Stage 1- Tawonga Gap
Time to test the legs in the hills… a strong field had assembled in Bright at 7am for the first stage. Riders were welcomed by a light drizzle but that soon disappeared. An attack went early by Mary Rogers that lasted until half way up Rosewhite gap. Chloe and 2 NTID riders had broken clear at the bottom of the climb and took the top 3 places over the QOM, however this group was quickly joined just over the top by the chase group which contained the big names of the race.. Whitelaw and O’Donnell.
The leading group of 10 or so riders were caught by the peloton just before the 2nd intermediate sprint at Tawonga and the bunch was all together leading into the final climb. As soon as the gradient increased, the peloton splintered… Chloe finished the highest place of the team in 6th. Sarah had a strong finish to be in the top half with Vic a little further back.
In B Grade Women TDT RACE was fielding 2 riders who had a good chance of getting some solid GC results in Delphine and Stacey. Delphine showed some strong sprinting form to be leading the Sprinters competition at the end of the day and Stacey was on top of the U19 competition. Both riders finished well up the field in the first stage.
Stage 2- 15km IRTT
With several members of the team racing with equipment they hadn’t raced on before there were high hopes of time being shaved off relative to the other competitors. Sarah was the first of our girls to roll off and had a solid ride. Chloe saddled up the new Scott for its first race and went far better than expected, getting 5th in the stage, moving her up into 5th on GC. Vic was the next one of the A grade TDT girls to start and she was very satisfied with her result.
In B Grade, Delphine had a ripper. Stacey also rode a great race with tired legs from the morning to finish 2nd in the under 19 category
Stage 3- Mt. Hotham Climb
After 20km of the A grade bunch stuffing around with no one rolling turns and the bunch behind catching them, the commissaries told the girls to start racing or get pulled off the road. As per usual as soon as the gradient went up… somewhere around The Meg, the bunch shattered with a group of 8 including Chloe going clear. This lead bunch was caught by a chasing 4 riders just before the ticket box, but again as soon as the gradient kicked up the mountain goats showed their legs. Chloe didn’t have enough gas to go with the attack, but continued solidly with Rebecca Locke (Prime Estate) to peg back a couple of riders over the final kilometers. Chloe finished the stage in 7th, slipping down to 6th on GC and out of the cash!! But extremely happy with how she went in the hills. Sarah was the next best placed not too far off the pace.
In B Grade, Delphine was the convincing winner of the Sprinters Jersey, getting a 1st and 2nd in the intermediate sprints, placing her well on top of the table. Stacey showed her climbing form, coming in first place in the U19 category up Hotham, sealing her victory overall in the U19 class.
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