Racing Kangaroos Report
NSW Hillclimb and Criterium
The 9th of April marked the start of my U19 season with the racing kangaroos. After a short flight from Brisbane to Sydney and a long drive I arrived in Bathurst for the NSW Hillclimb, Criterium and B 2 B Road Race. The hill climb involved a 4km course which had a sharp rise complemented by some downhills at the beginning and finale of the time trial. I rolled up to the start house feeling okay, and jumped out hard. While climbing is my strong point, fast time trials tend to be my weakness. I set out to the first downhill section in an attempt to limit my losses. When I hit the sharp rise I was at my limit but managed to keep a solid average speed of 27 kmph for the time trial. I crossed the line with a time of 9:43, 21 seconds off a podium finish and 50 seconds off the winner. I was relatively happy with this result considering the undulating nature of the hillclimb. The criterium was not one of my better races, Iasted around 15 mins, with the lower chicane causing me serious problems, however it was good to see that my teammates, who had raced the course before do well.
B2B Road Race
The Sunday involved a 110km road race from Blayney to Bathurst. Our U19 team plan was to try and be in all the moves early and have as many guys up there in the finale. The conditions were less than ideal from the start with rain and the temperature below 10 degrees (not what we are used too in sunny Queensland). This caused some early carnage with Tirian and Jeremy caught behind a large pile up. However they managed to catch back on. Our race plan worked well early as I tried to get up the road with 4 others, however the bunch was just too large and strong for a break to be successful. With teams like Drapac and FRF Couriers controlling the race, the pace rarely dropped below 45kmph. The u19 Kangaroos were, despite this, always close to the front. On the penultimate climb, the race split to pieces with 10km to go, Josh and Jack were mixing it in the sprint for the finish and I ended up finishing around 2mins behind while Tirian and Jeremy, still hurting from their chasing efforts finished further back. It was a good showing by the boys against some of the bigger teams.
Mersey Valley Tour RR1 TT
On the weekend after Bathurst, the U19 boys and girl travelled to Devonport, Tasmania for the Worlds Selection Races in the Mersey Valley Tour. The time trial was a relatively conservative affair with most boys saving their energy for the big road race to Moina later that day. The riders were greeted with great weather for the start of the 100km Road Race. The pace was high at the start with numerous attacks coming in the early kilometres. Kurt Pollock, the team manager had advised me to stay near the front and watch early moves. I did this and was able to enter the first major climb in a relatively good position, finishing the 4km berg comfortably with all the other teammates. The kilometres after the climb were dense with attack after attack with the SASI and VIS boys the major culprits, but the kangaroos rode well near the front and were able to keep the academy boys honest. On the second major climb of the day, another 4km challenge, the pace was well and truly on. Again we positioned ourselves very well on the false flat to start the climb and avoided the drones dropping off the back. I got caught out over the crest of the climb but was able to get back on to the lead group of around 30 riders. By this time there was only 20km to go and the aggressive nature of the race continued. Ultimately, this aggressiveness put me in a world of pain and with 7km to go just before the final climb, I cramped up big time; perhaps I had not fuelled correctly with salt or electrolytes but either way, my race was all but over. Three of the other boys were able to hold on a bit longer and got decent results. I rolled to the line happy with how I rode the day, being in the lead group until the finale but regretting not fuelling enough. The day was won by NSWIS rider Caleb Ewan.
Mersey Valley Tour RR2
Stage 3 of the Worlds Selection weekend in Devonport was to be a hard one. Three laps of a tough 20km circuit plus a final 3km climb to finish promised the riders a tough day in the saddle. After a rev up by world’s selector Dave Sanders, the pace was on from the start. Within 5km from the starting gun however, my front tire burst in the gravel on the first decent, nearly causing me to crash. The spares vehicle took a while to reach me and change my wheel and by then the bunch was well and truly racing. After a long struggle through the cars, I managed to get back on to the lead group which was no problem. On the first major climb the race absolutely blew to pieces with small groups strewn all over the course. In the end, only 39 of the 80 odd starters finished. In the finale, I was in the third small group on the road, along with fellow kangaroos; Jack and Jeremy with a SASI and WAIS rider. Overall I was happy with the days racing considering the nature of the course and conditions. I would like to thank the Kangaroos again for giving me this amazing opportunity to race with a top junior team.
Cheers
Doug.
NSW Hillclimb and Criterium
The 9th of April marked the start of my U19 season with the racing kangaroos. After a short flight from Brisbane to Sydney and a long drive I arrived in Bathurst for the NSW Hillclimb, Criterium and B 2 B Road Race. The hill climb involved a 4km course which had a sharp rise complemented by some downhills at the beginning and finale of the time trial. I rolled up to the start house feeling okay, and jumped out hard. While climbing is my strong point, fast time trials tend to be my weakness. I set out to the first downhill section in an attempt to limit my losses. When I hit the sharp rise I was at my limit but managed to keep a solid average speed of 27 kmph for the time trial. I crossed the line with a time of 9:43, 21 seconds off a podium finish and 50 seconds off the winner. I was relatively happy with this result considering the undulating nature of the hillclimb. The criterium was not one of my better races, Iasted around 15 mins, with the lower chicane causing me serious problems, however it was good to see that my teammates, who had raced the course before do well.
B2B Road Race
The Sunday involved a 110km road race from Blayney to Bathurst. Our U19 team plan was to try and be in all the moves early and have as many guys up there in the finale. The conditions were less than ideal from the start with rain and the temperature below 10 degrees (not what we are used too in sunny Queensland). This caused some early carnage with Tirian and Jeremy caught behind a large pile up. However they managed to catch back on. Our race plan worked well early as I tried to get up the road with 4 others, however the bunch was just too large and strong for a break to be successful. With teams like Drapac and FRF Couriers controlling the race, the pace rarely dropped below 45kmph. The u19 Kangaroos were, despite this, always close to the front. On the penultimate climb, the race split to pieces with 10km to go, Josh and Jack were mixing it in the sprint for the finish and I ended up finishing around 2mins behind while Tirian and Jeremy, still hurting from their chasing efforts finished further back. It was a good showing by the boys against some of the bigger teams.
Mersey Valley Tour RR1 TT
On the weekend after Bathurst, the U19 boys and girl travelled to Devonport, Tasmania for the Worlds Selection Races in the Mersey Valley Tour. The time trial was a relatively conservative affair with most boys saving their energy for the big road race to Moina later that day. The riders were greeted with great weather for the start of the 100km Road Race. The pace was high at the start with numerous attacks coming in the early kilometres. Kurt Pollock, the team manager had advised me to stay near the front and watch early moves. I did this and was able to enter the first major climb in a relatively good position, finishing the 4km berg comfortably with all the other teammates. The kilometres after the climb were dense with attack after attack with the SASI and VIS boys the major culprits, but the kangaroos rode well near the front and were able to keep the academy boys honest. On the second major climb of the day, another 4km challenge, the pace was well and truly on. Again we positioned ourselves very well on the false flat to start the climb and avoided the drones dropping off the back. I got caught out over the crest of the climb but was able to get back on to the lead group of around 30 riders. By this time there was only 20km to go and the aggressive nature of the race continued. Ultimately, this aggressiveness put me in a world of pain and with 7km to go just before the final climb, I cramped up big time; perhaps I had not fuelled correctly with salt or electrolytes but either way, my race was all but over. Three of the other boys were able to hold on a bit longer and got decent results. I rolled to the line happy with how I rode the day, being in the lead group until the finale but regretting not fuelling enough. The day was won by NSWIS rider Caleb Ewan.
Mersey Valley Tour RR2
Stage 3 of the Worlds Selection weekend in Devonport was to be a hard one. Three laps of a tough 20km circuit plus a final 3km climb to finish promised the riders a tough day in the saddle. After a rev up by world’s selector Dave Sanders, the pace was on from the start. Within 5km from the starting gun however, my front tire burst in the gravel on the first decent, nearly causing me to crash. The spares vehicle took a while to reach me and change my wheel and by then the bunch was well and truly racing. After a long struggle through the cars, I managed to get back on to the lead group which was no problem. On the first major climb the race absolutely blew to pieces with small groups strewn all over the course. In the end, only 39 of the 80 odd starters finished. In the finale, I was in the third small group on the road, along with fellow kangaroos; Jack and Jeremy with a SASI and WAIS rider. Overall I was happy with the days racing considering the nature of the course and conditions. I would like to thank the Kangaroos again for giving me this amazing opportunity to race with a top junior team.
Cheers
Doug.
