Racing as a team in a stage race is way more fun than the Internet makes it out to be!
The Macedon ranges are cold, really cold, and driving from Melbourne to Lancefield in a rusty old car that has no heater in the middle of winter is also really really cold. Rolling into Lancefield, with the temperature hovering just over 4 deg and clear skies, Matty Gray greets me with, ‘What are you even doing here? It's too cold for you!’. I couldn't answer...
The teams aspect in local racing, whilst officially forbidden, was obvious at this years three day tour. Saint Cloud Racing had 5 riders in the B grade bunch! Five! With that many riders we were pretty sure something exciting had to happen over the duration of the tour. Team Coburg looked very Euro in their fuchsia pink kit, clearly trying to take the title of the most handsome team away from Saint Cloud. Katsonis had even gone to the effort of adopting a trademark "Allen" moustache. The competition was clearly on before the race had begun! Team Bicycle Network Victoria also looked very dapper.
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| #dreamboat |
The start of the first stage in a Northern Combine 3 day tour is a bizarre experience, no-one really wants to be on the front, the pace isn’t really that hot, and there are another three stages weighing on everyone’s mind. Stage one followed this description, for Saint Cloud Racing, our plan was to keep it together and let Steve ‘Mad Dog’ Duggan win the sprint for the stage and take the leaders jersey and the rest of us would drink beers.
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| This photo clearly illustrates that the pressure was on for most of the race |
With the propensity of Mitch ‘the moustache boss’ to became bored and hit the front of the bunch driving the pace, the plan was working pretty well, few serious breaks managed to form. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and ours was no exception, 15 km in Duggans unfortunate punny forced a change of plan; keep the bunch together making sure the race isn’t blown apart by a break - leaving Matt high in GC and then drink beers.
The stage ambled on according to plan B, no serious breaks with the most interesting aspect being the intriguing battle for KOM between Lynton Zawadzki (team Canard) and Fraser Short (italo-Australian). Lynton seemed to take the upper hand collecting the bulk of the points on offer.
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| The boys kept a close eye on Slingsby and Macauley - both strong GC contenders |
Saint Cloud friend, Chris Mason, kept the bunch together on the last KOM, and the race finished in a, as is typical, controversial bunch sprint. People diving across the lines, people yelling to keep left, mostly because they were annoyed that they were getting boxed in on the left. Without Duggan contesting the sprint, Saint Cloud was anonymous, tucking in the bunch, and rolling across the line.
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| Ed: "Did I win? Haven't seen that Duggan all day. Was he up the road?" |
Jez ‘The Cross Boss’, Spiro, Mat and myself finished on the same time as the stage winner, skin intact. GC hopefuls all in contention. And so with stage one down, I got a Danny’s burger (double with the lot) and drank a beer.
RACE ON!
