On the Easter weekend from the 11^th to the 13^th of April Sam Layzell and I traveled to Tasmania to race the first event in the National Road Series. The 3 Day Tour of Mersey Valley.

The race consisted of a TT and 2 road stages. We were up against the best riders U23+ in Australia.

Sam and I faced tough competition with both Budget Forklifts and Praties, sending strong teams to the event. The TT went ok with Sam doing a strong ride finishing in 19^th (+3:05min) place, especially considering he broke his glasses just before the start and had a loose cleat. I finished in 25^th(+3:49min).

Stage 1 was the best race for the team with Sam starting the day strong getting in some early moves and sprinting ahead of the bunch to get some KOM points. Unfortunately all breaks where brought in due to an organized chase from the Budget team defending the yellow. The weather turned nasty; the rain came down and temperature dropped on the second lap causing many crashes on the tricky decent. Sam continued his bad luck and was caught up in the crash hurting his wrist. He and most riders involved managed to get back on and the whole bunch was back together till the final climb. The pace then lifted and bunch split over the top with 3 riders getting away. I tried to chase with no luck and led the bunch into the sprint finish. Most riders came around me in at the finish and I finished towards the back of the bunch in 17^th. Sam came in about a minute behind in 32^nd which was good considering the crash.

The final stage was a tough one with the Praties team driving the bunch. We were stung out single file with a cross wind at an average speed of about 46km/h for the first 50-60km to the base of Heart Break. Sam did a good job of getting us to the front of the bunch at the base of the climb but unfortunately they were to strong for us on the day. We lost contact as a group of 20-25 riders went up the road. We formed a small group and rolled in some 13minutes behind the leaders.

Final results are not out yet but I suspect we both finished between 20^th and 30^th. In was a little disappointing as we have both trained very hard for this. However it was an excellent experience and we learned a lot. A big thanks goes to Ross Hayter for driving us around, giving us our drinks and supporting us. And thanks to Two Wheel Industries for providing the Corimas and paying race entry. Hopefully we can take what we have learned and perform well in Bathurst next week.

Carter & Hill sprinting for the win

Ben Hill opened the teams account for the 2009 season on Saturday with a 2nd place finish in Saturdays Newcastle City Council and Orica Kermesse. The Canberra based rider was involved in a four man break away that formed early into the 90km race around the 8km Kooragang Island circuit.  Hill could not overcome Team Panasonic rider Robbie Carter in a head to head sprint. Fellow breakaway rider Jim Moore punctured with 2 laps remaining and Mace rider Andrew Crawley settled for 3rd place. The peleton mistimed the catch and finished within 10 seconds of the breakaway.

The result is promising for the 18 year old rider, who is hoping for big results in 2009.

With team members Ben Hill and Sam Layzell attending Tasmania’s Tour of  Mersey Valley (11th-13th April), training has commenced to build base fitness for the year. By completing long rides of up to 150kms, riders develop a solid base fitness to build on in the coming year. The stronger the base, the higher the riders fitness peak can be later in the season.

The teams first full squad race will be the NAB Blaney to Bathurst on 19th April, followed by the Canberra Tour two weeks later 1st-3rd May. The team will again look to Hill, Layzell and John Ebling to excel in these races due to their hilly profiles.

The Sydney Road Championships on 30th May will mark the first real opportunity for the teams strong men, with last years winner Brad Scarfe and 4th place getter  Jarrett Wood looking again to stand out on the flat roads.

The team will also be targeting various other races during the season, namley the Tamworth Two day Tour in August, Goulburn to Citi and Grafton to Inverell in September.

After the 800-odd km trip down the tedious Hume Highway we arrived at picturesque Bright for the two day tour. For my teammate Ben Hill from Muswellbrook CC, it was his first big race back from an 8 week break for HSC studies. For me, the first state race since Goulburn to Citi. The two of us had been placed in B grade for the weekend of racing. As we took a quick spin around town on Friday afternoon, it was obvious that the whole town was involved with the race, with Tour posters and “Welcome Cyclists” banners everywhere.

We woke to beautiful sunny skies early Saturday morning, however by the start of the first stage at 8am it became apparent that we would have to contend with a crosswind for the rest of the day. The tour consisted of 3 stages. Stage 1: 105km’s with two 2^nd category climbs, and Stage 2: 15.7km Time Trial in the afternoon. Then for Sunday, a 56.5km stage which included a 30km 1^st category climb up Mount Hotham. The bunch rolled out of town along the flat valley road, the flag was dropped and the attacks began. Our tactics were to have Ben in the early move while I sat in the bunch and waited for the last climb. Team Suzuki/UNO from Canberra was well represented in our bunch with 6 riders. They were very attentive and shut down every move that went up the road. Eventually 3 riders made it off the front after the first sprint prime and stayed away until the first climb at 50km’s. From there Suzuki/UNO got on the front and began upping the pace. The bunch strung out into single file at about 45km/h at times. Ben suffered a puncture at the 65km mark, made worse by a slow wheel change from the neutral spares car. He chased on his own for 5km’s until the commisare finally decided to pace him back up to the bunch. The hammer remained down until the base of the last climb, Tawonga Gap. As we hit the uphill, the better climbers in the bunch came to the front to set the tempo. The bunch was quickly reduced to 20 or so riders in the first few km’s. Halfway up riders began attacking which spread the bunch all over the climb. A bunch of six riders summited the climb with a 40 second gap over my group of five. As we hurtled down the decent we were caught by a chasing group of nine riders. Halfway down we approached a sharp left turn and there lying in the ditch was a rider, one of the leaders who were obviously taking risks down the mountain to stay away. He apparently suffered some nasty injuries and couldn’t continue. I finished the stage in 11^th place 1:03 down on the five leaders. Ben suffered on the last climb and finished 5 mins down.

Only a few hours of respite before the afternoons Individual Time Trial. Our starts were just after 3pm. Thanks to Marek and Jarrett  I was decked out with Time Trail bike, Corima Disc and an aero helmet to match. I rolled down the ramp and tucked straight into an aerodynamic position. The first half of the course was very painful…a long undulating  drag up hill with a crosswind to boot. The second half of the ride being slightly more downhill I picked up my average speed crossing the line with a 22:59. A time good enough for 13^th place when everybody came in. I finished the day in 10^th overall sitting 2.57 off the lead. Ben did a 24:16, a solid ride in his least favorite discipline.

Typical alpine weather greeted us on Sunday morning. The overnight rain provided a big temperature drop and as a result, a thick fog covered the town. Five minutes before the rollout the temperature began to climb. the sun began to filter through and we made the call to take off our vests and various other cold weather gear. It was a good decision as after only 10 minutes of riding, it began to get hot. Again Team Suzuki/UNO got on the front and drove. Many riders were wearing far too many layers and struggled to undress while the bunch moved along at a fast pace. My teammate Ben did a great job looking after me in the early part of the stage. He closed any gaps that appeared in the bunch, kept me close to the front and sheltered from the wind. As we hit the base of Hotham, many riders just about came to a dead stop. Ben surged forward one last time to get me to the very front of the peleton. He then gave me a wave and lost contact with what was now a lead group of about 25 riders. He told me later that many of the dropped riders simply turned around and began riding back down the mountain to Bright. Ben however isn’t the type of rider that would turn around…he would see the summit of the climb.

As we reached the flatter middle part of the climb I found myself in the leading group of about 15, however our bunch quickly swelled in numbers as a second group of riders caught us. The last 10km of the climb where by far the most difficult of the stage. With gradient of 7 to 10 %, many riders used the steepness to attack and put others in difficulty. When 5 riders attacked with 8kms to go, it scattered our group all down the mountain. I found myself in a bit of trouble. The most important thing was to not push too far into the red zone and crack completely. I concentrated on my heart rate and cadence and with 2kms to go I began to feel better. I managed to limit my loses slightly, but unfortunately I still lost a fair chunk of time finishing the stage in 18th.

I finished the Tour in 12^th place overall, a result I was a little disappointed with as I was aiming for a top 10 finish. Ben finished in 44^th , the weekend has motivated him to have a big off season of solid training, he should be stomping come April. Big thanks to our sponsors for the weekend. A personal thanks again to Jarrett for loaning me his TT bike, and Marek for the Corima Disc and the TT helmet. Also thanks to my Dad Geoff for being our soigneur for the weekend. He planned every part of our weekend which meant all we had to do was eat, sleep and ride bikes. He was waiting at the finish of each stage with water, coke and food. He also booked dinner each night which was especially good on the second night. While other riders walked the streets looking for a feed in the rain at 8pm, we had already eaten and were heading back to the hotel.

Results B Grade:

1st: Graeme Allbon 5:08:36

2nd: Sean Moran + 00:12

3rd: Sam Genge + 02:12

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12th: Sam Layzell +05:37

44th: Ben Hill +24:36

For Full Results, visit:

www.tourofbright.com.au

Team Launch 2008

Team Two Wheel Industries is a cyling team based in Newcastle, Australia and has been competing throughout NSW and interstate since 2005. As we approach our fifth year of racing as a team we are excited at our prospects for the further development of the team. Whilst we are happy and encouraged with our results to date, it is our goal to have a greater influence and impact in cycle racing at a number of high profile events along the east coast of Australia. Ultimately, we would like to extend our participation to events in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Our goal is to identify, develop, and provide opportunities for young Hunter region cyclists to attain the highest possible levels of achievement in cycling. Ultimately a professional career in cycling. We aim to provide a solid team environment to young and developing riders and to promote a team atmosphere in local, state, and national events during the season. In the long term our goal is to foster and develop the sport of cycling in the Newcastle community, and throughout Australia. Cycling is a tough sport, a sport which calls for far more time and commitment than most. Our riders train for up to six hours a day six days a week. Cycling is an expensive sport, particularly equipment and racing costs, which is why they need support. This is why our team has been formed.

More to come shortly. For more information on the team, please visit our title sponsors website:

www.twowheelindustries.com.au