Bathurst Report
Saturday April 9, saw Inverell’s locally based cycling team Heinrich Haussler’s – Racing Kangaroos, launch their 2011 season in Bathurst. All but one of the 22 riders made the trip to contest a junior hill climb championship and criterium on Saturday and a road race from Blayney to Bathurst on the Sunday.
The riders aged from 12 to 17 were excited to be presented with their 2XU kits displaying the team’s local and international sponsors, with their Cervelo bikes arriving shortly. The team performed well both on and off the bike with Tamworth rider Tori Saunders taking second place in the U15 women’s hill climb, Jack Edwards taking second in the U17 men’s hill climb and Kirsty Mills taking first place in the U19 women’s event.
The criterium had some great racing around the pit area of Mt Panorama with Armidale rider Sam Jenner taking first place in the U15 men’s, Tamworth rider Sara Spokes taking first place in the U17 women’s and Bathurst local Harry Jones taking first place in the U17 men’s event.
The Blayney to Bathurst was contested on a wet, cold and windy day. All the riders put in a great effort to simply finish the race with all of the Racing Kangaroos finishing in the top 20 of their age divisions.
Alex Beedie
The highlight of the weekend at Bathurst for me, was that it was the first time The Racing Kangaroos were together at a race this year. I was excited and greatful to receive the new kit with the sponsors’ names on it.
Other experiences of my weekend and week at Bathurst were:
Jack Edwards
NSW Hillclimb championships: Got a good night sleep with the team, and on race day I felt great, warmed up properly and started the time trial, finished up 2nd with the silver medal, and being the 1st first year in the u17 men.
Bathurst Criterium: Had a good team talk pre race with the boys and kurt, went out to smash it up, I won the first priem, and then two riders got away. 5 laps to go and we had to start chasing, I chased hard with the other team mates to pull back to other riders and get our sprinter Harrison Jones in contention for the win, but after 4 laps of hard chasing we only managed to pull back one of the two riders that got away, I got dropped from the main group with a lap to go, but our sprinter won the bunch sprint.
Mistake… shouldn’t have let the break away go.
Blaney to Bathurst: Great conditions! Poring rain and howling winds! Went out pretty easy, just staying up near the front, about 20km into the race the attacks started to come, we managed to get away with a group of 8 riders chasing the break away group of 3 or 4 riders, one of the riders was a team mate so I just sat back and let everyone else do the chasing, the break away group stayed away till the finish, and I ended up getting 2nd in the bunch sprint.
All up it was a great weekend with the boys!
Blake Schuman
On the 9th and 10th of April an open was held in Bathurst. The Saturday contained the N.S.W Hill Climb championships in the morning followed by a criterium in the afternoon.
I warmed up for the hill climb and prepared with all the other riders. Each person went off and finally it came my time to start. About 2km into the race I dropped my chain causing it to jam and unfortunately ending my hopes of a top 15 finish as I had to pull out.
As the afternoons event came round I yet again prepared for another, very fast and hard race. The pace was on from the whistle and a lot of attacks and breaks went and formed. It wasn’t till the 4th lap in where Nathan Bradshaw and Aaron Alderton-Willmot causing the split which ended up in me being strung off the back of the bunch as I was sitting to far back in the bunch.
Sunday Morning come round and all Racing Kangaroos headed the 45km to Blayney for the beginning of the 70km B2B which begin at 10:00am. All the Racing Kangaroos U17m went off in wave 1 for what was going to be a very fast an aggressive B2B. About 40km into the race up the main climb of the day I got strung off the back loosing contact with the front bunch. A good chasing bunch formed bringing back many smaller bunch’s and good times on the main bunch.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend of racing and was really well organised. I learnt a lot about which factors I need to work in my racing. The team rode really smoothly and effectively especially for the first race of the season and I am looking forward to the next race with The Racing Kangaroos.
The Sunday afternoon after the Bathurst Hill Climb weekend, a weeklong camp was held by cycling NSW. The camp involved many training rides, lectures and coverage on many important factors of cycling.
Each morning involved breakfast, followed by about 30 minutes of stretching and core work. We would then set out for our morning session of training which varied from strength edurance efforts, to time trial and interval training.
We learnt heaps during these, especially about wearing ample amount of clothing as many weren’t prepared for the Bathurst weather.
We would return for lunch at around 12 o’clock then prepare for the afternoons session which generally started about 2 o’clock. We would then head back home around 5 o’clock for showers and prepare for dinner at 6 o’clock.
Dinner was then followed by a lecture from the different coaches about things from riding in the wind, team tactics, the pathways through NSWIS and the AIS and talking in the media. Lectures usually finished around 8 – 8.30 which was then designated movie time. By this time though nearly all riders where well and truly ready for bed.
Overall the week was a fantastic experience and very eye opening towards the insight about a career as a pro cyclist. I felt very privileged to be able to attend the camp as I found it an incredibly valuable learning experience as well as motivating me hugely towards my cycling.
Sam Jenner
I participated at Bathurst on the 9th -10th April. The events included:
1 The Hill Climb on Saturday 9th April. I placed 6th and this was the first time that I had climbed the hill, next year I'll have a bit more experience and knowledge of how to conquer the hill.
2. The Criterium followed on Saturday afternoon. I place first and was off scratch. All team members performed well and worked hard. I had to go when there was a jump from the other competitors, so I did! I held my ground and used all my strength and finished 1st. It was hard and I was totally exhausted after the race - but worth every bit of effort!
3. The 70km Road Race was on Sunday 10 April. The day was wet, miserable and cold. I started with the group but it split early and I was in the chase group. I placed first in the u15s classifications. The team worked well and placed highly.
It was great to catch up with the team and managers on Saturday before the B2B. The food and accommodation was good. It was a successful weekend for all the Racing Kangaroos.
I also participated in the NSW Cycling Jnr Development Camp from Sunday 10th April - Friday 15th April. I wore my kit everyday and learnt some life skills - yes washing! The camp was great!!! I really enjoyed the advice and support the NSWIS coaches gave all of us for the future. The days were long and we rode many kilometres, but the first thing I wanted to do when I returned home - was to ride my bike and put it into action! Yes, I even went riding in the rain!
I made lots of friends, shared lots of bike stories and have really sore abdominal muscles from Mick's pain session.
I plan to go to the Battle of the Borders on 30 April - 2 May. The format is:
1 x Time trail
2 Road Races
1 x Criterium
Kieren Lewis
It was a last minute decision for me to do the camp, but with some top coaches like Gary Sutton, Kurt Pollock and Mick Kejda going it seemed like a great idea.
Sunday was just a meet and greet day, and a nice early bedtime for a reasonable start the next day. We awoke the next day at about 6 thanks to the u13’s, a little bit too excited. Pulled on some warm gear, and headed down for a very nice breakfast once again from the Goldfields. A nice light roll followed our core work and stretching. Then descending work in the afternoon, which I almost crashed in, my rear brakes failing me, a problem I won’t have when I get my new Cervelo. Home, showered and fed, ready for bed. The next morning we had strength efforts and small gear efforts up the Hill climb hill, which I felt I did very well, even though Kurt kept making me do more. Unfortunately I had picked up a stomach bug and spent the afternoon in bed. The next morning still feeling a bit off I decided to just suffer and went out to do the time trials. We did about 55 kilometres before the tt’s, then got stuck into them, with a 7.5 kilometre individual time trial first up, which I felt surprisingly good in and managed to do fairly well. Then in the afternoon we did a team time trial of 15 kilometres, I was in a 3 men team of Nathan Bradshaw, Blake Schuman and myself. Both boys did very well, and I thought I did ok myself, we posted a time just a few seconds slower than a 4 men team in front of us. Back home for showers and Dinner, and sleep. Thursday brought Intervals to the throw after the usual morning ritual, which was good, for search of a better word, fun. I went with an u19, which made things a bit hard but was still good. Then in the afternoon we did some sprint work which was probably the least amount of fun I had all week. Friday came around and everyone was ready for home, although we all had a great week, there were some tired bodies around. After a short ride to Bathurst velodrome and some skills, we came home packed and were sent on our ways home after a very enjoyable week.
Throughout the week, we got great words of wisdom from Kurt, Mick, Gary, Natalie Bates, and a couple of other coaches. They all spoke to us about what it took to become a cyclist which everyone was all ears for, because in cycling we are all learning and I believe to take any advice that comes my way, It was a great week and I learnt quite a lot. I found out off Kurt that I would be getting my new Cervelo in the following week, so I was very keen to get home and begun counting down the days!
Tori Saunders
The Bathurst 2011 State Hill Climb was heaps of fun. I enjoyed being able to race in our new kits that 2XU has provided us with. Staying with the team was also lots of fun. When I left for the Hill Climb it was very foggy and a bit cold. I gave it all I had in the race and I ended up getting second. I was happy with my result and I can’t wait until next year!
Later on in the day, about 12pm when we had the Criterium, it had warmed up and all the fog was gone. I started in the last bunch that left so it was our job to catch the main bunch. I dropped off my bunch with 4 Laps to go so I had to ride the rest of the race by myself. The hardest part of the race for me was coming along Pit Straight. This is slightly up hill and there was a slight headwind. I ended up coming across the line forth.
The next day (Sunday) we had the B2B. It was pouring with rain for the whole race and when we got back we were all so wet and couldn’t wait to have a shower. The race was hard right from the start. When we had about 30km to go, I found a bunch that I could keep up with so I rode the rest of the race with them. It made the ride easier because I was able to sit on and I became a bit sheltered from the wind and the rain.
The 2011 NSW Junior Development Camp was really fun. It gave me a chance to socialize with other riders and get to know people from different age groups. I enjoyed doing different cycling activities with the Under 15 girls. The cycling activities were fun but the most enjoyable cycling activity we did was the team time trial. I enjoyed this activity the most because I got to work with other riders. I cant wait for next year!
Nick Edwards
NSW Hill Climb Championships : I had a good sleep with the team and woke up feeling good. Just before my start my gears were jumping and dad tried to sort them out. I just got to my start in time with no proper warm up because dad was working on my bike. The bike was okay during the Time Trial but I was just not fast enough. I finished 13th overall which is alright.
Bathurst Criterium: Kurt got the under 15s men to talk about what we are going to do in the race. I started off in the last group and we all worked to try and catch the other groups. My gears wouldn’t change into the fastest gear throughout the race, I stayed with the group but only just. I led the end of the last lap but didn’t contest in the bunch sprint.
Blayney to Bathurst: Started at the front of the bunch on the way out of town, we hit a down hill and I got dropped because my gears didn’t go into the fastest gear. I sat on the group behind me and then they pulled away from me. I rode by myself for a bit, then I rode the rest with one of my mates and I finished a little sad because of my gears.
When I got home dad found out what was wrong with my gears... the inner cable was frayed.
Overall I was happy but not with my gears, I guess I should say better luck next time.
Danica Kloppers
I really enjoyed my time at Bathurst with racing and also spending time with the team.
In the hill climb I had a mechanical and couldn’t finish which was a bit disappointing. The crit was fun riding the Bathurst track and it was good to race different girls than usual. I want to improve riding with more people in crits like at Bathurst and am hoping that more racing will help me.
I did the 70k race on the Sunday and enjoyed that a lot. It was good to have a different sort of race with different people and I ended up fourth in my age group. I also enjoyed that course, even in the wet and cold weather.
I had fun getting to know the team a lot better and becoming good friends with everyone I met in Inverell for the weekend. Getting the new kit was really exciting as well and i can't wait for the rest of the year with the Racing Kangaroos.
Jack McColloch
Bathurst Weekend 8th April 2011-04-28
I arrived at Bathurst on Friday afternoon. I met up with the Kangaroos for dinner and we got our new kit which not only looks really good but fits well. The first race at the Bathurst weekend was the Bathurst NSW hill climb champs. I didn’t go as good as I had hoped but I was still happy with my time. Overall I finished 8th.
The next race was the criterium around the pits of the race track I was happy with my race staying towards the front the majority of the race and even going off the front with a break. There was a break away for the last 20 or so laps of the race but they were brought back with only a few laps to go and I ended up in the middle of the bunch.
The next day was the Blayney to Bathurst 110 km race. I wasn’t sure how the race was going to pan out as it was raining and very wet. I stayed at the front the entire race and started the last climb in 3rd wheel which is where I wanted to be as I didn’t know how well I was climbing and didn’t want to get stuck out the back. I got over the climb in the front group and then stayed in the front group until the finish where half of the group got sent the wrong way including me; I then finished in the middle of the group. Overall I was happy with the weekend and looking forward to the junior worlds selection race in Tasmania.
Jeremy Scott
I attended the NSW hill climb champs, Bathurst Crits and the B2B.
Overall it was a great weekend had alot of fun racing and staying with the team for the first time. I didn't really do much preperation for the hill climb as it was early in the season i wasnt into that phase of my training program intensly, i finished up 10th in the hill climb wich i was pretty happy with considering my little preperation. For the Crits i was put in Div 2, wich wasnt a bad thing apart from the wait till 4 pm to race it. i had a good race finishing in the top 10 as i wasnt going all out cause i had to back up for the B2B.
Although the weather for the B2B wasnt great i still enjoyed it and had a goodish race. i was caught up in a crash early on but managed to get back on, then blowing up on the last climb.
I'd just like to thank yourself, Kurt, Mark and Mick for a great weekend.
The week after i headed to Tassie for the Mersey Valley Tour. As i had never raced in Tassie before i was pretty keen for it. I had a great weekend of racing i achieved my goals for the weekend which were finishing each stage, finishing the whole tour and finishing in the top 30 in each road stage.
Thanks to Kurt and Mick for taking us over
Sara Spokes
My Balaney to Bathurst week started off by arriving to the comfy accommodation Friday afternoon. After un packing my bags into my residents for the next week, we set out on a quick ride to see the course which was just down the road. Later was dinner were we all ate together talking like we haven't been apart. After everyone had finished eating, we surprisingly received our new 2xu kits and capo socks which I don't think anyone was expecting. It than turned into a race up to the room to try on the kits, eventually everyone was running around like on christmas morning in their new cloths.
Now it was race day, and time to try out our new kits. We all looked so awesome rolling down to the start together and I will never forget the look on everyone's faces as we rolled up. The first event was the hill climb. I placed 8th in the hill climb. Later that afternoon was the event that I thought I had a better chance in the criterium and turns out I did with a 1st and a very nice victory salute to show off the new kit.
The morning of Balaney to Bathurst was a cold and wet one, but that's okay a bit of rain never killed anyone, although I needed reminding of this after about a hour in the race with pouring rain and a hill right in front of me I was liking it a little less. I finished approximately 15th overall in the girls and 4th u17 girl. Which was not a bad day in the saddle but thank goodness that we have good chamois.
This now meant the start of the camp. The first couple of days started out rainy and cold but by the end of the week it had defiantly warmed up and the rain had left. We learnt a mixture of different training techniques and had a load of fun with all the new people that I haven't met before at cycling. The last day was possible the most fun but also the most sad cause we had to leave everyone. The train technique for Friday was skills, the first on was to put your back wheel on and than race around the veledrome for 2 laps which I took out with another salute this one not quite as good as my last but still manage to show of the sponsors name, the next and last skill was to ride through a tire which my team won.
All in all it was a awesome week of racing and training, made better by our comfy new capo socks and 2xu clothing with unbelievable comfy lady chamois. Thanks sponsors!!!!!!!
Saturday April 9, saw Inverell’s locally based cycling team Heinrich Haussler’s – Racing Kangaroos, launch their 2011 season in Bathurst. All but one of the 22 riders made the trip to contest a junior hill climb championship and criterium on Saturday and a road race from Blayney to Bathurst on the Sunday.
The riders aged from 12 to 17 were excited to be presented with their 2XU kits displaying the team’s local and international sponsors, with their Cervelo bikes arriving shortly. The team performed well both on and off the bike with Tamworth rider Tori Saunders taking second place in the U15 women’s hill climb, Jack Edwards taking second in the U17 men’s hill climb and Kirsty Mills taking first place in the U19 women’s event.
The criterium had some great racing around the pit area of Mt Panorama with Armidale rider Sam Jenner taking first place in the U15 men’s, Tamworth rider Sara Spokes taking first place in the U17 women’s and Bathurst local Harry Jones taking first place in the U17 men’s event.
The Blayney to Bathurst was contested on a wet, cold and windy day. All the riders put in a great effort to simply finish the race with all of the Racing Kangaroos finishing in the top 20 of their age divisions.
Alex Beedie
The highlight of the weekend at Bathurst for me, was that it was the first time The Racing Kangaroos were together at a race this year. I was excited and greatful to receive the new kit with the sponsors’ names on it.
Other experiences of my weekend and week at Bathurst were:
- The race was cold wet and windy
- team mates Jack Edwards 2nd in hill climb and Harry Jones 2nd, Nick Costello 5th in the crit.
- Harry won the U17’s Blaney to Bathurst and other team members got some great results
- Meeting other NSW cyclist’s and making friends
- Learning from experienced coaches training tips and riding techniques
- Improved my cornering skills after having a crash 2 months ago
Jack Edwards
NSW Hillclimb championships: Got a good night sleep with the team, and on race day I felt great, warmed up properly and started the time trial, finished up 2nd with the silver medal, and being the 1st first year in the u17 men.
Bathurst Criterium: Had a good team talk pre race with the boys and kurt, went out to smash it up, I won the first priem, and then two riders got away. 5 laps to go and we had to start chasing, I chased hard with the other team mates to pull back to other riders and get our sprinter Harrison Jones in contention for the win, but after 4 laps of hard chasing we only managed to pull back one of the two riders that got away, I got dropped from the main group with a lap to go, but our sprinter won the bunch sprint.
Mistake… shouldn’t have let the break away go.
Blaney to Bathurst: Great conditions! Poring rain and howling winds! Went out pretty easy, just staying up near the front, about 20km into the race the attacks started to come, we managed to get away with a group of 8 riders chasing the break away group of 3 or 4 riders, one of the riders was a team mate so I just sat back and let everyone else do the chasing, the break away group stayed away till the finish, and I ended up getting 2nd in the bunch sprint.
All up it was a great weekend with the boys!
Blake Schuman
On the 9th and 10th of April an open was held in Bathurst. The Saturday contained the N.S.W Hill Climb championships in the morning followed by a criterium in the afternoon.
I warmed up for the hill climb and prepared with all the other riders. Each person went off and finally it came my time to start. About 2km into the race I dropped my chain causing it to jam and unfortunately ending my hopes of a top 15 finish as I had to pull out.
As the afternoons event came round I yet again prepared for another, very fast and hard race. The pace was on from the whistle and a lot of attacks and breaks went and formed. It wasn’t till the 4th lap in where Nathan Bradshaw and Aaron Alderton-Willmot causing the split which ended up in me being strung off the back of the bunch as I was sitting to far back in the bunch.
Sunday Morning come round and all Racing Kangaroos headed the 45km to Blayney for the beginning of the 70km B2B which begin at 10:00am. All the Racing Kangaroos U17m went off in wave 1 for what was going to be a very fast an aggressive B2B. About 40km into the race up the main climb of the day I got strung off the back loosing contact with the front bunch. A good chasing bunch formed bringing back many smaller bunch’s and good times on the main bunch.
Overall it was a fantastic weekend of racing and was really well organised. I learnt a lot about which factors I need to work in my racing. The team rode really smoothly and effectively especially for the first race of the season and I am looking forward to the next race with The Racing Kangaroos.
The Sunday afternoon after the Bathurst Hill Climb weekend, a weeklong camp was held by cycling NSW. The camp involved many training rides, lectures and coverage on many important factors of cycling.
Each morning involved breakfast, followed by about 30 minutes of stretching and core work. We would then set out for our morning session of training which varied from strength edurance efforts, to time trial and interval training.
We learnt heaps during these, especially about wearing ample amount of clothing as many weren’t prepared for the Bathurst weather.
We would return for lunch at around 12 o’clock then prepare for the afternoons session which generally started about 2 o’clock. We would then head back home around 5 o’clock for showers and prepare for dinner at 6 o’clock.
Dinner was then followed by a lecture from the different coaches about things from riding in the wind, team tactics, the pathways through NSWIS and the AIS and talking in the media. Lectures usually finished around 8 – 8.30 which was then designated movie time. By this time though nearly all riders where well and truly ready for bed.
Overall the week was a fantastic experience and very eye opening towards the insight about a career as a pro cyclist. I felt very privileged to be able to attend the camp as I found it an incredibly valuable learning experience as well as motivating me hugely towards my cycling.
Sam Jenner
I participated at Bathurst on the 9th -10th April. The events included:
1 The Hill Climb on Saturday 9th April. I placed 6th and this was the first time that I had climbed the hill, next year I'll have a bit more experience and knowledge of how to conquer the hill.
2. The Criterium followed on Saturday afternoon. I place first and was off scratch. All team members performed well and worked hard. I had to go when there was a jump from the other competitors, so I did! I held my ground and used all my strength and finished 1st. It was hard and I was totally exhausted after the race - but worth every bit of effort!
3. The 70km Road Race was on Sunday 10 April. The day was wet, miserable and cold. I started with the group but it split early and I was in the chase group. I placed first in the u15s classifications. The team worked well and placed highly.
It was great to catch up with the team and managers on Saturday before the B2B. The food and accommodation was good. It was a successful weekend for all the Racing Kangaroos.
I also participated in the NSW Cycling Jnr Development Camp from Sunday 10th April - Friday 15th April. I wore my kit everyday and learnt some life skills - yes washing! The camp was great!!! I really enjoyed the advice and support the NSWIS coaches gave all of us for the future. The days were long and we rode many kilometres, but the first thing I wanted to do when I returned home - was to ride my bike and put it into action! Yes, I even went riding in the rain!
I made lots of friends, shared lots of bike stories and have really sore abdominal muscles from Mick's pain session.
I plan to go to the Battle of the Borders on 30 April - 2 May. The format is:
1 x Time trail
2 Road Races
1 x Criterium
Kieren Lewis
It was a last minute decision for me to do the camp, but with some top coaches like Gary Sutton, Kurt Pollock and Mick Kejda going it seemed like a great idea.
Sunday was just a meet and greet day, and a nice early bedtime for a reasonable start the next day. We awoke the next day at about 6 thanks to the u13’s, a little bit too excited. Pulled on some warm gear, and headed down for a very nice breakfast once again from the Goldfields. A nice light roll followed our core work and stretching. Then descending work in the afternoon, which I almost crashed in, my rear brakes failing me, a problem I won’t have when I get my new Cervelo. Home, showered and fed, ready for bed. The next morning we had strength efforts and small gear efforts up the Hill climb hill, which I felt I did very well, even though Kurt kept making me do more. Unfortunately I had picked up a stomach bug and spent the afternoon in bed. The next morning still feeling a bit off I decided to just suffer and went out to do the time trials. We did about 55 kilometres before the tt’s, then got stuck into them, with a 7.5 kilometre individual time trial first up, which I felt surprisingly good in and managed to do fairly well. Then in the afternoon we did a team time trial of 15 kilometres, I was in a 3 men team of Nathan Bradshaw, Blake Schuman and myself. Both boys did very well, and I thought I did ok myself, we posted a time just a few seconds slower than a 4 men team in front of us. Back home for showers and Dinner, and sleep. Thursday brought Intervals to the throw after the usual morning ritual, which was good, for search of a better word, fun. I went with an u19, which made things a bit hard but was still good. Then in the afternoon we did some sprint work which was probably the least amount of fun I had all week. Friday came around and everyone was ready for home, although we all had a great week, there were some tired bodies around. After a short ride to Bathurst velodrome and some skills, we came home packed and were sent on our ways home after a very enjoyable week.
Throughout the week, we got great words of wisdom from Kurt, Mick, Gary, Natalie Bates, and a couple of other coaches. They all spoke to us about what it took to become a cyclist which everyone was all ears for, because in cycling we are all learning and I believe to take any advice that comes my way, It was a great week and I learnt quite a lot. I found out off Kurt that I would be getting my new Cervelo in the following week, so I was very keen to get home and begun counting down the days!
Tori Saunders
The Bathurst 2011 State Hill Climb was heaps of fun. I enjoyed being able to race in our new kits that 2XU has provided us with. Staying with the team was also lots of fun. When I left for the Hill Climb it was very foggy and a bit cold. I gave it all I had in the race and I ended up getting second. I was happy with my result and I can’t wait until next year!
Later on in the day, about 12pm when we had the Criterium, it had warmed up and all the fog was gone. I started in the last bunch that left so it was our job to catch the main bunch. I dropped off my bunch with 4 Laps to go so I had to ride the rest of the race by myself. The hardest part of the race for me was coming along Pit Straight. This is slightly up hill and there was a slight headwind. I ended up coming across the line forth.
The next day (Sunday) we had the B2B. It was pouring with rain for the whole race and when we got back we were all so wet and couldn’t wait to have a shower. The race was hard right from the start. When we had about 30km to go, I found a bunch that I could keep up with so I rode the rest of the race with them. It made the ride easier because I was able to sit on and I became a bit sheltered from the wind and the rain.
The 2011 NSW Junior Development Camp was really fun. It gave me a chance to socialize with other riders and get to know people from different age groups. I enjoyed doing different cycling activities with the Under 15 girls. The cycling activities were fun but the most enjoyable cycling activity we did was the team time trial. I enjoyed this activity the most because I got to work with other riders. I cant wait for next year!
Nick Edwards
NSW Hill Climb Championships : I had a good sleep with the team and woke up feeling good. Just before my start my gears were jumping and dad tried to sort them out. I just got to my start in time with no proper warm up because dad was working on my bike. The bike was okay during the Time Trial but I was just not fast enough. I finished 13th overall which is alright.
Bathurst Criterium: Kurt got the under 15s men to talk about what we are going to do in the race. I started off in the last group and we all worked to try and catch the other groups. My gears wouldn’t change into the fastest gear throughout the race, I stayed with the group but only just. I led the end of the last lap but didn’t contest in the bunch sprint.
Blayney to Bathurst: Started at the front of the bunch on the way out of town, we hit a down hill and I got dropped because my gears didn’t go into the fastest gear. I sat on the group behind me and then they pulled away from me. I rode by myself for a bit, then I rode the rest with one of my mates and I finished a little sad because of my gears.
When I got home dad found out what was wrong with my gears... the inner cable was frayed.
Overall I was happy but not with my gears, I guess I should say better luck next time.
Danica Kloppers
I really enjoyed my time at Bathurst with racing and also spending time with the team.
In the hill climb I had a mechanical and couldn’t finish which was a bit disappointing. The crit was fun riding the Bathurst track and it was good to race different girls than usual. I want to improve riding with more people in crits like at Bathurst and am hoping that more racing will help me.
I did the 70k race on the Sunday and enjoyed that a lot. It was good to have a different sort of race with different people and I ended up fourth in my age group. I also enjoyed that course, even in the wet and cold weather.
I had fun getting to know the team a lot better and becoming good friends with everyone I met in Inverell for the weekend. Getting the new kit was really exciting as well and i can't wait for the rest of the year with the Racing Kangaroos.
Jack McColloch
Bathurst Weekend 8th April 2011-04-28
I arrived at Bathurst on Friday afternoon. I met up with the Kangaroos for dinner and we got our new kit which not only looks really good but fits well. The first race at the Bathurst weekend was the Bathurst NSW hill climb champs. I didn’t go as good as I had hoped but I was still happy with my time. Overall I finished 8th.
The next race was the criterium around the pits of the race track I was happy with my race staying towards the front the majority of the race and even going off the front with a break. There was a break away for the last 20 or so laps of the race but they were brought back with only a few laps to go and I ended up in the middle of the bunch.
The next day was the Blayney to Bathurst 110 km race. I wasn’t sure how the race was going to pan out as it was raining and very wet. I stayed at the front the entire race and started the last climb in 3rd wheel which is where I wanted to be as I didn’t know how well I was climbing and didn’t want to get stuck out the back. I got over the climb in the front group and then stayed in the front group until the finish where half of the group got sent the wrong way including me; I then finished in the middle of the group. Overall I was happy with the weekend and looking forward to the junior worlds selection race in Tasmania.
Jeremy Scott
I attended the NSW hill climb champs, Bathurst Crits and the B2B.
Overall it was a great weekend had alot of fun racing and staying with the team for the first time. I didn't really do much preperation for the hill climb as it was early in the season i wasnt into that phase of my training program intensly, i finished up 10th in the hill climb wich i was pretty happy with considering my little preperation. For the Crits i was put in Div 2, wich wasnt a bad thing apart from the wait till 4 pm to race it. i had a good race finishing in the top 10 as i wasnt going all out cause i had to back up for the B2B.
Although the weather for the B2B wasnt great i still enjoyed it and had a goodish race. i was caught up in a crash early on but managed to get back on, then blowing up on the last climb.
I'd just like to thank yourself, Kurt, Mark and Mick for a great weekend.
The week after i headed to Tassie for the Mersey Valley Tour. As i had never raced in Tassie before i was pretty keen for it. I had a great weekend of racing i achieved my goals for the weekend which were finishing each stage, finishing the whole tour and finishing in the top 30 in each road stage.
Thanks to Kurt and Mick for taking us over
Sara Spokes
My Balaney to Bathurst week started off by arriving to the comfy accommodation Friday afternoon. After un packing my bags into my residents for the next week, we set out on a quick ride to see the course which was just down the road. Later was dinner were we all ate together talking like we haven't been apart. After everyone had finished eating, we surprisingly received our new 2xu kits and capo socks which I don't think anyone was expecting. It than turned into a race up to the room to try on the kits, eventually everyone was running around like on christmas morning in their new cloths.
Now it was race day, and time to try out our new kits. We all looked so awesome rolling down to the start together and I will never forget the look on everyone's faces as we rolled up. The first event was the hill climb. I placed 8th in the hill climb. Later that afternoon was the event that I thought I had a better chance in the criterium and turns out I did with a 1st and a very nice victory salute to show off the new kit.
The morning of Balaney to Bathurst was a cold and wet one, but that's okay a bit of rain never killed anyone, although I needed reminding of this after about a hour in the race with pouring rain and a hill right in front of me I was liking it a little less. I finished approximately 15th overall in the girls and 4th u17 girl. Which was not a bad day in the saddle but thank goodness that we have good chamois.
This now meant the start of the camp. The first couple of days started out rainy and cold but by the end of the week it had defiantly warmed up and the rain had left. We learnt a mixture of different training techniques and had a load of fun with all the new people that I haven't met before at cycling. The last day was possible the most fun but also the most sad cause we had to leave everyone. The train technique for Friday was skills, the first on was to put your back wheel on and than race around the veledrome for 2 laps which I took out with another salute this one not quite as good as my last but still manage to show of the sponsors name, the next and last skill was to ride through a tire which my team won.
All in all it was a awesome week of racing and training, made better by our comfy new capo socks and 2xu clothing with unbelievable comfy lady chamois. Thanks sponsors!!!!!!!
