'Wicked descents' a feature of Tour of Bright
By Pip Read
It has been a very exhausting few weeks of cycling with the Tour de Femme, The Great Doherty Tour and now the Tour of Bright. I'm very much looking forward to a few weeks break from serious training and racing. Having said that I'm also looking forward to mentoring at the first round of the 'Coffeecrits', a women's development series hosted by Cycle Sport Victoria women's commission and various Victorian cycling clubs.
Having read the race notes for The Tour of Bright Stage 3, with gradients ranging from 6.6% to 10%, two wicked descents with speeds exceeding 75kph and already knowing the route for Stage 1, I headed out to the garage in search of the 28-11 cluster for the race bike. Thursday night saw me packing the car again for a weekend away racing, this time taking the whole family as we were staying in a cabin park in Porepunkah that allows dogs. Just to introduce them we have two Jack Russel's called Jack and Jill. Jack is a typical boy and is the self appointed guard dog, Jill is a friend to the world with a constantly wagging tail that only changes in intensity; we have an ongoing bet that one day her tail will just drop off.
We arrived mid afternoon on the Friday and headed out to loosen the legs. As our accommodation was at the bottom of Mt Buffalo I headed up the road for 10km and returned home. Fran took the dogs for a swim in the river, then we went into town for dinner joining 26 A grade and 30 B grade women. The racing promises to be good and I was expecting two days of tough going.
Stage 1 is called Gaps Loop and is 79km long. Both women's grades started at the Ovens general store on Happy Valley Road traveling to Rosewhite Gap, Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga, Bright/Mount Beauty Road, Tawonga Gap, Great Alpine Road and finishing at Snowy Creek Road. The pace was a bit on the slow side to begin with so myself and a few others started working on the front, only to be surprised by the tell tale sound from behind of a bike hitting road. We were not sure what happened, a touch of wheels I guess. Just after Rosewhite one girl came up to me and asked "are there any more hills like that one?" to which I answered 'yes but much bigger!" I felt OK on the climb up Towonga Gap having raced it in the past and have always enjoyed the descent. I heard later that one girl crashed on this descent but luckily was released from hospital in time for the TT. I finished 17th which was OK.
Stage 2 was an individual time trial of 15.7km. It started at Alpine Cycling Club headquarters in Coronation Avenue, Bright, and followed an out and back course through Wandiligong (don't you just love the town names). We had three hours between races so there was plenty of time to eat and rest. I was quite tired and a midday nap made me feel a little better. I was still not feeling great at the start of the race and it was only towards the turn around point that I realised we had been racing slightly uphill and into a headwind. It was amazing how much better this realisation made me feel and after the turn around I grabbed the big ring, which until then I was unable to push to get down on the TT bars. I put myself into race mode and headed for home, and although I only finished 22nd I was still pleased with the result.
Stage 3 was a route called Mt Hotham Assent of 55km.The route to Mt Hotham is one of the most picturesque and challenging for any cyclist. A total of 55kms, the final 30kms are all uphill, on an ascent to rival those seen in the French Alps. The initial 25kms to Harrietville is relatively calm, as the road winds lazily along the floor of the Ovens valley. At Harrietville the climb starts in earnest, and can be divided into three, ten kilometre sections.
Section one consists of an average gradient of 6.6%, but is punctuated by a 400m long section of 9% known as The Meg at the five-kilometre point. In between is for good tempo riding, and the smart cyclist will ride efficiently, saving all their reserves for section three.
Section two is essentially a "false flat" of only 1.8%. Here the average rider can generate some good speed, touching 30kmph in sections, particularly if there is a light tailwind.
Section three is where the challenge starts. The average gradient is 'only' 4.9% for the section, but is highlighted by some contrasting gradients. The initial 'pinch' is 7% for 750m, which is followed 2kms later by CRB hill (10% for 1.1km), and later by Diamantina rise (9.7% for 850m) just before the finish. Between these are two wicked, short descents, where 75kph is the norm, before the road heads skyward again. (http://www.tourofbright.com.au/stages.htm)
Now you know why I put the 28-11 cluster on! The first thing I forgot to do was apply the sunscreen/repellent - the flies are so bad. The second was take my energy gel, I thought of these as we headed of at an easy pace for the first few kms about half way to Harrietville. I was in need of a bush (as the say in the LeTour 'natural break') and as luck would have it another competitor flatted and we both stopped at almost at the same point, which gave the two of us a chance of catching the bunch. I headed for the top and to my surprise, after such a long chase, my legs felt great and found myself in the leading group by the start of section three. Unfortunately the poor old legs cried enough about the mid section and I struggled to the finish in 12th, which I was very happy with. My words to my coach and Fran at the finish were "if I mention this race next year slap me across the face". We will see what happens next year, I may forget the pain.
The Tour of Bright is a great event that was organised very well with almost perfect weather for racing. Apart from Jack, the self-appointed watchdog biting someone on the leg, the dogs behaved well. My legs also were relieved of pain with the cold river water. See the memory of the pain is fading already!
I hope you had a safe and happy Christmas!
Cya,
Pip