Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Boxing Day Tootle Photos
Thanks to Marc O'Donoghue who did the Wheel wagon and also took these pics on the journey to Waipawa. Double click on image for full size.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Junior 2 Day Tour CHB March
Check out the new Junior 2 Day Tour: - a joint initiative between CHB Cycling (BATS) and Ramblers
Junior 2 Day Tour
Central Hawke's Bay 2 Day Junior Tour
Saturday 28th March - Sunday 29th March 2009
Click Here for the Registration Form.pdf (393 KB)
Click Here For Course Descriptions and other Rider Information.pdf (337 KB)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Serena Sheridan shines at ILT training Camp
Ramblers latest member, Serena Sheridan, just finished her first training camp at the ILT velodrome in Invercargill as part of the "Road to Gold" programme. This BikeNZ iniative looks at athletes from outside our code, trying to find the next Allison Shanks, and give them a pathway to the 2012 London Olympics.
Serena has been down south for the last 4 days, getting used to the fast wooden track and fixed gears. Some of her teammates never seen a track or been on a fixie before, they have back grounds in basketball, rowing and athletics.
Serena impressed the selectors so much with her smooth style and track potential that's she has been invited to a second training camp in January. Watch this space, an Olympic star in the making.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Kerry Harford continues to dominate 40-50's tour
Tour organiser Nathen, declared that the whole peloton must be working for Kerry who has managed to clean up most of the sprints and all of the finishes apart from the prologue. He may not be far wrong with the Magpie team chipping in to help Printshop with Neil Evans leading out many of the sprints. David Younquest had a strong stage 4 breaking away for 15km's and taking out his first stage sprint. Ian Fraser finished best of the Magpies after a 90km climb to St Arnaud with this years tail wind conditions producing some fast times (2:22:01). Stage 3 finished with lots of drama Steve Watson blowing a front tyre winding up to compete in the stage finish causing mayhem with a rider behind having lunch at the hospital but rejoining the race for the next stage.
Great food and scenery at the Nelson lakes area continues to make this an enjoyable tour to compete in.
Great food and scenery at the Nelson lakes area continues to make this an enjoyable tour to compete in.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Ramblers at 40-50's having a good Tour
End of 2nd day at the 40-50's tour based in Nelson has been a success for Ramblers Rider Kerry Harford (Riding for Printhouse)who missed out a little on the prologue but is making up for it in spades in the road racing winning both stages, all of the sprints, placing third equal in the hill climbing points and leads GC by 43 seconds(2:50:29) in the 40's grade.
Ron Pithie is only 4 seconds behind leading the 50's Grade.
The best of the other Ramblers riding for the Prophecy Magpies team Neil Evans is 14th 2:55:52 followed by Steve Watson 18th 2:56:57 and David Youngquest 19th 1 sec back.
Ian Fraser in the 50s grade 5th on their GC needs to work hard to follow up his third place of last year.
Tommorows stages are a fast and furious 30kms after a neutralised start up the hill out of Picton towards Renwick followed by a 95km steady climb to St Arnuad.
The Nathan Faavae run event is well organised with a great atmosphere accommodation and food supplied. For full results and stage details Click Here
Ron Pithie is only 4 seconds behind leading the 50's Grade.
The best of the other Ramblers riding for the Prophecy Magpies team Neil Evans is 14th 2:55:52 followed by Steve Watson 18th 2:56:57 and David Youngquest 19th 1 sec back.
Ian Fraser in the 50s grade 5th on their GC needs to work hard to follow up his third place of last year.
Tommorows stages are a fast and furious 30kms after a neutralised start up the hill out of Picton towards Renwick followed by a 95km steady climb to St Arnuad.
The Nathan Faavae run event is well organised with a great atmosphere accommodation and food supplied. For full results and stage details Click Here
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Regional Sports Park Supporters Club Launch
It would be great if we can show our support for this and send a clear message of support for the project (including our velodrome!)
You are invited along with your friends and fellow club members to sign up to the sports park
"Supporters Club". This was very successful indeed for the Westpac Stadium and we wish to duplicate that success in Hawke's Bay.
The "Supporters Club" launch is being held on Tuesday 25th November 2008
Time: Between 6.30 to 7.30pm
Location: Regional Sports Park – Athletics Track, Percival Road, Hastings.
On arrival at the park (the more people in one vehicle the better), head to the More FM tent in the inner field to meet with Ian Smith and several high profile sporting people to sign up and support this wonderful project through to completion.
A gold coin donation would be appreciated but is not mandatory.
See you on Tuesday evening at the park. Would really appreciate if you could spread the word.
Regards
Brenda Crene l Project Manager l Kelt Capital Limited
T: 06 876 0690 l F: 06 876 0066 l M: 027 544 3606
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Nationals Photos
Thanks to Helen MacKenzie for the TT images and Grant Stirling Stirling Images for the Road race
Click Here to View
Click Here to View
Excerpt from Tauranga Club Newsletter re Nationals
Nationals Labour weekend 2008
Wanganui
Wanganui
One thing you can guarantee when racing in Wanganui is hills. They love hills. The longer and steeper the better. The fact you are riding close to the coast facing the Southwest generally guarantees wind and any clouds mean rain. Racing in Wanganui is challenging and fun and Nationals provides the best racing you can get.
In my grade 50 – 54 we had 40 tough old brutes for the road race. Most of whom I knew from past years. The racing was close and hard. No learners here to worry about. The guys attacked the whole way around like we were Under 17's. The last 5 km consisted of a 3.5km climb then 1.5 km flat run into the finish. Being relatively light the last hill was not a problem but the attacks of the previous 60 km had taken its toll and the legs were not able to deliver a medal in the sprint to the finish.
In the Masters 3 Mark Crowther was fuming after his finish. 2 Ramblers (Hawkes Bay) riders got away and every time a chase group started rotating two other Rambler riders would come through, slow down and stop the group working together. A bunch contested the sprint for third and unfortunately it was not a Tauranga jersey.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Important Notice of Race Venue Change November 8th
Due to election Polling at Pukehamoamoa this weekend the nect two week racing has been swopped to
8th November will now become – TeKura Rd, Elsthorpe Rd and Return leaving from Arohanui
15th November will be Crownthorpe Circuit anticlockwise leaving from Pukehamoamoa
Monday, October 27, 2008
Nationals finish on a high note
Jeremy Yates finished off a golden weekend for the Ramblers Cycling Club when he won the Senior Men title at the 2008 Lions Foundation National Club Road Cycling Championship at Wanganui on Sunday. This one brought the Hawkes Bay Club’s tally to six gold, two silver and two bronze medals at this four day event.
On a cold, wet and windy Montgomery-Kai Iwi course, north-west of Wanganui, Yates made short work of his two companions, James Williamson and Gordon McCauley. After fighting the elements in the154km long race, the 80+ bunch of Senior and Under 23 riders was whittled down to this trio. The pressure was on Yates, not only as the 2007 defending champion but also with the added pressure of having his name inadvertently engraved on the trophy as this year’s winner.
With less than 10km to go Yates and Williamson, Subway Racing Team mates, dropped McCauley to set up a thrilling finale. The Hastings rider won his second Senior title in a row, with a strong attack within the last two km.
On Saturday, planning and tactics came to fruition in the Masters Men 2 race, as the Ramblers team of Andrew Townsend, Robert Taylor and Neil Evans helped to set up Kerry Harford. They all covered the main rivals, wearing them down; Harford was left to bring home the gold with his razor sharp sprint, winning his first National road title.
The Masters 3 team went one better. Designated helper Bret Hart set up the in-form Darryl Strachan for a golden race and ended up claiming silver himself. With Steve Watson, Dave Youngquest and Ken MacKenzie riding interference back in the pack, the two rabbits turned into hares and bolted. The two leaders started the last 31km lap with a healthy two minute gap. Fighting fatigue and a howling southerly they managed to hold on to bring in the double for the team.
The rest of the medals were won in the Time Trail; gold from Ashleigh Neave (Under 17 Girls), Ken MacKenzie(Masters 3 Men), silver from Richard Brough(Masters 1 Men), bronze for Andrew Townsend(Masters 2 Men), Road Race gold medal for Sue Tunnicliff(Masters 5 Women) and bronze for Alan Black( Masters 6 Men). Together these medals made this one of the Ramblers most successful Club National campaigns.
From Ivar Hopman
Thanks Ivar , Ben and all the supporters and helpers for help making this a successful and enjoyable campaign . Ed
On a cold, wet and windy Montgomery-Kai Iwi course, north-west of Wanganui, Yates made short work of his two companions, James Williamson and Gordon McCauley. After fighting the elements in the154km long race, the 80+ bunch of Senior and Under 23 riders was whittled down to this trio. The pressure was on Yates, not only as the 2007 defending champion but also with the added pressure of having his name inadvertently engraved on the trophy as this year’s winner.
With less than 10km to go Yates and Williamson, Subway Racing Team mates, dropped McCauley to set up a thrilling finale. The Hastings rider won his second Senior title in a row, with a strong attack within the last two km.
On Saturday, planning and tactics came to fruition in the Masters Men 2 race, as the Ramblers team of Andrew Townsend, Robert Taylor and Neil Evans helped to set up Kerry Harford. They all covered the main rivals, wearing them down; Harford was left to bring home the gold with his razor sharp sprint, winning his first National road title.
The Masters 3 team went one better. Designated helper Bret Hart set up the in-form Darryl Strachan for a golden race and ended up claiming silver himself. With Steve Watson, Dave Youngquest and Ken MacKenzie riding interference back in the pack, the two rabbits turned into hares and bolted. The two leaders started the last 31km lap with a healthy two minute gap. Fighting fatigue and a howling southerly they managed to hold on to bring in the double for the team.
The rest of the medals were won in the Time Trail; gold from Ashleigh Neave (Under 17 Girls), Ken MacKenzie(Masters 3 Men), silver from Richard Brough(Masters 1 Men), bronze for Andrew Townsend(Masters 2 Men), Road Race gold medal for Sue Tunnicliff(Masters 5 Women) and bronze for Alan Black( Masters 6 Men). Together these medals made this one of the Ramblers most successful Club National campaigns.
From Ivar Hopman
Thanks Ivar , Ben and all the supporters and helpers for help making this a successful and enjoyable campaign . Ed
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Day 3 Afternoon at the Road Nationals
Unfortunately the mornings success was unable to emulated by Ramblers Riders though some very familiar faces in the Hawke's Bay and on Jeremy Yates training rides had success.In the Vet 1 mens, Under 19 Mens and Senior woman's racing was held in difficult conditions and the forecast westerly winds kicked in in earnest. The Vet 1 men had to endure 4 laps of the testing 32.3 km circuit with the long leg straight into the wind. Richard Brough and Mark Coombes hang on for three of the gruelling laps before Herman (Craig Lawn) along with Wellington team mate Brent Backhouse and Ben Eavns from Marsden Wheelers ripped the field apart, Craig outsprinted the other 2 to take the Gold. Richard finished 10th in the chasing pack with Mark 15th further behind.
Bridget Robertshaw finished 13th in the Senior Womans Road Race over the same 124km distance as the Vet 1 and under 19 Men. The race was won by Serena Sheridan (riding for Star and Garters) after Southlands Dale Tye who was minutes ahead after 3 laps ended up blowing and pulling out.
The under 19 mens also in difficult conditions was won by New Plymouth's Tom Findlay outsprinting Star and Garters George Bennet and Tinwald Jason Christie close behind. Sean Joyce finished a creditable 7th coming 2nd in the main chasing pack sprint nearly two minutes back. Rory MacKenzie and Jeremy Stephens both in their first year at this level did not finish along with 26 others of the 46 starters reflecting how poor the condtions became. The spectators had an exiting few moments hanging on to the tents after one concertina aluminium shelter took off and damaged several cars and a bus
Bridget Robertshaw finished 13th in the Senior Womans Road Race over the same 124km distance as the Vet 1 and under 19 Men. The race was won by Serena Sheridan (riding for Star and Garters) after Southlands Dale Tye who was minutes ahead after 3 laps ended up blowing and pulling out.
The under 19 mens also in difficult conditions was won by New Plymouth's Tom Findlay outsprinting Star and Garters George Bennet and Tinwald Jason Christie close behind. Sean Joyce finished a creditable 7th coming 2nd in the main chasing pack sprint nearly two minutes back. Rory MacKenzie and Jeremy Stephens both in their first year at this level did not finish along with 26 others of the 46 starters reflecting how poor the condtions became. The spectators had an exiting few moments hanging on to the tents after one concertina aluminium shelter took off and damaged several cars and a bus
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Day three at Nationals brings early Success
Several plans where hatched after consuming thought provoking Gold medal Glazebrook wines kindly supplied by Mr Peter Gough master pasta chef. Both of the early plans coming to fruition with Gold to Kerry Harford in the Master 2 and Gold for Darryl Strachan combining with a Silver for Bret Hart in the Masters 3. In Masters 2 Andrew Townsend covered Lester Settle from Pegasus in an early break away in the first lap with Kerry in the box seat covering Chris Nicholson from Nelson the outright TT Winner. Neil Evans and Robert Taylor both working as domestiques work the bunch over in the early stages and paid for it later on finishing satisfied to be part of a successful plan but at the back of the pack. At the start of the third lap Kerry with Andrew combined to put the pressure on the remaining 10 riders with the majority of the peleton blown to bits. A small chasing group of 3 regrouped with the two Ramblers to contest the medals in a sprint once again dominated by Kerry.
Darryl Winning Vet 3
In the vet 3's Ben Rowell (Club Captain) devised a plan to get Bret up the road early and then Darryl to try and jump across. This worked a treat with Steve Watson attacking up the first small climb and Bret rolling through while the pack sat and watched. A milk tanker gave a small lift for Darryl to easily get across and the game was on. With both Bret and Darryl relatively unknown at this level and Ken Mac Kenzie winning the TT the pack was happy to sit and watch Ken who along with David Youngquest amused themselves making sure the pack couldn't get organised to put in a decent chase. Bret working hard with Darryl managed to get out to 3 minutes at one point with the last 31km lap to go. Great excitement on the finish line for a happy team of supporters and helpers with Kerry's sprint in the Vet 2's and Vet 3's Darryl finishing about 20 minutes later. Bret rolled in 2nd about a hundred meters behind with the pack another 30 Seconds and third taken by PNP.
Bret takes the Silver
Darryl Winning Vet 3
In the vet 3's Ben Rowell (Club Captain) devised a plan to get Bret up the road early and then Darryl to try and jump across. This worked a treat with Steve Watson attacking up the first small climb and Bret rolling through while the pack sat and watched. A milk tanker gave a small lift for Darryl to easily get across and the game was on. With both Bret and Darryl relatively unknown at this level and Ken Mac Kenzie winning the TT the pack was happy to sit and watch Ken who along with David Youngquest amused themselves making sure the pack couldn't get organised to put in a decent chase. Bret working hard with Darryl managed to get out to 3 minutes at one point with the last 31km lap to go. Great excitement on the finish line for a happy team of supporters and helpers with Kerry's sprint in the Vet 2's and Vet 3's Darryl finishing about 20 minutes later. Bret rolled in 2nd about a hundred meters behind with the pack another 30 Seconds and third taken by PNP.
Bret takes the Silver
First Day of road races brings more medals home for Ramblers
Friday 24-10-2008
First day of the road races at the Club Nationals we reaped two more medals to add to our allready impressive tally.
After missing the decisive break from John Dean and Ray Robinson, our Masters 6 Alan Black was left to fight for bronze, and he did this with ferve. Alan sprinted to his podium place, leaving his name sake John Black to ponder what if. Roy van Panhuys ended up checking out the Wanganui drainage system, finishing at the tail end of the field.
Sue Tunnicliff went one better than last year, this time taking the gold in the Masters 5 Women race. Sue started in a combined 3/4/5/6 Masters Women field, were she only had to concede to Masters 3 winner Liz Williamson.
First prize for work effort in the Masters Men 5 should go to Ian Frazer, he constantly tried to break the pack with stinging attacks on the gentle slopes of the Montgomery circuit. To no avail, as the pack regrouped every time, leaving the lesser gods to pick the fruits from Ian's Labour. The final bunch kick was won by a rider who has been sitting at the back the whole day, no work and all the glory.
Team tactics from a combined Auckland-Waikato Under 17 Girls pack nullified all Ashleigh Neave's attacks and attempts. Their Jaffa/Mulloo plan backfired big time, as in the end none of them ended up on the podium. Giving the "sit in the pack" sprinters a dream ride to the finish were they just had to contest the last 200mtr and collect the medals.
Our Under 15 Boys raced their hearts out trying to stay with the pack, but they were out-gunned by some very mature looking 14 year olds. With a few more years left in this grade our boys will definetly have another chance to crack the big one. Well done William Green, Logan Bean, Tim Lutter, James Fulford and Regan Gough.
In the end we had a day of elation and frustration, but at least the weather was fine, light winds and warm sunny conditions. With camp cook Peter "Pirate" Gough again brewing up a great meal of pasta and salads, accompanied by a fine cheeky Hawkes Bay red, everything ended up on a high.
First day of the road races at the Club Nationals we reaped two more medals to add to our allready impressive tally.
After missing the decisive break from John Dean and Ray Robinson, our Masters 6 Alan Black was left to fight for bronze, and he did this with ferve. Alan sprinted to his podium place, leaving his name sake John Black to ponder what if. Roy van Panhuys ended up checking out the Wanganui drainage system, finishing at the tail end of the field.
Sue Tunnicliff went one better than last year, this time taking the gold in the Masters 5 Women race. Sue started in a combined 3/4/5/6 Masters Women field, were she only had to concede to Masters 3 winner Liz Williamson.
First prize for work effort in the Masters Men 5 should go to Ian Frazer, he constantly tried to break the pack with stinging attacks on the gentle slopes of the Montgomery circuit. To no avail, as the pack regrouped every time, leaving the lesser gods to pick the fruits from Ian's Labour. The final bunch kick was won by a rider who has been sitting at the back the whole day, no work and all the glory.
Team tactics from a combined Auckland-Waikato Under 17 Girls pack nullified all Ashleigh Neave's attacks and attempts. Their Jaffa/Mulloo plan backfired big time, as in the end none of them ended up on the podium. Giving the "sit in the pack" sprinters a dream ride to the finish were they just had to contest the last 200mtr and collect the medals.
Our Under 15 Boys raced their hearts out trying to stay with the pack, but they were out-gunned by some very mature looking 14 year olds. With a few more years left in this grade our boys will definetly have another chance to crack the big one. Well done William Green, Logan Bean, Tim Lutter, James Fulford and Regan Gough.
In the end we had a day of elation and frustration, but at least the weather was fine, light winds and warm sunny conditions. With camp cook Peter "Pirate" Gough again brewing up a great meal of pasta and salads, accompanied by a fine cheeky Hawkes Bay red, everything ended up on a high.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Great Day at the Time Trials for Ramblers at Nationals in Wanganui
Congratulations Asheligh Neave and Ken Mac Kenzie "Gold", Richard Brough "Silver" and Andrew Townsend "Bronze"
Commentary from Ivar ---
We had some good results today at The Lion Foundation National Club Road Race Champs in Wanganui.
Sacred Heart College student Ashleigh Neave blitz the Under 17 Girls field, taking the gold medal in the 10km time trial by 10 seconds from Courtney Grenfell.
Dartmoor farmer Ken MacKenzie repeated his last year feat, winning the Masters Men 3 grade 20km time trial by 1min18.
Richard Brough had close shave, winning a silver medal in the Masters Men 1 grade 25km time trial by point four seconds from Manu Robson.
In the Masters Men 2 grade the Hub Cycle Centre mechanic, Andrew Townsend won a bronze medal, only 7 seconds behind Lester Settle in second place.
The hard luck story has to go Fraser Gough, finishing fifth in the Under 17 Boys time trial only six meazily seconds from a medal, showing the depth of talent at the top of his grade. With one more year in this junior grade Fraser will have enough time to showcase his talent.
In Friday's road race we again have some medal prospect with Ashleigh Neave, Sarah and Megan Watson in the Under 17 Girls, Alan Black and Roy van Panhuys in the Masters Men 6, Sue & Ken Tunnicliff and Ian Fraser in the Masters Women/Men 5, Ian Wright in Masters Men 4 and last but not least our young guns in Under 15 Boys, William Green, Tim Lutter, Logan Bean and Regan Gough. Watch This Space
Ivar Hopman
Commentary from Ivar ---
We had some good results today at The Lion Foundation National Club Road Race Champs in Wanganui.
Sacred Heart College student Ashleigh Neave blitz the Under 17 Girls field, taking the gold medal in the 10km time trial by 10 seconds from Courtney Grenfell.
Dartmoor farmer Ken MacKenzie repeated his last year feat, winning the Masters Men 3 grade 20km time trial by 1min18.
Richard Brough had close shave, winning a silver medal in the Masters Men 1 grade 25km time trial by point four seconds from Manu Robson.
In the Masters Men 2 grade the Hub Cycle Centre mechanic, Andrew Townsend won a bronze medal, only 7 seconds behind Lester Settle in second place.
The hard luck story has to go Fraser Gough, finishing fifth in the Under 17 Boys time trial only six meazily seconds from a medal, showing the depth of talent at the top of his grade. With one more year in this junior grade Fraser will have enough time to showcase his talent.
In Friday's road race we again have some medal prospect with Ashleigh Neave, Sarah and Megan Watson in the Under 17 Girls, Alan Black and Roy van Panhuys in the Masters Men 6, Sue & Ken Tunnicliff and Ian Fraser in the Masters Women/Men 5, Ian Wright in Masters Men 4 and last but not least our young guns in Under 15 Boys, William Green, Tim Lutter, Logan Bean and Regan Gough. Watch This Space
Ivar Hopman
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Susy Pryde is coming to town
ENZA has been so kind to sponsor a talk by ex-CHB elite woman cyclist Susy Pryde. Suzie has many National and International titles on her CV, in different cycling disciplines. Come and hear this inspirational athlete talk about her career highlights.
For all of our juniors; its school holidays so come and listen to this remarkable lady and have a chance to talk to her about your dreams and aspirations.
When: 1pm, 8 October
Where: Cheval Room, Hastings Racecourse
New Zealand Secondary School Champs Feilding
The Ramblers were well represented at this event. This annual event attracts more than 500 young secondary school kids from all over New Zealand. On the Sunday the Road Race took place on a rolling course to the west of Fielding. William Green pulled a stunner out of the hat by finishing 5th in the Year7/8 road race and a 5th in the Mansfield Points Race the next day. Regan Gough showed his talent, scoring a third place in the fast and furious points race.
Year 7/8 | Road | Points/Place |
William Green | 5 | 5 |
Regan Gough | 12 | 3 |
James Fulford | 13 | 10 |
Tobias Robertshawe | 23 | 19 |
Under 15 Boys | ||
Tim Lutter | 9 | 17 |
Logan Bean | 30 | crashed |
Under 16 Boys | ||
Fraser Gough | DNS | 5 |
Sven Hopman | 30 | 69 |
Under 16 Girls | ||
Megan Watson | 12 | 22 |
Under 17 Girls | ||
Sarah Watson | 25 | DNS |
Under 17 Boys | ||
Shaun Simpson | 26 | 10 |
Under 20 Boys | ||
Jeremy Stephens | DNF | 53 |
Chris Symons | 52 | 51 |
All of our riders were beaming after this great weekend; speed, spills and glory. Well done all of you guys, you left it all on the track.
Under 17 2008 Novice Tour
There were only 2 Ramblers riders competing at this event, but they held the Ramblers name high. Fraser Gough scored a sixth place overall in the boys event. Ashleigh Neave came home with a second overall and a second in Queen of the Mountain. Both these riders worked really hard for their outstanding results in this four stage 106km race.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Thanks to the Fresh Futures Support Riders
"Thank you so much to the team of about 25 cyclists who supported the Fresh Futures fundraiser on Sunday 21st September .
Most braved very cold conditions at 7 am to bike down to Ypuk and back. Some cheated and got dropped off just before Waipawa and the other honest ones were dropped at the start line.
One potentially major glitch was the FF team left Ypuk without us, but thankfully with a bit of detective work we tracked them down and sent our support driver off to stop them in their tracks - thanks Ray Brown!! The FF team were so used to no-one turning up to ride with them that they left straight from their motel so they were really appreciative of our company and help. Monday was going to be a really tough leg (Napier -Taupo) so they really wanted to rest their legs on our leg.
Other than that, it was a great ride, no mechanicals, just a few "physical" breakdowns - but with a bit of motorpacing I got back on to the pack. Only problem with that idea was Ray got carried away and motorpaced the whole group so I got dropped again!
Keep cycling and keep safe out there.
Shona Brown"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Napier City Council Public Consultation Meetings
Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) 2009/10 to 2018/19
Napier City Council Public Consultation Meetings
Council is underway with the OUR TEN YEAR PLANNING process for 2009. The first step of the public consultation is a series of public meetings to discuss:
- What we do now
- What capital projects we are committed to
- What do you think of these issues
The meetings are to be held on:
- Thursday 18 September 2008, 5.30pm, Nelson Park School, Kennedy Road, Napier
- Monday 22 September 2008, 5.30pm, Council Chamber, 2nd Floor Napier City Council Civic Building, Hastings Street, Napier
Ivan Aplin urges as many ramblers as possible to attend meetings and support the regional park - Napiers buy in is critical. Please voice your positive support!!
Glen Chadwick in Yellow at Vuelta Mexico
Guadalajara, Mexico — Glen Chadwick's remarkable season for Team Type 1 continues this week in Mexico.
The New Zealand Olympian is the race leader through the first three stages of the Vuelta Mexico, an eight-stage, 749-mile (1,206 km) international stage race.
It is the latest accomplishment for the 31-year-old who was near death in February after doctors discovered he had the Epstein-Barr virus in his spine. The virus causes mononucleosis and Chadwick apparently had been showing effects of the disease since last December without knowing it.
"This more than makes up for everything that Chady and his family have had to go through this year," Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said.
Chadwick scored a second place finish on the opening stage of the race on Saturday. After being part of a five-man breakaway for about 93 miles, Chadwick could not reel in Juan Manuel Sandoval (Team Mexico), who soloed off late in the 98-mile (159 km) race to take the victory.
But Chadwick moved into the overall lead following Sunday's 118-mile (190 km) race from San Luis Potos to Leon – a stage in which fellow Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape infiltrated a six-man breakaway that eventually gained more than six minutes' lead. The Mexican's group was caught before the race reached his hometown, but the chasing efforts to catch Aldape had devastated Sandoval's team and Chadwick pulled on the race leader's yellow jersey.
On Monday, Team Type 1 capably defended the lead on a rain-soaked, 149-mile (240 km) stage from Leon to Guadalajara.
"It was basically downhill into the city – 50 miles an hour (80 kmh) on really bad city roads," Beamon said. "I don't think I have ever seen so many frightening crashes in a week, never mind in 10 kilometers."
Unfortunately, Team Type 1's Chris Jones got caught up in one of them, but was not seriously hurt. It was the second crash of the race for the American who finished eighth at the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship last month.
"In Chris's first crash on Sunday, Fabio (Calabria) was a stud bringing him back to the group with almost no caravan," Beamon said. "It was serious pro riding and he and the rest of the guys all finished in the main bunch."
Calabria, 21, is the only rider in the race with Type 1 diabetes.
Heading into Stage 4 on Tuesday, Chadwick leads Arquimedes Lam (Tecos) by two seconds. Diego Gallego (Burgos Monument) is third, six seconds behind.
Chadwick's impressive season includes the overall title at the Tour of Arkansas, a third-place finish at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in August (in addition to winning the King of the Mountains (KOM) classification in that race) and the KOM title at the Tour de Beauce in June.
For More Information, Contact:
Sean Weide
Media and Communications Director, Team Type 1
P: 785.304.1845 | F: 402.393.4603 | E: sweide@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Fresh Futures Fundraiser support ride
For those interested in supporting the Fresh Futures Fundraiser ride from Waipukurau Sunday 21st a group will be leaving from the Hastings Rebel Sport Car Park 7:00 am sharp to meet with the touring group at 9:00 am in Waipuk and ride back to Hastings - this is a round trip of 100Km. See Fresh Futures Fundraiser blogs below
Helmet Auction for Fresh Futures Fundraiser
Small Giro carbon helmet is to be auctioned on 24th September at a dinner auction evening run by the District Health Board to support the Fresh Futures Cycle fundraiser.
The helmet has been generously donated by 'The Hub' and is valued at $400. All proceeds go to the fundraising effort and HB children will be the beneficiaries (see www.freshfutures.com).
Absentee bids are welcome.
Please send email with address "auction bid" as these will not be opened before the auction night. Email the browns Please include a contact phone number.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Fresh Futures 08 fundraising cycle ride
freshfuture.com
The HB leg of this cycle ride starts at Woolworth's carpark, Waipukurau at 9:00am Sunday 21st September. The team aim to keep at or near 30k/hr average to reach Hastings Hospital round 10.45-11:00. They then need to be at the Napier Woolworths at 12midday. This is a great opportunity for Ramblers members and friends to take part in a group ride, while supporting a charity event.
Ideally support riders will arrange their own transport to Ypuk, or bike there and back! Equally, it would be good to have some riders join in at Hastings Hospital, but we will have to think about traffic/road safety - the course is via Clive/Awatoto, Marine Parade (see maps on website).
If club members are willing to support this fundraiser, please contact:
Shona Brown (06) 8774240, or email the.browns@xtra.co.nz
Email the browns
The HB leg of this cycle ride starts at Woolworth's carpark, Waipukurau at 9:00am Sunday 21st September. The team aim to keep at or near 30k/hr average to reach Hastings Hospital round 10.45-11:00. They then need to be at the Napier Woolworths at 12midday. This is a great opportunity for Ramblers members and friends to take part in a group ride, while supporting a charity event.
Ideally support riders will arrange their own transport to Ypuk, or bike there and back! Equally, it would be good to have some riders join in at Hastings Hospital, but we will have to think about traffic/road safety - the course is via Clive/Awatoto, Marine Parade (see maps on website).
If club members are willing to support this fundraiser, please contact:
Shona Brown (06) 8774240, or email the.browns@xtra.co.nz
Email the browns
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Check Out the Young Guns at NI Intermediate Schools RR Champs
Congradulations to the Hawkes Bay combined school team (Regan Gough, James Fulford, William Green and Tobias Robertshawe) won the year 8 TTT...
William finished 2nd in the Year 7 RR and Regan third.
Check out the photos
Here
More detail to come
William finished 2nd in the Year 7 RR and Regan third.
Check out the photos
Here
More detail to come
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Marist Interclub 13th September
Ramblers encourages all riders in the A to D grades to attend the Marist leg of the interclub in Ashhurst Palmerston North
Here are the details for the Marist leg of the Interclub series below.
We will use the Valley Rd circuit, most of your riders are probably familiar with it - if not, here's the link to Map-My-Ride:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/nz/ashhurst/380612917193
Registration will be at St Mary's Church Hall (on the left, 500 m past the rail bridge) on Cambridge Ave, Ashhurst from 10.00am. First race, 11.00am.
We'll look forward to seeing you there. Cross your fingers for the weather.
First Race Start Time 11.00am (registration from one hour prior to this)
Lap Distance
U15 & U17girls 35 km
U17 Boys 35 km
Mens U19 70 km
Mens Open / U23 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 1/2 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 3/4 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 5 35 km
Womens Open 70 km
Womens Masters 70 km
Here are the details for the Marist leg of the Interclub series below.
We will use the Valley Rd circuit, most of your riders are probably familiar with it - if not, here's the link to Map-My-Ride:
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/nz/ashhurst/380612917193
Registration will be at St Mary's Church Hall (on the left, 500 m past the rail bridge) on Cambridge Ave, Ashhurst from 10.00am. First race, 11.00am.
We'll look forward to seeing you there. Cross your fingers for the weather.
First Race Start Time 11.00am (registration from one hour prior to this)
Lap Distance
U15 & U17girls 35 km
U17 Boys 35 km
Mens U19 70 km
Mens Open / U23 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 1/2 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 3/4 Combined 70 km
Mens Masters 5 35 km
Womens Open 70 km
Womens Masters 70 km
Invitation form the Goughs for Westley's homecoming
On Wednesday 3rd September, 7 pm at the Waipukurau RSA we are gathering together to welcome home Westley our Olympian.
Westley will be speaking about his Olympic experience and will showcase his medal. We look forward to seeing you there.
Rod and Wendy
Westley will be speaking about his Olympic experience and will showcase his medal. We look forward to seeing you there.
Rod and Wendy
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Road To Roubaix Cycling Film
Science in Sport and Masterlink Films presents the New Zealand Premiere of the latest and hottest cycling film" 'Road to Roubaix'
The film will be shown on Tuesday 2nd 2008 at the Lady Pettigrew Theatre, Pettigrew Arena, Taradale.
Doors open 6.30pm Film starts at 7pm prompt. Film running time is 75 minutes. This is only the second showing of the film in NZ courtesy of Masterlink Films.
Entry is $17 - Due to limited seating pre-booking is recommended. Register your name at: info@cyclosport.co.nz Payment on the night. No EFTPOS available.
Road To Roubaix tells the story of the riders, mechanics, fans, and the brutal, unpredictable landscape that is the stage for Paris-Roubaix. The film combines rare, behind-the-scenes footage, stunning panoramic views of the race, and a collection of contemporary photographs, as well as rare historic archival photographs that most people never see. The film features the 2007 edition of Paris-Roubaix-the hottest in over 100 years-but the main character of the film is without a doubt the cobbles.
Join fellow cycling fans to view this epic film.
info@cyclosport.co.nz
thanks Ivan
The film will be shown on Tuesday 2nd 2008 at the Lady Pettigrew Theatre, Pettigrew Arena, Taradale.
Doors open 6.30pm Film starts at 7pm prompt. Film running time is 75 minutes. This is only the second showing of the film in NZ courtesy of Masterlink Films.
Entry is $17 - Due to limited seating pre-booking is recommended. Register your name at: info@cyclosport.co.nz Payment on the night. No EFTPOS available.
Road To Roubaix tells the story of the riders, mechanics, fans, and the brutal, unpredictable landscape that is the stage for Paris-Roubaix. The film combines rare, behind-the-scenes footage, stunning panoramic views of the race, and a collection of contemporary photographs, as well as rare historic archival photographs that most people never see. The film features the 2007 edition of Paris-Roubaix-the hottest in over 100 years-but the main character of the film is without a doubt the cobbles.
Join fellow cycling fans to view this epic film.
info@cyclosport.co.nz
thanks Ivan
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Howie shows his hairy legs
How do you spot a tourist ?
1. Often goes to get in wrong side of car
2. Drives up tram only streets, lots of people waving (they're a freindly lot over here)
3. Drives up one way streets wrong way (ditto people waving)
4. Wears shorts - locals too cool to expose legs
Its certainly been a learning experience - the driving isn't really too hard except when you have to negotiate a real intersection - 99% are roundabouts. So far haven't encountered any road rage, or boy racers!
Anyway spent a couple of days in Zurich - nice place but bloody expensive. Did the touristy things plus saw a Tutankhamen exhibition - very cool. Crossed back over to France Thursday - its great being able to watch the TDF at a pub - at least I don't have to listen to everyone at home slinging off about the druggies - hope there aren' too many more.
Travelled south to Grenoble then Gap, from where I saw the start of the Embrun to Prato Nevoso stage - what a hoot. Pissed down with rain but us TDF pilgrims are pretty dedicated so hung in there. There must have been 20 - 30,000 people at the start!
Yesterday I ducked over to Italy for an espresso, said buon guorno a couple of times, then back to France and Grenoble again via today's tour route - and there were already thoudands of people camping for a good look today.
I had planned to be on today's stage (Alpe d'Huez) but last night I ran into trouble - my main credit card got swallowed in an ATM. I had to abandon my plans and spent an hour this morning trying to convince the people in the bank to give it back. To cut a long story short they wouldn't (and I didn't even swear at anyone) so will cancel it and rely on my other one - if I lose that I could be here a while - hope my bosses don't mind but I worked out I could beg for food while walking home - should be back by about 2011.
Anyway I head for Paris Thuesday, stay there for a few days, and see how many times I can get told off. I'll be at the Champs Elysee for the final stage so see if you can spot me on TV - should only be about a million or so watching it.
Au revoir
Howie sans beret
1. Often goes to get in wrong side of car
2. Drives up tram only streets, lots of people waving (they're a freindly lot over here)
3. Drives up one way streets wrong way (ditto people waving)
4. Wears shorts - locals too cool to expose legs
Its certainly been a learning experience - the driving isn't really too hard except when you have to negotiate a real intersection - 99% are roundabouts. So far haven't encountered any road rage, or boy racers!
Anyway spent a couple of days in Zurich - nice place but bloody expensive. Did the touristy things plus saw a Tutankhamen exhibition - very cool. Crossed back over to France Thursday - its great being able to watch the TDF at a pub - at least I don't have to listen to everyone at home slinging off about the druggies - hope there aren' too many more.
Travelled south to Grenoble then Gap, from where I saw the start of the Embrun to Prato Nevoso stage - what a hoot. Pissed down with rain but us TDF pilgrims are pretty dedicated so hung in there. There must have been 20 - 30,000 people at the start!
Yesterday I ducked over to Italy for an espresso, said buon guorno a couple of times, then back to France and Grenoble again via today's tour route - and there were already thoudands of people camping for a good look today.
I had planned to be on today's stage (Alpe d'Huez) but last night I ran into trouble - my main credit card got swallowed in an ATM. I had to abandon my plans and spent an hour this morning trying to convince the people in the bank to give it back. To cut a long story short they wouldn't (and I didn't even swear at anyone) so will cancel it and rely on my other one - if I lose that I could be here a while - hope my bosses don't mind but I worked out I could beg for food while walking home - should be back by about 2011.
Anyway I head for Paris Thuesday, stay there for a few days, and see how many times I can get told off. I'll be at the Champs Elysee for the final stage so see if you can spot me on TV - should only be about a million or so watching it.
Au revoir
Howie sans beret
Monday, July 21, 2008
Josh finishes tour
Stage 8
Today’s stage was pretty epic really, A break quickly established itself after about 20k, so I was back on the front for more tempo riding. My legs were pretty wasted from riding the front the day before but I was still keen to ride the front and help the team as much as I can. So there were six of us driving the front, two from my team, two Marco Polo Boys and two Rock Racing Boys. It was pretty awesome to say the least being the guys driving the bunch along, and as we speed through the towns they crowds out to watch us were incredible and the nose deafening. It was just like what you see on the TV when watching the Tour de France (Which I must say I have really missed seeing live) After about 50k riding on the front with head wind and slightly uphill the hole way we had bought the break back just in time for the climbing to begin, As soon as the road tilted skywards Myself and Sergio from Rock Racing were yelling Groupetto at the top of lungs (Groupetto is the group that gets together on the climb to make sure they can make the time cut) Thankfully the group formed quickly and it was time to admire the landscape for once. To say the least it was amazing!!! I was gutted I didn’t have my camera with me. On the descent off the mountain we could see the valley below full of yellow flowers and fields and across the valley were even bigger mountains covered in snow So all in all it was a pretty scenic day today which was great. Just a pity that when you’re racing you can’t really stop and check everything out.
Stage 9
Thankfully today there was to be no riding on the front for me as Rock Racing now had the Yellow jersey with Tyler Hamilton, so it was up to them to defend it. That meant my job was pretty relaxing just keeping the guys topped up with water before the climbing started. So it was another nice relaxing day checking out the great scenery. That is until we hit the climb The first part was switch backs for a few Kilometres then it just dragged on and on over the Mountain, before a wild decent in to the city below and the finish of the stage.
We had our first transfer today 40k back to Xining. Our van driver was obsessed with the horn on the car and was tooting at everything that moved even though it wasn’t even on the road.
For some reason they use the horn here for everything, but mainly we reckon its just like an indicator or headlights, you just swing on the horn. Well after a pretty tough day this was getting on our nerves, Dave and Eric complete blew up at the guy, and we had a nice silent trip after that fortunately. Eric told me to use the BB gun if he sounded the horn again.
Poor guy must have been lost without his horn, must have been like taking a dummy off a baby.
Stage 10
Today was the last stage, a circuit race around central Xining. I woke up pretty early and was feeling pretty crap!!! After way to many visits to the Thunder Box and thinking dam I’ve made the whole tour without food poisoning and I get it before the last stage!!!!!!! GREAT!!! Well it wasn’t to bad and for the first half of the race I was pretty comfy, but the pace started to take its toll on me and by the end I was just trying to keep my stomach down.
The crowds again today were amazing, and at the finish we were treated like super stars, signing clothing and books and having photos taken with everyone, didn’t matter if you won the Tour or were dead last you were a superstar. Some guy wanted me to hold his baby so I could have my photo taken with him.
Well for me it’s been pretty amazing, considering back start of June it was just a dream to be doing all of this. And I’m pretty stoked as my prep for the hardest two races back to back of my life were done on little more than a few runs a club race a duathalon and a couple of longish rides. All after having a week off sick after the Taranaki tour.
Now it’s back to New Zealand for the Auckland 1000, and a few weeks of training and racing around the country before the Tour of Thailand which starts in September.
Till then
Josh
Today’s stage was pretty epic really, A break quickly established itself after about 20k, so I was back on the front for more tempo riding. My legs were pretty wasted from riding the front the day before but I was still keen to ride the front and help the team as much as I can. So there were six of us driving the front, two from my team, two Marco Polo Boys and two Rock Racing Boys. It was pretty awesome to say the least being the guys driving the bunch along, and as we speed through the towns they crowds out to watch us were incredible and the nose deafening. It was just like what you see on the TV when watching the Tour de France (Which I must say I have really missed seeing live) After about 50k riding on the front with head wind and slightly uphill the hole way we had bought the break back just in time for the climbing to begin, As soon as the road tilted skywards Myself and Sergio from Rock Racing were yelling Groupetto at the top of lungs (Groupetto is the group that gets together on the climb to make sure they can make the time cut) Thankfully the group formed quickly and it was time to admire the landscape for once. To say the least it was amazing!!! I was gutted I didn’t have my camera with me. On the descent off the mountain we could see the valley below full of yellow flowers and fields and across the valley were even bigger mountains covered in snow So all in all it was a pretty scenic day today which was great. Just a pity that when you’re racing you can’t really stop and check everything out.
Stage 9
Thankfully today there was to be no riding on the front for me as Rock Racing now had the Yellow jersey with Tyler Hamilton, so it was up to them to defend it. That meant my job was pretty relaxing just keeping the guys topped up with water before the climbing started. So it was another nice relaxing day checking out the great scenery. That is until we hit the climb The first part was switch backs for a few Kilometres then it just dragged on and on over the Mountain, before a wild decent in to the city below and the finish of the stage.
We had our first transfer today 40k back to Xining. Our van driver was obsessed with the horn on the car and was tooting at everything that moved even though it wasn’t even on the road.
For some reason they use the horn here for everything, but mainly we reckon its just like an indicator or headlights, you just swing on the horn. Well after a pretty tough day this was getting on our nerves, Dave and Eric complete blew up at the guy, and we had a nice silent trip after that fortunately. Eric told me to use the BB gun if he sounded the horn again.
Poor guy must have been lost without his horn, must have been like taking a dummy off a baby.
Stage 10
Today was the last stage, a circuit race around central Xining. I woke up pretty early and was feeling pretty crap!!! After way to many visits to the Thunder Box and thinking dam I’ve made the whole tour without food poisoning and I get it before the last stage!!!!!!! GREAT!!! Well it wasn’t to bad and for the first half of the race I was pretty comfy, but the pace started to take its toll on me and by the end I was just trying to keep my stomach down.
The crowds again today were amazing, and at the finish we were treated like super stars, signing clothing and books and having photos taken with everyone, didn’t matter if you won the Tour or were dead last you were a superstar. Some guy wanted me to hold his baby so I could have my photo taken with him.
Well for me it’s been pretty amazing, considering back start of June it was just a dream to be doing all of this. And I’m pretty stoked as my prep for the hardest two races back to back of my life were done on little more than a few runs a club race a duathalon and a couple of longish rides. All after having a week off sick after the Taranaki tour.
Now it’s back to New Zealand for the Auckland 1000, and a few weeks of training and racing around the country before the Tour of Thailand which starts in September.
Till then
Josh
Friday, July 18, 2008
Josh sucks thin air and plenty of coke
Stage 5
Today’s stage was pretty straight forward really 50k false flats downhill 50k monster climbing 50k descending and 20k rolling to the finish for 172k in total.
Ha ha not really. The first 50k was run off in 55 minutes then it was climb time, It just went on and on and on from just under 2700m all the way up to 3880m, so the air was pretty thin. There’s no easy way up these climbs, just hang on for as long as you can whilst the big boys attack each other to bits, once the bunch blows to pieces get in a steady group and get to the finish. So pretty straight forward day really, after getting some bottles for the boys got in a bunch and got to the finish.
Stage 6
Today was 115k straight up then straight down. We went back over the mountain we came down the day before. I was climbing much better today and finished not to badly either which was good. Nothing really to report of note.
Stage 7
Today was the biggest stage of the tour with 5k of neutral parade riding and 214k of racing which made a grand total of 219k!!! Thankfully no mountains though it was rolling downhill out and rolling up hill home. After around 70k the break finally went and a couple of teams hopped on the front at around the 80-90k mark to keep it in check. The teams were, The Iranians who have the yellow jersey currently, my team Giant Asia Racing, Rock Racing put a guy upfront with us for awhile and Team Marco Polo had a man up there for a little while as well. Though the majority of the work was done by myself and team mate Alex Coutes and two Iranians. I told myself I was just going to keep lapping till I blew and then some. Well I think we were driving the front for close to 100k, and I definitely blew, Alex just kept making me drink coke to keep the sugar high and with around 40k left in the stage I was gone, David told me just to sit in the bunch and get to the finish. The final km was all up hill and I was hammered so could not be bothered trying to hang on for bunch time so I whipped a coke out of my back pocket cracked it open and saluted the crowed as I rolled the final 1000m - which they all loved!!
To make the day even better our team mate Steffan won the bunch kick and took 2nd place, unfortunately some one got away in the closing kilometres of the race
Josh
Today’s stage was pretty straight forward really 50k false flats downhill 50k monster climbing 50k descending and 20k rolling to the finish for 172k in total.
Ha ha not really. The first 50k was run off in 55 minutes then it was climb time, It just went on and on and on from just under 2700m all the way up to 3880m, so the air was pretty thin. There’s no easy way up these climbs, just hang on for as long as you can whilst the big boys attack each other to bits, once the bunch blows to pieces get in a steady group and get to the finish. So pretty straight forward day really, after getting some bottles for the boys got in a bunch and got to the finish.
Stage 6
Today was 115k straight up then straight down. We went back over the mountain we came down the day before. I was climbing much better today and finished not to badly either which was good. Nothing really to report of note.
Stage 7
Today was the biggest stage of the tour with 5k of neutral parade riding and 214k of racing which made a grand total of 219k!!! Thankfully no mountains though it was rolling downhill out and rolling up hill home. After around 70k the break finally went and a couple of teams hopped on the front at around the 80-90k mark to keep it in check. The teams were, The Iranians who have the yellow jersey currently, my team Giant Asia Racing, Rock Racing put a guy upfront with us for awhile and Team Marco Polo had a man up there for a little while as well. Though the majority of the work was done by myself and team mate Alex Coutes and two Iranians. I told myself I was just going to keep lapping till I blew and then some. Well I think we were driving the front for close to 100k, and I definitely blew, Alex just kept making me drink coke to keep the sugar high and with around 40k left in the stage I was gone, David told me just to sit in the bunch and get to the finish. The final km was all up hill and I was hammered so could not be bothered trying to hang on for bunch time so I whipped a coke out of my back pocket cracked it open and saluted the crowed as I rolled the final 1000m - which they all loved!!
To make the day even better our team mate Steffan won the bunch kick and took 2nd place, unfortunately some one got away in the closing kilometres of the race
Josh
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Josh Pee's in a bottle
Hi All
Stage 3
We’ll today for me was pretty a pretty dark dark evil day. We started out with rain and cold and rain and thankfully a head wind to slow things down.
Quite simply my legs were nonexistent today; I was hurting all day and so thankful for the head wind to keep it slow. Unfortunately with about 55-60k to go we hit a nasty cross wind section and the big boys decided it was time to turn the screws, the yellow jersey somehow ended up out the back so this just made them go harder, after a few km’s lined out in the gutter I cracked so bad. From then on it was a very lonely 50k home with just the evil broom wagon stalking me for company. By the time I got to the finish I was pretty depressed and unsure I had made the time cut or not. Then to make matters worse I crossed the line and they told me I had doping control.
WHAT!!!! I’ve come dead last by like half an hour and you guys want to see if I’m on something??? Get real man!! Well you can’t exactly say no or it’ll be the sideline for me for the next two years. So I sat round waiting and getting cold and hungry and after about 10mins the doping officer said I could go because I was just a reserve and he has to do 4 tests a day. Well I finally got to the motel and was about to get out of my filthy wet clothes and the officials show up saying they had made a mistake and that I had to go back to control. I wasn’t too happy about that as I was getting cold, and wasn’t allowed a shower. So finally got doping done and had a big feed and off to bed. Fortunately I had scraped in by a minute and a half so I was still in the tour.
Stage 4
Today’s weather forecast apparently wasn’t much better than the day before and on the start line it was 6 degrees. Fortunately this didn’t last long and we could see in the distance that it was clearing up. My legs felt much better today, and I was able to do my job taking bottles to the boys and towing them around the bunch if need be. It was a pretty fast day with a lot of tail wind. We had to good climbs down towards the end of the stage, and by the time we got to the first of the two my legs were pretty hammered. I got popped off towards the top and got with a few guys and we started lapping it out, we managed to stay pretty much in contact with the convoy which was lucky, but don’t get me wrong this didn’t make it any easier, especially with another drag up hill. Over the top of the last climb there were just two of us left the rest had cracked and we managed to lap it out and get in to the cars. Now it was all downhill and we were going so fast we couldn’t even pedal, just weaving in and out of cars at over 80kph, my speedo said a max of 101 at the finish so who knows how fast we really were going. I managed to get back on and in to the bunch and with the final kilometre of the stage a slight uphill drag I just sat up and cruised in, I had done my job for the day and finished just off the back of the main bunch. When I crossed the line and checked my speedo we had done 150ks at an average of 47.9kph which I thought was pretty impressive.
Josh
Stage 3
We’ll today for me was pretty a pretty dark dark evil day. We started out with rain and cold and rain and thankfully a head wind to slow things down.
Quite simply my legs were nonexistent today; I was hurting all day and so thankful for the head wind to keep it slow. Unfortunately with about 55-60k to go we hit a nasty cross wind section and the big boys decided it was time to turn the screws, the yellow jersey somehow ended up out the back so this just made them go harder, after a few km’s lined out in the gutter I cracked so bad. From then on it was a very lonely 50k home with just the evil broom wagon stalking me for company. By the time I got to the finish I was pretty depressed and unsure I had made the time cut or not. Then to make matters worse I crossed the line and they told me I had doping control.
WHAT!!!! I’ve come dead last by like half an hour and you guys want to see if I’m on something??? Get real man!! Well you can’t exactly say no or it’ll be the sideline for me for the next two years. So I sat round waiting and getting cold and hungry and after about 10mins the doping officer said I could go because I was just a reserve and he has to do 4 tests a day. Well I finally got to the motel and was about to get out of my filthy wet clothes and the officials show up saying they had made a mistake and that I had to go back to control. I wasn’t too happy about that as I was getting cold, and wasn’t allowed a shower. So finally got doping done and had a big feed and off to bed. Fortunately I had scraped in by a minute and a half so I was still in the tour.
Stage 4
Today’s weather forecast apparently wasn’t much better than the day before and on the start line it was 6 degrees. Fortunately this didn’t last long and we could see in the distance that it was clearing up. My legs felt much better today, and I was able to do my job taking bottles to the boys and towing them around the bunch if need be. It was a pretty fast day with a lot of tail wind. We had to good climbs down towards the end of the stage, and by the time we got to the first of the two my legs were pretty hammered. I got popped off towards the top and got with a few guys and we started lapping it out, we managed to stay pretty much in contact with the convoy which was lucky, but don’t get me wrong this didn’t make it any easier, especially with another drag up hill. Over the top of the last climb there were just two of us left the rest had cracked and we managed to lap it out and get in to the cars. Now it was all downhill and we were going so fast we couldn’t even pedal, just weaving in and out of cars at over 80kph, my speedo said a max of 101 at the finish so who knows how fast we really were going. I managed to get back on and in to the bunch and with the final kilometre of the stage a slight uphill drag I just sat up and cruised in, I had done my job for the day and finished just off the back of the main bunch. When I crossed the line and checked my speedo we had done 150ks at an average of 47.9kph which I thought was pretty impressive.
Josh
Howie heads for Le Tour
Update - excuse spelling - keyboards arse about face here! Not only that each country the keys are in different places again!
London was cool and the train ride to France only took 1 hour - apparently at 300 kmh.
Got to Calais and the prepaid voucher for the rental car wasn't accepted. So on the blower to Napier but to no avail - had to pay for the car again - luckily the Hertz staff spoke anglais. There will be arse kicking when I get home!
Then I drove 300k to a place called Epernay - was OK but the hotel room didn't have tea/cofee in room so Howie a bit grumpy. Anyway had a look about. Next day (Saturday) went another 100k south to Troyes. Nice place - stayed at a hotel about 5k from "Centre Ville" which meant parking wasn't a hassle.
Monday I went to Besancon and stood under a Roman arch built in 175 AD which is pretty amazing. Thats even older than Nathan's car.
Today I came to Zurich - beautiful country side but everything is so expensive.
Next I head for South of France and catch up with the bike race.
Weather is lovely now - sorry to gloat but the shorts are out. The food here is OK - the smell coming out of thge pattisseries is hard to walk past.
I'm enjoying wandering about just taking in the history - buildings and walls etc so old. Lovely old huge Cathedrals - real bells too.
So basically I,m having a ball.
Cheers.
Howie.
London was cool and the train ride to France only took 1 hour - apparently at 300 kmh.
Got to Calais and the prepaid voucher for the rental car wasn't accepted. So on the blower to Napier but to no avail - had to pay for the car again - luckily the Hertz staff spoke anglais. There will be arse kicking when I get home!
Then I drove 300k to a place called Epernay - was OK but the hotel room didn't have tea/cofee in room so Howie a bit grumpy. Anyway had a look about. Next day (Saturday) went another 100k south to Troyes. Nice place - stayed at a hotel about 5k from "Centre Ville" which meant parking wasn't a hassle.
Monday I went to Besancon and stood under a Roman arch built in 175 AD which is pretty amazing. Thats even older than Nathan's car.
Today I came to Zurich - beautiful country side but everything is so expensive.
Next I head for South of France and catch up with the bike race.
Weather is lovely now - sorry to gloat but the shorts are out. The food here is OK - the smell coming out of thge pattisseries is hard to walk past.
I'm enjoying wandering about just taking in the history - buildings and walls etc so old. Lovely old huge Cathedrals - real bells too.
So basically I,m having a ball.
Cheers.
Howie.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Josh sucks it in at altitude
Hi all
Well yesterday we had the opening TT, 3.8ks around the city of Xining. Downhill out and uphill back. Doesn’t sound too hard, and under normal circumstances it would be like any other short TT, just a few minutes of pain and it’s all over. Well this one was AGONY. As we are at 2200m in altitude there a pretty high lack of oxygen, so instead of your legs burning and lungs burning it more or less just felt like someone was tearing your lungs out the side with a fishing gaff or something. Not the nicest feeling. Any way I got around in 4.55 which was alright, nothing spectacular and finished 108th of a field of 130 I think. However the great news of the day was that David our team leader was 2nd!!
Lucky for us he wasn’t 1st or it would have been a hard day on the front trying to defend against the 7 man euro boys (unfortunately we only have 5 guys) The TT was won by Alex Rasmussen (no relation to the Michael Rasmussen) This guy is one of Denmark’s top in the pursuit and one of the best in the world. I’d say Wesley Gough is pretty familiar with him.
3rd place went to Rock Racings Oscar Sevelia.
Stage 2
Today’s stage looked nasty on the stage profile uphill for about 85k before a rolling false flats descent down to Qinghai lake. It started off not too bad, and after getting the inside info from Tyler Hamilton the night before I tried staying as close to Oscar or Hamilton as possible, proved a bit harder than in theory as these guys are unbelievably awesome at bike handling, I was following Oscar and next thing he’s three bike lengths in front of me, he‘d gone through a gap that just didn’t exist!!! don’t no how they do it Any way the first 50k was pretty crazy really, and I just went about my job of making sure the boys were at the front, had to give Dave a rev up and tow him to the front once. After 50k it was time to get the boys some water which was pretty straight forward. Then time to settle in for when the road really ramps up.
I’ve found it quite hard at the altitude because your heart rate goes in to the red zone so fast but drops very slowly. So I spent a lot of time keeping an eye on my heart rate and trying to keep it as low as possible as not to blow. I found the best way is to roll over a much bigger gear than normal as this way you use your muscles more than your lungs and I could control the heart better. The further up the climb we got the harder this became, and I found I was on the back really struggling. Not the best time to be in the red as the pace was starting to get pushed up. People were letting wheels go and I had to concentrate hard to stay in touch with out popping, eventually I came right and started riding through the groups.
We’ll we formed a bunch over the top and pretty much just lapped the last 60k home. I was pretty wreaked come the finish. Not sure about where I am as I haven’t seen any results yet, buts it’s not really a worry as I’m here to help the boys as much as possible, learn as much as possible and get strong!!!
Also I have attached a photo from the TT for you all
Josh
Friday, July 11, 2008
Josh learns Chinese road rules in Xinning
Hi All
Thought I’d give you a brief update, we have been in Xining now since 5th.
Xining is the starting town for the tour and is at 2200m altitude. So it’s been quite good as the team has had a good couple of days to acclimatize to the altitude, it’s been nice relaxing training all week, once we arrived here 3 of us went for a quick spin around the city to loosen the legs from all the flying. Well Ramblers cycling members I can tell you right now, the driver in Hawke’s bay are NOTHING compared to these guys. Really we are pretty dam safe and lucky because the drivers of Xining city and the pedestrians for that matter have got to be blind and are so crazy!!! I can honestly say to you I can’t believe how I haven’t seen a crash or someone killed yet, People just walk out across the road not even looking for traffic (and there’s a heck of a lot of it) and the drivers well, road rules just don’t exist here. Red lights who cares just run it, if there is a stream of traffic coming and you want to turn in to that side road then hey no worries just go for it and they’ll swerve or stop or brake or hit you or something but hey who cares. That’s a bit of a super under-exaggeration to be honest and you just have to see it to believe it.
Anyway I have got a few good days training in and seem to have recovered well from my beating in Korea. Generally when my resting heart rate is 34bpm it’s a pretty good sign I’m in good shape. So I’m looking forward to the tour starting now, Tomorrow we have a 3.8k prologue TT. It’ll be good to get racing finally but it’s a bit of a pain so much prep for such a short effort, but that’s cool at least well be racing.
It’s going to be quite an experience to be honest and I think probably the coolest thing for me is that earlier in the year I was watching some old tour de France and tour of Flanders videos and DVDs. And if you told me then that id be lining up against some of the winners of these races at the biggest tour in Asia I would have just laughed at you.
E.g. Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevelia, Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing, Tour of France and Spain stage winners) Stefan Wiseman (Cyclecollstrop, and ex Tour of Flanders winner) that’s naming just a few there’s plenty more.
Well that’s all for now, will update you after a few stages
Josh
Thought I’d give you a brief update, we have been in Xining now since 5th.
Xining is the starting town for the tour and is at 2200m altitude. So it’s been quite good as the team has had a good couple of days to acclimatize to the altitude, it’s been nice relaxing training all week, once we arrived here 3 of us went for a quick spin around the city to loosen the legs from all the flying. Well Ramblers cycling members I can tell you right now, the driver in Hawke’s bay are NOTHING compared to these guys. Really we are pretty dam safe and lucky because the drivers of Xining city and the pedestrians for that matter have got to be blind and are so crazy!!! I can honestly say to you I can’t believe how I haven’t seen a crash or someone killed yet, People just walk out across the road not even looking for traffic (and there’s a heck of a lot of it) and the drivers well, road rules just don’t exist here. Red lights who cares just run it, if there is a stream of traffic coming and you want to turn in to that side road then hey no worries just go for it and they’ll swerve or stop or brake or hit you or something but hey who cares. That’s a bit of a super under-exaggeration to be honest and you just have to see it to believe it.
Anyway I have got a few good days training in and seem to have recovered well from my beating in Korea. Generally when my resting heart rate is 34bpm it’s a pretty good sign I’m in good shape. So I’m looking forward to the tour starting now, Tomorrow we have a 3.8k prologue TT. It’ll be good to get racing finally but it’s a bit of a pain so much prep for such a short effort, but that’s cool at least well be racing.
It’s going to be quite an experience to be honest and I think probably the coolest thing for me is that earlier in the year I was watching some old tour de France and tour of Flanders videos and DVDs. And if you told me then that id be lining up against some of the winners of these races at the biggest tour in Asia I would have just laughed at you.
E.g. Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevelia, Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing, Tour of France and Spain stage winners) Stefan Wiseman (Cyclecollstrop, and ex Tour of Flanders winner) that’s naming just a few there’s plenty more.
Well that’s all for now, will update you after a few stages
Josh
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Ramblers Ashleigh Neave takes 2nd in Australias 2008 Junior and Womans Canberra Tour
Must have been Australia’s worst nightmare as the top two places in last weekend’s Canberra Tour Under 17 Junior Women were taken by Amy Cure from Tasmania and Ashleigh Neave from New Zealand.
Neave sponsored by Pedal Power Taradale competed as part of the New Zealand Junior team in one of Australia’s premiere cycle tours. With racing centred around the impressive Canberra Cycling Complex at Mt. Stromblo Recreation Park.
The Sacred Heart College student, one of New Zealand’s strongest Under 17 female juniors, finished fourth in Saturday’s first 38km stage. She made the split in a five rider break-away, taking more than a minute and a half out of the rest of the field. The multiple hill-reps in her punishing training schedule paid off handsomely as she gathered enough points to sit in second spot for Queen of the Mountain.
Saturday’s second stage took place on Mt. Stromblo’s criterium track, a fast and technical course that stretched the Kiwi junior team to their limits. With the bunch finishing together there were no changes to the general classification. Australia’s high level of commitment to the growing sport of cycling is evident. This purpose-built recreation park, covers road race, cross-country and down-hill mountain biking.
During the 41km long third stage held on Sunday morning, Neave again made the split, finishing third as three of them broke away almost two minutes ahead of the bunch. This moved her up to third spot overall and she maintained her second place in QOM.
The decider came on Sunday afternoon in the fourth and last stage, a 9.5km time trial on an undulating out-and-back course with an uphill finish. History repeated itself as Neave finished third again, but she gained enough time on her nearest rival to climb to second spot overall.
Competing against a full line-up of Australia’s top junior riders, Neave’s result gives a good indication of her current progress, and bodes well for her international cycling future.
Local rider Sean Joyce from Havelock North competed at the same tour in the Junior Under 19 Men grade. The Revolution Bikes cycle mechanic was a designated helper for the New Zealand team leader. A “no glory-just hard craft” job of controlling the bunch, fetching water and chasing down break-away riders.
After doing a ton of work for the New Zealand team in Saturday’s criterium Joyce finished strong in fifth place. Showing that given a change this dedicated youngster can compete at this higher level, and will be the one to watch.
Neave sponsored by Pedal Power Taradale competed as part of the New Zealand Junior team in one of Australia’s premiere cycle tours. With racing centred around the impressive Canberra Cycling Complex at Mt. Stromblo Recreation Park.
The Sacred Heart College student, one of New Zealand’s strongest Under 17 female juniors, finished fourth in Saturday’s first 38km stage. She made the split in a five rider break-away, taking more than a minute and a half out of the rest of the field. The multiple hill-reps in her punishing training schedule paid off handsomely as she gathered enough points to sit in second spot for Queen of the Mountain.
Saturday’s second stage took place on Mt. Stromblo’s criterium track, a fast and technical course that stretched the Kiwi junior team to their limits. With the bunch finishing together there were no changes to the general classification. Australia’s high level of commitment to the growing sport of cycling is evident. This purpose-built recreation park, covers road race, cross-country and down-hill mountain biking.
During the 41km long third stage held on Sunday morning, Neave again made the split, finishing third as three of them broke away almost two minutes ahead of the bunch. This moved her up to third spot overall and she maintained her second place in QOM.
The decider came on Sunday afternoon in the fourth and last stage, a 9.5km time trial on an undulating out-and-back course with an uphill finish. History repeated itself as Neave finished third again, but she gained enough time on her nearest rival to climb to second spot overall.
Competing against a full line-up of Australia’s top junior riders, Neave’s result gives a good indication of her current progress, and bodes well for her international cycling future.
Local rider Sean Joyce from Havelock North competed at the same tour in the Junior Under 19 Men grade. The Revolution Bikes cycle mechanic was a designated helper for the New Zealand team leader. A “no glory-just hard craft” job of controlling the bunch, fetching water and chasing down break-away riders.
After doing a ton of work for the New Zealand team in Saturday’s criterium Joyce finished strong in fifth place. Showing that given a change this dedicated youngster can compete at this higher level, and will be the one to watch.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Josh Finishes Final Stages
Hi all
Well I've made it to Seoul and the finish of the tour. I think when i last updated it was just before the rest day. Well the rest day was as relaxing as could be, went for a bit of a Cruise on the bike to keep the blood flowing and my legs felt sooo dead.
I think the lack of prep was catching up on me so I was pleased that today was the day I was going to feel crap.
Josh and Teammate collect team prize earlier in tour
Stage 7
Today was a biggy in fact the 2ND longest of the tour at 192k. It started with a small climb up out of town, and then a quick decent before pretty much being false flat up hill all day long till we got to over 900 meters above sea level. I pretty much sat at the front all day just keeping an eye on things and staying out of trouble. Wasn't feeling to bad but part way through the stage near the half way mark I started feeeling realy dead. Quickly smacked some water and food back and that helped a little, unfortunately just after the feed zone on the decent I ended up stuck in the middle of the road in a mine feild of cats eyes. Quite simply blew my tyres out front and rear. Dam!!
We changed them pretty quickly, dam I could not believe how fast our mechanic fixed it, I stopped whipped my wheel out and stuck it in the van and he had the other on and ready to go, all done in half a minute, unfortunatly we didnt realise at the time that both were out due to the rear one going down slower. But that was ok as once I had new wheels "Tyre"(our mechanich) just held my back and made it look like he was adjusting stuff on my bike while "Wizzard"(manager) drove rediculously fast to sling me back in to the convoy. I got back on easy enough but that wasn't really what I wanted with my legs feeling average and the last big climb coming. Well we hit the climb and it was false flat for a few km's and then kicked up for the last 2. I was going backwards on the false flats and completely cracked once it kicked up. I dragged myself to the top and got a bottle from the feed zone and got ready for the chase.
I dont think I have ever ridden down a hill like that before I think we had 30km of decending with the top couple being realy steep hair-pins which we flew through thankfully in the dry as in the past they were saying it has been really wet there and super dodgey. Once we had that part down it was huge long staights where you just tucked in and coasted wicked fast, I'm sure we must of been almost doing 100kph.
Anyways it was just lapping it out in the group to to the finish now. I was pleased to finish and hoping that I'd feel better tomorrow.
Stage 8
Today was NASTY, from pretty much sea level to just over 900m in not long.
First 30km's all uphill, false flats then the climb just ramped right up. It was on from go, and part way in to the start of the main climb I was not in a good way, feeling dizzy and like I was going to pass out or something. I was a bit worried as I didn't want to dnf or have to pull out. I just focused on riding a good tempo and making the top with a group as far up the bunch as I could. Well I made it over the climb and we had another dodgey as decent this time in the wet.
The rest of the stage was pretty straight foward.
lapping it out in the groupetto with about 10 or 15 other guys. We had more behind us which was good to know but as the day wore on and people got worn out eventully we were the last group on the road with 5 or 6 of us left, I cant really remember because with 20km to go I cracked so bad and was just struggling to stay with the group. Well I got there in the end finishing the stage in 80th place dead last but pretty dam glad I had made it. After the stage we had to transfer to Seoul for a half hour crit tomorow.
Crit Stage 9
Well the crit looked pretty nasty, 3k circuit through a park over pretty much cobbles, dam I hate these things as it is but with 3km loop of cobbles as well!?!?! oh well got to be done.
Well to cut it short by now my legs are completely screwed to the wall and weren't really to keen to go, so I dropped and lapped out of the race pretty quick.
So I've finaly made it and finished the tour, with jsut short of 1500km in 11 stages it was pretty dam hard to say the least and pretty tiring to. My legs are pretty worn out but I now have to recover up and get ready to start the Tour of Quinghai Lake in China in about a weeks time.
Well that's all for now
Josh
Well I've made it to Seoul and the finish of the tour. I think when i last updated it was just before the rest day. Well the rest day was as relaxing as could be, went for a bit of a Cruise on the bike to keep the blood flowing and my legs felt sooo dead.
I think the lack of prep was catching up on me so I was pleased that today was the day I was going to feel crap.
Josh and Teammate collect team prize earlier in tourStage 7
Today was a biggy in fact the 2ND longest of the tour at 192k. It started with a small climb up out of town, and then a quick decent before pretty much being false flat up hill all day long till we got to over 900 meters above sea level. I pretty much sat at the front all day just keeping an eye on things and staying out of trouble. Wasn't feeling to bad but part way through the stage near the half way mark I started feeeling realy dead. Quickly smacked some water and food back and that helped a little, unfortunately just after the feed zone on the decent I ended up stuck in the middle of the road in a mine feild of cats eyes. Quite simply blew my tyres out front and rear. Dam!!
We changed them pretty quickly, dam I could not believe how fast our mechanic fixed it, I stopped whipped my wheel out and stuck it in the van and he had the other on and ready to go, all done in half a minute, unfortunatly we didnt realise at the time that both were out due to the rear one going down slower. But that was ok as once I had new wheels "Tyre"(our mechanich) just held my back and made it look like he was adjusting stuff on my bike while "Wizzard"(manager) drove rediculously fast to sling me back in to the convoy. I got back on easy enough but that wasn't really what I wanted with my legs feeling average and the last big climb coming. Well we hit the climb and it was false flat for a few km's and then kicked up for the last 2. I was going backwards on the false flats and completely cracked once it kicked up. I dragged myself to the top and got a bottle from the feed zone and got ready for the chase.
I dont think I have ever ridden down a hill like that before I think we had 30km of decending with the top couple being realy steep hair-pins which we flew through thankfully in the dry as in the past they were saying it has been really wet there and super dodgey. Once we had that part down it was huge long staights where you just tucked in and coasted wicked fast, I'm sure we must of been almost doing 100kph.
Anyways it was just lapping it out in the group to to the finish now. I was pleased to finish and hoping that I'd feel better tomorrow.
Stage 8
Today was NASTY, from pretty much sea level to just over 900m in not long.
First 30km's all uphill, false flats then the climb just ramped right up. It was on from go, and part way in to the start of the main climb I was not in a good way, feeling dizzy and like I was going to pass out or something. I was a bit worried as I didn't want to dnf or have to pull out. I just focused on riding a good tempo and making the top with a group as far up the bunch as I could. Well I made it over the climb and we had another dodgey as decent this time in the wet.
The rest of the stage was pretty straight foward.
lapping it out in the groupetto with about 10 or 15 other guys. We had more behind us which was good to know but as the day wore on and people got worn out eventully we were the last group on the road with 5 or 6 of us left, I cant really remember because with 20km to go I cracked so bad and was just struggling to stay with the group. Well I got there in the end finishing the stage in 80th place dead last but pretty dam glad I had made it. After the stage we had to transfer to Seoul for a half hour crit tomorow.
Crit Stage 9
Well the crit looked pretty nasty, 3k circuit through a park over pretty much cobbles, dam I hate these things as it is but with 3km loop of cobbles as well!?!?! oh well got to be done.
Well to cut it short by now my legs are completely screwed to the wall and weren't really to keen to go, so I dropped and lapped out of the race pretty quick.
So I've finaly made it and finished the tour, with jsut short of 1500km in 11 stages it was pretty dam hard to say the least and pretty tiring to. My legs are pretty worn out but I now have to recover up and get ready to start the Tour of Quinghai Lake in China in about a weeks time.
Well that's all for now
Josh
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Josh Stages 4,5,6
Hi everyone
Time for another up date, sort of lost track of things so I think I'm up to stage 4
Stage 4
Today was the biggest stage of the tour at a mega 218km and certainly not at all flat and to make things more fun it was rain rain wind and more rain.
Well that wasn't so bad as it was pretty warm, as warm as wind and rain goes, thankfully not Southland wind and rain. Well the worse part about it all was I was feeling AVERAGE!! and that is putting it lightly. For the first hour I was struggling to get my heart rate up to 150 and my max is 182 so that wasn't making things easy for me. I was really scared I was going to get dropped and not make the time cut. I didn't want to go out like that so I just grit my teeth dug it in and suffered like a dog all day. Slowly through out the stage my legs gradually came right and by the time we got to the first decent climb of the whole tour at the 150k mark I was feeling better. I new I had to dig deep though as it was a long climb and yesterday I got popped out on 2k drag climb nothing steep or big and really normally I shouldn't get dropped on a hill like that. (Well i consider myself a climber so i don't really like getting dropped at all on the hills) But this is a level above anything I've ever done before and these guys go fast up hills. Any way I rode really well up the climb and surprised myself going over the top with a group, we all got moving and pulled another bunch back, and we were pretty much the main peleton. From the top of the climb it was still another 70k to the finish, thankfully I had grabbed a coke at the top from the feed zone and I rode the last 70k on coke and water. By the time we got to the finish i was hammered and looking forward to bed. It was about 6 hours we had been racing for in the wind and rain and I had made it. Plenty of people were behind as well including the yellow jersey who lost massive time
Stage 5
Today's stage wasn't looking much better weather wise and again we set off in the wet, from the gun my team mate David was in the break and away. Small groups tried to go across and I jumped into one of them, it looked like it was going to work but a few people were just there to mark it including myself so we weren't going anywhere.
The team of the new yellow jersey jumped on the front and rode tempo all day long and by the half way mark the rain had finished thankfully. I was feeling great and knew there was a hill with about 30k to go so I wanted to be near the front to see what I could do. Well once we arrived at the hill I was right at the front and with a km to go to the top my team mate Eric now 3rd overall put a huge effort in to try split it up, it worked and the field was broken up pretty good. I really had to dig the last few hundred meters in but made it over the top on the back of the front group. now it was all down hill and highway run in to town so it was pretty fast and attacks going constantly, it wasn't fast enough to hold the gap though and the rest of the peleton rejoined. The great news of the day though was that Dave had gone clear of the break away on the climb and was going to the finish solo a few minutes up the road in front of us. He took the win which was awesome and we also got the teams classification prize of the day. So the whole team was pretty stoked.
Stage6
So we have just finished stage 6 a few hours ago a big 180k affair, and not the easiest one either, Before the start of the stage Alex and myself were told we had to go to the presentation. Didn't know why but we soon found out that it was for the teams classification prize from the day before. So I got to stand on the top step of the podium which was pretty cool I'll try get hold of some of the photos to send out to everyone. But it was pretty mint to be up there.
Well I decided I was going to try and make the break today as tomorrow is a rest day so it doesn't matter if I waste my self today. From the gun I was mixing it up the front following moves and trying to get in the move of the day. Twice I made good looking groups and we had small gaps, but nothing ever stuck. By about 50k mark I was starting to feel the constant jumping around and thought I'd better have a rest as nothing was making it. So i just cruised in the bunch and attacks just kept going and coming back. It took till the 93rd km mark before something went.
By about the 100k mark I was feel really not good at all, and was feeling like I was stuck to the road. I wasn't sure why as I had just smacked back a fair bit of food but I think it was because I hadn't drunk enough so I downed as much water as I could and grabbed some more bottles from the team car and hoped I would come right. Thankfully I did, and by the 140k mark it was the business end of the race, the break was bought back pretty quickly and its was a hilly final 40k. I made sure I stayed near the front so if there was a split I'd be in it, and my bad patch had thankfully gone. With around 30k to go we smashed it up a steep climb and I was stuck behind some Skill Shimano rider who was going backwards pretty fast, as I went to go around him disaster struck me as some one smacked my rear wheel and buckled it. It wasn't making a healthy sound and I was pretty concerned that I had popped a spoke or broken the wheel.
Straight afterwards some one came down right in front of me and as I rode past I ended up 'accidentally' kicking him in the head as I was turning the pedals. There were some pretty fast descents with some tight corners and not being the worlds greatest descender at the best of times I was pretty cautious on a buckled wheel (not to keen on going back under the knife anytime soon). As a result I got tailed of the small chasing group I was with and ended up just cruising to the finish with a group of other riders. I felt pretty bad as I had been feeling good through those final Kim's and didn't want to finish like that. But oh well these things happen.
Tomorrows a rest day then we have two monster hilly stages before the final criterium
Until then catch you all later
Josh
Time for another up date, sort of lost track of things so I think I'm up to stage 4
Stage 4
Today was the biggest stage of the tour at a mega 218km and certainly not at all flat and to make things more fun it was rain rain wind and more rain.
Well that wasn't so bad as it was pretty warm, as warm as wind and rain goes, thankfully not Southland wind and rain. Well the worse part about it all was I was feeling AVERAGE!! and that is putting it lightly. For the first hour I was struggling to get my heart rate up to 150 and my max is 182 so that wasn't making things easy for me. I was really scared I was going to get dropped and not make the time cut. I didn't want to go out like that so I just grit my teeth dug it in and suffered like a dog all day. Slowly through out the stage my legs gradually came right and by the time we got to the first decent climb of the whole tour at the 150k mark I was feeling better. I new I had to dig deep though as it was a long climb and yesterday I got popped out on 2k drag climb nothing steep or big and really normally I shouldn't get dropped on a hill like that. (Well i consider myself a climber so i don't really like getting dropped at all on the hills) But this is a level above anything I've ever done before and these guys go fast up hills. Any way I rode really well up the climb and surprised myself going over the top with a group, we all got moving and pulled another bunch back, and we were pretty much the main peleton. From the top of the climb it was still another 70k to the finish, thankfully I had grabbed a coke at the top from the feed zone and I rode the last 70k on coke and water. By the time we got to the finish i was hammered and looking forward to bed. It was about 6 hours we had been racing for in the wind and rain and I had made it. Plenty of people were behind as well including the yellow jersey who lost massive time
Stage 5
Today's stage wasn't looking much better weather wise and again we set off in the wet, from the gun my team mate David was in the break and away. Small groups tried to go across and I jumped into one of them, it looked like it was going to work but a few people were just there to mark it including myself so we weren't going anywhere.
The team of the new yellow jersey jumped on the front and rode tempo all day long and by the half way mark the rain had finished thankfully. I was feeling great and knew there was a hill with about 30k to go so I wanted to be near the front to see what I could do. Well once we arrived at the hill I was right at the front and with a km to go to the top my team mate Eric now 3rd overall put a huge effort in to try split it up, it worked and the field was broken up pretty good. I really had to dig the last few hundred meters in but made it over the top on the back of the front group. now it was all down hill and highway run in to town so it was pretty fast and attacks going constantly, it wasn't fast enough to hold the gap though and the rest of the peleton rejoined. The great news of the day though was that Dave had gone clear of the break away on the climb and was going to the finish solo a few minutes up the road in front of us. He took the win which was awesome and we also got the teams classification prize of the day. So the whole team was pretty stoked.
Stage6
So we have just finished stage 6 a few hours ago a big 180k affair, and not the easiest one either, Before the start of the stage Alex and myself were told we had to go to the presentation. Didn't know why but we soon found out that it was for the teams classification prize from the day before. So I got to stand on the top step of the podium which was pretty cool I'll try get hold of some of the photos to send out to everyone. But it was pretty mint to be up there.
Well I decided I was going to try and make the break today as tomorrow is a rest day so it doesn't matter if I waste my self today. From the gun I was mixing it up the front following moves and trying to get in the move of the day. Twice I made good looking groups and we had small gaps, but nothing ever stuck. By about 50k mark I was starting to feel the constant jumping around and thought I'd better have a rest as nothing was making it. So i just cruised in the bunch and attacks just kept going and coming back. It took till the 93rd km mark before something went.
By about the 100k mark I was feel really not good at all, and was feeling like I was stuck to the road. I wasn't sure why as I had just smacked back a fair bit of food but I think it was because I hadn't drunk enough so I downed as much water as I could and grabbed some more bottles from the team car and hoped I would come right. Thankfully I did, and by the 140k mark it was the business end of the race, the break was bought back pretty quickly and its was a hilly final 40k. I made sure I stayed near the front so if there was a split I'd be in it, and my bad patch had thankfully gone. With around 30k to go we smashed it up a steep climb and I was stuck behind some Skill Shimano rider who was going backwards pretty fast, as I went to go around him disaster struck me as some one smacked my rear wheel and buckled it. It wasn't making a healthy sound and I was pretty concerned that I had popped a spoke or broken the wheel.
Straight afterwards some one came down right in front of me and as I rode past I ended up 'accidentally' kicking him in the head as I was turning the pedals. There were some pretty fast descents with some tight corners and not being the worlds greatest descender at the best of times I was pretty cautious on a buckled wheel (not to keen on going back under the knife anytime soon). As a result I got tailed of the small chasing group I was with and ended up just cruising to the finish with a group of other riders. I felt pretty bad as I had been feeling good through those final Kim's and didn't want to finish like that. But oh well these things happen.
Tomorrows a rest day then we have two monster hilly stages before the final criterium
Until then catch you all later
Josh
Friday, June 27, 2008
Update from Josh in Korea
Hi everyone
Thought I'd better give you all an update on the last two days of racing.
We are now in Korea and have just finished stage 2 of the Korean part of the tour.
Stage1
It was a pretty fast day today averaging around 43-44kph for 146km's of racing.
We were pretty much on 3 lane highways the whole time so it was just smash it hard all day long and heaps of fun. I felt way better than Sundays road race, though coming in to the start of the last lap my legs were starting to feel a tad hammered after the distance and high speed. Well I just got tailed off going over the top of the feed zone climb. This was about 15k to go so no real worries, I got back on just after the decent and just as I got on my team captain wanted me on the front to assist in the chase bringing back the break-away.
Dam oh well better do as he says. Lucky for me just as I arrived at the front the break was almost captured, phew that saved me a lot of agony as my legs were pretty smacked by this stage, so I pretty much hung on to the back of the bunch as we smacked out the final few km's to the finish at speeds of pretty much not below 50kph.
Normally this is nothing but at the end of 3 and a half hours racing your legs are kind of hurting a tad.
Any way I finished in the bunch today and was glad that I finished with the bunch, and the legs are coming right.
Stage 2
I decided today that i was going to give it a bit of a go. So to help my team mate who is currently 2nd on the gc I had to cover any moves at the start basically follow any attempted break-aways and sit on them if they worked. Well I didnt make the break away, so I was able to cruise for awhile but then it was time to start working to minimise the time gaps so jumped on the front with the Skil-Shimano team who is the team of the yellow jersey and took turns at the front with them for two laps of the circuit. By the end of the race my legs were spanked and we still had a big climb before the run in two town. I was pretty dazed by now and got rolled so rather than killing myself for bunch time sat up and cruised home with one of the Skil-shimano boys who also was a bit waisted after pulling on the front all day. So I was pretty pleased with my self today as I was able to help the team out
Eric our team mate is still 2nd over all which is great
Well that's all for now
Josh
Thought I'd better give you all an update on the last two days of racing.
We are now in Korea and have just finished stage 2 of the Korean part of the tour.
Stage1
It was a pretty fast day today averaging around 43-44kph for 146km's of racing.
We were pretty much on 3 lane highways the whole time so it was just smash it hard all day long and heaps of fun. I felt way better than Sundays road race, though coming in to the start of the last lap my legs were starting to feel a tad hammered after the distance and high speed. Well I just got tailed off going over the top of the feed zone climb. This was about 15k to go so no real worries, I got back on just after the decent and just as I got on my team captain wanted me on the front to assist in the chase bringing back the break-away.
Dam oh well better do as he says. Lucky for me just as I arrived at the front the break was almost captured, phew that saved me a lot of agony as my legs were pretty smacked by this stage, so I pretty much hung on to the back of the bunch as we smacked out the final few km's to the finish at speeds of pretty much not below 50kph.
Normally this is nothing but at the end of 3 and a half hours racing your legs are kind of hurting a tad.
Any way I finished in the bunch today and was glad that I finished with the bunch, and the legs are coming right.
Stage 2
I decided today that i was going to give it a bit of a go. So to help my team mate who is currently 2nd on the gc I had to cover any moves at the start basically follow any attempted break-aways and sit on them if they worked. Well I didnt make the break away, so I was able to cruise for awhile but then it was time to start working to minimise the time gaps so jumped on the front with the Skil-Shimano team who is the team of the yellow jersey and took turns at the front with them for two laps of the circuit. By the end of the race my legs were spanked and we still had a big climb before the run in two town. I was pretty dazed by now and got rolled so rather than killing myself for bunch time sat up and cruised home with one of the Skil-shimano boys who also was a bit waisted after pulling on the front all day. So I was pretty pleased with my self today as I was able to help the team out
Eric our team mate is still 2nd over all which is great
Well that's all for now
Josh
Monday, June 23, 2008
Josh's Expoits in Asia
As some of you may know Josh Page has gone to race for the Giant Asian racing Team based in Korea - Below is extracted (and slightly edited version of his email back to Revolution Cycles) Will keep the blog up to date with his travels.
Thought I'd update you all on the racing so far, we have had a 1.8k tt and a 178k road race in Japan
TT
Was a short sprinters style course so not really suited to me, no worries though I just wanted to get through it, do a good time and not come last lol.
Well I managed 74th place which was all good and did the same time as my team captain so I was pleased with that. You can see a pic to if you click on the link
>> Josh looking nervous here
Road Race
Today we had a 178k road race. I was pretty nervous as it was my first proper race with these guys and I havn't ridden my bike a lot lately for various reasons and I can't even remember when I last rode that far?? I just wanted to make it to the finish and get some hard racing in the legs as I no I'll get better as the race goes on.
Well to cut a long story short things didn't go to well and after about 3 laps I was gone out the back door riding by my self wondering what I am doing here.
But I remembered that Jeremy Yates told me before I left not to panic when things go bad and dont let it get to ya, so i just cruised along and after a while rode with and Aussie guy We got caught by the bunch (lapped) a few laps later and we were allowed to tag on and finish with them (we get a calculated time so I'll be way down but that's cool) Well my legs were starting to wake up and come right so I finished with the bunch no worries.
I know I'll get stronger as the tour goes on so I'll try for a good result later on when it gets hilly. But the good news of the day was that my team mate Eric came second and is now high on gc, he could even win the tour because he's really strong so thats mint as. So I'll be helping him as much as I can.
Anyway we are off to Korea tomorrow and have a rest day on Tuesday. Racing resumes Wednesday so until then catch you all later
Dinner time now
Thought I'd update you all on the racing so far, we have had a 1.8k tt and a 178k road race in Japan
TT
Was a short sprinters style course so not really suited to me, no worries though I just wanted to get through it, do a good time and not come last lol.
Well I managed 74th place which was all good and did the same time as my team captain so I was pleased with that. You can see a pic to if you click on the link
>> Josh looking nervous here
Road Race
Today we had a 178k road race. I was pretty nervous as it was my first proper race with these guys and I havn't ridden my bike a lot lately for various reasons and I can't even remember when I last rode that far?? I just wanted to make it to the finish and get some hard racing in the legs as I no I'll get better as the race goes on.
Well to cut a long story short things didn't go to well and after about 3 laps I was gone out the back door riding by my self wondering what I am doing here.
But I remembered that Jeremy Yates told me before I left not to panic when things go bad and dont let it get to ya, so i just cruised along and after a while rode with and Aussie guy We got caught by the bunch (lapped) a few laps later and we were allowed to tag on and finish with them (we get a calculated time so I'll be way down but that's cool) Well my legs were starting to wake up and come right so I finished with the bunch no worries.
I know I'll get stronger as the tour goes on so I'll try for a good result later on when it gets hilly. But the good news of the day was that my team mate Eric came second and is now high on gc, he could even win the tour because he's really strong so thats mint as. So I'll be helping him as much as I can.
Anyway we are off to Korea tomorrow and have a rest day on Tuesday. Racing resumes Wednesday so until then catch you all later
Dinner time now
Thursday, June 5, 2008
2008 Powerco Tour of Taranaki
The promise of three days of good hard racing lured a dozen local Ramblers riders to the Powerco Queens Birthday Tour in Taranaki. With the mystical Mount Taranaki as a backdrop, this Tour catered for six different grades, with local representation in the A, B and Under 17 Boys and Girls.
Four of our Hawkes Bay juniors took part in Cycling New Zealand’s development camp that ran in conjunction with the Tour. Ashleigh Neave and Sean Joyce used this Tour as lead up to Canberra Kowalski Tour in July, with Fraser Gough and Danielle Harford out to impress for future selection.
For the first time in her young career Ashleigh Neave had the back-up of a competent team of riders to help her achieve the astonishing feat of winning Under 17 Girls overall, Queen of the Mountain, second in Sprint Ace and two stages. Neave, a Pedal Power Taradale sponsored athlete, displayed a maturity beyond her age during and after the racing not often seen at this level.
Fraser Gough and Sean Joyce were designated domestiques, riders that support their leader. Both boys performed above the expectation of the national selectors with their hard work, putting their team’s success above their own. No glory for these Havelock North riders, but plenty of guts and derermination.
During any road race there are many attempts to establish a break away, but knowing which one will stick and succeed comes with experience and Jeremy Yates has plenty of this. On stage two and five Yates made it in the winning breaks, finishing second in both stages and ending up fourth overall in A grade.
Smooth team work between Darryl Strachan and Dylan Stewart in B grade helped Strachan secure a fourth place overall and win stage 4 as he out-sprinted his four companions on the line. In stage 5 the favour was returned as Stewart benefited from Strachan’s work, taking crucial points to secure the Sprint Ace Jersey.
Four of our Hawkes Bay juniors took part in Cycling New Zealand’s development camp that ran in conjunction with the Tour. Ashleigh Neave and Sean Joyce used this Tour as lead up to Canberra Kowalski Tour in July, with Fraser Gough and Danielle Harford out to impress for future selection.
For the first time in her young career Ashleigh Neave had the back-up of a competent team of riders to help her achieve the astonishing feat of winning Under 17 Girls overall, Queen of the Mountain, second in Sprint Ace and two stages. Neave, a Pedal Power Taradale sponsored athlete, displayed a maturity beyond her age during and after the racing not often seen at this level.
Fraser Gough and Sean Joyce were designated domestiques, riders that support their leader. Both boys performed above the expectation of the national selectors with their hard work, putting their team’s success above their own. No glory for these Havelock North riders, but plenty of guts and derermination.
During any road race there are many attempts to establish a break away, but knowing which one will stick and succeed comes with experience and Jeremy Yates has plenty of this. On stage two and five Yates made it in the winning breaks, finishing second in both stages and ending up fourth overall in A grade.
Smooth team work between Darryl Strachan and Dylan Stewart in B grade helped Strachan secure a fourth place overall and win stage 4 as he out-sprinted his four companions on the line. In stage 5 the favour was returned as Stewart benefited from Strachan’s work, taking crucial points to secure the Sprint Ace Jersey.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Ramblers at Taranaki Tour
As of Sunday Morning
Ashleigh Neave 2nd on gc at 14 Seconds
Jermey Yates 3rd stage 2 A-grade
Dylan Stewart 7th gc B-grade all others mid field
Ashleigh Neave 2nd on gc at 14 Seconds
Jermey Yates 3rd stage 2 A-grade
Dylan Stewart 7th gc B-grade all others mid field
Friday, May 30, 2008
Westley in Belgium
Hi everyone,
I'm in Belgium now, well settled in and into my third week of racing and training. The town we are based in is called Teilt-Winge, which is a small town in a mostly flat part of Belgium, there are ten of us living in the apartment, mostly athletes and a few support staff also. Time is going by fast already with only another 6 weeks before we go into track camp in Bordeaux.
After arriving in Belgium we had three days of training before starting our first tour, the Tryptique des Ardennes, which is a three day tour raced in and around liege. During the 3 days, we experienced hot weather, heavy rain, steep descents and some of the most famous climbs in Belgium. I didn't finished the tour, after loosing contact with the main group on the last day, but gained some good benefits throughout the tour, which was a hard tour to begin, with 6 Professional continental teams racing.
Our next race was a one day race called GP Criquelion which was on Sunday, a completely different type of race compared with the first tour. The race was 6 laps of a 22km circuit and then 4 laps of a 10km circuit, much like a massive criterium. I missed making the race winning break, but I rode well to finish this race in good bunch positioning.
Training has been progressing well, i'm progressing into some hard specific track efforts to bring my form up. My next race is the GP de Wilde which is a tough one, that's coming up on sunday.
Westley Gough
I'm in Belgium now, well settled in and into my third week of racing and training. The town we are based in is called Teilt-Winge, which is a small town in a mostly flat part of Belgium, there are ten of us living in the apartment, mostly athletes and a few support staff also. Time is going by fast already with only another 6 weeks before we go into track camp in Bordeaux.
After arriving in Belgium we had three days of training before starting our first tour, the Tryptique des Ardennes, which is a three day tour raced in and around liege. During the 3 days, we experienced hot weather, heavy rain, steep descents and some of the most famous climbs in Belgium. I didn't finished the tour, after loosing contact with the main group on the last day, but gained some good benefits throughout the tour, which was a hard tour to begin, with 6 Professional continental teams racing.
Our next race was a one day race called GP Criquelion which was on Sunday, a completely different type of race compared with the first tour. The race was 6 laps of a 22km circuit and then 4 laps of a 10km circuit, much like a massive criterium. I missed making the race winning break, but I rode well to finish this race in good bunch positioning.
Training has been progressing well, i'm progressing into some hard specific track efforts to bring my form up. My next race is the GP de Wilde which is a tough one, that's coming up on sunday.
Westley Gough
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Chadwick Delivers Tour of Arkansas Title For Team Type 1
Van Buren, Ark. - Glen Chadwick will go into the history books as Team Type 1's first overall winner of a professional stage race.
The New Zealander wrapped up the Tour of Arkansas on Sunday by finishing eighth in the 75-minute Celebrity Classic Criterium in Historic Downtown Van Buren. Chadwick enjoyed a 25-second margin of victory in the final standings ahead of runner-up Predrag Prokic (Toshiba-Santo Professional Cycling Team presented by Herbalife) and third-place finisher Michael Lange (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling).
Team Type 1 also placed two riders in the top 10 with Moises Aldape (fifth) and Chris Jones (ninth) while Valeriy Kobzarenko was 31st, Fabio Calabria was 35th and Ian MacGregor was 48th. Timothy Hargrave, who made his stage race debut for Team Type 1, also finished the race but his final position was not immediately made available.
Chadwick - who had not won a stage race since the Tour of Korea in 2003 - dedicated the victory to his wife, Isabelle, and their two-year-old daughter, Jade.
"It has been a strange season with a pretty bad six months off because my family and I were very sick," Chadwick told Cyclingnews' Kirsten Robbins.
"To actually pull off a result like this is amazing for myself."
A bout with Epstein-Barr Virus sidelined Chadwick in February following the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia. The life-threatening spinal virus even infected his daughter, forcing her to be hospitalized as well.
"It was very tough for us to see our daughter hooked up to an I.V. all the time and her veins collapsing," he said. "It's hard to explain to a two-year-old why the doctors were always sticking her with needles."
Chadwick, 31, won his first stage race in the United States by soloing to victory in the first two stages of the 350-mile race that featured a pair of mountain top finishes and more than 23,000 feet of climbing. Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said teamwork solidified the victory from there.
"The guys were awesome," Beamon said. "It was pretty much textbook on the last two stages. Today, the guys took the lead on the first lap and held it to the finish, pretty much destroying the field in the process."
Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) won Sunday's six-corner criterium ahead of Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis) and Mark Walters (Team R.A.C.E.
Pro), while Aldape took the small field sprint for fifth.
Chadwick's accomplishment follows a 20th place finish at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T and improves his chances of becoming one of New Zealand's three representatives for the Olympic road race in Beijing in August.
Team Type 1 was created to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming obstacles often associated with the condition. This is the first year Team Type 1 has fielded a professional squad, after winning the corporate team division of the Race Across America the past two years. Calabria and Hargrave are two of four athletes on the pro team who have Type 1 diabetes.
Attached Photo Courtesy: Team Type 1
Team Type 1's Glen Chadwick stands atop the final podium Sunday at the Tour of Arkansas.
The New Zealander wrapped up the Tour of Arkansas on Sunday by finishing eighth in the 75-minute Celebrity Classic Criterium in Historic Downtown Van Buren. Chadwick enjoyed a 25-second margin of victory in the final standings ahead of runner-up Predrag Prokic (Toshiba-Santo Professional Cycling Team presented by Herbalife) and third-place finisher Michael Lange (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling).
Team Type 1 also placed two riders in the top 10 with Moises Aldape (fifth) and Chris Jones (ninth) while Valeriy Kobzarenko was 31st, Fabio Calabria was 35th and Ian MacGregor was 48th. Timothy Hargrave, who made his stage race debut for Team Type 1, also finished the race but his final position was not immediately made available.
Chadwick - who had not won a stage race since the Tour of Korea in 2003 - dedicated the victory to his wife, Isabelle, and their two-year-old daughter, Jade.
"It has been a strange season with a pretty bad six months off because my family and I were very sick," Chadwick told Cyclingnews' Kirsten Robbins.
"To actually pull off a result like this is amazing for myself."
A bout with Epstein-Barr Virus sidelined Chadwick in February following the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia. The life-threatening spinal virus even infected his daughter, forcing her to be hospitalized as well.
"It was very tough for us to see our daughter hooked up to an I.V. all the time and her veins collapsing," he said. "It's hard to explain to a two-year-old why the doctors were always sticking her with needles."
Chadwick, 31, won his first stage race in the United States by soloing to victory in the first two stages of the 350-mile race that featured a pair of mountain top finishes and more than 23,000 feet of climbing. Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said teamwork solidified the victory from there.
"The guys were awesome," Beamon said. "It was pretty much textbook on the last two stages. Today, the guys took the lead on the first lap and held it to the finish, pretty much destroying the field in the process."
Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) won Sunday's six-corner criterium ahead of Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis) and Mark Walters (Team R.A.C.E.
Pro), while Aldape took the small field sprint for fifth.
Chadwick's accomplishment follows a 20th place finish at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T and improves his chances of becoming one of New Zealand's three representatives for the Olympic road race in Beijing in August.
Team Type 1 was created to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming obstacles often associated with the condition. This is the first year Team Type 1 has fielded a professional squad, after winning the corporate team division of the Race Across America the past two years. Calabria and Hargrave are two of four athletes on the pro team who have Type 1 diabetes.
Attached Photo Courtesy: Team Type 1
Team Type 1's Glen Chadwick stands atop the final podium Sunday at the Tour of Arkansas.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bike X Results
Bike X Results 18-05-2008
Youth 1 (-10 years) Girls: Nicola Hodson 1; Tiara Phipps 2; Hannah Gray 3; Samantha Freemantle 4.
Youth 1 (-/10 years) Boys: Corey Hodson 1; Harry Young 2; Dylan Joe 3; Matthew Durrant 4; Sam Heaven 5; Finn Durrant 6; Thomas Moore 7; Cameron Joe 8; Brendan Joe 9; Luka Freemantle 10.
Youth 2 (11/13 years) Girls: Natasha Grundy 1.
Youth 2 (11/13 years) Boys: Caleb Grey 1; Kyle Power 2; Dominic Dixon 3; Reed Stewart 4; Matt Macleod 5; Blake Caudwell 6.
Youth 3 (14-15 years) Boys: Lars Hopman 1; Matt Grundy 2; Josh Chiverell 3; Tim Lutter 4; Shaun Ferris 5.
Junior Men (16-19 years): Sam Haslett 1; Simon Ellison 2; Andrew Neverman 3.
Open Female: Marie Davis 1.
Open Men: Andrew Bott 1; Vaughn Phillipson 2; Carl MacParland 3; Brendon Trower 4; Martyn Wallace 5; Carl Larsen 6; Logan Marriott 7; Allister Beets 8; Tony Harding 9.
Fun Female: Faith Barber 1; Anna Bland 2; Gillian Slater 3; Lorraine Power 4.
Fun Men: Luke McCarthy 1; Paul Davis 2; Brent Jeffares 3; Simon Godden 4; Fraser Kitt 5; Henry Heather 6; Gavin Smith 7; Craig Weston 8; Bruce Strachan 9; Brent&Laura Carrad 10; Richard Gray 11; Peter Young 12.
See Article below for full comentary
Youth 1 (-10 years) Girls: Nicola Hodson 1; Tiara Phipps 2; Hannah Gray 3; Samantha Freemantle 4.
Youth 1 (-/10 years) Boys: Corey Hodson 1; Harry Young 2; Dylan Joe 3; Matthew Durrant 4; Sam Heaven 5; Finn Durrant 6; Thomas Moore 7; Cameron Joe 8; Brendan Joe 9; Luka Freemantle 10.
Youth 2 (11/13 years) Girls: Natasha Grundy 1.
Youth 2 (11/13 years) Boys: Caleb Grey 1; Kyle Power 2; Dominic Dixon 3; Reed Stewart 4; Matt Macleod 5; Blake Caudwell 6.
Youth 3 (14-15 years) Boys: Lars Hopman 1; Matt Grundy 2; Josh Chiverell 3; Tim Lutter 4; Shaun Ferris 5.
Junior Men (16-19 years): Sam Haslett 1; Simon Ellison 2; Andrew Neverman 3.
Open Female: Marie Davis 1.
Open Men: Andrew Bott 1; Vaughn Phillipson 2; Carl MacParland 3; Brendon Trower 4; Martyn Wallace 5; Carl Larsen 6; Logan Marriott 7; Allister Beets 8; Tony Harding 9.
Fun Female: Faith Barber 1; Anna Bland 2; Gillian Slater 3; Lorraine Power 4.
Fun Men: Luke McCarthy 1; Paul Davis 2; Brent Jeffares 3; Simon Godden 4; Fraser Kitt 5; Henry Heather 6; Gavin Smith 7; Craig Weston 8; Bruce Strachan 9; Brent&Laura Carrad 10; Richard Gray 11; Peter Young 12.
See Article below for full comentary
Mountain Bike Club take coveted Handlebar Trophy
Even with convincing wins in the Youth 2 Girls, Youth 3 Boys and Open Men, the Ramblers Cycling Club could not stop the Hawkes Bay Mountain Bike Club juggernaut from claiming the coveted Handlebar Trophy.
This year the two cycling clubs who organised the weekend’s Bike X, put up the trophy as a challenge, with a point for every rider plus a bonus for each win. The sheer quantity of their bikers alone stacked the odds in favour of the HBMTB club before the race even started.
The off-road circuit race ran on the riverbank adjacent to Pettigrew Green Arena and pulled together riders from a great mix of ages and abilities. Despite a frosty start the ground crew set up a challenging technical course that sapped the energy from the hardiest contestants.
Supporters and fans admired the youngsters who not only provided many a priceless moment, but also showed they had stamina and gusto. At the end of the day it was the Hodson family taking home both the Youth 1 Boys and Girls top prizes.
Instead of pimping his ride Vaughn Phillipson opted to pimp himself, but his decoy action lasted only till half way the 45min Open Men’s race. Last year’s winner, Andrew Bott, saw through the act and distanced himself from the Bike Xdresser, taking a deserved win.
Spare a thought for Brent and Laura Carrad who combined forces to tackle the windy course on a tandem. This colourful father and daughter team set the tone in the Fun Class race. Luke McCarthy and Paul Davis were dressed to amuse but their competitive streak provided a close battle that lasted till the dying moment of the race, with McCarthy taking the Fun Class win by the smallest of margins from the late charging Davis.
This year the two cycling clubs who organised the weekend’s Bike X, put up the trophy as a challenge, with a point for every rider plus a bonus for each win. The sheer quantity of their bikers alone stacked the odds in favour of the HBMTB club before the race even started.
The off-road circuit race ran on the riverbank adjacent to Pettigrew Green Arena and pulled together riders from a great mix of ages and abilities. Despite a frosty start the ground crew set up a challenging technical course that sapped the energy from the hardiest contestants.
Supporters and fans admired the youngsters who not only provided many a priceless moment, but also showed they had stamina and gusto. At the end of the day it was the Hodson family taking home both the Youth 1 Boys and Girls top prizes.
Instead of pimping his ride Vaughn Phillipson opted to pimp himself, but his decoy action lasted only till half way the 45min Open Men’s race. Last year’s winner, Andrew Bott, saw through the act and distanced himself from the Bike Xdresser, taking a deserved win.
Spare a thought for Brent and Laura Carrad who combined forces to tackle the windy course on a tandem. This colourful father and daughter team set the tone in the Fun Class race. Luke McCarthy and Paul Davis were dressed to amuse but their competitive streak provided a close battle that lasted till the dying moment of the race, with McCarthy taking the Fun Class win by the smallest of margins from the late charging Davis.
Ramblers member and Team Type 1’s Chadwick Wins Again
Chadwick conquered the mountain top finish at Mount Nebo State Park by out-sprinting Predrag Prokic (Toshiba-Santo Professional Cycling Team presented by Herbalife) to finish the 98-mile (157.7 km) race in three hours, 59 minutes and 47 seconds.
Chadwick and Prokic left Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape and Michael Lange (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling) on the decisive climb, with the New Zealander winning the race by five seconds. Lange was third and Aldape fourth.
“Our guys put in a really good effort today and I didn’t want to let them down,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick’s back-to-back stage wins – a feat he also achieved in the Canadian Tour de Beauce stage race last year – puts him 25 seconds ahead of Prokic with two stages remaining. Team Type 1 also has two others in the top 10 overall: Aldape is fourth, 58 seconds behind, and Chris Jones is eighth, 1:28 behind.
“For sure I’m thinking about winning the race overall now,” Chadwick said. “We still have Moises and Chris a handful of seconds behind so they can always tag a good move and the lead could change. But I’m pretty keen to go all the way to the finish.”
Saturday’s 97-mile (156 km) race starts and finishes atop Arkansas’ tallest peak, Mount Magazine (2,753 feet) and features 6,600 feet of climbing. The 10-mile ascent of Mount Magazine features a continuous grade of six to eight percent.
Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said the squad will be a little more protective of Chadwick’s lead than it was during Friday’s stage.
“There’s only a handful of guys we have to be worried about, but at some point, we’ll have to take responsibility for the stage,” Beamon said. “Hopefully, we can get another good effort out of Timothy (Hargrave) and Fabio (Calabria) again and take control of the race.”
Hargrave and Calabria, Team Type 1’s competitors with Type 1 diabetes in the race, played integral roles in both of Chadwick’s victories. On Friday, the pair combined with teammates Valeriy Kobzarenko and Ian MacGregor to successfully chase down Aaron Tuckerman (Jelly Belly), who gained a nearly three-minute advantage after attacking on the descent of the second climb.
Sunday’s final stage is the Celebrity Classic Criterium in historic Downtown Van Buren, Ark. The event begins at 8:30 a.m.
– TT1 –
Team Type 1's Glen Chadwick celebrates his victory atop Mount Nebo with runner-up Predrag Prokic (left) and Michael Lange (right).
Photo Courtesy: Team Type 1
Chadwick and Prokic left Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape and Michael Lange (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling) on the decisive climb, with the New Zealander winning the race by five seconds. Lange was third and Aldape fourth.
“Our guys put in a really good effort today and I didn’t want to let them down,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick’s back-to-back stage wins – a feat he also achieved in the Canadian Tour de Beauce stage race last year – puts him 25 seconds ahead of Prokic with two stages remaining. Team Type 1 also has two others in the top 10 overall: Aldape is fourth, 58 seconds behind, and Chris Jones is eighth, 1:28 behind.
“For sure I’m thinking about winning the race overall now,” Chadwick said. “We still have Moises and Chris a handful of seconds behind so they can always tag a good move and the lead could change. But I’m pretty keen to go all the way to the finish.”
Saturday’s 97-mile (156 km) race starts and finishes atop Arkansas’ tallest peak, Mount Magazine (2,753 feet) and features 6,600 feet of climbing. The 10-mile ascent of Mount Magazine features a continuous grade of six to eight percent.
Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said the squad will be a little more protective of Chadwick’s lead than it was during Friday’s stage.
“There’s only a handful of guys we have to be worried about, but at some point, we’ll have to take responsibility for the stage,” Beamon said. “Hopefully, we can get another good effort out of Timothy (Hargrave) and Fabio (Calabria) again and take control of the race.”
Hargrave and Calabria, Team Type 1’s competitors with Type 1 diabetes in the race, played integral roles in both of Chadwick’s victories. On Friday, the pair combined with teammates Valeriy Kobzarenko and Ian MacGregor to successfully chase down Aaron Tuckerman (Jelly Belly), who gained a nearly three-minute advantage after attacking on the descent of the second climb.
Sunday’s final stage is the Celebrity Classic Criterium in historic Downtown Van Buren, Ark. The event begins at 8:30 a.m.
– TT1 –
Team Type 1's Glen Chadwick celebrates his victory atop Mount Nebo with runner-up Predrag Prokic (left) and Michael Lange (right).Photo Courtesy: Team Type 1
Team Type 1's Chadwick Wins Tour of Arkansas Opener
Russellville, Ark. — Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick soloed to victory on the opening stage of the inaugural Tour of Arkansas Thursday while his teammate, Moises Aldape, finished third.
Chadwick won the “Epic Road Race,” a 110-mile (177 km) race that featured 10,592 feet of climbing. In doing so, he scored his first victory of the season and the seventh win of the year for Team Type 1.
“Chaddy really wanted this one,” Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said of the sixth-year pro from New Zealand. “We rode the climb for him so he was really the only guy who wasn’t on the front today.”
Chadwick capped an extraordinary display of teamwork by Team Type 1 by attacking just as a three-rider breakaway that included teammate Valeriy Kobzarenko was being caught in the final mile. At that point, fewer than 30 riders remained in the pack, including six from Team Type 1.
“With a kilometer to go, everyone was focused on the three guys in the lead who were only about four or five seconds ahead of us,” Chadwick said. “The field was riding on the right, so I punched it as hard as I could on the left.”
Chadwick’s successful attack led to a one-armed salute as he crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis). Aldape finished another five seconds later for his first top three placing of the year and Team Type 1's 23rd podium finish of 2008.
Team Type 1, which was created to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming the obstacles often associated with the condition, now has six riders in the top 25: Fabio Calabria is eighth, Ian MacGregor is 14th, Chris Jones is 16th and Kobzarenko is 23rd.
Calabria and Timothy Hargrave, two of four professional on the squad who have Type 1 diabetes, each played pivotal roles. Hargrave set a blistering pace as the race reached the first decisive climb, while Calabria launched the first attack to spring a breakaway that further decimated the field.
“It was a great ride for our two Type 1 riders,” Beamon said.
With three stages to go – including Friday’s 98-mile (157.7 km) Mount Nebo Road Race, Chadwick is leading a stage race for the first time since 2003, when he won the Tour of Beijing.
“I’ve always been racing for the GC (general classification) but never really been the guy in the first spot,” he said. “Hopefully we can pull another maneuver like we did at the Tour de Georgia (when Team Type 1 put four riders in the top 20 on the stage at Brasstown Bald) and have plenty of options. I’m always happy to hand the lead over to a teammate.”
– TT1 –
Photos courtesy of Team Type 1
Team Type 1's Valeriy Kobzarenko (left) was joined by Eric Boily (Team Volkswagon) in a three-man breakaway that nearly made it to the finish in the opening stage of the Tour of Arkansas.
TourofArkSt1Podium.jpg:
Glen Chadwick (center) is joined on the Tour of Arkansas Stage 1 podium by Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape (left) and Karl Menzies of Health Net presented by Maxxis.
Chadwick won the “Epic Road Race,” a 110-mile (177 km) race that featured 10,592 feet of climbing. In doing so, he scored his first victory of the season and the seventh win of the year for Team Type 1.
“Chaddy really wanted this one,” Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said of the sixth-year pro from New Zealand. “We rode the climb for him so he was really the only guy who wasn’t on the front today.”
Chadwick capped an extraordinary display of teamwork by Team Type 1 by attacking just as a three-rider breakaway that included teammate Valeriy Kobzarenko was being caught in the final mile. At that point, fewer than 30 riders remained in the pack, including six from Team Type 1.
“With a kilometer to go, everyone was focused on the three guys in the lead who were only about four or five seconds ahead of us,” Chadwick said. “The field was riding on the right, so I punched it as hard as I could on the left.”
Chadwick’s successful attack led to a one-armed salute as he crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis). Aldape finished another five seconds later for his first top three placing of the year and Team Type 1's 23rd podium finish of 2008.
Team Type 1, which was created to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming the obstacles often associated with the condition, now has six riders in the top 25: Fabio Calabria is eighth, Ian MacGregor is 14th, Chris Jones is 16th and Kobzarenko is 23rd.
Calabria and Timothy Hargrave, two of four professional on the squad who have Type 1 diabetes, each played pivotal roles. Hargrave set a blistering pace as the race reached the first decisive climb, while Calabria launched the first attack to spring a breakaway that further decimated the field.
“It was a great ride for our two Type 1 riders,” Beamon said.
With three stages to go – including Friday’s 98-mile (157.7 km) Mount Nebo Road Race, Chadwick is leading a stage race for the first time since 2003, when he won the Tour of Beijing.
“I’ve always been racing for the GC (general classification) but never really been the guy in the first spot,” he said. “Hopefully we can pull another maneuver like we did at the Tour de Georgia (when Team Type 1 put four riders in the top 20 on the stage at Brasstown Bald) and have plenty of options. I’m always happy to hand the lead over to a teammate.”
– TT1 –
Photos courtesy of Team Type 1
Team Type 1's Valeriy Kobzarenko (left) was joined by Eric Boily (Team Volkswagon) in a three-man breakaway that nearly made it to the finish in the opening stage of the Tour of Arkansas.
TourofArkSt1Podium.jpg:Glen Chadwick (center) is joined on the Tour of Arkansas Stage 1 podium by Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape (left) and Karl Menzies of Health Net presented by Maxxis.
Monday, May 12, 2008
ECNI Results
Results from the ECNI events held over the weekend.
Circuit races around School Road, Crystal Road circuit in reasonable conditions.
Time trial on Elite Nationals course in perfect conditions.
Click Here
Circuit races around School Road, Crystal Road circuit in reasonable conditions.
Time trial on Elite Nationals course in perfect conditions.
Click Here
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