TOMR – SPR 5

Submitted by Jason Gordan

 

Several months ago a blog post came out asking for riders for the TOMR and with Greg, Andrew and myself having only recently finished the Kalgoorlie classic we thought what a great idea….The race committee put together the teams and spread the skills and abilities around to ensure we had the opportunities to be competitive.

SPR 5 consisted of Luke Hallam, Brian Saunders, Greg Murray, Andrew Williams (not the young one), Mark Tancell and I.

Stage 1

So after only having two rides together we set off on a warm up lap of the TTT course which was two laps of a 12.5km circuit through Howard Park. We discussed our tactics for the ride and where to best place our riders based on strengths and weaknesses.

At 5:08pm (4th last team of the day) we set off and settled into the hurt locker.  We were rolling through well, our plan had been to have Andrew on the front for up hill sections so that as we went over he didn’t drift of the back (as Andrew puts it he is like a truck, can go all day but not up hill fast).  We made our way up to the left turn into Howard park winery (Mad Fish) which has a tight hair pin, I took it too sharp and nearly went off for a scenic ride (not as eventful as Andrew Ballam’s experience we hear)

Brian got us back together and we continued on.  As we were heading up the last hill prior to the 1km to go sign we looked back and noticed Andrew and Mark had dropped back about 60m, we made the call that we had to keep going.

I was struggling with knee pain (ITB – thanks Cathy for fixing) and was determined to hang on.  We did the first lap in 21 minutes.  On the second lap we settled into a nice rhythm and gained some time.  Luke, Brian and Greg stuck me in the middle so I didn’t have to work to hard with the dodgy knee. We crossed the line in a pretty tight formation and knocked 30 seconds off our first lap.

Andrew and Mark came back in after completing both laps, as a team we were quite happy in 41st place and were content with being at the top of category 4 for the next stage.

So we hung around for the presentations to see how SPR fared and low and behold with the magic of handicaps, Luke Hallam took out the GC green jersey for the first stage….We were absolutely stocked as most of us have never been in this position before.

 

Stage 2 – 30km Road race

Over breakfast we had a bit of chat about tactics as we had the GC and we needed to keep the time gaps up as the other groups would now start putting a dent into our advantage. We set off knowing we had to gain time on the intermediate sprint and also have a top 10 finish if there was any chance of holding onto the lead.

The race started at an easy pace and all was going to plan, Luke and Brian were sitting up the front with the rest of us mid pack. With about 2k’s to go Greg and I made our way up to the front to try and help Luke and Brian. Coming around the 1km to go I was sitting 3rd wheel with Brian and Luke tucked in behind, we pushed up the hill and Brian jumped out to take Luke up to the line.  Luke managed 3rd on the intermediate sprint.

Second lap came and went Brian and Luke stayed up the front.  Taking a leaf out of OGE at the Tour, Brian went 5th over the line and with his time bonus was now the Green Jersey holder. After stage 2 we had three in the top 5.  Brian and Luke 1,2 and myself in 5th.

 

Stage 3 – Kermesse

After a couple of hours of resting it was time for the kermesse, 8 laps of a 3.2km circuit, it was flat with a slight up hill section in the final km. As a team we set off and set the tempo for the first two laps and had control.  Jack Borbridge who was guest riding for PIHC moved his team to the front and continued the tempo whilst giving advice to us on how and what to do.

The team was working well together and getting ready for the intermediate sprint on the 4th lap, the speed picked up, Brian and Luke worked well together as we came into 300 m out Phil Anderson (yes former yellow jersey holder in the Tour) jumped. Luke reacted and chased his heart out.  Phil got over the line by less than half a wheel, another couple of metres and Luke would have had him.

Coming round to the final lap Luke Brian and myself were sitting about 5th or 6th wheel, we wanted a good run on the down hill, we wound up and started the sprint, I had this great plan in my head that I would move right so no one could come around (double white lines) and allow Luke and Brian to run up the inside.  How wrong I was a couple of teams went over to the right and boxed us in.  Brian managed to come through and race to the line in 8th and Luke in 10th.

The entire team finished with the bunch on equal time.  This was a first for Andrew who only did his first main 1 ride last weekend.  You couldn’t get the smile off his face. We had now relinquished the GC but were proud as punch with our efforts as a team.

Stage 4

The final stage, 75km road race down caves road to Augusta with a hill top finish. Brian decided to ride to the start with some of the SPR crew, thank god he did.  He had two punctures and was stranded out on Bussell Hwy.  A kind chap from total travel stopped and drove him to Vass Felix for the start.  Lucky for us Andrew had a mobile bike shop in his car.  A quick tyre and tube change and thankfully that was the only mechanical for our team.

We started late due to some motor bikes going AWOL.  Cat 4 was the last to leave and Mark Tancell jumped on the front with Brian and I, and we set the pace. We used the first 5km’s as a bit of warm up and then decided to crank it up a notch and stretch the bunch, out of 50 riders we managed to reduce the group down to about 30 and got rid of some of the dangerous riders that had been causing a few issues on the previous day races.

With about 20km’s to go we had Greg, myself, Luke and Brian working together as team. Greg was a machine, setting a healthy pace and doing a lot of work on the front. Coming down a fast hill then raising up another, one of the photography vehicles decided that it would be a great photo op to stop on the crest of a hill blocking most of the lane.  It caused the group to funnel into a very narrow gap as we couldn’t see over the crest and no one felt like becoming a hood ornament for a vehicle coming the other way.

I caught some brake as I got squeezed which caused Brian to hit the back of me.  All I heard was *&$%# (rightly so) quick apology from me and we were off. We came into Augusta and faced the dreaded climb to the golf course, it went on and on and as you came over the crest you thought nice, down hill, only to have a 300m up hill section to go.  Luke and Brian stayed with the main group and powered on finishing 6th and 9th respectively (top work), I was 16th Greg 22nd, Mark Tancell 35th and Andrew 38th out of 50 riders.

We are all extremely happy with how we performed as a team considering we had not trained together or undertaken stage racing before. Was a great feeling to be in a position as a team to actually be making a difference in a race and not just making up the numbers.

The camaraderie that was shown between all the SPR and Dome teams was fantastic; to hear the cheering and also pre and post race advice was uplifting. We certainly enjoy being part of club that takes joy in each others success. From me special thanks to Toby for taking me under his wing, without his assistance in pointing me in the right direction and making me spew on Monday turbo nights I wouldn’t be improving as fast as I am at the moment. Also thanks to Andrew’s wife Fiona who looked after water, food, travel, mechanical and all other domestique duties, we really appreciate you giving up your time to help out.

Last and certainly not least to the racing committee and El Prez for yet again organising a fantastic turn out of SPR teams.  Luke and Andrew you guys have done a stellar job with all the organising I’m sure I can speak on behalf of all the teams that we appreciate your time and commitment.

Unfortunately Luke H has had to relocate to QLD and will no longer be riding with us, so we are glad that our achievements as team will leave a lasting impression and he has a great souvenir (green jersey and cow) to take with him.  All the best for the future.