Kelly Cycle Coaching had 15 athletes compete in the Tour of South West in Warrnambool over the weekend.  This included Vic Snibson from the Park Trent cycling team and 6 riders from the Essendon SKODA cycling team.

Representing the Essendon SKODA team were:

Nick Bien

Aaron Blomely

Mark Kelly

James Cummings, and Alex Woff.  Camden Bush raced under the KCC banner, as an individual rider.

Also racing was Scott Walkerden in B grade, and Paul Mapperson, George Sarris and Tim Scaraborough in Masters C Grade. In the women’s field we had Carley McKay, Dale Maizels, Liz Hall and Vic Snibson.

Mark Kelly reported on Stage 1.  Here is what he had to say:

What was the course like and what were the race conditions?

The course was very flat and very open, so on a normal day the wind would be the biggest factor to take into account. The race conditions were typical of a race in Warrnambool, extremely windy (60km/h gusts) although not raining which would have to be a first! So you could safely say that it was a tough day on the bike with a very open course on an extremely windy day.

What happened on lap 1?  Did this set the scene for the remainder of the race?

Lap 1 seemed like it was a 200m sprint, it was a mad dash to the front to try and stay out of the wind. It definitely set the scene for the rest of the race because after the first 6km the front group had gone from a peloton of 100 riders to a select group of about 30 odd or maybe even less.

What group were you in the race and how did you end up?

Well I had managed to struggle my way into the front group about half way into the first lap, but it didn’t last long as I was unfortunately lacking the horse power once we turned onto the final part of the first lap and the riders at the front decided  crank up the pace and slam it into the gutter. I was then caught by the second group on the road where I was managing to get a draft and stayed there for a couple of laps which was promising as they were catching the front bunch. Just before I to finished my 4th lap the groups paced increased dramatically and was unfortunately dropped off the back when I could no longer get a draft. After that I completed the last 2 of the 6 laps in the bunch that was third on the road.

Can you describe how your group worked in an echelon to minimise exposure to the wind?

The groups would be rolling turns just like you would do if you are in a team time trail but because of the wind they would spread out across the the road in an echelon. So in other words if you looked that the group from above and drew a line through the middle of the group, the line would be pretty much parallel with the wind. This way the riders at the front take most of the wind for the rest of the group.

What did you eat and drink during the race?  Was it hard to eat due to the wind?

For the 100km race I ate 2 powerbars, 1 powerbar gel and a banana, as well as drinking 2 full water bottles. I would have usually eaten more but because of the wind there was limited time where I could actually take some food and water in.

What was your normalised power, average cadence, average speed etc for this stage?

My normalised power for the whole race was a about 270 watts for the 3 hours, but for the first 30mins it was 330watts. I had an average cadence of 90rpm and an average speed of 36km/h.

Report by Nick Bien.

Stage 2 – 16km ITT.

The TT was in the afternoon on Saturday after the morning road race.  What was the specific plan for the team for the TT?  Were the conditions as windy as the morning road stage?

After a disappointing result fora lot of the boys in the road race, our possibilities for claiming a solid GC performance were out of reach and so the TT was used as refresher for the next day of racing. The plan was to ride a 75% effort, conserving for the crit and opening the system up after some tough conditions earlier in the day. The consistency of the high winds had diminished and only the occasional gust presented anything similar to the conditions of the road race. TT bikes and bars were opted against though as there was enough of a breeze to make the aero position a little unsettling.

Stage 3: The Crit.

Can you describe the course?  Did it suit any of our team more than others?

The circuit was roughly 1.2km in length with a nice 300m climb that kept the bunch honest. A smooth surface and a fast flowing downhill section to the backside of the course meant that jostling for position and keeping out of the wind at the higher speeds was essential for hanging in the race. With a few of our riders feeling under the weather and sick, the pinch of the climb didn’t suit some tired legs but our ‘1 minute man’ Marky (10+w/kg I’ve heard) proved why he deserved that title today. I also personally enjoyed the relief from the flat and windy roads spent in echelons of the previous day, as the climb provided an opportunity to move up and position better in the bunch with some respite.

What happened early on in the crit?  Did any of our riders attack, including yourself?

With over 100 entrants at the start of the Men’s A grade 1st stage, the numbers were still quite large for the 3rd stages crit. This meant it was the clear intention of every rider out there to madly scramble to the first corner and settle into a comfortable position near the front. For the first 10 minutes riders were swarming up the climb to try stay off the back. This was a reoccurring theme for the riders in the second half of the bunch for the remainder of the race.

Mark Kelly, coming off a top performance in the road race, “had a crack” roughly 15minutes into the race, spending some time off the front and possibly taking out an intermediate sprint. Soon after, at the halfway point, I had a dig on the climb spending a few laps in the wind with 2 other riders but to no avail as the bunch kept it all orderly and together.

Several breaks went but it was all back together at the finish.  Can you describe what happened in the final lap?

The last three laps followed a similar pattern as the climb became decisive for position around the rest of the course. Each time someone would hit it harder and with more assurance that they wanted to destroy the rest of the field. Bell lap rang and the pace caused a single line of riders to form over the crest of the climb. Hanging on at around 8th wheel I could see what was to be the podium finishers seemingly cruising in comparison to me. With one corner to go, and a 55km/h plus pace driving down the back straight gaps were forming in front and riders were swarming from behind. The moves came early before the corner which ended up proving the right move as the winners were decided basically from the order they entered the home stretch. I personally had faded with tired legs and crossed the line a little further back.

What power did you hit each time up the climb?

Starting midfield the first few laps were spent chasing hard over the climb and touching over 1000W each time. Thankfully this died down in the latter laps but was reignited in the closing minutes with much longer and consistent efforts up the climb.

What was your normalised power, average cadence, average speed etc for the crit?
Time: 1 h 3 min
Avg Speed: 41.6km/h
Normalised Power: 431 W (but forgot to recalibrate so this may be inaccurate)
Avg Power: 342 W
Avg Cadence: 91 rpm