Shipwreck Coast Classic 2011 - Results

Being the last race of the National Road Series, the Shipwreck Coast attracted a strong field this year. The level of competition and the weather, with very strong cross winds, made for a very hard race. A breakaway of three formed at the front early on, with ex-teammate Kendelle Hodges, SASI rider Sinead Noonan and leader of the series Grace Sulzberger. The three of them worked well till the end and they finished ahead of the rest of the field, with Kendelle taking out the win in the sprint.
Well done to Kate Finegan for finishing sixth, and latest addition to the team Cait Fraser for her twelfth place.

Shipwerck Coast Classic Preview

The team's next race is the Shipwreck Coast Classic :
- start : 11.30am  at the Flag Staff Hill in Warrnambool
- finish expected around 2.15pm at the Allansford Cheese World
Have a look at the route and come along to support the girls !

Honda Women's Tour 2011

Well its been an interesting week so far with the 5 of us at the Honda tour this year. We started in Ballarat on Wednesday with a kermesse/criterium/circuit race of 6.2km around Lake Wendouree 7 times with lots of road furniture to get around each lap. The racing started fast with an attack within the first 100m of racing from SASI and attacks continued throughout the first lap with Delphine and Kate ensuring they were within the breaks. There was to be a sprint at the end of lap 2 and 7, and just before the first sprint there was quite a large crash that both Nik and Sarah got caught up in. What followed was what you could call a major kafuffle and the rules became very confusing, some girls thought they could take laps out, some girls were chasing and the follow cars were unable to inform the riders of what to do. The race continued fast and aggressive, Kate got 2nd in the second sprint and gained a time bonus and in the final sprint for the day Stacey finished 15th and Kate 23rd, with Sue Forsyth from NSW the eventual winner. Kate was in 6th on GC due to her time bonus in the sprint; Sarah and Nik were told with 2 laps to go after chasing an aggressive bunch that they were going to get bunch time so rolled in with a smaller bunch of the girls caught up in the crashes.
Stage 2, Thursday, around Belmont specific criterium circuit. We thought Wednesday was a fast start, Thursday was even faster; single file on the first lap. Over half the field was already pulled out as they were going to get lapped by lap 14 (out of 40laps). Position, position, position was the key to this race and  Kate's experience in The Netherlands payed off today, bring the only one to finish the criterium in 12 position and holding onto her 6th overall in GC. Thursday afternoon we went and re-conned the course for the teams time trial the following day and in the evening enjoyed an amazing cous cous with roast chicken and vegetables thanks to the fine dining skills of Nik in our accommodation thanks to BARTERCARD.Stage 3, Teams Time Trial in Drysdale on Portalington Road 6.7km out and then return over the rolling hills. We discovered a definate area of improvement that we need to work on as a team, and one of the disadvantages of us not having been able to have our teams training day as planned due to circumstances that had arised. Kate took off very fast, maybe as a result of the last 2 days, but caused a break down in the team working together and it ended with Sarah pulling some massive turns to bring home Kate and Delphine.Stage 4 Sorrento to Arthurs Seat, 43.5km a hilly stage. 1/2 of us stayed in Sorrento, the other half stayed in Geelong and caught the ferry over in the morning, waking up to a windy, yet Sunny morning on the bay. It was 10km with a tail wind before heading into the last 30km of rolling hills. Fast and furious yet again from the gun the first 10km was covered in about 15minutes, about 50km/hour. Nicole suffered from a puncture, and the rest of us suffered from punctured lungs at sometime during the day, with Sarah being our top finisher followed by Kate. We all need to do a hill climbing camp to improve our climbing abilities and move forward a a team.

Getting Excited

well only 4 more days till the team for Honda Hybrid Tour are hitting the roads of Geelong for a team training session. Sarah,Stacey,Kate,Nik and Delphine ...

New kit...always adds Excitement

 So I'm back on my bike after 2 weeks off, and what better way to get a little more excited to be back on the bike than to be wearing new team RACE kit..to bad I still have to wear arm and leg warmers but hey, can't complain to much...Kate

Amy's Gran Fondo 2011 (September 18)

Delphine's report on riding the Amy's Gran Fondo in Lorne on Sunday, September, 18th. 

Nicole and Delphine before the start.  

There were over 2500 riders on the start line in Lorne on Sunday morning, the atmosphere was jovial and the weather sunny and warm. The start, scheduled at 8am, was only delayed by a few minutes as an injured Koala had to be removed from the course, and riders set off for the 120km journey in waves of 200 every two minutes. Nicole, Helen and I took the start in the last of the 30-35kph waves. The bunch mostly stayed together for the first 40km along the Great Ocean Road. The scenery was amazing, and riding on both sides without having to worry about any cars was very special. Our bunch set a nice tempo and we got to the first major climb of the day in just over 1h. Unfortunately, Nicole was the victim of a puncture in this very first section, which spoiled the rest of her day ...

The bunch fell apart on the 10km climb from Skenes Creek, as riders were constantly passed by faster climbers, or passing slower riders. Over the top I was unable to find a good working bunch and most of the following 60km consisted of hopping from one group to the next, trying to pace myself but keep a high tempo on the flatter section to Deans Marsh. That's where the last climb of the day started, and once again the climb split any existing groups to pieces. The ascent of Benwerrin, affectionately called "Bennie" by the locals, seemed incredibly tough. At the top, once passed the finish line, a lot of riders were having a break descending back to Lorne, congratulating each other and happily chatting about their experience of the day.

The results were updated on the Bike Exchange website almost instantly, and when we made our way to the tent to check our times I got a good surprise and found out that I was 3rd in the women 16-29 category with a ride time of 3h36. The podium presentation only involved the winners of each age group, but I still got a medal, which I collected at the results tent later in the afternoon from ex-team member Jenny McPherson, who now works for the Amy Gillett Foundation. It was great to catch up with her briefly.

I would like to thank the Amy Gillett Foundation for organising such a great event. The level of organisation was outstanding. Everything ran on time and we had no issues with registrations, results, timing .... 

If you would like to know more about the Amy Gillett Foundation and their action for riders' safety follow the link : Amy Gillett Foundation

 

On the start line in the main street of Lorne.

Medal for coming third in the Women 16-29 Category. 

Helen, who joined us as a guest rider for this event, Nicole and Delphine after the ride.

Hi all I'm Kate Finegan....another cyclist from Bendigo Victoria and have just been offered the great opportunity to ride with RACE for the rest of the 2011 road season.....So my first blog for team RACE....Spent a great Saturday afternoon with Kim in Geelong discussing personal goals, plans, and ideas as well as how this fitted in within with the team and its philosophy. Although I'm sure a lot of what I said may not have made sense as I was suffering from Jet lag (a severe 3 day long hang over without the enjoyment of the fun times that occur whilst drinking). I have no understanding of why each time I travel to Europe I am so much more affected on the flight back to Australia than when I go over there. The positive is that at least I had nothing too stressful to do for a couple of days on return to Australia.
So I'm halfway through my end of season break, and after 38 race days in 5 months being based in The Netherlands with many highs and lows, it is a well deserved rest, and I'm enjoying every moment of it. But give it another 2 days and I'll be itching to be back on the bike and start preparing for Honda women's tour and Shipwreck coast classic.