ToMR Stage 4 – Claire Tyrrell

As my team rolled into the start grid for stage four of the Tour of Margaret River, it was a miracle we were all there. Our cracking third stage was not without its casualties – Kate Bonner and Rebecca Kelly were both taken out of the race after spectacular crash about 14km in.

But stellar performances from Ali Ramm, Leigh Outschoorn and Katheryn Dines on the final climb of stage three (with me lugging myself up just behind them) saw our team win the stage. This left us just two points behind the leaders Busselton Cycle Club and two points ahead of Veris Womens Development going into stage four.

We were hungry for a win, and we knew our chances would be greatly diminished without a full squad.

The SPR community was in full force during the short break between our third and fourth stage to get us all on the road for our final team time trial.

SPR stalwarts Daniel Harvey, Andrew and Fiona Williams and Mike Masden made it their mission to find a solution and SPR Women’s 1 ring-in Stef van Amerongen came through with her mechanics skills.

Liam Donley didn’t hesitate to lend Rebecca Kelly his bike, despite the fact he had his own time trial to race with SPR Men’s 3 (which he did on Jordan Brock’s bike, kindly donated for Annemiek Van Vleuten’s friend Kim).

Kate Bonner’s bike had more than a few things wrong with it after it hit the deck at 30km/h – a broken front rim, cracked crank, misaligned gears and bent bars. None other than the WM3 Pro Cycling Team mechanic managed to get Kate’s bike close to roadworthy. With a few parts from the pro Dutch team’s van and from Rebecca’s half-broken bike Kate was ready to race.

If we had learnt anything from our countless team time trial practices in the lead up to TOMR and on stage one, it was communication is the key to a good TTT.

With three days of hard racing and over 160km in our legs, we agreed to warm up on the first 10km and wind it up from there. Our star time trialist Ali Ramm led us out up the first hill and we followed on with short and sharp turns, with the occasional extended effort from our star climber Kate Bonner.

Each team member lifted to put in their best performances and with continual calling of ‘up’ and ‘down’ we were able to maintain a solid pace during the undulating stage.

About halfway in we realised the saddle bag on Rebecca’s (well, Liam’s) bike was hanging off the frame dangerously close to the rear tyre, so we came to a standstill to quickly rectify that.

Kate Bonner was our first to pop about 32km in, with broken gears making the journey too frustrating. We powered on and into the last 10km of the race Katheryn Dines had turned herself inside out one too many times and dropped off the back.

The four remaining riders, we put our heads down and focused on the task at hand – getting to Nannup as fast as possible and finishing an extremely taxing three days. Leigh, Ali, Rebecca and I gunned it around the last corner and over the finish line at Nannup to be greeted by several cheering SPR club members.

As we waited for our team members to cross the line we were filled with emotion and exhaustion.

We didn’t find out the result until at least an hour later at the presentations. Sadly, Veris had a super fast time trial (despite being one woman down) and had taken out the win. Our time was one minute slower than Veris’ and one minute ahead of Busselton Cycle Club’s.

We finished the TOMR in second place by just one point, but with the knowledge we had given it our all. We are all extremely grateful for the SPR spirit which shone brightly during TOMR and we would like to say a huge thank you to our team volunteer Michelle Bonner.

ToMR Stage 4 – Faye Daglish-Jones

Stage 4 (Balingup to Nannup) is final stage of the TOMR event, it is the team time trial, that starts not long after 71km road race which had a very brutal hilltop finish (think 3 mount streets).This stage has an elevation profile 457 m of rolling hills (nearly 8 Stockies).  It is after lunch time now and the weather has gone from cool/over cast to toasty!

The power of team, started long before this race, through the training time with my ‘teamies’, Jen (captain), Sam (v/captain), Meegan (the power house) and Skip (tough as nails), along with our coach Davina who put a lot of effort into each of us.  This combination, took me from being absolutely terrified of peddling down Lovekin in Kings Park to grinning from ear to ear.

However the super star of ‘team’ had to be Annemiek! That is, Annemiek van Vleuten, 2017, world time trial champion, wow, what an amazing individual, intelligent, fun, high energy not to mention a seriously good cyclist.  Beerlinda, our volunteer, was also amazing, doing a different kind of pedalling for us, organising some pretty challenging logistics, and keep us constantly entertained.

The team started the race enthusiastically powering up the first hill. We were rolling through beautifully.  At 10km point, I started to regret my lunch time food choices and the minimal time to digest it. I am not the strongest in the team, so this stage, I had to dig deep. My teamies knew I was suffering, they took longer turns at the front and constantly talked me up (I couldn’t speak)!   Then we’d spot another team in front and we’d get excited (it was like a red rag to a bull) and a welcomed distraction.  We did get the opportunity to pass a couple of other teams, and definitely benefited having Annemiek in the team, protecting us when it counted.  She was constantly breaking it down (so that no matter how much it hurt, there was an end point) – I clearly remember hearing only 15 minutes to go, thinking yes I can do this.

The last 100m, seemed like the longest 100m, I couldn’t see any markers telling us how far to go, until we hit the sharp right turn.

Crossing the finish line was an awesome feeling, the SPR crew cheering everyone as if they are world champions (oh wait, we did have one with us).

ToMR Stage 3 – Craig Duarte

Pre-Race Planning

For the Mens 3 team (Dave Menarry, Dan Harvey, Ray Martin, Mark Tancell, Liam Donley, Rosemary Reid and Craig Duarte), Stage 3 really began at the dinner table the night before the actual stage itself, where we were discussing team tactics.

It was at roughly that point when Dan received an email from the Womens 1 team informing us of their reconnaissance drive of the Stage 3 finish – “its worse than the write up, 12% average, peaking at 20%, oh no, world is coming to an end”.

Panic began to set in.  We don’t like hills, and by that logic we don’t like climbing walls either.  Being a scientific lot, we set about implementing our “friction reduction” plans – clean chains, clean bikes, pump tires, etc – anything to make the stage end “easier”.

I focused on “fuelling the machine” by eating leftovers from a couple of days earlier, ordering Connoisseur Cookies and Cream ice cream (thanks again Rosemary for picking this up) and sucking down beetroot juice – my potent food combo for any effort the next day.

Dinner was then had, followed by an early night given the 5.30am departure time the next day.  I am pretty sure we all had an uneasy sleep thanks to the Womens 1 email.

The moral:  Psych-outs work.  Don’t listen to Womens 1.

The Warm-ups

I noted that some of the team (Liam, Ray and Dave) really liked a structured and quiet warm up on trainers, whilst Mark and I preferred a short chatty ride out and back.  Mark enjoyed telling his story (repeatedly) of how he rode with Luke Durbridge to close a gap between groups on the previous stage.  He also said “he took him on the hill” – whatever that means – so ask him about that at coffee next time.

The moral:  Misery loves company.  Bring good conversation for the ride.

Race Time

From my perspective the start seemed to go okay, with a gentle uphill to the first climb.  Dave had a little more work to do having to manage a mechanical on the start line, and then solo TT back to the group.  We both stuck with the main peloton over the first climb and settled in for the long haul to the wall at the end.

Fatigue from the previous days racing was setting in and Liam, Ray and Dan became separated from Dave and me on the first climb.  They thankfully elected “to catch the Durbo-express” to bridge back into the game a short while later.

Meanwhile Mark had a flat… and another flat… and another flat… and the Durbo-express wasn’t waiting… Durbo must not have wanted to “get taken on the hill” again is the only reason I can think of here.

At this point I must point out that I used tubeless tires for this event – yeah – that’s right.  On the previous 2 stages I had a flat post the stage being completed, however the goo sealed the leak easily.  Mark had taken notice of this and was now asking for $1 each time I pinched my tire to ensure it was inflated – I think I owe him quite a bit as a result.

As Murphy’s Law would have it, Mark had 3 flats on the stage with his clinchers!  Tubeless 1, Clinchers 0, but who’s keeping score? Give tubeless a try is what I say.  Kudos to Mark though for carrying so many inner tubes, persisting with the change outs, and then soloing to the finish!

As for peloton riding – this was the first time I have ridden in a group of say 30-40 people.  I was somewhat nervous of this when I signed up for the tour and I did lose a little sleep over this issue in the run in to the event.  However, once you are going, the fear disappears as you realise you are riding with other capable riders.  For the future SPR TOMR riders who are worried about this aspect, I would say not to let this hold you back – it’s a mental thing.

The morals:  Don’t deny technology, embrace it – Try tubeless.

Riding is mental.  You need to confront your fears to overcome them.

The Wall…Or Was It?

The goings on at the bottom of the final climb cannot be logically explained, lest to say the Womens 1 recon email from the previous day reached other non-SPR riders and fully psyched them out.  What sticks in my memory was that as we came to the climb, some riders put on the brakes, got off their bikes and elected to walk up the climb. WHAT THE …?

Mens 3 smashed that climb – simple as that.  I cannot remember the pain.  Ray was described as climbing “Contador-style!”  We all looked like we were suffering less than the other non-SPR riders, which was a good thing.  We weren’t the weakest there, and were stronger mentally than many.

The moral: Don’t overthink things as you will come to a standstill.  Spend that energy pushing on up the hill.

Bike Exchange

This was one of the standout moments from the stage – Liam gave up his bike to Bec just prior to the Stage 4 TTT back to Nannup and rode Jordan’s bike instead.  This exchange required the quick mechanical skills of Andrew Williams to swap cranks, seat posts and other bits of kit.  Amazing teamwork and commitment to the cause to get a fellow rider back into the game.

Final Remarks to Mens 3:

What a great bunch of guys – different abilities, quirks and ways of doing things -all coming together as a team and succeeding was an awesome experience.  To take out 3^rd on the first TTT was a highlight.  Also, special thanks to Rosemary, who made sure we were all taken care of – it would not have been as successful without her support.  Again, well done to all, and hopefully we’ll do it all again soon.

 

ToMR Stage 3 – Elar Kalda

To fully understand ToMR Stage 3, it’s tactics and how it was raced we need to start from the very beginning. For men’s 1 team the first team time trial was executed perfectly and set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Mark de Castro put up a massive fight. Taking the Division B win on day one (with a bit of luck) was somewhat of a surprise and yet no surprise at all. Then, having had The Element road race season it was quite interesting to approach Stage 2 in Division B from the statistical analysis point of view – who has been strong throughout the season on which races and trying to map their strengths and weaknesses to the “Kandalee Catapult” course.

Andrew Ballam literally simplified and summarised the main objective for Stage 2 with a single sentence: “Ride as hard as we possibly can and hope for the best!” Made sense and so we did. Elar sprinted to fourth, John took an honourable sixth after attacking Kandalee climb and contesting for the KOM, Andrew B. crossed the finish line as the third rider 3 minutes 39 seconds later locking in second place in the Division B classification.

This is how we enter Stage 3. King KOM Race team started to show its true colours by taking maximum points from Stage 2 since two of their riders managed to place themselves between main bunch and Andrew. Their strongest rider was clearly unbeatable whenever the road goes up. The big question in my mind was what can be done to make sure three SPR riders are as close to the front when we hit the last Mur de Hay climb on Stage 3.

Two perspectives emerged – keep the team as close to the front as possible or go with a break. Using WorldTour racing as a guide everyone has probably seen how teams go completely berserk before the major climbs to bring their protected rider to the start of the climb in the best possible position. Every small gap means extra energy spent for the chasers which could be decisive. Another tactic was to try to establish a break, put decent time on the peloton and hope the gap is still present at the finish line. Andrew Lilly was ready to give everything to drive the pace. I was ready to ride as hard as necessary to hold off the attacks and protect John and Andrew B. while hoping to establish a break. Or in other words (from Andrew B. again) ride as hard as possible.

Have to admit and hopefully everyone agrees that this was probably one of the most awesome races amongst “B graders” in recent memory. Assertive, full of attacks with occasional lull moments (to produce more attacking), team tactics and individual heroics. Even one of the female pro’s attacked 🙂 Unfortunately none of the breakaway attempts succeeded. Most of them where quickly brought back by a single King KOM Race team rider. Keeping everyone together was inevitably the best possible outcome for them. But looks like the idea to keep the pace high and keep SPR team close to the front still worked – no one got dropped and everyone was in a good position.

When the road tilts up like Mur de Hay it’s every man for himself! Brutally honest comparison of the fit and agile sportsmen. You know it’s bloody hard when you feel like someone is squeezing your throat and the body is running out of oxygen. Unbelievable how much pain and suffering your body and mind goes through in just 800 meters. History books will mark that Division B win was decided on Mur de Hay climb on that day. SPR Men 1 lost the overall Division B by 1.

SPR Men 1:

• 891 Andrew BALLAM
• 892 Giovanni CARNICELLI
• 893 Mark DE CASTRO
• 894 Craig DENHAM
• 895 Elar KALDA
• 896 Andrew LILLEY

ToMR Stage 2 – Jon Hanson

I love a good road race and Stage 2 of TOMR was the best stage of the event to suit my abilities. 50 ks from Nannup to Greenbushes. I was looking forward to it. 9am start. Drive from Dunsborough wondering what the day is going to be like.

The day started hot and got hotter. Warm up with a few hill climbs around town to get the lungs hurting and the legs over their initial soreness.  The atmosphere at the SPR tents at Nannup was fantastic. Some on rollers. Ice. Bananas. It was all set up for us. Thank God for our vollies. All we had to do was ride our hearts out.

We lined up with the rest of D Grade that the Mens 2 team were in after our TTT result which put us slap bang in the middle of D. 3,2,1 on the SPR countdown clock and we were off. And we were lead out down the main street of Nannup by a motorcycle escort to the bottom of the climb.

The Mo, The Prez, The Crumpet, Tim, Ross and myself lined up behind the RTR team and just arrived at the bottom of the climb when “Bang” someone’s tyre blew. It was the RTR guy and he pulled off and rode back into town to change his tyre. But we had more important things to do. The climb was on. For the first few minutes everyone tapped away but as it got steeper the young and the strong started to take off.

Callum came round for Feathers and Scales. An RTR guy went then they came past in groups of two and threes. I was doing all I could but I couldn’t hold these strong men. But wait here comes Crumpy flying the flag for SPR. He’s not just the thinking woman’s crumpet he can also climb a hill. All that Zwift sweat over a hot computer was paying off. It was high point of my day just seeing him go with off with the leaders. We were never to see him again.

But for the rest of us it was just hard work. Later I saw that I’d got PBs for 5 minute and 10 minute power on that climb. Other riders I’ve spoken to got the same. So it was on for young and old.

Over the top there were a few riders with me including the Mo. I didn’t dare look and see who was behind. We rode across the top as the heat steadily rose. Try and encourage the guys to roll around. Try and encourage them to work. Luckily most of them we knew and could work with. Catch up to the slow C Graders who started 3 minutes ahead of us and encourage them to fall off the back.

Wattlab riding erratically as they do on our Sunday Hills rides. Joey Rawson eventually making up for a disastrous climb and riding away from us. A long brown snake starts heading across the road and we go to ride behind it then it changes its mind and we hurriedly change direction to let it slide away. Luckily we had the legs to get away from those who just wanted to sit on and do nothing.

It was scenic. Tall timbers. Creeks. Cows in pasture.But there was no time for looking around. There was work to be done. So we caught people and dropped people. We ate. We drank. We turned those pedals over. We climbed and we fell.

And we worked our way to the Kandalee Catapult – the last climb of the day.  This was made bearable by the Crikey Cadel Croc which had stationed himself at the top of the climb and was blowing his trumpet all the way up.

The Mo is a great photo bomber and his impetus for getting up the climb was to be first in Beardy McBeard’s shot of our group – a task he succeeded at. After that his day was done. Mission accomplished for The Mo.

Finally we were at the top and it flattened off again. Look around. Regroup. Work with the riders you are with. It was The Mo and I, Merv from West Coast Masters, a C Grade guy from En Time and a couple of others. We each took our turns though we were weary now.

I’d been criticising the organisers in the morning for giving us a 50K race when they could have given us a 100K loop that finished back in Nannup. I was eating those words as fast as I could now.

Merv blew first and disappeared. En Time kept rolling around. The guy in front of The Mo lost the wheel and that was The Mo gone.  En Time was riding away up the last climb. I let him go.

1km to the KOM said the sign and we all scoffed.

500m to the sprint said the sign and we laughed out loud. We had nothing.

Up over the top and it was a roll down into town – a sharp right hander and there was the finish chute. Down in the drops so the coach doesn’t get upset and over the line.

It’s sweltering as I catch up to Ross and The Crumpet who are parked in some shade. Catch my breath then off to find the SPR tent. There it is – an oasis. Shade under a tree, an esky full of cold cokes – the volunteers have saved our lives again.

Watch the other SPR riders finish and give them a cheer as they pass. Take off your shoes and buy a $5 burger with some money Tim lent me. A minutes silence as it’s remembrance day. Stand up for Advance Australia Fair. Help those who need an ice tube or a cold coke. Chat about the race.

Check our mate with the oxygen mask on who’d overexerted herself. Listen to Robbie McEwen and Matt Keenan and Gary Suckling chatting on the microphones about the finishers. Watch the WM3 team from the Netherlands as they finish as though it’s all been an easy stroll in the park.

The volunteers have been shuffling cars all day to try and get all 42 of us home.

It’s a slow job but they’ve done brilliantly. Eventually our lift arrives though it’s not without some trepidation that we leave as we can see there are still SPR riders who won’t get home till 5.

On the ride home we pass numerous groups of racers riding the hilly 50K route home. We can’t quite believe the sight.

We got home to Dunsborough for a quick dip and see that we’ve moved into last place in Group D. A position we proudly hold till the end. Rossco cooks up some chicken for dinner. The Mo fires up the coffee machine. We have a Little Dove and wind down.

It’s been a brilliant day. Everything I hoped for.

ToMR Stage 1 – Amanda Nabi

Our journey to stage 1 started 6 weeks prior to the ToMR with weekly practice sessions.   A fortnight out from the tour we were on top of our game and confident we were going to achieve our first goal for the Tour…to make it into the top Division of the ToMR to race with the A grade women.  Unfortunately, our beloved Louise McKay had a mishap on the bike and was unable to continue her adventure with the team.  We grieved our loss and committed to continue on with a team of 5.   At the last minute we were blessed with the offer to have Veris Racing Team rider Stefanie Van Amerongen ride with us…we naturally snapped her up.  At this stage we only had one opportunity to practice our team time trial as a new team but that only built our confidence as we discovered that Stefanie was the perfect fit both on and off the road. The team was now eager for our long awaited adventure together to get underway.

Hot, hilly and smooth pretty much sums up Stage 1 of ToMR for Women’s Team 1.  Day 1 of the Tour arrived and it was unexpectedly a stinker of a day.  We adjusted our planned warmups accordingly to allow for the heat.  Before we knew it we were lining up at the start line, downing a gel and we were off!   Everything went to plan with the team rolling out steady for the first few kilometres before upping the pace slightly and settling into a smooth rhythm.  The confidence built as we passed a couple of teams.  Holden Women’s Racing passed us as we expected with little impact on the team…the pace and rhythm remained consistent.

We weren’t the quietest of teams on the road…we didn’t care as our aim was to ‘communicate’ and ensure that all our rider were supported and together.  As a team we wanted to have our less strong riders with the team for as long as possible.  Thus, we had them taking shorter turns and when they were struggling sitting at the back moderating the pace.

All was going perfectly until a kilometre or so from the turnaround point when I dropped my chain…arrgh!  I dropped to the back and told the girls to keep going, I’d get back on…this I did and the girls took the surprise in their stride.  We hit the turnaround point with Michelle leading the team in and out of the hot dog turn smoothly and with a good line.   As we picked the pace back up the second chain drop occurs…Vanessa this time.  Just as quickly as she called it she had it sorted with only a few seconds lost before we got back into our rhythm.

As we were getting closer to the finish it was evident that some of us were starting to tire whilst others were eager to push to the finish draining it all.  A couple of our riders were dropping off the back but Michelle was quick to read this behaviour calling for the front few to ‘ease up’ and her dropping back to pull them back on knowing we need 5 to finish with.  Minimal time was lost with Michelle’s savvy approach having us all back together.

Vanessa selflessly told the team to go heading into the final long climb…this was timed perfectly and the remaining 5 of us pushed hard to the finish before waiting for Vanessa to re-join us.

Stage 1 was done and that evening we celebrated the achievement of our first goal…qualifying for Women’s Division 1.

In reflecting, we had a magical combination for stage 1…hills climbers in Corrie, Stefanie and Michelle leading us up the climbs, Oleysa and I to take us down the descents and Vanessa guiding on wind direction and the best way to roll and echelon.  Most importantly though we were all ‘team players’ wanting to contribute what we could for the betterment of the team.

SPR Chicks. Strong.

 

ToMR Stage 1 – Ashley Brown

So I’m back from the 2017 Satalyst Tour of Margaret River, my first ever stage race event and I’m feeling a strange mix of feelings. There’s more than a healthy dose of fatigue, having driven back first thing in the morning and with around 200kms of racing completed over the three day, four stage event. But the overwhelming feeling is of withdrawal – I want to be back there, enjoying the experience of working as a team on (and off) the bike. I want to be back amongst that SPR comradarie, that almost family kinship.

I’m addicted to the social feeds, trawling through photo after photo, post after post of people capturing the moment in many diverse and personal voices. Greg’s email informing me that I’ve been nominated to capture a race report on behalf of the mixed team arrives a bit unexpectedly. I feel honoured …but nervous; I hope I’m up to the task and can capture a little insight to our shared experience in the SPR Mixed team.

I think it’s fair to say that Stage 1 was an experience for all of us. None of us had done ToMR before, and although prior to the start we all had some racing experience, for a lot of our team this was a relatively recent development and for the most part, we are still relative newbies! So a multi-stage event with a huge roster of competitive teams, not to mention a healthy spattering of pro tour riders, was a little daunting to say the least! Let alone the concerns about the physical dimensions of the race itself; the undulations of those team time trials, the length and gradient of some of those climbs on Stage 2 and 3, and the cumulative distance over 4 stages…. how would our bodies hold up?

And so, our Tour actually started the night before. After we had checked into our lovely beach shack at Dunsborough, unpacked our bags and got dinner out of the way, we gathered around Shane’s Surface Pro on the breakfast bar to watch the YouTube’s and take in some time trial tips from 7x world champion Marianne Vos. We studied the stage profile charts for the millionth time, talked tactics and positioning. Tea spoons came out – models of our paceline were debated. We were so pro!

We woke early Friday morning to take in some breakfast, finalise our packing and make our way in convoy to the tour village at Nannup. The SPR tent was directly adjacent to the start line, with plenty of familiar faces around – volunteers and riders alike – helping to calm the nerves a little, people pinning on numbers, warming up on trainers and getting into the zone. It was fantastic to be immersed in that feeling of support; little words of encouragement here and there, along with the freedom that comes from being surrounded by a whole group of people each approaching the countdown to the start in their own personal, focussed way.

With our race prep and warmup out of the way, we made our way to the starting line for Stage 1 – a 42 km Team Time Trial along an undulating out-and-back course along Mowen Road from Nannup. We posed for a few happy snaps, then lined up on the starting line as the countdown rolled down… then we were off! The stage commenced with a steady roll out through town, with Cap’n Deb on the front, then we crossed the bridge out of town and hit the first of many little hills of the day.

Anyone who raced will tell you it was an intensely hot day, possibly exacerbated by the late arrival of spring and us all being used to the cold, but even in an objective sense it was pretty warm out there…. Figures have been debated… it was probably 38° or 39°c, but my Wahoo bolt says it was 40°+ probably reflecting the heat coming off the tarmac.

The stage was quite an undulating course. None of the hills were individually tough, but you were either going up or down for most of the stage. In our debriefing with other teams after the stage, we began to learn that it wasn’t just us; it was tough for all teams to keep the paceline tight… One minute we were on each other’s wheel in a nice, tight formation. The next we were inadvertently creating multi-bike length gaps and dropping riders. Luckily, we kept up pretty good communication between everyone in the team, with plenty of “ease up!”, “faster!” and “steady!” calls helping us correct the inevitable breaking up of our bunch. It may not have been as smooth as the spoons, but it felt pretty good!

And so the kms ticked away. There was such a great atmosphere out on the road, especially as the green and white flashed by us, with plenty of “Go SPR!” being called out, to us and from us to other SPR teams. There was a tremendous feeling of comradarie amongst the entire SPR squad that wrung that extra little bit of effort out of our legs. The halfway turnaround point brought a surprising but very welcome light breeze which seemed to help us lift a little bit more.

By this point, the heat was starting to take its toll. We started to regroup and consider the options that we knew would come into play at this point…. the team time and points would be set from the time of our first 5 across the line. Should we push on hard and let one of us drop off at this point? Wisely, we stuck to our Plan A; we were going to finish this as a team of 6. And so it was, those that were feeling good did longer stints on the front, with someone rotating to act as a backstop and help keep the communication up. We kept it together and powered down the final straight in line, as per our race plan, crossing elatedly under the arch as a team.

There was a brief window where the results on metarace showed us netting 3 points in J division, only to lose them when I & J div were later merged! But that was of no consequence to us; we had completed Stage 1 and had ridden well, we were placed in the right division for us and we finished as a team – what more was there to ask for! Perhaps a massage, some dinner and a lie down? After all we had the lumpy Stage 2 road race ahead of us on Saturday!

 

Wow. What a weekend. The Tour of Margaret River has come and gone for another year and for SPR ToMR Central, it’s time for race@SPR to switch off and recharge for a bit. As was reported in the previous post, this was a large operation. In fact the biggest Club coordinated race event we’ve attended, the biggest contingent the EVENT has had and a big o’l lump of cash money budget that we had to manage – it outspent the purchase of the SPR Van. The previous post was a gold mine for those who love numbers……

What was made more memorable and enjoyable – as well as more complex and busy – was the addition of one Annemiek van Vleuten – current world number 1, current world ITT champion and quite possibly one of the nicest superstars of cycling you’re likely to meet. Annemiek and her buddy Kim traveled out from The Netherlands as guests of ToMR, with Annemiek assigned to SPR as a Pro Register Rider. Annemiek has requested to be selected with a non-elite, up and coming or development-type team (sorry SPR W1, you are too fast!).

And I think that sums up Annemiek completely. She and Kim were so generous with their time and energy throughout the weekend. From emailing with them ahead of time, then meeting Annemiek and Kim at the airport, they were so relaxed and engaging. Not everything we expected, but so much more than we had hoped. Casually showing a UCI Rainbow jersey (“It’s a new one, but I don’t get to wear it at Margaret River!”), chatting about backpacking through Australia previously (with Marianne Vos, as you do) to talking about the importance of long friendships like Annemiek and Kim share going back to 3 years old in Kindergarten.

Kim too is a gem. She had a crack at racing a few stages as a guest of ToMR as well, albeit on Jordan’s old bike (with which I have a personal history, but that’s another story!). We had pledged to get Annemiek out of Dutch Orange and into Green, even if only briefly, and we even pulled this off successfully by the Team BBQ. It was like they had been with the Club for years. But maybe that says as much SPR as it does about the Dutchies. Needless to say, what you see in the photos with Annemiek and Kim was just that – a snapshot. The banter and the laughs and the chatter and the smiles were there throughout the whole weekend.

SPR entered seven teams of six racers each this year, with three women’s, three men’s and one mixed. Being a Teams-focused event, the results were aimed at a points-based Teams format, with the TTT times based on the 5th and 4th rider times and the road race results based on the combined time of the first three riders from each team. It is a unique format for WA racing and really forces the teams to embrace a team mentality.

The event this year was based out of the town of Nannup and raced over four stages:

• Stage 1 – 42km out and back Team Time Trial over constantly undulating terrain
• Stage 2 – 50km Road Race with some significant climbs
• Stage 3 – 72km Road Race with rolling hills and a 1.2km VERTICAL WALL for a finish
• Stage 4 – 42km Team Time Trial down the undulating Nannup-Ballingup Rd – a top ten ranked “Best Drivers Road of Australia”, un-ranked as a final TTT stage after 200km of racing, though

All the teams rode hard and proudly all weekend, but there were some very near misses on big results for the teams SPR M1 and SPR W2.

SPR Men’s 1 had the lead all the way from stage 1 in Division B and held it until the last moment, getting pipped by one point in the final TTT to get the closest of 2nd places. The guys rode out of their skins and thoroughly deserved the win – just check out the Beardy McBeard photos here of award winning pain faces from M1! John Carnicelli and Elar Kalda both gained top 5 finishes over the Road Race stages. We’ll hear from Elar in the Race Reports to come.

SPR Women’s 2 had a tough but hugely successful weekend out. Sitting 2nd after stage 1, 3rd after stage 2, back to second after WINNING stage 3, and it was just 90 seconds difference in the final stage 4 TTT to take second place overall in Division. Stage 3 saw a big crash in the Women’s Division L, with several of the SPR W2 and W3 riders brought down, and two of the Veris Women’s Development team treated by the ambulance as a result. Seeing the surviving Veris girls dig deep and take the stage win was pretty impressive, while the bruised and battered SPR W2 girls fought hard for second place, battered bruised and two of them on borrowed or Frankenstein-ed bikes. Claire Tyrrell is contributing to the Race Reports as well.

Outside of the SPR teams, there were some very big results for SPR members riding in other teams. Matt Champtaloup, Brian Sing and Patrick Saccani-Williams racing for the Santic-GDT team took the overall Teams win for Open Division A, and Matt won the individual overall for the Open categories. Dome Coffee Cycling Team came second overall in the Teams with Dave Hind, Jarrad Anderson and Richard Langsford placing well individually. Adam Ralph’s team won Division D, and Feathers and Scales with George Rolt and Ken Nicholls contested hard in D as well.

Coming in third overall for the Women’s Division K were “The Leftovers” featuring our Dianne McAuliffe.

Full event results are available here .

The event made more mainstream Cycling media as well, with CyclingTips posting a great article here. Ben Thorman features with yet another special wheelie pic up the Ballingup finish climb, which was super impressive until Robbie McEwen did it no-hands! Graced with the ever professional Matt Keenan and Robbie playing commentary,  an event-long home base at the Nannup Event Village, a bonfire and aBloc beers available (yes please!) it was a very slick production this year, and congratulations must go out to Rebecca Cotton and Brendon Morrison. You and your crew ROCK!

Our own race – well SPR Mens 2 outgunned ourselves on Stage 1 with a strong Team Time Trial netting us 36th overall and a place in Division D. We were front to mid-pack all weekend, but failed to get three to the line together effectively, and the team results in the Road Race stages suffered accordingly. Having suffering like dogs, and el Prez will attest to this, it’s still probably the most fun I’ve had on a race event away. SPR Mens 2 was a powerhouse of humour, ribbing and banter. And Crumpet. And we probably rocked the best team photos out on the road…… You’re welcome!

Organising the event was not without its’ challenges. Accommodating Annemiek and Kim was subsidised by all the ToMR squad. A few of the team members missed out on chances to more spend time with Annemiek and Kim, which was unfortunate. Our hard-as, extremely understanding Mixed team were left without transport back from a hot stage 2 – crappy and avoidable. But you’d not know it for the spirit in which these legends rode their hearts out – we’re so sorry SPR Mixed!!!

Of SPR the volunteers that we had with the teams, there were some huge standout efforts.

Bryan “Poodle” Thurstan, on 2 days’ notice and nursing an almighty Melbourne Cup hangover, answered the call to step up to be SPR Team Manager. In an effort to replace Stuart Gee who was forced to withdraw after his nasty crash just days out, Jon Hanson was the ONLY person with time available (he was already travelling as Team Manager) and race fit to step in – and we tried EVERYONE. Taking over at such late notice required a solid handover (handover, not hangover, this time) from Jon, which with his exceptional planning was a doddle.

Michelle Bonner. Wow. On Day 2 Michelle clocked up approximately 600km of driving picking up the slack for vehicle transfers from the start to the finish line – a point to point stage. Legend.

Cathi Dixon, who was a ToMR Event volunteer this year, drove from her accommodation in Nannup to SPR digs in Dunsborough both Friday and Saturday nights to provide SPR racers with massages. And get a free feed, apparently! Good Karma.

Of course, the SPR Slave Labour – Fiona and Andrew Williams. We pawned them out as ToMR Event staff with the SPR Van (it LIVES AGAIN!) in return for Annemiek. You two, Dear Williamseseses, are one of the major reasons we were graced with AvV and Kim for the weekend, and this can never be thanked enough. The Williamseseses even claimed that they enjoyed themselves being immersed in the event as staff. Maybe they just took note of the state of us racers and thought “hell no”. Whatever the fact, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And lastly, Jon Hanson. Passionate, diligent, generous, hilarious. Mate, this year wouldn’t have happened without you. Staging The Beverley and then ToMR takes a lot of time and effort and without yours, we would have struggled. Identifying and recruiting 23 replacements alone (yep, twenty three…..) to cover withdrawals is no easy feat. Despite the circumstances around your late nomination, I’m glad I got to race with you. If we weren’t drinking coffee from the Rocket, marveling at the effortless charm of The Crumpet, or coordinating transport and people, then we were laughing at the expense of each other or calling #FTS. I raise a Fairbrossen to you!

Over the next few days we will publish SPR Team Members accounts for each of the four stages to give you the inside line on how ToMR 2017 went down. No doubt you’ve possibly stumbled across an image or two from the event. We’ll collate all that we can and post them up in a gallery. Please be mindful of the rights and ownership of any images before posting and sharing. Do the right thing by the snappers that give their time to capture us in all out glory.

The Tour of Margaret River 2017 is on this week. Just in case you missed the ToMR SPAM to date. This is the biggest Pro-Am cycling event in WA, and SPR have been there since Day 1. This year we are sending the biggest Club contingent in SPR’s history, and indeed the event’s history.

These are the numbers of SPR’s ToMR squad 2017:

• $30K budget
• 65 nominees
• 41 SPR racers
• 10 event volunteers
• 7 SPR teams
• 3 Womens teams (YAY!)
• 1 broken pelvis
• 6 broken ribs
• 1 broken scapula
• 7 stitches
• 2 back strain injuries
• 3 cracked frames
• 1 case pneumonia
• 1 Annemiek van Vleuten

For clarity, none of the injuries were mine, and none of were Andrew Ballam’s. I know, right?

Personally – since the last ToMR in 2016 I’ve covered 13366km, climbed 102047m, 5 races, 6 weeks injury time off (thanks to best medical malpractice lawyer in Austin for their help in claiming the injury compensation) the bike, 1 Europe trip, 1 track session, 1 pretend wedding, 1 Beverley Handicap. No wonder it felt busy!

Speaking of The Beverley Handicap, this year saw 27 of our ToMR nominees race (and suffer in the unseasonable heat) and total of 20+ SPRouleurs (including 13 of them ToMR nominees) volunteering over the course of the weekend. Growing.

For the Committee, and especially Jon Hanson and I, the time it takes to organise this event is sizeable. On top of real world, full time, big boy jobs, racking up 20+ hours a week for the past 8 weeks on this event alone (discounting The Beverley!) comes at a cost. A cost to partner time, to family time, to sleeping time. But never riding and training time. Never. Ever. One could hire attorney for wrongful death cases in case of accidents or any other injury cases. If people have undergone Cpr Training Waterloo, it would be much more helpful in case there are any serious injuries.

Travelling with SPR this year is the biggest contingent we have sent. Staying in accommodation arranged by SPR, in teams selected by SPR, with a detailed timetable and Squad Handbook drafted by SPR, paid and accounted for through 180 separate incoming payments and 54 outgoing payments. We are dealing with a $30K+ budget for this event. Or three Beverley’s worth of SPR cashola. And all this takes time and passion to do on a volunteer basis.

SPR have not hosted a ToMR Pro rider previously, so hosting Annemiek van Vleuten – as the current Womens World #1 Road Racer, 2017 Womens ITT World Champion, 2017 La Course by TdF champion and as of Sunday night World Cup Track Silver medallist – is a first for the Club. And with it comes some new and extra organisation. Airport transfers, loaner bikes, catering, transfers to and from stages, Dutch beers (possibly, we’ll find out!) and managing outside demands on Annemiek’s time all factor. Our plan is to enjoy it – and so is Annemiek’s.

When Jon and I kicked off this year’s activities, Jon’s stated primary goal was for us to require nothing, nada, zilch, zero from Pete. Pete is to enter, enjoy and get out of our way, allowing others in the Club to make the magic. I know its’ not easy for el Prez to do so, and the fact that he has trusted us enough is a big thank you in its’ self.

So I’d like for SPR to recognise the efforts of Jon, and our Green Army of volunteers making this event crank (see what I did there?).

As we apex the last corner at speed into the finishing straight in full flight, Chapeau to you all.

Late Note: After a series of late changes to teams, we heard that Stuart Gee had been involved in a crash this morning, cleaned up by a car in Kings Park. The last withdrawal. Stu has had an amazing year racing. Second on the line at Collie Donnybrook to Gary Boylan, and then a very, very narrow third to Gary Boylan’s second (Gary again!!!) in Lorne for Amy’s Gran Fondo. We’re so sorry to hear the news, Stu and wish you the speediest and easiest recovery. We’ll miss you at ToMR.