Sorry this post is about a week overdue. The second round of the NRS, the Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour, has come and gone a week ago and I’ve only just got around to writing a report on the tour. My excuse is I’ve become slightly addicted to playing scrabble with my new hosts in Sydney. Also Eurosport has provided complete coverage of the Tour of Flanders, Basque Country and Paris-Roubaix over the past week. Before you ask, yes I’m still doing some training even though the weather in Sydney has been filthy the past week. Which reminds me I need to give my bike a clean today.
Great to finally get my new bike this week.
Anyway the tour of Adelaide from 3-6 April was the first NRS race in which Subaru Albion took a full army of eight riders. Although we didn’t pull off any spectacular results the team worked together well, with all eight riders getting through four days of very aggressive racing. We endured our share of crashes and mechanical issues which is all part of the sport we love, racing bikes. A massive thanks to our support Frank, Tony, and Kirk for working overtime managing, driving, feeding, massaging the troops and cleaning and fixing our bikes daily.
Takeaway Thai hits the spot after a tough stage 2
– Stage 1 –
Stage one of the Tour was an 85km road race from Angaston to Campbelltown finishing with the infamous Corkscrew climb and fast descent down Mountacute Road. The pace was on right from the start and my teammates Kierin, Darcy and Keegan were involved in marking the early breaks. Eventually a break of twelve got established which unfortunately didn’t include any Subaru Albion riders. We weren’t the only team missing out, most notably the Avanti and Budget Forklifts teams were absent and took up the responsibility chasing.
Darcy marking an attack from Drapac
Being such a fast stage (covering 85km in 1 hour 54 minutes) the race was coming to an end before we knew it and it was time to think about getting to the front of the bunch for the final climb up Corkscrew Road where there were sure to be splits in the peloton. Getting to the front and staying there was near impossible task on the fast and technical decent down Gorge Road. My teammate Tirian took one risk too many, crashing into a guardrail in an effort to move further up the bunch. After a quick bike change he fought on with a nasty gash on his arm that later required stitches.
160 rider peloton strung out by team Avanti chase
At the left turn onto Corkscrew Road I was mid bunch before my teammate Darcy pulled a hard turn over the false flat leading into the climb to get me positioned into the top third of the field. I rode a solid pace up the climb but never caught the leaders and ended up finishing 36th losing 1:38 on the stage winner Wesley Sulzberger from Drapac.
– Stage 2 –
Stage two was a very tough day for the team. The 155km stage in the Adelaide hills included 6 sections of gravel/dirt roads which tested both man and machine. Tirian was suffering on the rough roads from injuries sustained on stage one and none of the other seven Subaru Albion riders were spared some kind of mechanical failure. While most of my teammates suffered punctures at some point in the race, I managed to drop my chain at a critical moment in the race.
Darcy looking a bit dark after suffering a puncture on Stage 2
Luckily I had Keegan alongside me and he waited then turned himself inside out to get me back in contact with the main bunch. Unfortunately by the time I got there the winning break of about 20 riders had left the bunch. I finished the stage in 26th place 8:18 behind the stage winner Brenton Jones. Teammates Cam and Keegan had solid rides coming in to finish 10:45 and 17:17 behind respectively after helping me all day. Brodie Talbot of team Budget Forklifts finished fourth and moved into the overall tour lead.
– Stage 3 –
Stage three was the shortest of the tour, a 64km criterium around a 2km loop in Central Adelaide, not exactly my cup of tea. My goal for the day was to keep the rubber side down and try not to concede any time. The pace was so fast that no break was allowed more than a handful of seconds on the bunch controlled by team Budget Forklifts. Darcy was the best placed rider from Subaru Albion, holding a good position for most of the stage and finishing in 41st place, 9 seconds behind stage winner Jesse Kerrison. A split in the final lap resulted in me losing 24 seconds, dropping just outside of the top 30 overall after three stages.
Keegan and Keirin on Stage 3
– Stage 4 –
The fourth and final stage of the tour was an 88km kermesse (22 laps of a 4km street circuit) including a long and gentle rise and descent and a few traffic islands and roundabouts to negotiate. As usual for stages this short the race was aggressive and the pace was on from the word go. There was an early crash and the race was temporarily stopped so riders could be told that riding on the wrong side of cones and footpaths to gain advantage would not be permitted.
Darcy’s early attack on Stage 4
When the race restarted a strong break escaped including Wes Sulzberger (sitting 2nd overall at 24 seconds). This prompted team Budget Forkifts to ride hard on the front to defend the leaders jersey. With every lap that passed more tired legs became victims of the high pace and were dropped from the main group. In the finish four riders from the break stayed away and Jack Beckinsale claimed the stage win, 12 seconds ahead of the chasing peloton of just 30 riders including teammates Keegan and Darcy. I crossed the line 48th losing 1:29 on the stage winner.
Solid rides by Keegan and Darcy both finishing inside the top 30 on stage 4.
I’m now based in Sydney focusing on a solid block of training. I’m planning to escape the city with a few teammates over Easter and ANZAC weekends to train before flying to Ireland on the 9th of May.
Josh Aldridge 