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Simpson Memorial Mt Ventoux
Top of Mt Ventoux
Friday, 22 July 2005
Monday, 28 March 2005
10th Annual Cromwell - Queenstown Easter Cycling Tour
Friday 25th March - Monday 28th March
2005
Jason Kelly
This year saw
the 10th annual running of this event since it was resurrected in
1996. The course returned to that used in 2003 and was all in the Cromwell –
Queenstown area. This year, other than myself, the only other Rambler to travel
down south was Gavin Povey. While Gavin flew to Christchurch to travel on with
former Rambler and last year’s B grade winner, George Masters, I made my way
down by car with my parents, Gavin’s bike and plenty of extra bike bits. George
elected to compete in A grade while both Gavin and I raced in B grade. As my
form and training had been very poor to non-existent in the two weeks leading
up to the event, I thought even B grade might have been a bit taxing for me.
At the Friday afternoon
pre-race briefing, the starting roster handed out for B grade was one of the
thinnest to date with just 14 riders registered. However, as is typical, two
late entries boosted the numbers and had major effects on the race outcome.
Friday 25th March
Prologue – 5.4km Individual Time Trial – Cromwell - Bannockburn
I read somewhere once to always be wary of short prologues as they tend to include some hard climbing. This prologue was no exception. Having ridden this course previously in 2003, I knew what to expect and hoped to put in a practice ride in the morning. However, constant drizzle and cool weather meant this did not happen. By the time racing started late in the afternoon, the sky had mostly cleared and the temperature risen to be very temperate for the area with no polyprop required for extra warmth. Gavin and I cruised out and back along the course to re-acquaint ourselves with its initial gentle rolling nature which finishes with a short sharp descent followed by a sharper and longer climb to Bannockburn.
With riders
starting in reverse number order, I started one minute behind Gavin. The person
holding me at the start kept putting me on a bit of a lean and did not let the
bike go until well past the countdown had passed zero. Finally underway, I
tried to settle into a solid rhythm and see Gavin up the road. With the
memories of 2003 still fresh when Gavin, who rode C grade that year, beat me in
this stage, I wanted to see some personal improvement. After only ever seeing
Gavin way in the distance once and crawling up the final hill in first gear, I
thought I would have a fairly poor time but was happy to see that I had at
least beaten my 2003 time.
Saturday 26th March 2005
Stage 1 – Cromwell
– Lake Dunstan Circuit – 88km
Sporadic
drizzle and a cold south easterly wind were the main early features of this
stage. With an early tail wind, the pace was fast with a number of riders
attempting unsuccessfully to break away. However, once past the half way mark
and back into the wind, a solo rider went up the road. As is typical in this
event, the bunch just sat and watched him ride ever further away. Gavin came up
to me and asked if I wanted to try and jump across the gap. Looking up the
road, the gap looked to be at least 30 seconds and growing. Combining this with
the racing still to come and the fact that a B grade rider who is a doctor was
going to be awarded bunch time anyway as he had gone back to help with a nasty
C grade crash at the intermediate sprint, I told Gavin I didn’t think the
required effort was really worth it. Just as I finished saying this, the bunch
pace eased and the road opened in front of me with an identified “non-chasing”
rider on the front. With the opportunity presented, I attacked off the front
into the gutter with my eyes set on the rider up the road. As my legs started
to fade, I pulled over and Gavin came through. Looking behind, we had dropped
the bunch so started to work together in pursuit of the yellow jersey.
It soon became
apparent that we were holding to only slowly catching the stage leader on the
flat to downhill sections of the road but quickly closing the gap on rising
road. After several kilometres, we finally caught him and again looking behind,
we saw we had a workable lead over the bunch. With three of us now working, we
kept up a solid pace but were, a little surprisingly, caught by the bunch. Once
caught, the bunch pace slowed and I sat on the front at a Sunday ride pace back
into wind with a bunch sprint deciding the stage.
After our
breakaway effort, we had gained no time but had not lost any either. Post race
discussion observed that the yellow jersey holder did little chasing with the
bunch led by current Vet 1 4000m champion and former international cyclist
Jerard Stock and local Christchurch rider Darron Burns. Darron had indicated he
would help us as he only wanted KOM.
Stage 2 –
Cromwell Criterium – 30 minutes
The C grade
crash in the morning stage caused a re-jig of the criterium starting and racing
times while various C graders and their bikes were attended to. Our race was
re-scheduled to start first and reduced to 30 minutes plus three laps in
duration. The wind had strengthened a little and it remained cool but the road
remained dry. To add a bit more excitement, two large vehicles were parked on
the course despite the best efforts of the organiser to keep the circuit clear.
One was moved during the warm up and the second one late in the race.
After a hard
and fast start for the early few laps, while Gavin was up the front having fun,
I found myself and a few others off the back of the bunch after a rider in
front of me gave up and dropped the wheel. With the group we had, I thought it
should have been relatively easy to rejoin the bunch. Unfortunately, no one
else wanted to chase and it took a solo effort of several laps for me to get
back on. It turned out that no one else managed to get across with a number of
riders losing a lap so the effort was worth it.
The morning
stage efforts started to kick in and the bunch pace slowed as the stage
progressed. With three laps to go, I was warmed up and attacked off the front.
With the short distance of the course (just over 500m per lap), I was unable to
gain any advantage and the inevitable sprint finish saw another bunch finish
for both Gavin and myself. An average speed of just over 37km/h was similar to
last year but considerably slower than previous years, especially when compared
to the first year when Olympic gold medalist Sarah Ulmer was racing and we
averaged around 40km/h.
Sunday 27th March 2005
Stage 3 –
Remarkables Ski Field to Athol – 65km
After early
morning fog and low cloud cleared, the day turned out to be sunny and mild.
With an afternoon ITT to race and the following day’s two very hilly stages,
Gavin and I decided to take it easy in the bunch. With this being traditionally
a fast stage, I started from the front in case any riders tried to attack
early. This resulted in me having a dress rehearsal for the ITT as riders sat
on my wheel for about 10-12km as I spun comfortably along up false flats. As we
turned a corner with a slight tail wind push, I changed into a big gear and
drove it up a climb at over 40km/h but still failed to split the bunch.
The balance of
the stage was fairly tame with a few attempts at breaks and some high speeds on
downhill sections. No rider was dropped and another bunch sprint eventuated
with Gavin taking fifth place.
Stage 4 –
Athol to Garston – Individual Time Trial (ITT) – 11.4km
With the even
racing to date, this stage looked to be a potentially decisive one. When this
stage was held in 2003, I averaged 42.8km/h and still finished well down the
field and over a minute behind the leading C graders! As such, while I had some
positive anticipation of this stage, I also shared some of Gavin’s trepidation.
Starting into
a head wind in reverse GC (overall time) order, I was on the road two minutes
after Gavin and two minutes in front of the yellow jersey. My start was much
better than for the prologue but after about 4 or 5km, my legs started to
protest at the pace. Glancing at my speedo, I thought I was in real trouble as
I was only pushing 36 to 37km/h. Looking up the road, I could see my minute man
far in the distance. Digging it in, I pushed on, hoping for a downhill and
tailwind that never came. At about the 8km mark, I thought I could see two
riders up the road but thought I must have been dreaming. Closer to the finish
line, I saw one rider pass another rider and I wondered if one of the riders’ I
could see was Gavin. As I closed in on the finish line, I saw that it was Gavin
and I passed him just after the finish line, having pulled almost two minutes
on him despite me only averaging 37km/h.
Turning
around, I started the count for the next rider. He was well over a minute
behind me and so out of second place on GC. Awaiting the yellow jersey, he was
in sight within the two minutes and I started counting once two minutes had
elapsed. I reached 10 before he crossed the finish line and the official stage
results showed I had won the stage by 10 seconds over the yellow jersey. This
left me in 2nd place overall, just six seconds off yellow! Gavin
slipped from 5th place with his GC aspirations all but gone but was
still in the money if he could hold his overall place.
Monday 28th March 2005
Stage 5 – Queenstown
to Glenorchy – 44.5km
The predicted
constant heavy rain thankfully failed to eventuate although a head wind added
to the challenge of the constant hill climbing. With Gavin now over two minutes
down on GC, he decided to target a stage win. However, the yellow jersey holder
easily chased down any attack. The result was another bunch finish. This stage
finishes after a sharp downhill and is always fast in the last few kilometres.
As I was lining up the sprint from the back of the bunch, I looked up the road
to see a walker directly in my intended line. Not wanting a collision at
50/60km/h plus, I switched my attention to the yellow jersey holder. Easily
holding his wheel, I found myself boxed in with a few hundred metres to go and
had to settle for fifth place in the stage. Gavin found himself better
positioned and just missed on his goal by finishing second in the stage.
Stage 6 –
Glenorchy to Queenstown finishing up Moke Lake Road – 41km
After all the
previous riding, it came down to the fact that I needed to win this stage by a
handful of seconds to secure the tour victory. With the wind at our backs, the
bunch started slowly but at the top of the first climb, another rider and I had
a small gap on the bunch. Picking the speed up to around 50km/h, I drove the
pace for several kilometres but it was again to no avail. The yellow jersey and
bunch were still glued to my back wheel. I eased up to rest in the bunch as the
best chances to take any time would be on the main hills.
As it turned
out, on the mid stage KOM hill, the yellow jersey holder and another rider
simply rode away. The current KOM jersey holder (Darron Burns) and the rest of
the bunch were left in their wake. Once at the top of this climb, the two
leaders started to work together and ride away. The rest of the bunch was split
but we managed to quickly get a chase together which Darron and I led. After
some hard work, we caught the front two and then continued to push the pace so
following riders could not catch us. Gavin found himself further back and then
had trouble with his gears and despite his best efforts, was unable to catch
us.
Heading into
the final two climbs, there were six riders in the front bunch. My only chance
of victory appeared to be to try and make the yellow jersey holder crack.
Accordingly, I went to the front of the bunch and climbed at a solid tempo. Two
riders dropped off up the first climb before we turned into the notorious Lake
Moke Road climb. I started this climb in first gear and my legs still protested
at the pace and gradient. Despite a good tempo, the limpet mines remained on my
wheel. In the final few hundred metres, as the gradient eased, I flicked back
into the big ring to try and gain some time but was outclassed and finished
third for the stage. Gavin finished almost 4m 30s later after being unable to
use his first gear and slipped out of overall prize money.
After four
days of riding, the final results were:
Jason Kelly, 08hrs 12m 04 at 15s, 2nd
Gavin Povey, 08hrs 18m 24s at 06m 35s, 10th
Although the
prize money is not the best in the world, there are plenty of spot prizes –
Gavin won a Fly by Wire experience – and with daily prize givings on sponsors’
premises, plenty of opportunity to socialise with fellow riders.
Sunday, 28 November 2004
The Taupo 500
26th-28th November 2004
Jason Kelly
Despite achieving the record relay time and being the first relay team home in 2003, over zealous officials had spoilt the event for me with unwarranted harassment of myself and my nephew. This, along with the most incompetent prize giving ever attended and the subsequent event decision to deliberately mis-record history in the results book by putting our relay team in second place behind a team never sighted on the road, made the event memorable for all the wrong reasons. With the bad memory of 2003 still fresh in my mind, the decision not to enter in 2004 was an easy one, especially once my brother, Patrick, had decided to complete the enduro and I volunteered to act as support for him.
With the December 130km Waihi “hilly” individual time trial with a reported 6km long plus hill, the January “Tour de Vineyards” and the infamous Takaka Hill being included at the end of the 130km third stage in that event and the Quality Autos Open with the third stage Te Mata Peak climb all looming, I felt a few good solid base kilometres were in order. So I set my own challenge - Friday - home to Taupo (165km), Saturday - one lap of Lake Taupo (160km) and Sunday - Taupo to home (165km) plus a few kilometres in between and so the Taupo 500km weekend was born.
The weather on the Friday was not particularly good - cold, showery and with a gusty south westerly. A pre-ride check found the back tyre of my GT training bike was flat so a change was required. Setting out in the required full winter gear, I made it about 10km into Flaxmere when the stem snapped and I ended up lying in the road next to a car and just in front of a bus. Luckily I was slowing down for the roundabout! A swollen wrist, bruises and scratches were the only physical damage. A quick phone call to Dad to give me a lift and the GT was taken to The Hub for some repairs.
Getting home, I rearranged the available bike wheels as Patrick was borrowing the set from my Litespeed for the Enduro. I soon set off again for Taupo on the Litespeed and made it successfully through the Flaxmere roundabout and out into the Taupo hills. On the first major climb, my foot came out of the pedal and I jammed it back in only for it to come out again. Spinning faster made it stay in! Reaching the top of a hill I stopped and looked to see one of the cleat screws had fallen out. There was only one way to go and that was to carry on ......
The wind was strong and gusty with a somewhat random direction. With only a few brief bursts of genuine tailwind, I carried on into Taupo. Other than crossing through a brief hail storm in the last 40km, the balance of the trip was uneventful. For the second attempt, I had spent 5hrs 47m on the bike and covered 167.8km from home to the motel. Stage 1 was complete.
Arising at 12.20am on Saturday morning, the sky was clear and the moon was bright. No rain and not much wind either at that time! The car thermometer read 8°C at the 1.30am start. Patrick headed off into the dark and I soon joined the convoy of support vehicles. The first riders were passed within 2km of the start line while the leaders twinkled like Christmas lights all up the road.
Night dreaming in the convoy, the cellphone suddenly rang and Patrick said he had broken a spoke. One of mine! Rushing up the convoy, I spotted him on the road side, which is no mean feat in the dark, and grabbed a replacement wheel for him. After managing to jamb his fingers in the car door, Patrick was away again and chasing the leading bunch. With him safely back in the bunch, I tried to move up the convoy to try and keep an eye on him but that was impossible - they all look the same from the back!
The outside temperature quickly dropped to 3°C and hit a recorded low of 0°C. I stopped for breakfast at 4.20am at a rest stop just as a super enduro rider came past with his support crew. They were encouraging him to continue as he had completed 250km and only had 250km to go!
The climb up Hatepe hill on the first lap was easy - the car just cruised up! I stopped near the top to see if Patrick needed any food or drink and stepped out into a frost. It was cold outside! Over the top of the hill, just three enduro riders were left out in front.
Closer to Taupo, I headed back to the motel to drop the car off and get on my bike to ride the 2nd lap with Patrick. He soon came along and I joined in the back of the remaining bunch of three riders. Passing through Taupo was a nightmare. The enduros' had to ride via Redoubt Street but, with the cars and cyclists taking no notice of traffic, this was simply crazy and dangerous. One of the enduro riders didn’t take this turn and another pulled out at the top of the control gates hill. This left just Patrick in front.
The roads were clear with little traffic as we started the second lap. With the Elite Race starting soon after we passed through Taupo, we hoped they didn’t catch us. The lead vehicle passed us just before they turned off so we never saw them. The wind began to pick up as we continued on our own. It was certainly a long way to the 80km mark!
With the wind in our faces, we hoped the solo riders would catch us to give us some respite. At about the 100km mark, they finally caught us. However, the bunch was large and unwieldy with chaotic riding - especially on the back. The number of drink bottles dropped and near crashes had to be seen to be believed. One rider rode straight into me and sent me sideways. Both Patrick and I thought I would be talking to the road again but somehow (from too many crashes perhaps?) I managed to stay upright. After a few punishing bunch surges, the pace settled down and we settled into the back with a tailwind on the homeward stretch.
We stayed with the bunch until Hatepe when they started to climb away. I cruised up to try and phone Patrick’s wife to tell her we weren’t far away. From the first lap I knew there was no cellphone coverage until the very top of the hill. Passing riders and then pulling off at the top to try and phone proved impossible - I couldn’t find the cellphone though it had been ringing just previously! Patrick soon went past so I pushed all the stuff back into my pockets and chased after him. We managed to get a small group together for the last few kilometres into Taupo.
With Patrick safely home and potentially in first place (we couldn’t see if any other enduro riders were part of the large front bunch), I headed off back into the wind to see where Mum and Dad were on their tandem. Looking at the time, the wind and listening to my legs, I soon abandoned that idea and drove out in the car! But, stage 2 was completed - 5hrs 33m for 165.5km on the road.
Heading home on Sunday morning was the final stage. I set off under cloudy skies with rain showers in front of me. Again the wind was variable with the odd tail push but mostly cross or head wind. The front wheel started making some funny noises and on closer investigation, it turned out the brakes were rubbing. I soon loosened those which made the next downhill a bit more exciting that I had envisaged!
I managed to miss all the showers and after climbing over the summit, was into the Hawkes Bay sun, almost warmth, headwind (what else?) and home. With about 10km to home, I stood up to pass a slow tractor to hear a painful “crack!” The bike stayed upright so I guessed it wasn’t the stem, handlebars (been there, done those), frame (done that twice on the GT) or the wheels (not a spoke!). Sitting down I found was uncomfortable so I rightfully concluded a seat rail had snapped (again.)
After a few more kilometres to enjoy the sunshine and warmth, despite the discomfort, I reached home having completed 173.4km in 6hrs 31m. The Taupo 500 was complete.
After the “near death” stem break and other damage (my front wheel also needed the bearings replaced and Patrick discovered his replacement wheel had cracks in the rim!), was it all worth while? Well, I didn’t have to attend yet another poorly executed and strung out Taupo prize giving and I did get some good base kilometres in with a few gentle hill climbs on the way................ And the race results? 3rd senior and 3rd overall in the Waihi time trial in 3hrs 44m 57s, 6th up Takaka Hill and 6th in GC in race 2 (Vet 1 & 2) in the Tour de Vineyards and 3rd on GC and 1st vet in the Quality Autos Open.
Monday, 12 April 2004
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.
Saturday 10th 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 7th 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 11th 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 4th in the stage
with George 5th and Gavin 6th. 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
2nd place with me 5th, 40s behind George, with Gavin a
further 4s back in 6th 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 12th 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 4th
to move up to 4th on GC. Gavin was dropped up a climb mid-way
through the stage to finish just over 4 minutes down in 10th 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 6th
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 10th in
the stage, over 1m down, but did enough to retain his 6th 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 5th and 6th
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, 4thGavin 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
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Gavin being restrained by Ken Lasenby at Glenorchy from
taking a running start in the final stage
Sunday, 25 January 2004
“B” is for Burglars
Stortford Open B grade Tour 2004
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th January 2004
Jason Kelly
With the results of the 2003 A grade Stortford Open Tour still lurking, many riders opted for the “safe” option of the B grade for the 2004 tour. This resulted in a strong field of 39 starters which included Sarah Ulmer and two past B grade winners – Mark Coombe from 2001 and Bryce Martin from 2002. As the field contained nine Ramblers, an informal meeting of some of the riders had decided that we should try to work together to ensure a Rambler won the B grade for the first time since 2001. Dan Warren was also the designated sprinter.
The first stage, Apley Rd X 3, ended up being a fairly tame affair with most rider’s content to just sit in the bunch and cruise around. Patrick Kelly made the most of this on the second lap to open a small gap and claim the 5 King of the Mountain points on offer before being re-absorbed by the peleton. Jason Kelly and George Masters tried a similar tactic on the last lap, with George securing the 5 KOM points, but failing to achieve a decisive breakaway. In the sprint to the line, John Fitzpatrick edged out Sarah Ulmer who was followed by Dan Warren. All the Ramblers finished comfortably in the bunch in a time of 2hrs 09m.
The afternoon criterium was dominated by Dan Warren, Eliot Crowther, Sarah Ulmer, Bryce Martin and John Fitzpatrick who took all the sprint points on offer between them. George Masters and Gavin Povey watched proceedings from near the front of the bunch. With an average speed of over 41km/h, this was no Ramblers B grade race! While most of the Ramblers finished with the bunch, Grant Nicoll and Callum Millward lost some time.
The result of the first day was that 23 riders were all on the same time with Dan Warren holding a one point lead in the Sprint Ace category while three Ramblers, Patrick Kelly, George Masters and Adam Thomson, were first equal on 5 points in the KOM category. The lack of a team plan in the KOM category was obvious!
The 3rd stage, the Te Mata Peak climb on Sunday morning, is designed to split the field. The team “plan” was to help Dan win the Sprint Ace while for the stage, I was to set the tempo for George to attack near the top. A few early attacks in the stage were quickly shut down and Patrick and I led Dan out for the sprint points. Part one of the plan was completed successfully with Dan taking the 5 points on offer. Once into Simla Avenue, Dan initially set the tempo before I took over. Phil Smith, last year’s winner of this stage, briefly took the lead before I again went to the front and pushed the pace. Approaching the KOM just before the gates, I eased up to let George take the 5 points but he had decided to conserve his energy so Earl Rowney pipped me for the 5 points while George took the 1 point for third. We continued to climb at a solid pace and with about 800 metres to go, as planned, George attacked. I sat up but Eliot Crowther, Ben Olesen and Luke Cornille went with him. Reaching the finish line, George positioned himself perfectly to edge out Eliot Crowther by 1 second and take a deserved stage win. I followed 20 seconds later, followed a further nine seconds back by Mark Coombe. On reaching the top and stopping my stopwatch, I had completed the Ramblers peak climb part of the stage in a personally stunning 16m 05s – easily a personal best. This meant George had completed the climb in 15m 45s and all of the top 10 B grade finishers had beaten 17 minutes! Phil Smith, who won this stage last year by 30 seconds from Scott Betteridge, finished 30 seconds behind George this year.
With George now in yellow, a further “team” meeting decided to help him retain this in the last stage around the Tuki. Dan was happy for any Rambler to go up the road as this would help him by them taking the Sprint Ace points on offer. Nothing eventful happened until over half way around the first lap when Bryce Martin rolled off the front. Recalling his ride away victory in the 2002 tour, I quickly jumped on his wheel and expected the balance of the field to do the same. After a few seconds, I saw Bryce look behind and then settle into time trial mode. Glancing behind, I could see we had a gap so I started to work with him. Rotating the lead between us, we widened the gap from the peleton. George had decided not to chase as he thought everyone else would have gone with him. Approaching the Sprint Ace line for the first time, I misjudged the rotation and had to settle for 2nd but we had taken 1st and 2nd place which helped Dan.
Soon after this, my turns on the front were getting longer. Up the first little rise, Bryce struggled. Climbing up the "Undercliff" hill behind the peak, we were told we had a one minute lead on the bunch. By the time I reached the top of this hill, Bryce had fallen off my wheel and I was solo. I felt I had a fair chance of getting the 5 KOM points on the 2nd lap so pushed on. Climbing up and over Coops Hill, I secured the 5 KOM points and was told I had a gap of about 45s. Now I thought I had a fair chance of picking up the 5 Sprint Ace points so settled into a good rhythm. The bunch meanwhile was only sporadically interested in chasing so my lead varied from 30s to over a minute (or so I’m told!) With the Sprint Ace points in the bag, it was back into the hills for the final lap. By the time I had taken the 5 KOM points up Coops on the 3rd and final lap, my legs were fading and I could see the chasing bunch. It seems the bunch had finally decided that it was time to race!
With about 8km to go to the finish line and after a 50k individual time trial, 11 riders caught me. With less than a minute separating the first eight riders, changes in GC were still achievable if a small break could be established. Several riders tried this but the peleton was having none of this and the stage ended in a bunch sprint. John Fitzpatrick took out his 2nd stage win of the tour from Eliot Crowther and George. However, with bunch time awarded, George had done enough to win the Tour by the slimmest of margins – one second – from Eliot Crowther with myself finishing 4th and Mark Coombe 5th and first Vet. Dan Warren won the Sprint Ace and I took second in the KOM, behind Earl Rowney, with George 3rd. Overall, we had achieved what we planned and set some personal Te Mata Peak climb standards that will be difficult to match, let alone beat.
Monday, 21 April 2003
2003 Cromwell - Queenstown Easter Cycling Tour
18th – 21st April 2003
by
Gavin Povey
We (Jason, Brian, Roxanne Kelly and I) left
Hawke’s Bay on the Tuesday before Easter for our trip to the South
Island . After a very calm
and sunny ferry crossing, we arrived in Picton later that afternoon, before
driving down to our overnight stop at Kaikoura.
Jason and I went for a quick training ride first thing next morning out
the back of Kaikoura, when it was meant to be hosing down with rain, but
fortunately it was bright and sunny – the weather man got it wrong again. We visited the seal colony bright and early, where
there were no seals, but I was attacked verbally by a female road shark in
Kaikoura! We returned later on to find some seals and checked other sites
around the area before heading to Christchurch Cathedral
Square etc
Thursday morning we headed off to Dunedin
in the pouring rain along the boring flat Canterbury plains highway and checked
out the boulders at Moeraki before arriving in Dunedin just after lunch – I was
noticing the change in temperature down here so bought a beanie (it would come
to a lot of use later on!) at Larnach’s Castle when we were there – fascinating
place. Also checked out the Cadbury
Chocolate Factory (but couldn’t get in – they were fully booked!), and took a
few photos of Baldwin Street
Good Friday – Day One
After waking bright and early, we headed our way even further south fromPrologue 5.5km Cromwell - Bannockburn Hotel
The race finally got under way with the Women starting first followed by the C grade (which I was starting in thanks to my lack of preparation for this event which Jason conned me into doing). Jason had entered the B grade so he started a bit later than I did. It was a flat course to start off with, followed by a short descent over theEaster Saturday – Day Two
Stage 1 88km Cromwell – Cromwell around Lake Dunstan
Woke up to another brilliant
Stage 2 30 minute Criterium – Cromwell Town
The only objective for both Jason and I was
to finish this stage in one piece with the bunch and to keep out of
trouble. The circuit was a 550m block in
the middle of Cromwell, which made great viewing for the local folk and
spectators, but not a lot of room to manoeuvre for the riders themselves. We both finished comfortably with our
respective groups and got bunch times, which we were both happy with. Straight after the race we packed the car and
headed for the hotel in Queenstown, and on the way checked out the Easter Sunday – Day Three
Stage 3 65km Remarkables Skifield Entrance - Athol
Well we thought Saturday was cold, but today it felt like the South Pole was literally next door. I could feel the icicles forming on my face! After staying in our very upmarket hotel room (compared with any other hotel room I have stayed in) at theStage 4 12km Time Trial: Athol to Garston
This was always going to be a fast stage with a slight tail breeze and a bit of false flat mixed in and we knew that this stage was going to be important to maintain our places on GC. By the end of the stage I was quite shocked looking at my speedo when it read an average of 41.3km/h. That was certainly going to help the cause, or so I thought! But, once the results came out, I found that some of the women were over a minute faster than I was! I finished 4th in C grade in a time of 16:48, and after the last few stages, thanks to others getting time bonuses in the final sprints, dropped down to 4th overall at 49 seconds. Jason had a good time trial as well finishing inEaster Monday – Day Four
Stage 5 44km Fernhill, Queenstown to Glenorchy
This is the stage I got up bright and early for thinking it was the C grader’s last stage of the tour when we weren’t meant to start until this afternoon! So, packed everything in the car and followed Jason in the B grade. On the way, checked out this afternoon’s stage finish and this afternoon’s route, which is on the same road, but in the opposite direction following the north side of the lake. The weather was a little cloudy with a tropical temperature of around 5 degrees. This road was the hilliest of the tour and I knew then I might have a possible shot at the overall. The B grade race split into two groups during this stage with Jason finding himself in the front bunch around the halfway mark. However, once the bunch got towards the flatter patches about 10km before Glenorchy, the two bunches yet again combined. Jason did a lot of work during this stage, and finished again in the bunch, being a minute or so down on GC at this stage, still with a sniff of prize money.
Stage 6 42km Glenorchy to the end of the seal Moke Lake Road
I was feeling pretty nervous at the
beginning of this stage knowing what lay ahead.
After forcing down another mince pie (one of the most important food
groups!), we rolled out of Glenorchy at a leisurely pace, still all in one
large group. Finally we reached the
hills and I decided to attack and got a decent gap on the chasing peloton. One guy caught me up near the top of one of
these climbs (who was from
Later on, after trying some gold panning
and visiting Coronet
Peak Crown Range
After the celebrations from the previous
night and having only one more day in Queenstown before I had to fly out, we
checked out the Skyline Gondola and took some photos from the top of that world
famous view of Queenstown and the Remarkables.
Tried that precarious luge and checked out most of downtown itself
before saying bye to the Kelly’s who were driving back.
A big thank you, especially to Brian for
the moral support - and encouragement to find that gold nugget in the river,
and Roxanne for being the team manager who gladly looked after our gear while
Jason and I were racing. Thanks also to
everyone at The Hub who got my dura-ace sorted (it must have been the
bike!)
It would be great to have more Ramblers support down at the tour next year. It is a good challenging tour with very good scenic stages to match – hey it may be cold down there, but at least it didn’t snow this year!
Sunday, 13 April 2003
Rotorua Open 2003
The
Rotorua Open was held on Sunday 13th April 2003 just south of Rotorua. Four
Ramblers members rode in the event which was held in fine and mild conditions
with little wind. Due to an organisational hiccup, the A, B and C grades rode
20km further than advertised which meant the A grade raced over approximately
130km, the B grade over approximately 110km and the C grade over approximately
90km.
In
the A grade, Jeremy Vennell continued his good form to secure 3rd place while
Andrew Bott finished 5th.
In
the B grade, the additional distance saw the remaining peleton disintegrate at
the 100km mark which saw three riders break clear. Jason Kelly managed to chase
and pass two of the breakaway riders to finish a clear 2nd place, approximately
a minute in front of the chasing peleton and a minute behind the winner.
Austen
Thomson finished 4th in the 20km under 15 event.
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