The Grafton;

It's always a worry when you get of the bike after 232km of suffering, recording an average 15th and say "Right, 364 days til the next one!" I have been looking forward to this race all year and hoping to garner a good result after really quiet an average season with family problems, illness and just not doing races.

After a good road trip with a Bathurst mate on the Thursday leading into the Grafton, where we stayed in Inverell with Aussie Hotel Inverell team mate Brendan Jones and then a trip back along the race route on the Friday, all was looking good for Saturday until we hit the range and copious quantities of smoke met us on the decent. Further along we were stopped for nearly 2 hours by the Rural Fire Service who were doing some controlled back burning (which looked like it had got away a little), with fire lapping the edge of the road. Thankfully we got going without having to turn around and do the long trip the Brendan had to do who left only half an hour behind us.
This made me hit the panic stations, asthma and smoke do not mix well, at all.

After a nice lunch with my Great Aunt when I got to Grafton, it was chill time for the evening until everyone else turned up. Brendan had accumulated a great team going into the event, with himself, countless times in the top ten including a frustrating 4th a few years ago, defending champion and race record holder, Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Olympian, world and Australian champion Mark Jameson, Geoff Straub who had done several stints in Europe, Mal Rudolph, former winner and Drapac rider and then myself… Well I was under no illusions, it could well be a day of domestic duties to support some stellar guys.

The Aussie Hotel's Team with Bike No. 1

The day dawned cool and slightly overcast, pockets laden with Torq products and time to hit the road. With some good chin wagging on the start line with plenty of people, including former team mate Brenton Jones, 8-o'clock loomed and the start. 232km to go.After an easy neutral section that is really neutral compared to races like the Goulburn, we hit the 100km/h sigh on the edge of town and the racing began. With plenty of attacks, never getting far for the first bit, the pace was on and it wasn't until over Cattle Creek KOM where a break went with out team mate Straub went up the road and very quickly established a good gap over 5min.

The pressure went off the bunch, and after a well timed pisso, we got back moving and headed further and further into the smoke and hit the range.

Straight away the pace went up, Budget setting a huge tempo that very quickly distanced a lot of people. I was holding onto by the coat tails but had to say good bye and the smoke was making it feel like I was breathing through a straw.

Damn, that I thought was the end of my Grafton. I said good bye to my team mates in the bunch Mal and Brendan.

Luckily between the escape of Mark-O and Hertzo from the main bunch, indecision by Genesys who had lost Pat Shaw saw an easing of the bunch and the higher we went, the smoke cleared, so the 150m gap was slowly closed, helped by Pat Shaw who was trying to drag himself back into contention, I got back onto the bunch in between the two hair pins. Went straight to the front half of the bunch and continued to chew some bar tape.

Over the top, the air cleared, got some food down my throat and realised I had made it over the Gibraltar and was still in this race.

With a solid break up the road, well represented by Budget and GPM and Genesys not happy with it's make up, the boys in Orange hit the front and had a long sway off into the head wind across the top, through the Prison Farm feed station and then the draining drags to Glen Innes. Just before Glen, the main break was caught, but now with two Budget riders up the road it was a shift on the front. Budget were again sitting on (and fair enough) right behind the teams timetrial being completed by both GPM and Genesys in an attempt to bring back the pair of Hertzig and Cupit from Budget who had over 5min on the bunch.

I tell you I was pleased I was in neither of those teams today. And another thing in my favour was that while I was in the fluro Aussie Hotels kit, my team mate also up with me, Mal was racing in his normal Drapac kit meaning that people didn't realise we had two of us up there.

Thorugh Feed 2, Glen Innes

Out of Glen and the pace was steady, I had been through my bad patch on the false flats into Glen and was starting to find some legs, a rolling pisso of the side of the bike and I was starting to realise we would either be fighting it out for 1st if the break came back in a bunch kick or else a podium place.
On the approach to Inverell there are some nasty lumps in the highway that normally you wouldn't think twice about, but with over 200k's in your legs it was a bit different. Mal was the first person to spice things up but it all came back together and GPM and Genesys train resumed until Wire Gully, previously the final climb of the day, but since last year was the second to last. This time it was Chris Jory of GPM who lit it up and splintered the bunch, leaving half of it behind and me making the cut.
Down along the flats towards the last climb of the day it turned into a scratch race having realised that the Budget two were not coming back so between Mal and I attacking, along with everyone else it was a leg sappping experience. But it held together to the base of the last climb, when people started blowing out the back. I found myself halfway up the bunch on the climb and there I stayed until we crested the top.
On the decent into Inverell I put the plan that Mal and I had hatched earlier on the road into action, stetting up a leadout and a sprint for 3rd place. With Mal glued nicely to my wheel, and moving our way to the front of the bunch, covering attacks from everyone and Budget trying to make it a 1-2-3. Going through the roundabout at 300m to go a Genesys rider tried to make a move on my right… he got a big lean from me and disappeared. I was glued onto Teddy Windsor's wheel as he opened out the sprint, gave me a big lead out, which opened the door for Mal on the left of the road to turn on the afterburners and take 3rd. As Mal was going up my inside, I quickly realised if I had the legs I could hold on for 4th place, and in the throw for the line got it over Jory.

That night there were plenty of celebrations at the sponsors watering hole, plenty of stories with plenty of people.
It was a double celebration for me, my last uni exam was on the Tuesday before plus essentially the end of the season too.

Then onto moving house to start a new life post uni. A move to Cooma, starting my Pharmacy Internship in January and my girlfriend, Jen, starting work this week (hence why it has taken so long to get this penned)

A big thanks to Brendan Jones, the Joneys Boys and the Aussie Hotel Inverell and his crew that supported us on the day. A race like that wouldn't happen without drivers and feeders. Top work guys!
Also thanks to Dean and Gen at Torq Australia for supporting the Torq team this year on the road. It has been a hit and miss year but still heaps of fun. Thanks for the brilliant product that is second to none and kept me fueled like no ones business on the day. And thanks also for letting me guest with another team for my favourite race.

Thanks to Fenz at FTP Training for great coaching and advice this year.
Thanks to Monza, Cube, SRAM and ENVE. It makes for a brilliant all round package. Works well, light to get up a nasty big 18km berg with the bunch, aero wheels for the rest of the race and stiff enough to take 2nd in the bunch kick!

It has been a little while since the last posting on here. Since an average Tour of Gippsland where a nasty chest infection stopped me from helping my team mates, Robbie Hucker and Brenton Jones, from having a good Swan Song in the Torq colours, there was a stint of university placement for two weeks (it's amazing how full time work gets in the way of good training - made even harder as there was no financial renumeration for the period), this gave way to some NSW races.
With the Goulburn Crit followed by the NRS Goulburn to Sydney my first race outing in a while. The crit didn't go to plan, I missed the break, wasn't given an inch and riding solo against the likes of Drapac and GPM who definintely had numbers on their side.

Goulburn Start Line, pre Chin Scar

Lining up on a cold Sunday morning for the Goulburn was an emotional day thinking of my old training partner from Nowra, Robbie Williams who tragically passed away a couple of months prior. Standing on the start line, next to Stu Shaw who was also a good mate of Robbie's from Canberra and hearing his father, and another good mate, Bruce say a few words made for a very tough and emotional start to the day.
Rolling out of Goulburn I tried to knuckle down to the task at hand, and got first tweet mention of the race with Mick Curran of NKC-Lexus as we got off the front straight away for out moments of glory in the Goulburn fog. After a couple k's dangling we were reeled in and it became time to hide before the race got serious further down the road.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to do anything when things were lit up on Razorback, as I was tangled up in the big spill a couple of kilometres prior to the Berrima feed zone. I had done everything right, was sitting in the top 15 of the bunch but a stupid mistake a couple of wheels up brought my day to an abrupt end, doing a superman onto the tarmac. This left me with 4 stitches in the chin and a very angry drive home with my poor girlfriend Jen having to put up with the steam coming out of my ears all the way back to Orange.
The following weekend was the NSW State Road Championships. After nabbing silver last year in the elites, I was hoping for a similar result. It wasn't to be, I was marked out of the race by other teams who all had superior numbers. This resulted in a big mind blow, which is made worse by doing laps of a 30-odd kilometre circuit. So part way through it was all too easy to climb off, get in the car and drive home.
2 weeks, 2 races and some very poor showings.
Nothing a week off the bike couldn't fix. And now have come back stronger, and a bit sharper. Unfortunately couldn't make Tassie, or the Warnie, the team not doing either and uni exams have gotten in the way, but with my last uni exam tomorrow, all eyes for me are on the Grafton this Saturday. Last year was my first Grafton, and after initial plans to just try and survive the brutal distance, but came up with a 12th, the thought of doing better this year has really spurred me on.

Western Divisions Road Championships Podium. (Mark Windsor)

Training has been going well, with some strong rides in local races, including a nice win in the NSW Western Divisions Road Championships against a class field of fellow NRS riders, I would like to think I am ready. You always come into such a big target with doubts and worries. Have I trained enough, or possibly worse, trained too much? I know though that I have the best nutrution on my side with TORQ, great bars, gels and energy drink to match up with my feeding strategy to get me through the distance. There has been some great training facilitated by the ol' geezer Fenz at FTPTraining.com, and a great steed kept on the road with Monza in the form of my Cube, build up with SRAM and ENVE wheels which goes like a dream.

Ciao for now. Grafton to Inverell is calling!

PS Happy to have a beer with anyone in Inverell on Saturday night!

After some hectic weeks of training on a programme set for me by my coach Mark Fenner (www.ftptraining.com) I was psyched and amped for the next NRS tour, Gippsland… and then I got crook on my taper week. Over a week of the bike, and three days where I could barely even get out of bed to drink a coffee, let alone anything else. Let’s just say it was less then ideal preparation for racing at the pinnacle of domestic Australian racing.

Couple that with a parcourse that doesn’t really suit my physical characteristics 9 stages with 5 of them being crits… it was going to be a tough tour.

A great road trip down, picked up ring in team mate (and fellow ginger) Lukie Dale, we rocked up at Dean’s place in Cockatoo on Monday lunch time, and Robbie Hucker turned up not long after for his swan song with the team. I then had a Solestar inner sole fitting by Jenni King (https://pedallab.com) and am looking forward to getting them in the post and trying them out.

After a quick roll that afternoon around the great roads near Emerald and a necessary brew stop (my first ride in over a week and finally managed to stop coughing).

Racing started on Wednesday with a  fast and tough little crit course in San Remo, personally the legs felt good but as soon as I went into the red the lungs could back it up and recover so I spend the first half of the crit about a third of the way back just conserving myself.

They were super fast crits, and because this tour was going to be won on time bonuses and with sprints every 2 laps on all the crits, the big teams wouldn’t let anyone get more then 10m off the front of the bunch. This resulted in some very fast average speeds for the whole tour.

With 5 laps to go I moved up nice and close to the front to try and play pilot fish for Brenton Jones, but a crash on the bell lap brought him and Robbie tumbling down although Brenton got straight back up and some how managed to get right back to the front of the bunch but on the wrong side of the road to me. BJ managed a strong 8^th considering he was on the deck just minutes before. I backed out of the sprint and rolled in 41^st.

After throwing a Torq Recovery down our necks, it was time to roll across the bridge and off the mainland of Australia and over to Phillip Island and the GP Circuit for a Kermesse for stage 2.

With such an open course and the wind blowing in from the Antarctic, positioning was going to play a big role (And an extra 10kg and the horsepower to go with it wouldn’t have gone astray).

This was a super fast stage and the bunch was as nervous as anything with quiet a few moments in the peloton. I was really struggling, with my lungs not happy. This was going to be the story of the tour unfortunately.

15 laps, plenty of gutter action and a nearly worn out 11 tooth cog gave a stage with 47km/h average and a middle of the bunch finish again for me.

That night we used the hospitality of the Jones family for a good night kip before getting on the road for day 2 and stages 3 and 4.

The Moe criterium was a carbon copy of stage 1, a fast paced crit, with primes every second lap and no one getting far off the front of the bunch. Robbie and Brenton rode really well again to stay up the front and out of trouble and mixing it up in some of the primes and finish.

Me, well I rolled in at 57^th place and because of some dropped wheels in the finish was docked 7 seconds.

Stage 4 was finally a proper road stage with some lumps and bumps. I wad crossing fingers, legs and toes that my breathing would behave and I’d be able to have an impact and play the team role. Straight away I could feel the difference in the bunch and could move around with ease and found myself at the front helping my team mate Brendon Shultz get up the road, and then as soon as the road pointed up hill saw Lukie Dale hit it off the front! It was great to see… as I was going back wards working on about half lung function. I managed to just stay in contact as the bunch went over the top of the first climb and bombed the decent and onto the twisting valley road and very quickly made the front of the bunch to do some controlling for the team and worked with Budget to limit the break that had already formed. I knew I was struggling and that when the road pointed up again would go out the hoop, so I buried myself to make myself useful.

And I was right, turned right, over the bridge and the road went up and I went back…

I rolled in with the Groupetto completely stuffed to hear that BJ had pulled a great second and Robbie was in the mix up the front. All good news!

Stage 5 was the Sale crit, a great course that I was really enjoying until I went out the back not breathing. And then, while hypoxic had to start signing autographs for the local school kids who flocked me back at the Torq trailer. The poor kids getting my signature!

Stage 6, Maffra to Dargo, and I finally managed to control everything in my body, breathing, legs, it all went right. The first bit was playing domestique which I loved, keeping Robbie and BJ out of the wind in the early cross winds and then we hit the climbs proper which quickly thinned out the bunch and I found myself in the first selection. Win!

As the kilometres clicked over I kept an eye on BJ and Robbie, making sure they had what they needed. Next climb, still with the bunch. I was stoked with how I was riding and feeling. Unfortunately the false flat drag up to the final climb was just too much after burning biccies early in the piece, and I came in 57^th, 52sec down on the front bunch. Robbie and Luke were up there and BJ got another podium with a 3^rd.

The long transfer had me chewing on Torq bars and sipping my Recovery, and the night at Lakes Entrance with pizza and pasta waiting for us on our arrival.

We were over halfway and Saturday morning dawned grey and wet, with the next stage a crit at Bairnsdale, proved to be carnage, with quiet a few guys not able to cope with the corners plus the rain. I held it up and finished up the front of a very reduced peloton, right next to teammate Robbie.

Stage 8 saw another road stage and a good course, again nice and lumpy with a break going early on in the piece with Robbie representing, leaving me and Luke, with Jarryd and Billy the kid to look after Brenton when it came down to the finish. Coming into the finish in Metung, for some reason the bunch wound it up for a sprint for 17^th place so I played pilot fish again for Brenton giving him a nice sit up the front of the bunch out of trouble for the last dozen kilometres.

The final stage was a(nother) crit at Paynesville. My cold had returned and I suffered like a dog but still managed to get off the front going into one prime only to get mowed down by the Search to Retain Train fighting for Vandy. But that was about all I had and proved the end of my tour.

All in all personally it was a very average tour. I rode like a busted arse on all but a couple of occasions and felt more like a dead weight for the team then anything.

Luckily insult wasn’t added to injury as my Cube, with SRAM Red, ENVE wheels and Continental rubber kept me upright on more then one sketchy occasion.

Dean and Gen at Torq Australia were wonderful and supportive, and the product kept me going, the bars to nibble, gels to race on and the Recovery post race kept the body going as strong as it could.

Admittedly it wasn’t my style of racing with way too many crits, but I would like to think that if I was well I could have done more for the team, either getting coverage or providing a better wheel for our team leaders.

A big congratulations to Robbie and Brenton who are moving onto bigger and better things at Drapac and Genesys respectively. Now the rest of us at the Torq/Bicycle Superstore team have to step up and fill that void!

At the end of the tour, I finished 75^th, +21:34 on GC. Now time to catch up on Uni and get well.

It's been nearly 5 weeks since the hectic North West Tour, throw in the NSW State TT as well for good measure, family things and back to uni. 

After using the NRS Tours of Toowoomba and North West as a litmus test to see where I stand in the domestic racing scheme of things, my coach, Mark Fenner www.ftptraining.com and I sat down to see where my next step as a rider is, and as a result got my training programme overhauled... significantly. After an initial FTP Test up Camberwarra Mountain down near Nowra to set appropiate training zones it was, excuse the phrases, "Balls to the Wall" and "Training my Ring off" time. Days with split sessions, plenty of turbo work, but thankfully (between uni lectures) enough legs in the air recovery time, coupling it with post workout TORQ Recovery drinks and constantly being absolutely spaced out just because I am shattered from my last session. 

Thankfully it hasn't been in vain with some rather impressive power gains over the last 4 weeks.
Now it's time to look forward to the next block of racing, with the Tour of Gippsland starting next week, I am looking forward to catching up with the boys and a farewell tour for our man Robbie Hucker who is moving on to bigger and better things in the near future. 

During all this I got my new team issue wheels, a lovely set of ENVE Smart 3.4 carbon tubular wheels. So I am looking forward to using these light, stiff and aero wheels around the rolling roads of rural Gippsland. Did I mention they are AWESOME. After years using other brands of wheels which I thought were pretty good, these are stiff to boot. No break rub, accelerate straight away, no lag or wind up. Just brilliant.

A special mention must go to my lovely girlfriend who has put up with me in my constantly dazed state lately. I think I scared her one day when I took her along while I was doing some VO2 hill efforts and started coughing up a lobe of a lung or two.

Last weekend saw yet another weekend with racing on the calendar. This time, the trip, with Fenz, to Calga on the NSW Central Coast for the NSW State Individual Time Trial.

After an up and down week, with not much training, only a few short sessions on the TT rig, we hit the road on Saturday afternoon and got through Sydney to Calga and got in a nice pre ride of the course. 

I did this race several years ago and the pre ride only refreshed my memory of what a tough 43km it is. Up, down, up, down. With nearly 500m of vertical climbing through the course it is definitely one of the tougher TT courses out there, but at the end of the day there is certainly a deserved winner.

The morning dawned a little over cast and the wind picked up through the morning as earlier starters raced.

After a good warm up, I was off out of the start gate

Photo curtesy of Luke Picton

One of the toughest aspects of a long TT is the mind games and what goes on through your head as you are on the rivot for an hour. And I must admit my head wandered a little through the course of the test.

Anyway by the end of the test I managed 6th against some real specialists including a great bronze by Torq/BSS team mate Mark Fenner.

Photo curtesy of Luke Picton

CWD Article

Troy’s individual time trial triumph
MICHELLE COOK
04 Jul, 2012 04:00 AM
MICHAEL Troy’s versatility helped him to a top 10 finish in the Cycling NSW Individual Time Trial Championship on the weekend.
On Sunday, the Orange cyclist finished sixth in the elite men’s category at Calga, near Woy Woy.

A week earlier he was riding with Torq Bicycle Super Store in the Subaru National Road Series.

At the time trial event, the elite men completed a 43km course.

Troy, 23, finished the event in one hour and 53 seconds.

The winner, Brodie Talbot, stopped the clock in 58 minutes and 29 seconds.

Troy said he was pleased with his performance.

“Sixth against time trial specialists was quite a good result,” Troy said.

“I left everything out on the road. I couldn’t have done any more.

“I had hoped for a podium but after the hit-and-miss week I had leading into it, I was going to be happy with a top 10, especially with the calibre of riders there.”

The 43km course was hugely challenging.

“There was no flat at all. It was uphill or downhill,” Troy explained.

“It was a tough time trial. On top of that there was a gusty wind which kept you on your toes. There was 500m of vertical climbing so that makes for a really tough ride.”

Troy’s Torq BSS teammate Mark Fenner finished third in 58:44.

The Orange rider has plenty more work to do with another NRS event on the horizon.

The Torq BSS team will contest the Tour of Gippsland from August 1-5.

Troy will balance his training with his pharmacy studies at Charles Sturt University in Orange.

He said he was looking forward to another NRS event having already contested the Tour of Toowoomba and the North Western Tour.

“Going into Toowoomba I was really excited,” he said.

“Racing helps keep you motivated when you can see something on the horizon.”

Santos North West Tour

After a reasonably successful Tour of Toowoomba, the Torq/BSS team made the road trip south to continue the circus for another week.
We bunked in Narrabri, nice and close to the starting courses for the tour which were in the middle of the town.
On the Tuesday of the week, we did some rolling of the legs over, reconnisacing the prologue and crit courses that we would face when the tour started on the Thursday. Then on the Wednesday we learned from our main mistake at the Toowoomba tour and went to Coonabarrabran and pre road the main decent of the stage and climb up to the Siding Spring Observatory so we knew what we were in for (plus found a lovely coffee shop on the main street of Coonabarrabran)

Thursday dawned with a nice clear day, not overly warm, but still warmer then Orange was that day so I was very happy. As the girls raced, the wind picked up so we knew it could be a blustery prologue and crit in the the afternoon.
Unfortunately the traffic control left much to be desired on day one, and it would only continue to be an issue during the course of the tour, with cars entering the course for the prologue while both the guys and girls were racing, with two poor ladies being hit by traffic while they were out on their prologue run and many more, including Nadine and Scott being bawked by the traffic and effecting their run.
I pulled out a surprising ride in the prologue and nabbed a 12th place (1-0 Fenner BOOM!) ahead of many more fancied riders, with Fenz also in the top twenty and Brenton bringing out a storming third place, putting him in the young riders jersey for the crit later that afternoon.
Coming into the crit the plan was to do everything possible for Brenton to try and get him up for the win.
For one of the sprint primes we coupled together and executed a perfect leadout, taking that sprint with the plan to do exactly the same come the finish.
Coming into the final stages of the crit, there was quiet  big prang on the exit of turn 4 in the middle of the bunch, but thankfully I managed to steer Brenton clear and keep him up the front and out of trouble, him nicely glued to my wheel. Then coming around turn three of the following lap… BOOM there was a motorbike on the exit of the corner, stopped, FACING THE WRONG WAY. What the hell it was doing there, stopped and facing head on into the race has everyone scratching their head and it caused a huge pile up, neutralising the next six or so laps. This ruined my ability to race. All these riders who were strung out the back of the race (and some who had earlier pulled out of the race completely) all of a sudden were back in the mix and shunted me out to the back half of the peloton. When the race was resumed, with three laps to remain it was a shit fight and I could do nothing to help Brenton.
No body was happy with that day except maybe Genesys who claimed 1-2 in the sprint.

We packed up and headed that afternoon to Coonabarrabran to face the queen stage on the Friday. The weather was against us today, 6deg, windy and rain meant it was a difficult day and the only time I was truly warm was when we were climbing to the finish. My legs gave out on me and I groveled home in about 30th place, with Brenton and Fenz coming in behind me and Scotty and Damo grovelling home after having an extra few kilometres tacked on due to lack of marshals doing their job at the turn around.

Saturday morning dawned with a phone call from home that my Grandfather had passed away during the night which put my head in the wrong headspace for racing. So I pulled out and spent the day in the convoy after organising my lovely girlfriend, Jen to hit the road and get to Gunnedah that afternoon so I could return home asap.
There were many times on Saturday while on the Oxley highway when I had to close my eyes. The bunch were only given one lane to race in, with oncoming traffic driving in the other direction and impatient drivers trying to get through the race convoy and around the race… My Twitter feed shows what I saw that day from the convoy…

There are also some politely worded articles on Cyclingnews.com and SBS's Cycling Central 

www.cyclingnews.com/news/santos-north-western-tour-seeks-quieter-roads-for-future-events

www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/road/news/37120/strange-scenario-plays-out-on-final-day-of-north-western-tour

Make sure you read the comments at the base of the Cycling Central link.

After putting in all the training miles on the Cube and doing everything in my power to get ready, my first NRS tour was looming on the horizion.
Dean with the Land Rover and Torq Camper trailer turned up on my doorstep on the Tuesday afternoon and we hit the road after packing two bikes, turbo trainer, 2 kit bags and a back pack, plus 9 wheels into the back of the trailer.

The Torq Set up hitting Molong

The long road north through Molong, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonabarrabran, Narrabri,  and stopped just outside Goondawindi for some kip just after midnight which made for an 18hr driving day for legend Dean.
Back on the road at Sparrow Fart to get to Toowoomba and meet up with team mates Brenton and Jarryd (and family) to get ready for the tour.
The rest of the boys turned up later that afternoon, with Mark Fenner, Damian Mason, James Rix and Scott Butler making up the rest of the team. We decided that a good way to roll out the legs would be to pre ride the Team Time Trial course that we were going to be confronted with come Saturday morning.

Race day loomed on Thursday morning with a rolling 140km stage. There was enough breeze to keep you on your toes, and coupled with rough slow roads and rolling hills made for a solid day in the bunch. I tried one little attack about a third of the way through the race after a sprint prime to try and take the bunch by surprise coupled with a change of wind direction. We got a couple of hundred metres on the bunch but they weren't letting us get anywhere.
After that dig I sat in and tried to conserve as much energy as I could for the coming days. In the last 20km Fenz and I teamed up to guide Brenton up to the front of the bunch and try and set him up as best as possible for a sprint finish. Unfortunately a break had got away over the last King of the Mountain sprint and with the chaotic and technical finish, Brenton got a great second in the bunch kick which gave him 13th. Fenz and I rolled in just behind.

Day two was shake down day. With a 6km climb at the end of the stage. Going in, again it was a matter of saving as much energy as possible through the day to give the finale the best nudge that I could.
Mid way through the stage a dangerous break formed which I jumped across to but it came to nothing so it all came down to the climb.
Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to pre ride the climb but knew that it was steep. So I strapped the 27 tooth cog onto the climbing wheels and hit the 18% grades. BOOM! Unfortunately in the carnage at the front of the bunch I got shunted into the gutter and had to do some cyclo-cross to get back going and missed the main split but truth be told I would't have been able to go with it anyway. Riding right on the rev limiter all the way up, clocked a 21st position.

Saturday dawned, with split stages; the team time trial in the morning followed by a 120km stage in the afternoon. We were hoping to put in a good performance in the TTT which is why we brough along our TT guns in Scotty and Damo plus Fenz. Unfortunately it didn't pan out as good as we hoped and Scott and Damo blew in the first third of the race, leaving us with the minimum 4 riders to finish. This changed our game plan a bit as we couldn't sacrifice anyone and had to make sure we held it all together and get all four of us to the finish together. The four of us left put in a great ride considering, all right on the rivot and working togeher brilliantly and communicated well to hold it together.

The middle of the pack TTT ride plus only an average 23rd position on GC for me (and top place rider on the team), the team game plan changed and I was given free reign to do what I love… ATTACK. And that's what I did as the TV coverage on SBS shows, as soon as the lead car pulled ahead and the red flag was dropped, I flew the coup. Unfortunately that initial break got reeled in, but not long after the road opened up nicely on the left hand side and I smacked it again and went of solo, this netted me a sprint prime. Coming across the gap a few others joined me and soon we had a nice working group of six and we swapped off nicely for the next while on the flat open roads south of Toowoomba. I also manage to sprint and take the next prime. After over 50km swapping off the bunch was starting to reel us in and the group lost it's impitus so myself and a rider from the South Australian Sports Institute went off the front only to be picked up by a lead pack of 10 or so that had splintered off the front of the peleton in the cross wind and gutter action.
Rolling through with this new bunch I knew that I was starting to get into some trouble, as after such an intense start and lots of cross winds, I hadn't eaten enough and it was on the KOM sprint coming into the feed zone at about 65km mark the the lights went out.
After a little stint chasing the break, I then drifted into the peloton, then out the back of the peloton, through the chasing groupetto and then a nice solo 30km to the finish. Thank goodness the road had turned nicely to give me a tail wind home.
Rolling into the lovely Toowoomba crit circuit the team mates who had finished told me Brenton got a well earned third in the stage and I  had netted the most aggressive rider award. A nice reward after such a hard day!

Most Aggressive Rider Jersey

The final stage of the tour was a crit in the town centre of Toowoomba. I had some realitives visit and  brought along my mother to surprise me and watch the stage.
Unfortunately I was still in deficit from the previous day and had no legs to do anything to help our team sprinter Brenton in the finish. I was chewing bar tape just to hold onto the peloton.

At the end of the tour I finished right down the placings in GC due to Saturday, but was first in the Most Aggressive Rider category and 3rd on the Sprint classification.

See the Torq/BSS Colours flown at the All Spokes Hunter Cycling Festival.

Another weekend. Another set of races, this time in the Hunter Valley with three races on the programme.

(Jen Poile)

The weekend started with the NSW State Criterium Champs in Broke. It was a tough rectangle course on rough roads. It was plenty aggressive enough which I couldn't help but being a part of with plenty of digs off the front or bridging to small breaks that formed. Had to put on a bit of a show, Jen, the girlfriend was there with me for the weekend and spectating on the side of the road with a camera… always the showman.

Unfortunately I lost too many places on the bell lap when Mick Curran (NKC) displayed his bike handling skills after locking up his rear wheel, sending a few of us into evasive action. Luckily Mick held it up but I lost a bit too much momentum so rolled in on the back of the bunch for 8th in the Elite mens.

(Jen Poile)

The afternoons race was a difficult one to judge, after a reconnisance drive the night before when passing through town, and a pre ride that morning, the bike/wheel combo was a tough choice. There was 7km of flat to the base of the climb, followed by a 1km pinchy ride up someones drive way topping 20%.

I made the decision to go full TT bike and disk wheel as well as debuting the new Louis Garneau Vorttice TT helmet. Looking at the splits on Strava, I had the quickest time to the base of the climb by 12 sec but lost 18sec to the elite mens winner Brodie Talbot by the top… The choice of bikes will still be hotly debated. This gave me 2nd in the Elite mens in the TT and 5th fastest time of the day.

Sunday morning dawned chilly and ready for a 100km road race. It was on fairly flat roads with a couple of rises but on very rough roads. After an aggressive couple of k's, a small bunch managed to roll off the front which unfortunately I wasn't a part of and no matter how much I tried to bridge the gap to the lead bunch of 6 the peloton wasn't letting me get across.

The Gallop (Jen Poile)

Coming into the sprint finish I jumped on the back of the Racing Kangaroo's train for the kind of finish that I like, drag up hill sprint finish for the last 200m. With some hair raising last couple of kilometres dodging between traffic that had got caught up on the racing circuit I kicked late from 3rd wheel but wasn't able to catch Jack McCulloch who took a flier but managed to grab 2nd in the bunch kick which should have landed me 6th for the day and classed as 2nd in the Elite mens category.

My Drag race with Craig Hutton with "Moist and Chewy" getting the better

All in all a great weekend of racing with the form coming along nicely for later races in the year in the NRS with the Torq/BSS Team.

A big shout out to my lovely girlfriend who came along for the ride. What a way to celebrate her 21st birthday later this week with a weekend away in the Hunter… for me to race bikes!

To Torq for continuing to keep me fueled, Monza for the Cube Litening with SRAM Red which was stellar for all conditions I threw at it.