Tour
of Southland Report 2011
Day 1
Greg Taylor - team manager, Richard Bates - team mechanic, Simon
Binney, Steve Wright, Henri Bardoul and Gary Carleton arrived to a
beautiful Invercargill Friday morning. We had checked with previous
tour riders and managers and were expecting sleet, wind and cold so the
beautiful clear day was a pleasant surprise. We decided to check out
Bluff hill and set off after lunch into a moderate southerly. 25km of
flat riding warmed us up for this notorious climb. The climb just keeps
getting steeper. I had a 39 - 27 and really struggled. Greg only had a
25 and had to zig zag. It really is a beauty. Henri and Gary found it
much easier than Greg and I and Steve showed brains and cruised Bluff
saving his legs. Tuesday is the Bluff hill stage.
Simon Finucane and Lee Johnstone (2010 National Vet 2 RR champ) arrived
Saturday which again was a beautiful warm sunny day. Under Greg's
management we are all superorganised and were ready and rearing to go
when racing started today. Today's stage was a 4.2km team time trial on
standard bikes. You can imagine how fast 6 testorone fueled fit strong
guys can go. Greg and I followed the team in the team car with the
speedo sitting over 60km/hr for half the circuit. The team rode really
well lapping out like the Tour de France pro teams. The team finished
in 14th out of 19th teams with a time of 5.09 and all 6 riders
together. The winning time was 4.38 with Hayden Roulston in the Yellow
Jersey.
The team is sponsored by the Southland Institute of Technology so when
checking results look for the SIT. We would not be here if it had not
been for the fantastic fundraising by Somerset Cottage and Marra
Construction who sponsored our race food.
Racing starts in earnest 10am tomorrow (Monday) with a 160km stage from
Invercargill to Lumsden. There are 22 sprints on the first stage with
the first at 800m into the race. Each sprint offers prize money from
$100 - $250 so the attacks and racing will be very exciting.
Richard =
Day 2
The real racing started today. 160km of pretty flat riding and a
temperature of about 16. Should be ok? Yeh right. I thought we had some
windy days in Tauranga but nothing like what happened today. The wind
farm we passed was spinning flat out and the trees, big ones were
actually blown over, roots and all, on parts of the course. Today was
tough. The first sprint was at 1.1km. At every major business and every
tiny town there was a sprint with decent money for the winner so the
top guys were attacking like mad bulls. The race was to the north of
Invercargill to Lumsden and the wind was from the north at about 50 -
70 km /hr.
The 19 team cars follow the main peleton quite closely so you can see
the action until the cross winds where the tough guys ride in the
gutter and split the field to bits. Our man Simon Binney was the
strongest today finishing with the yellow jersey group just 21 seconds
behind a group of 6 that got away with 20 km to go. He was in good
company finishing with Hayden Roulsten, Jeremy Yates and Patrick Bevan
to name a few. 6 minutes behind Henri Bardoul and Gary Carleton came in
with a group of around 10 riders with Lee Johnston 1 minute back.
To get bottles and food the riders had to signal the commissaire who
called us up on the RT to come up to the peleton so the riders did not
have far to go. Steve did not realize and came back about 20 vehicles
at the 80km mark and used a bit much energy getting back on just before
a vicious cross wind section where the peleton splintered.
All our riders finished within the cut off time and tomorrow will face
140km then Bluff hill. Will Simon Binney have the legs to stay with the
top guys? Let's hope so. Forecast is rain and wind.
Richard =
Day 3
We are still waiting for the real Southland weather. Today it was just
freezing cold and raining but the wind was not howling. Tomorrow it is
supposed to be really freezing.
The boys took off at a hell of a pace today. Poor young Simon Finucane
was spat out first after a few km. Then Gary and Steve followed. Both
dug deep into the red zone and made it back. The first hour covered
over 46km so the pace was pretty torrid. By Invercargill at around
110km we had four riders in the main peleton. Simon B, Henri, Steve and
Lee. They stayed with the main group until Bluff where the road went up
and up and up. Henri was our top climber finishing in 22nd place 1min
23 seconds behind Hayden Roulston. Simon Binney smashed his new front
Zipp 303 getting it caught in another riders pedal 4km from the base of
Bluff hill. A quick wheel change and a few kilojoules of energy had
Simon back on the group just before the climb. Simon finished at 2 29'
Steve at 3 17, Lee at 3 53 and Gary at 14 51.
It is pretty cool sitting in just behind the main peleton. At times
they get up to 70km/hr. They can sit over 60 for long periods. The most
amazing thing is how often some of the top riders stop for a pee. They
are so good they just do their business and pedal back up the peleton.
Where we would be a gone burger they are so strong and fit it is no
worries. We don't get the same luxury in the support vehicle so you are
busting by the finish.
It is pretty busy being a mechanic. After racing there were 6 bikes to
clean, 6 clusters to change, 2 tyres to remove and glue on new ones,
two wheels to true, one wheel to loctite two bearings that were loose
in the freehub. Plus today I cleaned all the chains as every time I
touched one I got covered in grease. I have just finished loading up
the van with 6 bikes for tomorrow's start in Riverton. We spend the
night in Te Anau and there are two stages so it is going to be a big
day.
Tomorrow there is massage duty as well as we have not been able to
organize any lovely's. Today we had 3 from our sponsor so the boys have
been spoilt.
Richard =
Day 4
The 10am start in Riverton meant a 40 minute drive with the bikes so we
had to get out of bed at the same time as if doing a club Sunday ride.
The bikes we all dismantled and packed the night before so we were well
organized. The big question is what to wear. With a temperature of
around 9 and a forecast for rain they asked what shall I wear Richard.
Being a bit of a wimp I suggested quite a few layers. As it turned out
it was a few layers too many and it was all my fault.
Two races today. A 48km stage from Riverton to Tautapere and a 100km
stage from Tautapere to Te Anau. With a light tail wind both stages
were really fast. All the guys had 11 s on the back and were flying.
They managed to finish in the peleton on the morning stage. The
afternoon was a bit more brutal with a 250m climb at the 50km mark.
Henri, Gary and Simon B were at the top of the climb with the leaders
and survived all the attacks to be a 1m 27 behind a group of 5 that got
away in the last 40km. Steve and Lee were about 11 minutes later just
missing the peleton at the top of the climb. The boys are going really
well.
Tomorrow is going to be tough with the stage from Te Anau to the Crown
range. Lots of climbs flat out. This race really is for young hard men.
Tonights duty was massage as the bikes were in good nick after the tlc
from yesterday.
Snow and wind is forecast for Friday. No wonder there are not too many
locals lads in this race. You'd have to be tough to train outside down
here.
Richard =
Day 5
Today was a beast. The real Southland weather we had been told about
had arrived. The race started in freezing rain and howling wind. There
was no neutral warm up. The starters flag dropped and they were off.
Flat out for 180km.
When you are one of the official support vehicles it would not be much
fun if you dont have riders in the main peleton. You can see the action
as it happens. The first really big climb today was at 38km and Simon
B, Henri, Gary and Steve were still in the action at the top. 15 km
later Gary caught his front wheel in another riders pedal wrecking it
in a part of the road with strong cross winds. By the time we had his
replacement on a group including Steve had lost contact. We gave them
bottles and moved forward to support Simon and Henri. When Hayden
Roulston pulled out the dynamics of the race changed and the vicious
pace kept spitting riders out all the way to the base of the Crown
Range. Simon was right there and smoked up the hill to finish just 2
minutes 35 seconds down on Josh Atkins in 24th place. Henri finished 1
min 17 seconds later in 29th place.
Steve, Gary and Lee finished 27'54" down.
It was so exciting and nerve wrecking. Every kilometer another couple
of riders would drop off the peleton. Simon and Henri hung in there.
When a support van had no riders in the main group we go closer to the
front.
Back in Invercargill it is really cold. We cleaned the bikes, made a
few repairs, lubed the chains, and checked everything ready for
tomorrow. The forecast is inhumane. This really is a game for young
men. Steve is amazing. He is the oldest rider in the field and has
nearly ticked off this challenge from his bucket list.
Richard =
Day 6
With a tail wind for a short section after the start the hammer went
down and the riders split up really quickly. Our guys could not hold
on. Racing against the countries best is a little different that racing
tired old vets. We like to slowly work into a race where the top guys
go full noise immediately. The wind came around into a vicious cross
wind. The sleet and snow came down and the really hard men rode away.
Our boys were 23 minutes off the pace today so our position in the
support convoy slips back and our view tomorrow won't be so good. It
was so cold and so hard. Yachting regattas in the summer sun with warm
breezes and pretty girls were sliding through my memory as the van was
rocked around by conditions that were inhumane.
For your info here are some vital statistics to date.
Number of punctures during the races 2
Total punctures 4
Number of wheels destroyed 2 (carbon zips)
Number of days with weather on which Richard would ride. 0
Average length of time for the riders to take a pee 20 seconds
Longest measured time 24 seconds
Bread rolls eaten to date 240
Bottles per day 35 (5 riders)
The hail is hammering the roof, the wind is rocking the windows. Last
night I slept with a hoodie on. Tonight I will have sox on as well. It
is freezing. From the our city nearest the South Pole.
Richard =
Final Report
The final two stages were to start from Winton 50km north of
Invercargill. It might not have to be to bad for us to cancel a
race but for the TOS it has to be really bad. 75mm of snow on the road
and heavily falling snow was bad enough. It was really cold and
miserable. Gordie had announced that morning that he was ready to smash
weak !!!!!(riders). He was genuinely disappointed the TT was cancelled.
He was in the room next to us.
We disassembled the bikes and put them into the vans and went to the
pub to keep warm. Gary and Steve had had enough but were determined to
finish. Henri and Simon were still keen and Lee wanted to finish in
good company. It was really exciting following the race as the distance
to the front never exceeded 2 minutes so we could see what was
happening.
The boys all hung in there and finished really well.
So what would we change next time and what went really well?
The team dynamics were excellent. Everyone got on well and there were
no unhappy moments.
Greg was a great manager. David Binney Simon's dad was a great cook and
the bikes all worked perfectly. The money raised by Sommerset Cottage
was a godsend. That covered the entry fees, meals, excess baggage, hire
van and fuel for the riders.
To do different.
A rental van with a large space to fit 6 assembled bikes would have
saved a huge amount of time.
6 wind trainers and a place at the start of each race to warm up. This
would allow the boys to start flat out and make it easier to be up the
front at the start. Warming up in subzero temperatures and howling wind
is a bit tricky.
We had been warned about the conditions and were not disappointed by
anything strange like good weather. The Tour of Southland lives on and
up to the horror stories. Now we have some of our own.
Richard =
