is cheaper than a small coffee.

They've been threatening to send me off a lap behind Division 1 for a while, this week they did it. It took 20 minutes to catch my race, a few minutes to take someone up the road, and a lot of work to shake him on the bell lap. $17 for the win, which went straight to the Llama Book Club purchase of the new George Hincape book. I hear it is a good read.

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2014 Tour of Wangaratta (#WangTour #BigWangTour) May 31st - June 1st.

Worth doing this race for the Twitter hashtag alone. I've done the last two of these and took the overall GC last year by one second. I always enjoy racing up in Wang, so I was back this year to give it another shot.

Hanging with the locals. Such is beards.

Stage 1 - Kermesse (6x6km 36km)

Early attacks were not given any room to move. Tully Lyster and Sam Fuhrmeister pinged off the front before the 1/2 way sprint. These two were kept on a short leash and took 1st (Fuhrmeister) and 2nd (Lyster) around 9 seconds ahead of the bunch (Pascall 3rd).

Stage 2 - Road Race (Taminick Gap 56km)

There was not much aggression early on. I swung my elbow at 11km....to nobody... I had a 50m gap. Off I went solo for the next 20km. Not fully committed to a solo ride, I was hoping a few would bridge across at some point.

I made it over Taminick alone, but then I was closed down by the survivors of Taminick as we turned south towards Glenrowan. Sean Carruthers (Hampton Cycles) counters, but nobody chases. He goes, and goes! The chase started too late in the stage. Carruthers took the win and a huge 58 second lead on the chase bunch. Classy move, played at the right time, with an engine to get the job done. Respect!

Stringer (Kosdown) doing 'a job of work'! Good stuff!

Jo Upton Photography - Day 1

Back to Château de Reeckman for the night where it started raining... and it didn't stop for the rest of the weekend. While catching up on the Giro stage, Tony dropped a quote I didn't know. Nekminnit, The Big Lebowski DVD is out, laughs were had. Classic!

Stage 3 - Hill Climb (Taminick Gap west side)

No Gravel Pit Rd stage road due to the rain. Probably a good thing since the locals do all kinds of unwanted things to nasty pits. We would race the same loop as Stage 2 with the finish at the Taminick KOM.

With a few DNS in the rain, we all* agreed to roll turns to the climb then let loose on the climb. *All because there was a solo attack before we'd even clipped in.... met with collective groans, boos, and unity in the bunch to chase him down!

Harry Hanley (Hampton Cycles) did the work of three men on the front putting his man in the best position to hold onto GC. As we hit the hill, the young 65kg (or less) snappers hit the pedals, and the rest of us hit the red-zone and hung on, as closely as we could.

Katsonis (Charter Mason) took the stage win from Carruthers, and James Pane in 3rd. I rolled over the line 13 seconds down.

Stage 4 - Time Trial (14km)

Flat out.... just not around the corners like last time. I took the TT stage win with a 19:06. 13 seconds slower than last year, but given the conditions I was happy with that.

Photo (c) www.tonyreeckmanphotography.com

14km and no wind wasn't enough to pull back all the time on Carruthers to snag overall GC. He had a bloody excellent TT, rolling a number of riders who've ridden TTs for a while to take 2nd on the stage.

I climbed into 2nd place on GC for the weekend. Pretty happy to be on the podium after consistent results in the previous three stages.

Photo (c) www.tonyreeckmanphotography.com

Jo Upton Photography - Day 2

Again this year Wangaratta CC and the people behind the scenes put on a great show. I said last year I'd be back to defend #1. It didn't work out as planned, but I'll be back in 2015 to proudly pin on #2.
 

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Link Frenzy!
Wang CC www site.
Wang CC Twitter
Wang CC Facebook
Jo Upton Photography Facebook / www
#wangtour Twitter Hashtag

2014 Tour of the South West - Masters A

The 2013 ToSW wasn't the smoothest event on the calendar last year. To their credit, Cycling Victoria and the Warrnambool City Council were quick to respond to rider feedback and stepped things up for 2014. The most notable was the appointment of Marty Tobin as an experienced Race Director, an excellent move. The major hiccups from last year were addressed and despite the damp start on Saturday morning, it was a successful weekend down on the coast.

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Stage 1 - Road Race - 85km

Nothing much to report here from my perspective. I had no team, no GC aspirations, and wanted to be as fresh as possible for the Stage 2 TT. Watching the teams do their thing and generally keeping out of trouble passed the time. A few teams missed the break and went to the front, excellent. Some teams kept knocking into each other and almost bringing down the bunch, not excellent.

(Most of) the bunch just rolled across the line and were surprised that the time gap to the leaders was only 4 minutes. Given how slow our last lap was, I'd assumed we were well over 10 minutes down on GC.

An observation - It appears the loophole in the CV grading system is that being in a VRS team is a golden ticket straight to MMAS A Grade, bypassing the points/qualification process. The result is a mixed field of riders and level of experience in MMAS A.....

A few incidents that kept us on our toes, and unfortunately one rider in hospital. Riders sprinting the grupetto for 17th place and time gaps when we're 4 minutes down doesn't earn any respect. They'll get 17th place and the respect of the bunch if they just go to the front for the last few km. Things we all learn making our way up though the grades....

Tap tap. Tap tap tap.
Photo (c) http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/

Anyhows... It was back to the car for lunch and to get the TT bike ready. Last year I went back to the car to find Von's broken bike and her in hospital. This year she (and her bike) were unbroken after Stage 1. It was already a good day.

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Stage 2 - ITT 12.7km.

I've never been a fan of the "time trial specialist" label. I'm just a bike racer who likes to obsess over controllable details, and all of the uncontrollable ones too.

After 100s of TTs, I'd finally trusted that a pacing strategy would work. Knowing the theory is one thing, putting it into practice when you're racing the clock is another.

The course was fast. 55km/h for the first 5km to the right hand corner. The rolling hills back into the wind were also over and done with in no time at all.

Photo (c) jxpphotography.com

Photo (c) jxpphotography.com

Photo (c) jxpphotography.com

The final km into the wind was @470W, way too much left in the tank, but a lot better than coming to a grinding halt into that block headwind.

Official time of 15:53. A few seconds faster than last year, a few watts more, and the Shiv TT rig I'd built up only last Tuesday was flawless.

I spent the rest of the afternoon warming down on the ergo, continually hitting refresh on the result website. I had the MMASA fastest time, giving me the stage win. Big John Cain (Giant Celtic) was in 2nd and an in-form and now in yellow, Versteege (Zoom Video) in 3rd. A bonus was that Elite A didn't break the 16min mark, so I'd set fastest time of the day. And I checked the weather stats for wind changes when they were TTing, nope, they had the same conditions! Awesome.

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Stage 3 - Warrnambool Cemetery Criterium. 40mins + 2 laps.

1.2km course with a killer 200m 6.5% hill every lap. I was 10th on GC after the TT, still minutes down, so GC wasn't a concern. The GC teams should control the race and time bonuses, I had nothing to lose. Game on from the gun.

I kept on the attack all race, trying to get a break established or chasing those who didn't take me with them. The boys from Total Rush were keen to get away with me, but nothing was sticking. I was happy to see David 'Steggles' Sturt (The Hurt Box) go solo but he was soon closed down as the pace was red hot up the hill every lap.

At the 15 minute mark I was cooked. 350/428NP, waiting for the bunch to kick away up the road at any moment. Getting a few seconds rest on the back straight was all I needed to keep chipping away at the hill and pushing for a breakaway.

At 35 minutes the lead group sat up on the back straight. I rolled though to the front, still expecting to be swamped at any moment, it was the inevitable conclusion to my race. I'd mentally pulled the ripcord and was running through scenarios of how I'd try to keep in contact with the rear of the 24 or so riders left. After all, I was a TT specialist doing hill sprints.

The number of spectators on the barriers was growing each lap, so it wasn't long to go. My Facebook check-in before the race at the cemetery said, "Go hard or die trying", and I wasn't dead yet.

Typically this is the point in the race where I'd say "the shit went down"... but it was going down all race... so I guess at the 40 minute mark when I bridged across to Steggles and we opened a gap from the chasing bunch, the shit going down was now even more relentless, and about to get worse!

Photo (c) http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/

Crossing the line with two laps to go we had a good 6 sec gap on the chasers. On the bell lap Lee Burchell (Bike Gallery) had made it across solo. There were now three of us holding the 6 second gap at the top of the hill. After his solo bridge to us, and with balls bigger than those in Rundle Mall, Burchell drove the back straight into the final corner to ensure we kept clear. I was 2nd wheel, Steggles in 3rd.

Burchell took the final corner first and opened up his sprint, I went right, Steggles left. I was still in disbelief at the position I was in.... surely I'm not going to..... a few kicks later I was over that line first. I let out a "FUCK YEAH" in true disbelief. I quickly apologised to the nearest spectators I'd stopped in front of, not before the commissaire hit me with a $100 fine for language. hah!

Photo (c) http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/

Winning a TT is more of a relief than anything. Winning the crit was an emotion that I haven't had for a long time at a bike race - and one I won't forget for a while. FUCK YEAH!

Best $100 I've ever spent.

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Full results: http://my3.raceresult.com/details/index.php?eventid=26768&lang=en

Jo Upton Photography:
http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/tour-of-south-west-2014-stage-1.html
http://www.jouptonphotography.com.au/tour-of-south-west-2014-stage-2.html

Peloton Cafe Photos:
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-south-west-stage-1-photo-gallery/
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-south-west-stage-2-photo-gallery/
http://pelotoncafe.com.au/2014-tour-south-west-stage-3-photo-gallery/

2013 Tour of Bright - Time Trial Course (Now official!)

(Update Nov 13th 2pm) Word just in - This will be the new TT course at the Tour of Bright 2013.

Why the change? The old TT course on Wandiligong Rd would prove difficult to manage traffic and 500+ riders on a Friday afternoon. The decision was made by the local team who run the TOB. They know the roads, they have to keep the locals happy, and they have to ensure the riders are safe. Initially I was disappointed to hear the Wandi course was no longer going to be used, but the team who run the show are in the know. There is also a possibility we'll have a closed road for this TT too. Fingers crossed!

So where it it? Back Porepunkah Rd incorporating Roberts Creek Rd. An out and back T-ish shape course starting at the Bright town end.

13.5km in length, split up into a few sections, on pretty fast roads. We're not sure if the course will incorporate the roundabout itself or a U-turn just before it.

The U-turn at the top of the course is at 7.3km course which isn't marked on the road. There is a dirt road on the left, you can't miss it.

Is it flat? No. The hills are nowhere near as brutal as the Wandi course but they're still there. Expect at least a 4-5 minute drag that kicks up near the top. Below is an analysis of the current Strava KOM holder for the course, who we'll call "Fully Lyster" to protect his real identity:

"Fully" had a great ride at the Apline CC Monday night TT last week with spot-on pacing. This allows us to see the real demands of the course looking at the average speeds in each section. Note the drop to ~25km/h on the hill, ouch. Great ride, Fully! 

The only danger on the course will be the left hand turn at 10.2km back onto Old Porepunkah Rd. If conditions are good, riders will hit 70km/h+ just before having to jam on the brakes. Speaking from recent experience in TT cornering errors, I'd advise to use caution! :)

Looking south: The Roberts Creek Rd intersection.

Alpine CC hold regular Monday night TTs starting at 6pm on the new course. For more information see their Facebook page linked to below.

Strava Segment Link

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Official Tour of Bright links/info: 

Web: 
http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/
http://tourofbright.com.au

Facebook:
Official ToB Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ACCToB1
Alpine Cycling Club: https://www.facebook.com/AlpineCyclingClub

Twitter:
#TOB13

Cycling Victoria: Wangaratta ITT August 3rd 2013.

The 5th round of the CV Masters ITT series was the final event of the day after the Junior State TT titles were run and won. The seniors were doing the full 19km course the as the U19 riders. Even with these events open to all Elite riders, A Grade was a pretty low-key affair with the numbers only just nudging double digits. Dave Kelly (Total Rush) was an early withdrawal, still recovering from his slip'n'slide at Kew. The two Charter Mason Drapac riders Matt Clark and Jason Spencer had bumped up the depth of the field, along with Kosdown team mates SLane and Lyster.

After a magnificent breakfast and coffee at Château de Reeckman, Von and I headed into town to catch up with Wes at the local bike shop, onto Cafe Derailleur, then out to the sale yards to watch the young snappers battle it out against the clock for their state titles.

I was last off with #1 number on the bike. My pre-race warm up was as good as it gets on a freezing cold drizzly day. I hit the start line feeling good and got into a standard rhythm early on. From the 6km u-turn onwards I had to fight a little harder than normal, the rhythm was gone, the wind was up, and so was my minute man, Matt Clark. He was having a flyer! At the turn into the final 3km there was only about 10 seconds separating us against the clock. With a sold tail/crosswind to the line I buried it to the final turn to the sale yards, 200m from the line. I sat up from the TT bars, touched the brakes to get a feel of where they were, picked my line, planted my outside leg... I gave myself plenty of run-off room, almost clipping the inside witches hat marker.

Then I was weightless.

What......? Smack. I lost the front end and ate shit. Nothing pretty about it. I rolled around on the road pretty unhappy with myself for a few seconds before getting up. I wasn't going to DNF so close to the line. The marshals were soon there helping me get moving while I gathered my chain back on the big ring and scampered across the line.... surprisingly still in 3rd place only 17 seconds off 1st place Matt Clark. On the podium, in the money, and wrapping up the CV Masters TT Aggregate - celebrations on the back burner for now. I'd broken a few things and myself in the process.

A Grade Full Results:

1		Matthew Clark	Wangaratta Cycling Club INC	25:09.2
2		Jason Spencer	Blackburn Cycling Club INC	25:11.9	2.758
3		Shane Miller	St Kilda Cycling Club INC	25:26.8	17.609
4		Stephen Lane	Coburg Cycling Club INC	26:02.5	53.302
5		Tully Lyster	Wangaratta Cycling Club INC	26:29.4	01:20.2
6		David Sturt	Carnegie Caulfield CC	26:31.3	01:22.2
7		James Timmer-Arends	Latrobe City Cycling Club	26:46.0	01:36.9
8		Sam Fuhrmeister	Seymour Broadford Cycling Club	26:48.0	01:38.8
9		Gerard Donnelly	Carnegie Caulfield CC	26:56.0	01:46.9
10		Harry Hanley	Carnegie Caulfield CC	26:58.0	01:48.8

Full results all grades

I rolled around to the car park and headed straight to the car to get warm. There was a some bark off my arm and leg, and that oh-so-common feeling in my right arm. If you've done a collarbone, you'll know what I mean. With the now-on-scene ambos unwilling to give me a green whistle, Von drove me to the Wang Hospital Emergency for x-rays. As a frequent faller in the area I was already on file. Bonus!

Ever wonder what happens when you break a collarbone with a pin in it? This:

My 4th collarbone break. With the help of a few good people we were back in Melbourne on Sunday morning. By 2pm Monday I had the referrals, specialist review, training program updated by the coach, bike dropped off at the carbon wizard, and I was kicking back on the couch watching the cycling on Eurosport. The one thing I can't fast-track is the time it takes to heal. Actually, they will if in 10 days the bone isn't healing, it'll be plated up.

I didn't just crash my bike on the weekend. I lit a fire of motivation. I am now more focused than ever with my push for the Masters Nationals TT up in NSW. With the people, support, and sponsors I'm fortunate enough to have behind me, 8 weeks is more than enough time to bounce back. Watch this space.