The Macdonald Shaw cycling team was launched at the Bay Criterium Series in Geelong.  The 4 day criterium series showcased some of the worlds fastest cyclists and was a fantastic opportunity for our team to gain valuable experience against the very best criterium riders.

A special thanks goes to the parents of athletes for their support in transporting athletes to races and assisting with food catering.

Also, thanks to the fantastic support from our sponsors: Greg Macdonald (Macdonald Shaw), Bill Hocking (Fitzroy Cycles), Alan Hale and Tony Harris (Walkinshaw Performance) and Mark Cummins (Powered by Cummquott).

Day 1 – Botantical Gardens, Geelong
This circuit with an off camber downhill hairpin, a short uphill and a speed bump made it technical and challenging, especially with 160 riders fighting to all be at the front.  After several attacks throughout the race, it was all back together in the final lap.  It was a fast and furious sprint with Munro finishing 14th.  Clement, James and Liam all finished in the front group with Aaron and Michael just loosing contact on the final lap.

Day 2 – Portarlington
Today’s circuit was definitely the toughest of the 4 circuits with 3 climbs in every lap.  Many riders felt like they’d been transported to Europe with a very narrow footpath also part of this tough circuit. Will took one of the corners perhaps a little too hot and went down hard, losing a big patch of skin off his thigh.  A special thanks to our team paramedic Andrew Gent, who spent an hour cleaning out the road grit and dressing Will’s wounds.  A somewhat questionable call by officials saw 5 of our riders get pulled from the circuit when they were not in danger of being lapped, which left James, Michael, Brad and Liam in the front group.  In the final 20 minutes, James dug deep and finished with the front group with only 40 riders finishing this race.

Day 3 – Eastern Beach, Geelong
Today’s hotdog circuit is more suited to the strong power riders that enjoy the pain of accelerating to max speed repeatedly for 45 minutes after going through a U turn every 300m.  This 600m course is similar to racing on the velodrome and break away groups formed quickly after the start.  Munro and Brad both had a brush with the pavement but were relatively unscathed.  In the end, the pace was too high for their young legs and none of our riders were in the front group at the finish.

Day 4 – The Strand, Williamstown
The riders were noticeably tired leading into the final stage.  So tired that James accidently locked Munro in one of the cabins after thinking the cabin was empty.  Luckily we realised Munro wasn’t in one of the team cars, and we eventually found him trying to remove the flyscreen to escape through a window.

Today’s final stage was by far the most successful for the team and they showed they had started to adapt to the hard ‘lay it on the line’ style racing.  Aaron, Will, Bryce, Trent, Hayden, Brad and Liam rode hard in the early stages of the race, negotiating the cobble stoned roundabout with good skill.  Munro stayed in the front group until 3 laps to go before his legs eventually told him ‘no more’.  Michael was our highest place rider, finishing just outside the top 10. James finished a bike length behind him and Clement finishing 25th.

Well done to all the Macdonald Shaw riders on their performance at the Bay Criterim Series.  The experiences they gained both on the bikes and off the bikes (in the cabins each evening cooking and doing their laundry) will help them in their journey to become successful road cyclists.

Please refer the road photo gallery for additional Bay criterim photos of the Macdonald Shaw Cycling Team taken by Alan Hale (Walkinshaw Performance).

Elite Women
Monica Kelly, one of Kelly Cycle Coaching’s elite female riders, raced her first Bay Criterim Series in January 2011.  She was a little daunted at first but soon took the opportunity to learn and watch how some of the best girls in Australia race.

Day 1 was a hard day of racing for her and she did well to stay with the front group for 20 minutes of the 45 minute race.  Day 2 saw an improvement in her performance where she stayed in the chase group for 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, on Day 3, a mishap ended her Bay Crit racing.  She took one of the U turns ‘way too fast and too flat’, and her bike slid out.  As she fell, she stuck her hand down resulting in a greenstick fracture to her forearm, and now she is in plaster for the next 4-6 weeks.   Luckily, she has found a way to lean comfortably on a pillow on the trainer and is doing a strength block whilst her bone heals – this way of riding on the trainer sounds almost relaxing!!!

We wish Monica a speedy recovery and hope she will soon be back on the road.