Cromwell-Queenstown Easter Cycling Tour 2004

Saturday 10th April - Monday 12th April 2004

Jason Kelly

This event is an annual one that has been run for many years. Due to the “Warbirds over Wanaka” event and the fallout from the Le Race court case, this years edition of the Tour was not confirmed until much later than usual. This undoubtedly saw reduced field sizes from previous years in each of the A, B and C grades. The first days stages were moved to Bluff and Invercargill to avoid clashes with the estimated 100,000 people who were expected at the Warbirds event. This year four Ramblers traveled to the deep south – myself, Gavin Povey (winner of last year’s C grade event), Brett Ritchie and George Masters. We all elected to race in B grade this year.

 At the Friday night pre-race briefing, the starting roster handed out for B grade was headed by Olympian Sarah Ulmer. Unfortunately, Sarah withdrew prior to the start due to ill health. A number of other riders also failed to start which saw less than twenty B graders start the event. We were given wads of paperwork to comply with all the local requirements for traffic safety and risk management plans.

Saturday 10^th April 2004

Prologue – 1.5km Individual Time Trial up Bluff Hill – 8.30am start

The morning dawned cold with literally freezing south west winds accompanied by occasional heavy and icy showers. Brett recalls not getting much sleep on the Friday night due to the hail on his hotel window. A previous days preview of the climb in the car indicated an initial downhill section followed by a short steep climb which was followed by a long steady climb to the 1.5km finish mark for B grade (the A grade went right to the top.) With just about all the cycling gear on I own, it was almost warm!

By the time the B grade started, the road had dried a little and we all managed to complete the event without getting wet. George was the first Rambler to start and pushed himself to the limit to win the stage in a time of 4m 45s. Gavin was second Rambler and finished eighth in a time of 5m 28s. I was third away and struggled over the steepest section to finish 7^th in 5m 26s while Brett struggled even more in the cold and couldn’t feel his feet, had his wheel spinning on the icy road at the start and was just about thrown over his handle bars before creeping to the top to finish well down the field.

Stage 1 – Teretonga Motor Circuit Race in Invercargill – one hour five minutes – 2pm start

The weather had not improved in the afternoon with icy showers continuing. The C grade raced first and once they had finished, the A grade started with us starting very shortly after them. Due to the freezing temperatures, both the A and B grade races were mercifully shortened to just over one hour each from the scheduled 1.5 hours and 1.25 hours respectively. While sitting on the start line, a hail shower passed through and we all shivered with many riders wondering aloud what the hell they were doing there. With George in yellow by 17s, he and Brett had arranged for Brett to attack from the start line. With the freezing temperatures, this was also an ideal method of getting warm! Strong and gusty crosswinds made racing conditions even more difficult, especially with a wet track and constant attacks. The southern weather had got to me and I was suffering terribly from a bad head throb and empty legs. Early in the event, a rider crashed literally right in front of me and, since I have had two bad crashes in the last twelve months, I didn’t intend joining him. Forced to ride cross country a la Lance Armstrong in last years Tour de France, I managed to stay upright but was well off the back of the bunch. With a hard chase, I managed to get back on but was legless for the rest of the day and struggled to hang in the back. Up the front, Brett was absolutely wrecking himself to try and protect George’s lead as a local rider had managed to slip away up the track. With no other riders interested or able to chase, the local rider took out the stage with an impressive margin of 58s to take the yellow jersey from George. George was less than impressed with the result but, as it turned out, the other local riders knew the hills would soon eliminate the advantage gained in this stage by the stage winner.

Sunday 11^th April 2004

Stage 2 – Winton to Athol – 80km – 9am start

The weather dawned very similar to the previous day. On the drive north to the start line at Winton, heavy rain fell. It was not at all promising! The organiser had decided that the A and B grades would start together in this stage to get the riders through to Dipton faster which was where the C grade were to start from. The Ramblers felt this might be to our advantage because if a couple of us could get away and stay with the A grade, it was potentially possible to get a tour winning lead.

With strong cross winds from the left still prevalent, the A grade attacked from the line. This resulted in the larger combined A/B grade field echeloning across the centre line. With the real risk of disqualification for not following the commissaires instructions, I soon moved to the left hand side of the road and was promptly dropped off the pace with some other B graders. Just as we started to work together to chase, we rounded a corner to find the race had been stopped due to riders being all over the road. After a tough talking to about keeping left, the A grade were restarted with the B grade starting shortly afterwards. Brett was still not feeling good from his previous day’s efforts which was compounded by a bout of illness and continuing cold weather. As a result, his legs failed to work and he was dropped by the bunch. On the first King of the Mountains climb, Gavin Povey launched a withering attack but was pulled in by local riders before the KOM line. He and another three riders established a brief small gap over a chasing few with the rest of the field left behind.

George and the local yellow jersey holder engaged in a series of one on one attacks in the cross winds. The remaining bunch managed to keep up without crossing the centre line too many times. As we headed north, the weather cleared, the sun came out and the temperature rose. Climbing the last major climb of the day, I was on the front pushing the pace only to hear George ask me to slow down. As he had the best chance of regaining yellow, I did so and by the time we had powered down the hill at over 70km/h, a front bunch of just six riders remained which included three Ramblers – myself, George and Gavin. From there, I did most of the work and we achieved a 2m 57s gap over the next riders and over eleven minutes over the previous yellow jersey holder. I lead out the sprint for Gavin and George but the Ramblers had to settle for me 4^th in the stage with George 5^th and Gavin 6^th. Due to some unwritten local rules, a local rider who punctured in the stage was awarded the same time as us despite getting a relatively fast wheel change and finishing well down the field in the stage. As a result of this stage, George held a 17s lead over 2^nd place with me 5^th, 40s behind George, with Gavin a further 4s back in 6^th place overall. Brett was now out of the running for GC.

Stage 3 – Cromwell Criterium – 30 minutes – 2pm start

Finally the sun shone consistently and all the extra layers of clothing that had been mandatory for the stages to date were gladfully shed. With George in yellow and Brett out of GC contention but a criterium expert, the scene was set for him to dominate this stage. The stage went largely to plan with Brett feeling very strong and his legs working in the warm weather. With some help from his fellow Ramblers who controlled the bunch, he established a clear lead and with six laps to go, appeared to have the stage in the bag. However, as we came around the back straight corner, we saw Brett standing in the gutter frantically trying to get his chain back on. He had got caught out by a big gust of wind and hit the gutter at close to 50km/h! Bugger, torn booties, lots of blood but no immediate pain as that came later. He completed the stage with the bunch and was patched up by the local first aiders. All Ramblers finished in the bunch so George retained the yellow jersey into the final day.

Monday 12^th April 2004

Stage 4 – Queenstown to Glenorchy – 44.5km – 8.30am start

The day dawned fine and clear and considerably warmer than Bluff though still cold enough for a polyprop. Brett tried to start but was still sore from the previous days crash and then realised he couldn’t change gears as his rear derailleur had taken a big hit so it was tour over for him. Gavin unfortunately awoke with a bad head cold. With George in yellow and Gavin ill, neither had any interest in pushing the pace. As such, I again spent much of the time on the front controlling the pace. George lead some wicked descents at over 80km/h but we were unable to establish a decisive lead. The result was a slow overall stage which, despite the slow overall pace into a head wind, still saw George and I in the front bunch of just six riders. George took out the stage in a high speed sprint and despite being hindered in the sprint, I finished 4^th to move up to 4^th on GC. Gavin was dropped up a climb mid-way through the stage to finish just over 4 minutes down in 10^th place for the stage but retained sixth place overall.

Stage 5 – Glenorchy to Queenstown finishing up Moke Lake Road – 41km – 12 mid-day start

The sun continued to shine and the temperature had risen enough to ride in summer racing gear. The morning’s stage had taken a severe toll on Gavin who was in very bad shape. However, on checking the results and seeing that he was still 6^th on GC and in the prize money, he was determined to finish and claim something financial from the experience. With a major hill climb before the notorious final Moke Lake Road, which some local riders say is worse than Bluff Hill, and tired legs in the peleton, another slow stage eventuated. One local rider rode away a couple of times but as I was unsure of his place on GC, I chased him down once the gap became uncomfortable. On checking the final results, this rider was in fact well out of contention for GC but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry! I helped Gavin across the top of one of the climbs before it became a free for all up Moke Lake Road. This climb has a number of switch backs on a steep gradient before settling into a gentler gradient and longer straights. Gavin launched an ambitious attack at the bottom of the hill but with the effects of his illness kicking in, faded to finish 10^th in the stage, over 1m down, but did enough to retain his 6^th place overall and a share of the prize money. Once he crossed the finish line, he had to be physically helped from the bike and into the car for the drive back to Queenstown. Gavin’s effort in this stage was undoubtedly the most gutsy ride of the tour and possibly of his life. George and I settled into a solid rhythm on the final climb, with me leading the way, and we took out 5^th and 6^th places in the stage respectively, six seconds behind the stage winner who had literally ridden himself into the ground to win the stage and the KOM points competition. It turned out that George and the stage winner had reached a financial arrangement on this stage finish. A pity they didn’t share this with us!

On completion of the stage, George, Brett riding Gavin’s bike, and I then cruised back to Queenstown. The Moke Lake Road downhill switchbacks almost claimed George as he raced down too fast. The prize giving was held that evening with George awarded the Tour leader’s yellow jersey and associated trophies and prizes. After three days and five stages of riding, final results were:

George Masters, 07hrs 03m 20s, 1st

Jason Kelly,        07hrs 04m 05s at 45s, 4th
Gavin Povey,      07hrs 09m 13s at 05m 53s, 6th
Brett Ritchie,      DNF

While Brett has vowed never to return again to the hell hole freezing place of the deep south, Gavin and I are interested in returning for more racing in very scenic, albeit cold conditions, against different riders. The tour is also a good excuse for an Easter break.

Brett contemplating the meaning of criteriums, while examining his wounds, after a high speed crash with a winning lead in the Cromwell Criterium

 

Gavin being restrained by Ken Lasenby at Glenorchy from taking a running start in the final stage