Day 1-After the initial cruise around the town of Falls Creek we hit some rough descents on some virgin track, followed by several tough climbs. the day finished with some great single track through the mount beauty mountain bike park. Troy- sick, 3 flats 1 bent rear derailleur hanger plus numerous stops to inflate tyre. Me- sliced side wall but stans sealant worked a treat and I didn’t even notice the slice till I was checking the bike over after the race! Very average Start!!! Course was approximately 12kms longer than was expected so after our dismal start to this weeks racing we were very happy to see the finish line. Finished in 6th place.
Day 2-
2nd stage turned into a fairly long stage finishing off at dinner plains. After our average start the weeks racing we were able to make a bit of a comeback in this stage. We worked with the TORQ Triplets for about the first 3rd of the race before we dropped them on the big descent and didn’t see them again till the finish. I assisted Troy (still suffering a bit from the flu) by opening the many gates we had to pass through as well as dragging him along as we time trailed the flatter fire trail sections. With the last 20 odd kms a gradual climb to the finish of this stage we were very pleased to call it a day and finish 3rd.
Day 3-
This was supposed to be a recovery stage but within a 100m of the start, Troy put in a effort and the TORQ boys went with it! So it was on, right up to tarmac past Mount Hotham and then onto the fire trails. Trails were rough up near the mountain tops with fairly large alpine rocks, but lower down the trials smoothed out and we cruised through some beautiful alpine forest. After smacking through about 3 creeks we came to the hardest part of the day; the climb. With a tempo climb up the side of the valley we came to the final big descent and hit some warp speeds on the way down. I time trailed the final 20 odd kms with Troy in tow and finished the day in 3rd place.
Day 4-
Today was the HARD day of the Terra Australis! At 120kms and approx 3200m of climbing it was always going to be a slog. Torq, Specialized and us BMC boys made a bit of a break on the first climb and pretty much didn’t see another team till the finish line. We again time trailed the flatter sections of tarmac and fire trail and tempoed the climbs. After 6 hours on the bike and over 3000m of climbing we were happy to cruise on the single track along the river and roll over the finish line in 3rd again.
Day 5-
Today turned out to be a tougher day than I expected. The initial 25km of climbing was nice and gradual but the run along the ridge line really made us work up some of the pinches. Troy blew his rear tyre off the rim on one of theses pinches and we were unfortunately caught by the two mixed pairs teams (losing our 3rd place in the general classification). After another solid climb and a great descent we finished today’s stage off with some fast fire trail and single track following the river. 7th team in, 3rd Open Men. Congrats to Macca and Fetchy who took the stage win and the yellow jersey.
Day 6-The Beechworth stage was one of the most enjoyable stages of this race. TORQ, Specialized and us BMC boys all rode the stage together chasing each other through the single track and just pacing the climbs. We all had a good chat and a few laughs and actually finished the stage quite quickly with about a 1km sprint to the finish line.
Day 7- It was decided by all that the final stage of the Terra Australis would be a cruise stage where everyone could mingle and exchange stories about the weeks worth of adventures! With a champayne stop at the midway point, it was a very relaxed ride twisting into the finish line at Wangaratta along the cycle paths.
Presentations were relaxed with a few good laughs and some drinks over a BBQ dinner. A massive thankyou must go to the organisers of this fantastic event; Ian, Clayton, Sharon & Kylie and everyone else who helped in the running of this race. Thankyou to my sponsors for another week of trouble free riding. And of course a big thankyou to Troy who smashed himself all week despite being sick. JD
2nd stage turned into a fairly long stage finishing off at dinner plains. After our average start the weeks racing we were able to make a bit of a comeback in this stage. We worked with the TORQ Triplets for about the first 3rd of the race before we dropped them on the big descent and didn’t see them again till the finish. I assisted Troy (still suffering a bit from the flu) by opening the many gates we had to pass through as well as dragging him along as we time trailed the flatter fire trail sections. With the last 20 odd kms a gradual climb to the finish of this stage we were very pleased to call it a day and finish 3rd.
Day 3-This was supposed to be a recovery stage but within a 100m of the start, Troy put in a effort and the TORQ boys went with it! So it was on, right up to tarmac past Mount Hotham and then onto the fire trails. Trails were rough up near the mountain tops with fairly large alpine rocks, but lower down the trials smoothed out and we cruised through some beautiful alpine forest. After smacking through about 3 creeks we came to the hardest part of the day; the climb. With a tempo climb up the side of the valley we came to the final big descent and hit some warp speeds on the way down. I time trailed the final 20 odd kms with Troy in tow and finished the day in 3rd place.
Day 4-
Today was the HARD day of the Terra Australis! At 120kms and approx 3200m of climbing it was always going to be a slog. Torq, Specialized and us BMC boys made a bit of a break on the first climb and pretty much didn’t see another team till the finish line. We again time trailed the flatter sections of tarmac and fire trail and tempoed the climbs. After 6 hours on the bike and over 3000m of climbing we were happy to cruise on the single track along the river and roll over the finish line in 3rd again.
Day 5-
Today turned out to be a tougher day than I expected. The initial 25km of climbing was nice and gradual but the run along the ridge line really made us work up some of the pinches. Troy blew his rear tyre off the rim on one of theses pinches and we were unfortunately caught by the two mixed pairs teams (losing our 3rd place in the general classification). After another solid climb and a great descent we finished today’s stage off with some fast fire trail and single track following the river. 7th team in, 3rd Open Men. Congrats to Macca and Fetchy who took the stage win and the yellow jersey.
Day 6-The Beechworth stage was one of the most enjoyable stages of this race. TORQ, Specialized and us BMC boys all rode the stage together chasing each other through the single track and just pacing the climbs. We all had a good chat and a few laughs and actually finished the stage quite quickly with about a 1km sprint to the finish line.Day 7- It was decided by all that the final stage of the Terra Australis would be a cruise stage where everyone could mingle and exchange stories about the weeks worth of adventures! With a champayne stop at the midway point, it was a very relaxed ride twisting into the finish line at Wangaratta along the cycle paths.
Presentations were relaxed with a few good laughs and some drinks over a BBQ dinner. A massive thankyou must go to the organisers of this fantastic event; Ian, Clayton, Sharon & Kylie and everyone else who helped in the running of this race. Thankyou to my sponsors for another week of trouble free riding. And of course a big thankyou to Troy who smashed himself all week despite being sick. JD
