Hot racing coming up in Australia

[Wilba60]

Going through the hottest spring in a number of years here means the riders coming to Australia may face some very hot and tough conditions this coming summer.

New Greenedge rider Michael Mathews who was decked out in his Rabobank gear battled against riders such as Jens Mouris, Leigh Howard, Mitch Docker, Chris Sutton and others to take out the NSW Grand Prix last weekend.

Plenty of Aussie riders getting ready for the National Championships, just before the Tour Down Under. Plenty of great action coming up once we move into 2013. Hope rumours are true that Greipel is going to do the Bay Crits this year. Will be great to see him take on the Aussie contingent....hopefully young Caleb Ewan will be back to prove the last series wasn't a fluke.

January 2013
Tue 1 to Thu 3 – Bay Criteriums, Victoria
Thu 3 to Sun 6 - Herald Sun Tour, Victoria
Wed 9 to Sun 13 - Cycling Australia Road National Championships, Ballarat/Buninyong, Victoria
Wed 16 to Sun 20 - Australian Youth Olympic Festival, DGV, Sydney
Sun 20 - People's Choice Classic, Adelaide
Tue 22 to Sun 27 - Santos Tour Down Under, Adelaide

 

[pastronef]

what races or criteriums are planned in December?

(St Kilda and others)

 

[42x16ss]

what races or criteriums are planned in December?

(St Kilda and others)

I'm not sure but I think that the NSW GP Series was all for December.

MIchael Matthews was flying at the GP Series, winning the first race from the break, riding a 120km GF the next day before getting 3rd in the second race after driving the break.

Was very impressed with Jack Edwards in the second race too, bridging across by himself to a break containing Mouris, Matthews, Docker and Palmer. Amazing for a 16 yo!

 

[Archibald]

Going through the hottest spring in a number of years here means the riders coming to Australia ...

which state are you in?
here in Sydney it's been days of overcast, rain, showers, thunderstorms, high winds...
a few days near 30C, but that's been about it.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Going through the hottest spring in a number of years here means the riders coming to Australia may face some very hot and tough conditions this coming summer.

New Greenedge rider Michael Mathews who was decked out in his Rabobank gear battled against riders such as Jens Mouris, Leigh Howard, Mitch Docker, Chris Sutton and others to take out the NSW Grand Prix last weekend.

Plenty of Aussie riders getting ready for the National Championships, just before the Tour Down Under. Plenty of great action coming up once we move into 2013. Hope rumours are true that Greipel is going to do the Bay Crits this year. Will be great to see him take on the Aussie contingent....hopefully young Caleb Ewan will be back to prove the last series wasn't a fluke.

January 2013
Tue 1 to Thu 3 – Bay Criteriums, Victoria
Thu 3 to Sun 6 - Herald Sun Tour, Victoria
Wed 9 to Sun 13 - Cycling Australia Road National Championships, Ballarat/Buninyong, Victoria
Wed 16 to Sun 20 - Australian Youth Olympic Festival, DGV, Sydney
Sun 20 - People's Choice Classic, Adelaide
Tue 22 to Sun 27 - Santos Tour Down Under, Adelaide

It actually hasn't been that hot in Melbourne tbh.

 

[Wilba60]

I am in Melbourne and we have had some very hot days. 29th was the hottest November day since 1966
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/vic/melbourne.shtml#recordsTmaxDailyHigh
Av day and night temps were higher than average and to me at work and in training has felt hotter than in recent years.

Predictions don't always come true but there seems to be a fair consensus that South East Australia will be in for a very hot summer.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/temps_ahead.shtml

I see that there is a Caleb Ewan interview in todays Herald Sun (can't seem to find it on the internet), where he talks about training with Cadel Evans and his upcoming races in the Bay Crits.

 

[pastronef]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mel...hampionships-to-offer-dollar-30000-prize-pool

St Kilda criterium


and also remember the Heffron Park criterium in NSW

 

[Wilba60]

Thanks for that pastronef, should be a great date to run the StKilda race as many will be on holidays and if the weather is good, there should be a great crowd. Hopefully it will get some media coverage during the week.

I see Simon Clarke joins Simon Gerrans in the Australian team for the Herald Sun Tour. GE are not allowed to field a team, so will be interesting to see who else races in that Australian team and which riders fill the remainder of the field, given that there are 18 teams of 6 riders. Expecting to see the team details out in the HeraldSun soon....anyone know who we can expect to see riding alongside Gerrans and Clarke?

 

[greenedge]

I would say possibly Meyer and Durbridge, they are both going to Langkawi. I would then have a sprinter- Davis or Matthews would be best as they do not need teammates as much as Goss, Howard or Kroupis and then get a domestique like Mouris- they will probably go for another Aussie though.

 

[pastronef]

http://twitter.com/cjsutton2/status/281013883177693185/photo/1

Sutton has won the Heffron Park criterium

 

[Wilba60]

Don't know any other teams yet but the Australian National team is finalized for the Herald Sun Tour (Jan 3-6). O'Grady and Jay McCarthy join Goss, Gerrans, Clarke and Haas for the race. Tough team for the local teams to come up against. Not sure if any other WT riders will be competing, as they would have to ride for a local team.

Interesting to see Goss riding, he may be rethinking his tactics of last year to start his real racing a bit later in the season. He came into the Bay Crits in a building phase of his fitness but in doing the Sun Tour, he may be ramping it up a bit earlier this year. Will be interesting to watch how he goes.

Sutton is obviously riding in good form after his win in NSW, will be interesting to see how he goes in the Nationals this year against a stronger OGE contingent than last year when the Nationals was their first 'real' race together.

 

[seaby71]

So who do you think are favourites for the Aussie nat road race I thing Gerrans, Sutton and Porte are the top contenders this year. Who else should we consider?

 

[Ferminal]

Bit hard without a startlist, if everyone showed up there would be stronger teams than 2012. If Sutherland/Rogers/McCarthy/Cantwell all race Saxo could cause a few problems.

Think it's rather hard to beat GreenEdge though as they have all the tougher sprinters - Goss/Matthews/Gerrans/Clarke. Porte soloing the last lap is probably the best chance of winning.

 

[auscyclefan94]

If only Cadel raced....Saxo could be a threat to GreenEdge is Rogers and others turned up with decent form.

 

[rgmerk]

St Kilda criterium 23rd

Stinking hot day, 39 degrees C (that's about 102 Farenheit) but it was just bearable. The course is short, pancake flat and quite sheltered from the wind.

Start list included Gerrans, Mitch Docker, Baden Cooke, Glenn O'Shea (world omnium champion), Greg Henderson, Matty Lloyd, a strong Drapac team working for Tom Palmer, as well as several other decent local teams.

After a series of initial attempts at a breakaway were brought back Greg Henderson broke away with local rider Pat Lane; Henderson racked up a collection of $500 sprint primes and the two of them got within 12 seconds of lapping the field.

Drapac brought their riders to the front to drag the break back as Henderson and particularly Lane started to weaken. After Lane popped, it was brought back together with 6 laps to go.

A late attack featuring Gerrans, O'Shea and Gerrans' teammate-for-the-day Calvin Watson was brought back and Drapac were rewarded for their hard work by getting their sprinter Tom Palmer up for the win. Docker got second, and Shannon Johnson, a fairly recent convert to cycling from motorcycle racing who was riding with one of the smaller teams, was third.

The women's race saw a flurry of one and two-up attacks but they ultimately went nowhere, and local sprint gun Nicole Whitburn took that race.

 

[Wilba60]

rgmerk, thanks for the update on todays criterium. Probably hard for those in the Northern Hemisphere to imagine our weather but it was stinking hot today, so well done to all who raced. Was it Palmer who beat Mathews last week in NSW?

More important for me today was the comeback of Greenedge, who is the recently acquired horse, owned by Gerry Ryan and a syndicate made up of the Greenedge boys. It raced at Ballarat today after being out for a spell since our winter. Very nice Xmas money received when it paid $11.90 the win. Thanks Gerry.

 

[Wilba60]

So who do you think are favourites for the Aussie nat road race I thing Gerrans, Sutton and Porte are the top contenders this year. Who else should we consider?

It is hard as Ferminal says without the start list but I like the fact that Goss is doing the Herald Sun Tour and will be more advanced than last year. We really didn't see Clarke either in the early parts of 2012 and he is also doing the Sun Tour. With a great Vuelta behind him, he will be tough to beat.

Of the others, not sure where Cam Meyer is at with his fitness. Also little Matty Lloyd took it right up to Gerro last year, as did Porte. Nathan Hass should also be in great form with the Sun Tour under his belt and seems to be improving all the time. My very early pick without knowing the field is for Clarke (if allowed by GE to race Gerro) to take out the trophy.

 

[rgmerk]

rgmerk, thanks for the update on todays criterium. Probably hard for those in the Northern Hemisphere to imagine our weather but it was stinking hot today, so well done to all who raced. Was it Palmer who beat Mathews last week in NSW?

Yes it was Palmer.

His teammates busted a gut to bring Henderson and Lane back; would have been very good practice for the national crit championship coming up in a few weeks.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

Docker got second, and Shannon Johnson, a fairly recent convert to cycling from motorcycle racing who was riding with one of the smaller teams, was third.

Johnson also won the A-grade support race and set the fastest laps of the day in both races. He's targetting the Nat RR and he'd be my non-GE pick. We'll get more of a form line from Bay Crits & JHST in the new year.

 

[rgmerk]

Johnson also won the A-grade support race and set the fastest laps of the day in both races. He's targetting the Nat RR and he'd be my non-GE pick. We'll get more of a form line from Bay Crits & JHST in the new year.

Yep was a great ride.

Can't see him threatening in the Nats RR though, given that no out-and-out sprinter has won that title in many years and the course is still essentially the same leg-burner it's always been.

Reckon he'd have to be a shot at the crit championship on that form though.

 

[Wilba60]

Henderson is looking good for this time of year, he will be riding the Herald Sun Tour in the NZ National team. That will give Gossy some pretty good competition in the sprints.

So Johnson is a convert from motor cycling....not your normal transition of sports. Will keep an eye on him during the Bay Crits. Caleb Ewan for me to repeat his performances from last year and to go one better and win the series.

 

[austy37]

Start list included Gerrans, Mitch Docker, Baden Cooke, Glenn O'Shea (world omnium champion), Greg Henderson, Matty Lloyd .

What's matty Lloyd doing this year? He is an interesting dude, I checked his website and hasn't been updated in a while

 

[Wilba60]

What's matty Lloyd doing this year? He is an interesting dude, I checked his website and hasn't been updated in a while

He seemed to pop out of nowhere to ride a great race in the Nationals last year and is probably on the same plan again. You would think that he is in the Lampre team for the TDU, so would be in training for that. We don't normally see him prior to the Nationals as he is not a Bay Crits rider. Not sure how the other (besides Australian and N.Z national teams) teams are set up for the Herald Sun Tour but wouldn't think there is any way he could ride for one of those teams.

 

[rgmerk]

What's matty Lloyd doing this year? He is an interesting dude, I checked his website and hasn't been updated in a while

He's with Lampre again this year.

Twitter has it that he's been training pretty well.

He rode at the St. Kilda crit on Sunday. He wasn't at all prominent in the race except when he took a lap out for a puncture, and gave a rather amusing interview to Matt Keenan. Weather was stinking hot; he was as chilled as ever, and looked like he was in the middle of a coffee ride rather than a race.

 

[Wilba60]

Here is the field for the Bay Crits. You can see the support races and Elite women at http://www.baycyclingclassic.com.au/BayCyclingClassic/2013_Teams_files/2013 MBCC Teams.pdf

Mens big guns look like being Howard and Docker from OGE (interesting to see pursuit rider Edmondson in there, is he OGE now?), Von Hoff, Palmer, Henderson and the Bikebug pair of Cantwell and Ewan. Anyone with other picks or inside info?

Elite Men
OGE
1 Leigh Howard (VIC)
2 Luke Durbridge (WA)
3 Mitch Docker (VIC)
4 Jensen Mouris (NL)
5 Alex Edmondson (SA)
Grays Online / NZL National Team
6 Mike Northey (NZL)
7 Josh Atkins (NZL)
8 Tom Scully (NZL)
9 James Oram (NZL)
10 Stuart Grimsey (VIC)
Great Britain National Team
11 Simon Yates (GB)
12 Alistair Slater (GB)
13 Samuel Lowe (GB)
14 Christopher Latham (GB)
15 Graham Briggs (GB)
Rapha Condor / JLT
16 Kristian House (GB)
17 Richard Handley (GB)
18 Aaron Buggle (GB)
19 Luke Mellor (GB)
20 Felix English (GB)
Huon Salmon / Genesys Wealth
Advisors
21 Steele Von Hoff (VIC)
22 Anthony Giacoppo (WA)
23 Brenton Jones (VIC)
24 Tom Robinson (TAS)
25 Jack Beckinsale (NSW)
Drapac Cycling
26 Luke Davidson (NSW)
27 Tom Palmer (ACT)
28 Robbie Hucker (VIC)
29 John Walker (VIC)
30 Malcolm Rudolph (QLD)
Budget Forklifts
31 Alex Wohler (QLD)
32 Jessie Kerrison (NSW)
33 Blair Windsor (NSW)
34 Peter Loft (TAS)
35 Shaun McCarthy (VIC)
Degani Bakery Cafe
36 Greg Henderson (NZL)
37 Dean Windsor (NSW)
38 Koen de Kort
39 Peter English
40 Ryan MacAnally
GPM / Data #3
41 Scott Law (NSW)
42 Joseph Lewis (NSW)
43 Josh Taylor
44 Ed White (NSW)
45 Caleb Jones
Target-Trek Racing Team
46 James Boal (VIC)
47 James Butler (VIC)
48 Dean Sanfilippo (VIC)
49 Nicholas D’Ambrosio (NSW)
50 Vaughan Bowman (VIC)
Team SASI
51 Sam Witmitz (SA)
52 George Tansley (SA)
53 Robert Jon McCarthy (SA)
54 Russell Gill (SA)
55 Harry Carpenter (SA)
Pro Team Downunder
56 Jayden Copp (QLD)
57 Sean Whitfield (ACT)
58 Jake Klajnblat (VIC)
59 to be confirmed
60 to be confirmed
Total Rush / Hyster Racing
61 Alex Smythe (VIC)
62 Dean Heathcote (VIC)
63 Shannon Johnson (VIC)
64 Rico Rogers (VIC)
65 Craig Johnson (VIC)
Bikebug
66 Jonathan Cantwell (QLD)
67 Caleb Ewan (NSW)
68 Jack Edwards (NSW)
69 Richard Lang (NSW)
70 James Mowatt (VIC)
E