Going in to Battle!

Battle on the Border appears to be the QLD version of the Tour of Bright. A QLD long weekend with grades A-C for Men, Masters and Women, plus some juniors racing! 500 competitors over all the grades, but no mountains to ride up, some lovely warm weather and a location next to the beach. Sounds pretty great to me!

The depleted team!

The Pro sign on board..

We went in to Battle already outnumbered. 2 team mates had been detained by their places of employment, and a 3rd was recovering from injuries sustained in the previous NRS fight. We tried to call in reinforcements, however several girls made the decision not to come which they would later regret when they saw all the photo’s of most of the peloton enjoying their recovery time at the beach.

Day 1 was a 7.2k TT in the morning. I’d decided not to take the TT bike because it’s a major hassle to fly with, and then couldn’t find my clip on bars before I left. Oh well! Carly and I both posted solid mid field rides about 1m20 down on the super TTer Beck Wiasak of Suzuki.

Putting the feet up between stages on Day 1. Probably Instagramming the sh*t out of it...

 A couple of hours later and we were kitted up again on the start line of the 98km road stage. This race had a couple of steep climbs, some rolling hills, and a lot of bumpy water damaged road! Almost 70 girls in the bunch, with the usual first day jitters, plus the fact that the lead Police vehicle didn’t know how to control traffic, resulting in cars on the other side of the road hurtling at us at 80kph, it made for a stressful race. I thought I’d made it through safely until just over 10k to go where someone went skittling sideways in front of me, and I was on the deck. Chain back on the bike and a quick chase through the convoy and I was thankfully back safely at the front of the bunch. Ruth Corset, super mum, ex National Champ, having only just retired from the Euro Peloton, attacked up the climb on the 2nd lap of the course and solo’d away from everyone and took the win comfortably by a minute. I finished in the main bunch, thankful to have most of my skin still intact.



Hot weather, hot racing!



Day 2 and more sunshine, today’s stage was another loop – 85k and 2 goes up the QOM of the day. Not steep or long enough to split the bunch unfortunately – which 12 months ago is not something I ever thought I would say! – but long enough to cause a fair bit of pain. At the start of the 2nd lap I was caught napping at the back of the bunch again, and missed the move of the day. Steph Ives, along with Zoe Watters & Narelle Hards managed to get away from the bunch and were never seen again until the finishing straight! After the 2nd time over the QOM I tried to get across, and whilst I could see them up ahead, the gap was too far and the bunch too intent on not letting anyone else away. Another bunch finish…

Vollies from the local TAFE gave us free post-race Massages! Pro!

The great thing was, our race was over by lunch time, this meant that we got to spend the afternoon recovering at the beach and eating Gelati from the local ice cream store in Kingscliff! I could get used to that kind of lifestyle…

My kind of recovery...

3rd and Final Day was a technical 1.1km Crit circuit. I was excited. Traditional crits don’t suit me as I’m clearly not a sprinter, but the fast technical ones are becoming a favourite of mine. The goal was to stay safe up near the front of the bunch and have a crack if the legs were there nearer to the end of the race. Well I did, and they were there, but nothing was getting away from the Pensar Hawk team. VIS superstars Chloe and Lisa were super active throughout the race, trying to get a break established, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Ruth showed how amazing she was by basically controlling the whole race herself, marking all of Chloe’s attacks, and then in the end leading out the last 2 laps and still winning the bunch kick when it was apparent her sprinter wasn’t able to come around! I managed to get around some dropped wheels and fight my way back to the leaders and finish off the tour with a top 10 on the stage.

Whilst I would have liked to have gone better, overall I’m ok with how the tour went. How could you be unhappy with weather like we experienced?!

Special thanks to Nadine Le Mescam and Ryan Moody for the photo's. And to Nadine for helping both Carly and I out during the racing. Made life much easier.. And those Banoffee TORQ gels.... Rocket Fuel!

Tour of Mersey Valley - Team Race Report!

Held in Mersey Valley Tasmania, the first round of the Womens Nation Road Series was raced over challenging terrain in equally challenging conditions. 3 stages over 2 days compromising a Time Trial and 2 hilly Road Stages, the Women’s Total Rush team were looking forward to racing against Australia’s best.




Cosy accommodation on the Spirit of Tassie



The Stage 1 Time Trial was 15km of flat to undulating dead country roads, finishing with a nice little pinch just before the finish line that was guaranteed to finish you off and make you hurt. Suzuki/Trek rider Beck Wiasak took out the Stage with her usual impressive TT, with 2 of Total Rush’s team members not too far off the pace in the top 15. Thankfully the conditions stayed dry with only a small amount of wind, but that was soon to change!

After heading back to the Accomm for some food and recovery, it was quickly time to get kitted up again and head out to the start of the 2nd Stage. The drizzle had set in, and the temps were dropping, so the team were extremely grateful to have just taken delivery of leg and arm warmers and some stylish rain jackets from Specialized which kept them warm and dry on the 15k ride out to the start!

The warm gear was quickly ditched for the 58km race from Forth to Moina, which finished with a 5.1km climb which averaged 8.3%, with the final couple of kms averaging up to 10%! Some steep pinches only 10km in to the race split things up, however most of the bunch regrouped on the road following. Unfortunately TR rider Carly Williams had some bad luck and punctured only 20km in to the race and was missed by the spares car, resulting in her not being able to complete the stage. Leading in to the final climb was a twisty, technical descent, and the pace was on during the climb to get there first. Amy and Tanya made the front bunch, and hurtled down the descent knowing it could make or break the race for them. Hitting top speeds of almost 80kph and tackling hairpin bends, we were thankful that we were on our rock solid Specialized Amiras which handle like a dream.

The race exploded on the climb, and Holden Cycling’s Miranda Griffiths showed she’s the climber to beat this year taking an impressive win ahead of Lisa Jacobs. Amy held on for 5th Elite about 90 seconds down and moved in to 5th on GC. The rest of the team finished strongly and were looking forward to the next day!

Finishing the tough climb. Yep, 10%.. ouch.

More rest, more food, and staying rugged up was on schedule for the evening before heading off the next morning to Stage 3 which was starting and finishing in Sheffield – known as the city of Murals. The rain from the previous day was still hanging around and the temps were quite chilly again. Stage 3 was a 92km Road Race incorporating 2 laps of a tough hilly circuit in the middle and finishing with a 5k climb followed by 5k of undulating roads. The first time up the QOM a selection was made with Amy making the front split of 12 riders. Half way around the loop an attack came from U19 rider Ellen Skerritt, which Amy decided to try to bridge to not long after. Not quite making it, she rejoined the group behind to recover for another trip up the steep QOM climb. Not long over the top of this climb Ellen was reeled in, and the front bunch was down to 11 riders. The group worked well together and put more time in to the chasers, until the final climb of the day when Miranda Griffiths attacked trying to gain some time on GC leader Lisa Jacobs. Lisa managed to go with her, and they rode away to take 1 / 2 on the day and on GC. Amy stayed with the lead bunch in to the finish and managed to place 3rd elite across the line. This meant the team had managed to secure 3rd on GC! A great result given it was their first NRS race together.




The final selection on the last stage.

 A big thanks to Bec Domange who was our Team Manager/Swanny for the weekend, Total Rush for getting our Amira’s running smoothly, and of course thanks to Specialized for the great winter gear which made the weekend’s weather bearable!

Next up for the team is NRS #2 – Battle on the Border, starting May 5 near Tweed Heads in NSW. Carly, Amy & Liz will be making the trip and are hoping for some slightly better weather conditions!

Cykel Events Womens GP – Rd 4

The original round 4 of the Womens GP was rescheduled due to a bucket load of rain, and the new date set for last weekend. The race was sure to be on, with our Total Rush team wanting to give it everything to take out the Series, both for the Team and the Individual Ranking where Carly was in the lead. We also wanted the team win on the day, as not having had a full team for a couple of the races, we’d not been able to secure a team win yet!

Starting with the prologue, it was the usual affair. Go as hard as you can for just under 2k, and hope that your hard was in the top half of the field! The split came out pretty much as expected, however SKCC/Giant had one team member not make the A Grade Cut. With all 5 of our team in Div 1, we were looking good for all of our goals. Having recruited sprinter Laine Hammond for the day, we were confident of getting some good results if it came down to a bunch kick!

Just a quick turn around after the prologue and we were away racing. Things were rather subdued, with the SKCC team chasing down anything that even looked like having a flash of pink in it, wary that it could cost them the overall win. An unfortunate accident in the B grade race had proceedings halted temporarily about half way through the race, and after around 15-20mins things got underway again.

There were several more attempts to get away after the restart, but it was clear the race would be decided by a bunch sprint, until Chloe McIntosh of TORQ/BSS put in a last ditch effort to shake the sprinters with a lap to go. She almost held them off, but was caught on the fast run in to the finish, with the Goddess of Thunder, Nic Whitburn of Liv/Giant showing her power once again taking the win from young gun Lauretta Hanson (Kosdown), with Total Rush’s Laine Hammond taking out 3rd.

The results! First of all, we secured the team win on the day, which meant we clawed back some points from SKCC, however it wasn’t enough. They managed to secure the overall series win! We did however keep a hold of the leaders jersey, with Carly Williams taking it out by a small margin over Nic Whitburn, and we also maintained our 2nd position in the team rankings overall. A highly successful series in our first as a team together!

We’re already looking forward to next year’s series and will ensure we have a full team at every round to put us on an even playing field with the rest of the teams.



Winning Team!
Note to self - the tallest person should not stand up on the curb...



A massive thanks go to the following people –

Rob Carson of Cykel Events – without your passion for Women’s racing, this series would never have been ran. We thank you, and hopefully by the numbers you had each round competing, it shows how much we appreciate what you’re doing!

Doug Armstrong – CV Commissaire extraordinaire. Without Doug, the races can’t go ahead. I see him at so many women’s races across the state supporting us and making sure we can race.

Total Rush & Specialized – Of course we thank Total Rush and Specialized Australia for their support. From keeping our Amira Pro’s running smooth, to providing us with (what I believe) is the best looking kit in the bunch. This is just the start of big things to come for the team this year!

Bec Domange – Donating her time to the cause and providing comedic relief on the mic at all of the races, this chick is tops. She even went above and beyond and let us bring her out of retirement for Round 3!

And to all of the girls who have competed across the series. Without the support of girls racing, the series wouldn’t go ahead either. It’s been a great experience getting to race against you all, and for the newbies out there, I hope it’s gotten you hooked on racing so we’ll be seeing more of you throughout the year!

Tour of NZ - The Race Wrap Up!

So, finally I have something worthy to write about, and I procrastinate over it for almost a month.. Typical.


I’ll keep it brief (for me). There’s plenty of blogs, reports, interviews etc out there, so I’m going to be selfish and just focus on the ‘Me’ bit.

I met Janine from the Wheelworks team I’d be racing for the day before the tour started, and Tristan the team manager. Was thankful that they were both super awesome people and I hadn’t landed in a bad team! Janine and I headed up to ‘Palmy’ Wednesday morning ahead of the afternoon’s first stage to meet with the rest of the team.

Introductions done and I knew it would be a fun week. Janine, Ash, Dee, Hannah, Pip and I all got along like a house on fire from the start! Stu, our swanny for the first couple of days arrived after an epic 6 hour ride from Wellington and he and Tristan were the best team support we could ask for. After a team chat, some talking about our goals and what we wanted to get out of the race, and getting our awesome new Pink kit ready, it was time to head to the Team Preso and Stage 1.



A new way to pin numbers! Hadn't seen this before..



Stage 1 – 7.1k TT. Rookie error number 1, in the pouring rain I misunderstood a marshal’s direction and made a wrong turn. My own fault for not knowing the course properly, and not the end of the world. Might have lost about 10-20 seconds, so it’s not like I was going to win it!



Team Presentation



Stage 2 – 137k Road Race. The longest of the stages today, including the neutral it was a 152k day. Neutral was shocking. Pouring rain, inconsistent pace, nervy bunch. In the race, I lacked the power I normally have. Possible cause was Rookie error number 2 for the tour, panicking after the TT that I was slipping down on my saddle too much and lifting the nose of it slightly. DUMB. Anyway, the main climb of the day had me out the back of the main bunch, but I made it in to the second group. We worked together and came in about 12 mins down. Thankful for the stage to be over after battling rain, sketchy descents and super gusty wind that had me close to being pushed off the road a couple of times.

Stage 3 – 121k Road Race. The sky looked ominous, but the rain held off. Thank god! Today was the reverse of the day before with a slight variation, so lots of climbing again. The wind was back again and causing havoc in the bunch. I felt much better today, made it over the first few climbs with the bunch, but then Rookie Error number 3, bad positioning in the long Crosswind section had me caught behind some dropped wheels and I rolled in a couple of minutes down.

Tonight was Stu’s last night, and he outdid himself with the pasta bake he cooked for us. Ash & I, being the only 2 glutards, were presented with what we later found out to be 2 whole packets of pasta in ours, and we managed to eat the whole thing between us… We also went and visited Dee in the local hospital where she had been since a crash on stage 1 where she fractured her back!

 

Team Photo! Not the best setting...



Stage 4 – 110k Road Race. The day started off with team Karaoke. Old school 80s and 90s hits and some really bad dancing. Spirits were high in the team after our visit with Dee, and we had all decided that it was now or never, it was time to have a crack and ‘Rock out with our Pink Kit out!’ I forgot to start my Garmin at the start, and ticked it on about 6k in to the race. A mistake I would spend a lot of time thinking about later on! The start was tough. I felt like my legs were made of lead. They thankfully came good though, and by the time we’d made it through the first few rollers and up to the base of the KOM climb I was feeling good. It was a tough climb, and I made it over with the 2nd group and had rejoined the main peloton by the end of the descent. Getting to the bunch, they were crawling along. So without even thinking, I went straight past and kept on going. Turning around, I had my team mate Pip on my wheel and a big gap to the bunch. There was a small group about a minute up the road, so we worked together to bridge the gap. Arriving to the breakaway, it was clear that all the main teams were represented, but none of them wanted to work because their GC players were back in the bunch. So after a little while Emma Crum from Cyclosport NZ attacked the group. Gaining a small margin, I decided to jump across to her and we quickly started working together and established a handy lead. Looking at the garmin I was calculating the distance to the finish, and figured we had about 45k. All good, either the break works, or it doesn’t, but if I didn’t try I’d have never known! Going up the KOM the 2nd time was tough, Emma is a little pocket rocket and climbs very well.

 

In the break



After the climb, we got back into a rhythm of sharing the work going back in to town. All I remember is the burning in my legs, and thinking ‘this could actually work…’ regular time checks from the Comms car had us holding the gap until about 15k to go, when it started to come down. The chase was on. This only spurred us on more with a noticeable lift in the tempo from both of us. Every time check they were gaining, but we stayed positive that we could hold them off. With less than 10k to go, the gap was 37 seconds. That was our last time check! With 4k to go, we turned on to the main highway in to the typical howling cross-headwind we’d come to expect from the past few days, and it hurt. I think that was the most painful 4k I’ve ever ridden. Not knowing if the bunch was breathing down your neck, struggling back on to the wheel after taking a turn, looking for the finish line, and begging for it to come sooner so you knew the outcome. There was no foxing or playing games. There wasn’t time. Knowing Emma has a good kick on her, and suffering as much as I was, I saw the jump at 300 to go, but didn’t have the legs to go for it. So I crossed the line in 2nd place and I was actually laughing. I couldn’t believe we’d pulled it off!

Stage 4 - Pain Rating - 10

No sooner had we congratulated each other, and we turned around and the bunch was sprinting for 3rd. 22 seconds was the final gap! A big shuffle in GC and a couple of friends and fellow St Kilda club members – Jo Hogan and Miranda Griffiths – had managed to move themselves up to 4th and 6th on GC respectively! A great day all around. 



Happy Team!



Alcohol Ban lifted 1 day early. I think it was deserved!



Stage 5 – 119k Road Race. The last day. As we rolled out behind the lead car for the neutral, I had this feeling of being calm. The whole peloton seemed calm. The nerves were gone, the hardest days were over, and this was it. The final stage. An uneventful day for me, I actually felt surprisingly good but just hid in the bunch all day. I was happy with how my tour had gone!

Sometimes you need to be reminded...

Cykel Womens GP - Round 3 - Bendigo

The Total Rush team set off on the road trip to Bendigo for Round 3 of the Cykel Events Womens GP with 2 goals in mind. Take over the Cycle Cover Leaders Jersey with one of the 2 team members in striking distance, and improve the team’s overall standings. Both goals were achieved and we even managed to sneak a rider on to the podium in the process.. This is how it went down…



Tanya, Carly, Chloe, Bec & Amy - Ready to race!



For the first time in the series, we were fielding a full team of 5. Regulars Tanya Matthewson, Carly Williams and myself, along with guest riders Bec Domange and U17 superstar Chloe Baggs. Starting with the prologue, the aim was to go hard or go home. With the margins between making Div 1 and Div 2 so small, you had to give it your all. A reccy of the course showed it was fast but hard with the wind direction along the uphill drag and the back straight making things tough, and the downhill run in to the first corner was going to be crucial to get right.

Bec set off first so she could get back to the microphone to provide commentary for the day, and she proved she’s still got it, despite her retired racer status. Bec held the hot seat for the first 2/3rds of the day, until fellow TR rider Tanya knocked her off the top spot by the smallest of margins. From there the quick times came in thick and fast, with Masters Champ Meg Marsh taking out the final standings. All Total Rush riders made it comfortably into the top half of the field, so it was time to talk tactics and recover for the afternoon’s Crit whilst Div 2 took to the course.

Soon enough it was time to race again, and with the team plan in mind we set about the task at hand. Due to the wind on the course, things were reasonably subdued, with not too many wanting to set the pace into the wind. Cait Fraser Jones from the local BCS Building Team was active trying to get a breakaway started, but everyone was keen to keep things together for the time being. Tony Abbisigoni was away solo for a couple of laps, however was unable to maintain it into the wind. Things heated up a few laps before the sprint was called, when Tanya went to the front to control the race. Vic Luxton-Bain of Torq/BSS did her best to drop in on the train and mess things up after the whistle was blown, however Amy managed to bring Carly back up to Bec’s wheel for the final corner and the 3 of them took 2/3/4 in the sprint, getting some valuable points for the individual and team standings.



New Series Leader - Carly Williams!



Another attack after the sprint from Cait resulted in the race winning move, with Amy, Lauretta Hansen (Kosdown), Heidi Buntrock (SKCC/Giant) and the sprint winner Chloe McIntosh (Torq/BSS) the ones who were able to go with her. Hawthorn CC had missed the move, and tried to close it down, but after a little organisation, and with the help of team mates back in the bunch, the break worked hard to make it stick. Soon enough, the break had 20+ seconds on the bunch and the 3 laps to go sign was being shown. The break stayed working until the bell lap, where a few attacks started, however it was all still together coming in to the final corner. Chloe McIntosh took the quick inside line and sprinted down the hill to victory, narrowly edging out Cait and Amy to complete the podium.

All smiles with 3rd place


The 4th and Final round is on the 3rd March in Campbellfield. We'll have all 4 team riders on board for this one, our first race all together! Can't wait to get out there and finish the series off on a high!

Starting the year off right.

I’ve left this so long it’ll take a few updates I think.. Part 1.

So this year I decided to tackle things a little different to last, and skipped the Bay Crits in favour of a training camp in Falls Creek with Tribal and my Coach Stu. It was one of the best weeks. Great company, great food, great weather and some really great riding. I do love riding around Bright, although it sometimes might not seem like it when I'm complaining about all the hills!

We did a few big days, but didn’t overdo it with Nationals only a week away. The focus for me was on recovering properly. Ice Baths, food, stretching etc. All those things that get neglected when you have to get to work straight after your training sessions!

Coming home was a bit sad, as the holiday was over, but I was keen to race. Nationals started on Thursday with the Criterium.. Being a hot dog with one side up hill, I’d heard that the race was going to be tough. For me the goal was to just hang in there and finish the race and use it as a hit out before the Road Race on Saturday. First goal of the year - Achieved. I finished the race, felt good, and was feeling confident for the Road Race.



Beautiful Falls Creek



Friday was spent in Ballarat, an easy spin with the girls and Stu around the lake, a big breakfast and plenty of cafe time. There was an afternoon filled with lazing on the couch, and I even took myself off to a local Hairdresser and got my hair done! Much needed as well as being good to occupy the time and cause a distraction. Plus I think anything that makes you feel good about yourself is going to help with the confidence!

A race isn't complete without the appropriate Race Jewellry

Soon enough, Saturday rolled around, but the waiting game was still on with our race not until 1.30pm. The U23 boys were on in the morning, so following the race via twitter was fun with the feet up on the couch trying to eat the right amount of food. Enough to fuel, but not so much you feel like a slug! It's harder than it sounds when you're the sort of person who eats when they're bored.. I contained myself though, and eventually it was time to roll out to the course. Super swanny Daphne had taken out our race wheels and drinks, so Carly and I pedalled out to the course to get the day underway.

Before we knew it, it was time to sign on and line up on the start line. A few minutes of anxiousness and we were away. We turned onto the highway and things were lit up from the start! The pace was being driven by a rider from the Spencers/RACE team, and looking back at the data, it was the hardest of the first 6 laps. I felt ok though, and knew I'd warm in to the race. The descent was FAST, and I was losing my position in the bunch each time as I just didn't feel comfortable. I trust myself going downhill, but I don't trust others. Something I really need to get out of my head for future races. It meant that each lap I had to regain my position in the top half of the pack on the hill which caused unnecessary effort.

I even made it in the Herald Sun......

Things progressed like this for the next 5 laps, until a real attack went at the top of the climb the 6th time. This hurt a few people, including myself, but I stayed in contact and all was ok. Rounding the first corner to hit the hill for the 7th time, I was moving up the outside of the bunch when the girl in front of me veered suddenly. Suffering a bit of fatigue, my reflexes weren’t all there and I went straight into a ‘safety’ cone. Stunned and a bit sore, I was helped up and my bike given the once over, and I was back on the course. I wanted to finish. With my hip hurting I tried to just focus on the bunch up the road until they were out of sight around the corner, and teamed up with a couple of girls who had unfortunately had a crash just a few hundred metres further up in the feed zone. The race winning attacks had started further up though, and with me limping on the bike and losing most of the power from my right leg, the chase was fruitless. Stopping wasn’t an option though, and thankfully I was caught by Melina who helped to motivate/drag me to the finish line.

Whilst in pain, I was happy. I’d achieved my goal. Regardless of what ‘might have been’, I just have to remember that. And also remember… There’s always next year.

New Team, New Race Series, it's all very exciting!

Well the first round of the Cykelevents Women’s GP has been run and won and the newly formed Total Rush Women’s team were proud to be on the start line!

3/4 of the team with one of the new Bikes - Kelly will be back on deck for the next race!

With the forecast for the day Hot and Windy, it was always guaranteed to be a good days racing, starting with a 1.4km Prologue which then determined the grading for the afternoon Criterium. Best placed from the team was a stomping 3rd from Tanya, with both Carly and Amy finishing in the top 8 of the field, securing all of the team a start in the Div 1 crit later that day. Nicole Whitburn (LIV/Giant) proved it’s not just sprinting she’s a gun at, taking out the prologue win.

The Div 2 race was ran not long after the conclusion of the prologue, so we had the chance to recover from our all out effort and chat with some of the other girls. It made the day great fun being able to set up shop nearby to all our friends and the friendly rivalry was being bantered around!

Cheering on the Div 2 race passed the time quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for us to line up to race on the flat fast course. Only 700m in length with some not too technical corners, and a headwind up the home straight, it was always going to be a tough course to establish a breakaway on, which was demonstrated by the earlier race.

Lining up for the start of the Criterium

The team worked brilliantly together, with a pink jersey being represented in every move off the front, however the other teams were working well too, with everything being brought back together. At the 35 min mark the intermediate sprint lap was called, and the Hawthorn teams World/Aus pursuit champ Meg Marsh jumped on the front for their lead-out to keep the pace high. The sprint was taken by The Goddess of Thunder, without much contest, with Total Rush just finishing out of the points in 5th. Unfortunately there was a crash on the final corner coming in to the sprint, taking out one of the SKCC & RACE team members and neutralizing the race briefly while the peloton regrouped.

The team in action

Most aggressive for the day was definitely Karen Hill in her last race with the SKCC/Giant Women’s team, pinging off the front of the bunch multiple times & proving that not all triathletes have just one gear! In the end however it was apparent the race would be determined by a bunch sprint and after 40 laps of the course, the 3 to go was shown. The teams all started rallying and fighting for position, with Meg Marsh again taking the lead at the start of the Bell Lap and almost succeeding in splitting the peloton down the back straight with the tail wind! Sensing the dropped wheels, Amy tried to get a head start on the bunch in to the final straight, however was overtaken by the sprinters with Nicole taking out a comfortable win ahead of Kate Finegan (RACE) and Madelaine Pape (SKCC/Giant) just getting over the top of Tanya, Amy & Carly who finished 4/5/6 respectively. This puts the team in good stead for the Team Series win, bringing us in 3rd position. With a full team of 5 planned for the remaining 3 races, we should be able to improve the teams standing by the end of the series.

What's a race with a bunch of women and a camera without some shenanigans?

All up a great day out for the first race as a team. Having only picked up the new Specialized Amira Pro’s from Total Rush 24 hours before and ridden about 20km each on them prior to the race, it was a great result, and one that we plan on improving upon over the rest of the series! The bikes ride like a dream, and we all can’t wait to put in some serious km’s on them over the coming summer months.

First race winner, and series leader - Nicole "The Goddess of Thunder" Whitburn (LIV/Giant)

The next race in the series is the 29th January at Casey Fields, hosted by the Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club, I hope to see you there – racing of course!


For my results and info go to - http://womensgp.blogspot.com/