Squad
- Clare Menzies
- Tiarne Mitchell
- Shahrzad Shahnia
- Imogen Hines
- DS: Tegan Cox
After an easy morning chatting tactics over porridge the girls prepared for a late start on what was going to be a long day. Tiarne, Shaz and Clare were all well placed in the bunch with another rider pulling the load for the first 20km. The lead car featuring Matt La Borg went for a bit of a detour to fill the tank whilst the girls attacked the first dirt section and a slow climb.
Coming into the second dirt section and Strade Nero climb all of the girls had held their places in the lead group when they found themselves up a creek without a paddle. Shaz lost the group after an argument with a pothole resulted in a mechanical and took a wrong turn down a very rocky path trying to catch up but still finished the race. Tiarne broke a link in her chain on the main climb and was unable to continue. After an hour wait in 4˚c and driving rain for the sag wagon, Tiarne called it a day. Clare, who finished in the climb in a good position just off the lead group did the honorable thing and stopped to help when another rider hit the deck. She then resumed the race finishing a commendable eighth.
With four hours of tough racing in the legs the girls hit the saddle the following morning ready for what looked like an easy course. Sometimes the course profile lies and this was one of those days. There was no rest for the wicked when a crazy Victorian pace line and strong crosswinds had everyone on the limit. In hindsight, we had the numbers to shut it down and certainly learned our lesson. The bunch splintered well before the first QOM at 30km with Clare the only SUVelo rider still in the lead peloton at that point. The climb was a lot longer and steeper than we had anticipated and unfortunately attacks up the climb dropped the remaining C-grade riders. Clare was incorporated into a small chase group that splintered on the second climb and again finished in a commendable eighth position. Tiarne finished 12th with Shaz not far behind.
Both days would have been hard in the nicest of weather but the trying conditions really added to the challenge and just finishing was a huge achievement. Racing in Victoria with slightly different rules and “etiquette” taught the girls a lot especially when it comes to dictating the pace and these lessons will definitely be applied to our upcoming races.
Race report provided by Imogen Hines.
