Tour of the South West
Last year I had a ripper ride in B-Grade. This year I was back in A-Grade again and was ready to test the legs again. My training was good right up to the head cold I got in the week leading up and the short sharp stuff was on target.First Stage was the TT
I did a course recon the day before and remembered exactly what I needed to do. I nailed the pacing, got a PB for power on the course and a better time than last year. Overall in 10th place at the end of the stage. I did not feel well after that, but soldiered on for the afternoon road race.
Posted by Con Chronis Photography on Tuesday, May 5, 2015
We got a little held up in town and were late to the start! Literally built the bikes, pumped the tyres and rolled up to the start line. Thank goodness the rain stayed away, the wind was ever present but manageable. I used this session to really test myself at different points. Up the punchy hills, into the corners fast, punching the head wind and moving up the group. I got a little unhinged from the group in the last headwind section home and grovelled home solo.
Posted by Cycling Victoria on Saturday, May 2, 2015
The last stage was a hill circuit criterium the next day. I was not feeling the love and Shane had pulled out of his race before the start as it was still pretty wet at that time. Warmup was good and it was interesting watching the riders try and rally the troops to get some momentum and assistance to finish strong overall. I lasted for the first part of the stage and then died a slow death until they pulled me out. Probably not worth sticking around... the best thing about the day was the salted caramel slice and red star coffee in Camperdown on the drive home.
The stage race put me backwards a bit health wise and I was craving some sunshine. I had a work trip lined up for Perth and was excited to see a weather forecast of sunshine lollipops and rainbows at around 25 degrees!
Perth in May
I did a little morning ride the first day to get my bearings, on the Saturday we went out to do a course recon of the Time Trial course for the UCI Worlds. It was such a lovely warm sunny day and it was sooo good to get out and about. It felt a bit naughty to walk into the hotel with a bike up to the room though :)
The next day Shane had lined up a time trial for us to do. I was protesting silently by not taking ANY aero equipment, but regretted it as soon as I rolled up to the start line. It was 4x laps = 20kms that I would have preferred to sit in the sun and enjoy the day ;) In the end I got to have a moment of peace after the race in the sun before the long cycle home.
