Well Done Geelong!

[Bike Boy]

Had a wonderfull day!

Woke up early, in order to get ready for a TT.
While eating breakfast I was able to catch the last 20 km of the race. Very exciting racing going on at the time. When it all came back together with 3 k to go, I thought Oh mighty! this looks good for the danish team. 3 riders and all in good positions.
Going under La flamme rouge, Anders Lund was working at the front of the chase group (in order to set up Breschel), and I remember thinking to my self, how on earth can the Italian team fail so badly.
Breschel took the lead and for a short moment I was about to go absolutely crazy, Then hushovd launched his sprint. Right away I knew he would take it. Perfect timing nothing less.
Congratulation to Norway by the way. Tons of respect for Hushovd, although I was a little bit ****ed at him in the moment.

Then it was time to focus on the TT, 28.2 km (no special equipment just a normal road bike), out home route. hadn't really trained since august, so I knew I was off shape.
Very strong tailwind on the way out. Was able to do 50 km/h on some of the flats, but after the turning point I couldn't fake it any more. I was clearly lacking fitness, besides it was extremely hard to stay in a good rythm, with all that headwind. At one point I couldn't do more than 25 km/h and it was dead flat. occasionally when the road went slightly uphill I was able to go a little bit faster, because I was more sheltered from the wind. And also I found out it's difficult to keep your heart rate up in the head wind because you have to change gear all the time, trying to get into a decent rythm. Normally I would be able to average 190 - 193 bpm (no problem in the tailwind), but in this TT I only managed 186 bpm (due to the headwind).
I crossed the finish line in approximately 47 minutes, and my goal was to go under 45 minutes.
I did get to pass a rider (so cool!) and compared to the rest of the field I placed just below average.
Not disapointed though. The time didn't really matter to me I was just enjoying the feeling of putting 100 % in to it.
A nice way to end the season.

 

[Bennyl]

I have to say after this weekend, I have never seen Geelong look so good, and probably never will again. the coverage made the city look quite beautiful, of which I never thought was the case.
Great race, unfortunately had my niece dedication/baptism to attend. absolutely spewing. Watch a fair bit of the championships, fairly good coverage from One, couldn't have expected much more for a one off effort. Enjoyed what I was able to catch of the road race, Gilbert is a machine, but great effort by Thor. Great defence by Cadel, he rides with alot of spirit which I like.

 

[Martin318is]

I actually think that the event and the coverage were awesome - with one exception. Sherwin and Ligett were terrible. Just some of the minor things they didn't notice on the weekend

- did anyone see all the coverage in the time trial of the rider in the first group that crashed? (particularly the repeated shots of his missing lycra on his leg and the blood on arm and leg) you all saw it? Then why were the two idiots so shocked that he was a minute down on the leaders? Somehow on a time trial circuit they failed to notice a rider had had an accident. Everybody else noticed (its in the CN live report for instance).

- apparently the Evans group came through the 1km barrier on the last lap but still were going to have to dig deep to catch Gilbert. Really? Could have sword he was clearly shown being caught back out near packington street.


Anyway, I had an awesome weekend watching both main races live on the roadside. Got some photos (not great ones as I only had my phone - long story) and was able to move between a nearby TV with beer etc and the circuit to see the bunch go through each lap. It was after the feedzone so I have several musettes and power gels etc.

For me, with the exception of the absence of the Tour caravan, it was a way better experience than watch the Tour first stage leave London through the grounds of my appartment block. The Worlds was Awesome.

only one other comment - it should ALWAYS be called Geelong 2010, no matter how much the organisers tried to put the focus on Melbourne instead of Geelong.

 

[Spare Tyre]

I'm not that impressed by the work of the organisers. In their defence, I imagine it is difficult organising an event which is an unknown quantity of sorts. Before the first Albert Park Formula 1 GP a few years back the organisers and local traders expected a deluge of fans and tourists. Far fewer people turned up than expected.

Melburnians love their sport, but there is also a heck of a lot of it on offer throughout the year, and cycling is extremely low profile here. Perhaps they could have promoted the event. I haven't seen any advertising for it, although I rarely watch TV so might have missed something.

I hold the organisers responsible for the extremely poor quality of the TV coverage of the event. The absence of graphical information was shameful.

The sign on/departure at Fed Square was a bit amateurish too. And big sporting events are usually shown on the Fed Square big screen, but yesterday by 10:15 the square was firmly in the possession of a U3A marketing event and people had to wander up the road to the City Square.

And you'd think organisers of a cycling event would know to ensure coffee vendors are on hand at 9am on a Sunday morning.

I spoke with people at Fed Square who had complaints about the TT medal presentations, about the shonky looking start ramp for the TTs, and about the quality of the on-site public race broadcasters.

All in all, for me a bit cringeworthy, and lacking in the professionalism of other Melbourne/Victorian major events in recent years. I thought we had got beyond this, to be honest. Maybe the budget was tight.

But, the weather was great, the race itself turned out to be a real nail-biter and the spirit of the crowds seemed friendly and enthusiastic. (I had been slightly concerned we might see belligerent drunken bogans.) Loved some of the road graffiti too, very funny.


PS In terms of unglamorous logistics, organisers seem to have done a good job (in Melbourne at least) with barriers and removal of such, etc.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I'm not that impressed by the work of the organisers. In their defence, I imagine it is difficult organising an event which is an unknown quantity of sorts. Before the first Albert Park Formula 1 GP a few years back the organisers and local traders expected a deluge of fans and tourists. Far fewer people turned up than expected.

Melburnians love their sport, but there is also a heck of a lot of it on offer throughout the year, and cycling is extremely low profile here. Perhaps they could have promoted the event. I haven't seen any advertising for it, although I rarely watch TV so might have missed something.

I hold the organisers responsible for the extremely poor quality of the TV coverage of the event. The absence of graphical information was shameful.

The sign on/departure at Fed Square was a bit amateurish too. And big sporting events are usually shown on the Fed Square big screen, but yesterday by 10:15 the square was firmly in the possession of a U3A marketing event and people had to wander up the road to the City Square.

And you'd think organisers of a cycling event would know to ensure coffee vendors are on hand at 9am on a Sunday morning.

I spoke with people at Fed Square who had complaints about the TT medal presentations, about the shonky looking start ramp for the TTs, and about the quality of the on-site public race broadcasters.

All in all, for me a bit cringeworthy, and lacking in the professionalism of other Melbourne/Victorian major events in recent years. I thought we had got beyond this, to be honest. Maybe the budget was tight.

But, the weather was great, the race itself turned out to be a real nail-biter and the spirit of the crowds seemed friendly and enthusiastic. (I had been slightly concerned we might see belligerent drunken bogans.) Loved some of the road graffiti too, very funny.

PS In terms of unglamorous logistics, organisers seem to have done a good job (in Melbourne at least) with barriers and removal of such, etc.

-I thought the "gps time gaps" clearly unaccurate. on that last lap they had the time gap to be 21 seconds and I timed the gap between gilbert and evans' groups and it was only 15 seconds.

-I thought Liggett and Sherwen weren't too bad. BBC commentators were much worse who thought Gilbert was still out in front inside the final km even though he clearly wasn't. BBC commentators were real amateurs.

- Do you watch Channel 10 or ONE HD at all? There were lots of promotions for the event. I think in the general media such as radio and newspapers didn't give the event the support it deserved but that was not the organisers fault. The AFL grand final drawn result screwed up the crowds numbers. AFl kept the cycling out of the general news but I still thought even with the grand final that the coverage it got was not enough.

- Could you be specific about what was cringeworthy?

-i thought the start of fed square was a tad chaotic with the trams but I got to see McQuaid go crazy yelling at his phone which was funny.

For a traditional non cycling country which doesn't get much coverage in the general media the event was very well run and hopefully that more youngsters will get into the sport and Australia will become the next superpower in cycling. Hopefully this will encourage riders to have more races down under.

Just an idea, why not have the geelong circuit as the national championships circuit?

I covered much of the top part of the course during the day.

From about 5 kilometres to go to two kilometres to go were some of the less spectator friendly parts of the course, so this is not surprising. People were concentrated on the well shaded, well supported spots on the climbs and near the start.

I was on ****ngton Street for most the day which is in what you described as an "unfriendly spot to watch" it but to get to the climbs it takes a very long walk from the train station. ****ngton street was close and there was a tv that i could rush off to once the race had gone by. it is hard to get to some parts of the course due to the location of geelong and transport.

 

[delbified]

For a traditional non cycling country which doesn't get much coverage in the general media the event was very well run

having worked a bit with journos, the rough rule of thumb is that coverage is in proportion with junkets/freebies on offer. the AFL provides a lot more of those in Australia than cycling.

i thought the event was smoothly run, but costs were obviously minimised with a lack of big screen TVs for fans, promotional material, etc. the best part was how Geelong residents and businesses got behind it, bar the minority of bogans.

 

[Ferminal]

Glad that most of you enjoyed it, would have been a great experience especially because the race was so split up... Each lap they passed it would've been a whole new situation.

 

[Martin318is]

Just an idea, why not have the geelong circuit as the national championships circuit?

Because the Buninyong circuit up at Ballarat is much better for a bike race. Tee circuit is interesting enough for a good race and the infrastructure in place means that it is a draw card for the area that doesn't disrupt too many people.

Contrast this with the Geelong course which has messed up the lives of a lot of locals for several weeks. The road closures etc during preparations have meant that friends of mine had to take the long way to work for a month.
On top of this, two of my friends businesses lost over $4,500 since Wednesday, between them and they will NOT be getting that money back due to tourism effects etc. They had to close up shop due to lack of access and poor foot traffic.

I also saw at least petrol station that was blocked in all week and were apparently closed. The losses there would be massive.

Don't get me wrong, the race was awesome, but I 100% understand that a large number of Geelong residents were less than happy that it was held.

 

[unsheath]

Smashing day! Group of about 15 planted ourselves on the 2nd climb as we were lucky enough to be staying on Aphrasia St, about 50m from the crest. Deck chairs, costumes, esky, frothies and some great racing.

By the way, anyone pay the $300 fee to race the course before the pros came through? Eventually reduced to $160 I think b/c of the poor take up. Unashamed money grab if you ask me.

 

[Nick777]

Because the Buninyong circuit up at Ballarat is much better for a bike race. Tee circuit is interesting enough for a good race and the infrastructure in place means that it is a draw card for the area that doesn't disrupt too many people.

Contrast this with the Geelong course which has messed up the lives of a lot of locals for several weeks. The road closures etc during preparations have meant that friends of mine had to take the long way to work for a month.
On top of this, two of my friends businesses lost over $4,500 since Wednesday, between them and they will NOT be getting that money back due to tourism effects etc. They had to close up shop due to lack of access and poor foot traffic.

I also saw at least petrol station that was blocked in all week and were apparently closed. The losses there would be massive.

Don't get me wrong, the race was awesome, but I 100% understand that a large number of Geelong residents were less than happy that it was held.

100% correct. Some local businesses were happy, a lot more were not, according to the news last week. Some shops (blocked in by the barriers) reported not having a single customer walk in for 4-5 days. No way would the City of Geelong allow the nationals there every year, as good as the Worlds were last week.

I reckon there could have been some courses in the outer east of Melbourne that might have worked welll, too - incorporating the Dandenong ranges in some way...

 

[NickBVK]

The day was fantastic, Thursday too!

Alan Peiper bumped into me at the train station going to the race and on the TT Thursday morning I caught Rogers and Porte going for a training ride down a back street with backpacks and no helmets.

I went to the Sheraton Geelong to watch the NRL Grand Final (DRAGONS!) and Pat McQuaid was casually standing chatting to someone next to me. I also think the Spanish team was staying there as a few of their U23 riders were milled around the lobby.

A fantastic day, great atmosphere.

 

[NickBVK]

Also on the train there from the start in Melbourne, we went past the race just as they were going past the canola. Was amazing as my favourite shot of the Tour is the low helicopter as the peleton rolls past the sunflower fields.

Great excitment

 

[delbified]

while we're name dropping, as i was riding back to where i was staying, i noticed 3 members of the danish cycling team cruising back to their hotel ahead. i wanted to catch them but i was riding with my partner who was too slow and wouldn't pull any turns.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Also on the train there from the start in Melbourne, we went past the race just as they were going past the canola. Was amazing as my favourite shot of the Tour is the low helicopter as the peleton rolls past the sunflower fields.

Great excitment

We must of been on the same train then as I saw them right near the canola plantation on the train.

 

[ProfTournesol]

Unfortunately work commitments meant that I only went to Geelong on Sunday, but I thought that it was a well organised event and a good circuit. The trip down from Melbourne could have been decisive if there had been wind (if I'd been riding it there would have been a headwind of course!!) but of course the weather is beyond the control of the organisers. The course was too hard to allow an early breakaway to succeed, and not hard enough to allow an early breakaway to succeed and this meant that the result was in doubt until the last few metres - what could be better than that? The TV coverage had it's good and bad points, but at least there was full TV coverage of the whole event. Unfortunately it was pretty much ignored by the print media, and even 150,000 spectators can't catch their interest unless it's AFL - they don't want to know about any 'new fringe' sports like cycling!

The racing was very good, chapeau to the riders, teams and organisers.

 

[NickBVK]

We must of been on the same train then as I saw them right near the canola plantation on the train.

Yeah went straight from the start to Flinders St / Southern Cross.

Also on the way to the TT, while on the train I broke the news to my carriage at least about the Contador story

 

[thehog]

Did you not read my post - there was 156,000 on the course...that's spread over 15km. Sheesh...

You guys should have shelled 3 mill for Lance. He would have doubled your crowds to about 20,000.

Where was the atmosphere????

 

[symphonic]

TRACKSIDE RESIDENT ROAD WORLD CHAMPS Geelong, AUST

Hi all you cycling fiends,
Your all new in my life I am a resident from the time trial track World Champs, Geelong. I wondered what all of you lot would be like? How much you would disturb my routine and many more questions. Now after all these days of racing and cheering and wandering Mt Pleasant Rd and Challambra Cres like a nomad I have the questions all answered you guys ROCK!!! I love you all and I love the party festa feeling you bought to our streets. How could we not love your infectious approach to competition and life. Only one problem after becoming lycra-addicted what now all you guys are such a new addition to my life. Would I have to go thru a massive and painful lycra withdrawal well not if I can help it. To see riders like Fabian out for a morning ride you say hi and he says hi right back yeah right am I living in the real world?? As for Howard the sweet Norwegian photographer thanks for helping me with my camera malfunction and for making me feel proud when you said that you thought our track was very good as good as any in Europe. Damm it why do you all have to go!!! Well I do have one semi-permanent reminder of the weekend bright idea number 1 face paint CADEL all over both arms and on one side of my face. Yep you guessed given hot conditions and no sunscreen I am now branded with Cadels name all over and top it all off I have an interview tomorrow lol. I only hope they are cycling fiends like I've become lol Have lots of pics if anyone wants to have a look. Love to hear any suggestions of how I could become involved in the lycra-sport scene. Miss you all heaps already!!
Cheers Jill

 

[JA.Tri]

@thehog

The crowd of several thousand at Queen's Park (bottom of second climb) went off! The atmosphere was awesome and I was delighted to share the experience with the crowd.

The crowd varied from:
the sports mad Victorians (some with no knowledge of the sport but plenty of enthusiasm)
to the cyclists wearing MTB gear, to those in full RR outfits
to kids, Mums, Dads, Grandparents.

Whatever the case, all added to the colour, noise and full on experience.

PS @Symphonic how are you publishing your photos?

 

[Tugboat]

I flew over from New Zealand... it was a great week of cycling and absolutely fantastic race on Sunday with an equally fantastic atmosphere on the Queens Park Drive climb (which was only a 20-30min walk from the start finish line ACF so not too far and I know, having walked two thirds of the circuit on the first day to suss out all the good vantage points).

Organisationally things could have been better. Access into Queens Park itself was a shambles for the road races with access from the park side of the road closed off and people having to walk to a single crossing point by the bridge to get to it. It meant that you could not watch the riders hit the climb the last time and then head to the big screen to watch the finish as they closed the crossing till the last rider had past, irrespective of the time gaps.

They could have provided more portaloos around the course particularly at spots that were going to be popular (ie the schoolgrounds at the top of the second climb). And they should have positioned loudspeakers around the course (again particularly on the climbs where the bulk of the spectators would be) to provide race commentary. Not too difficult or expensive a thing to do.

 

[Tugboat]

At least I didn't buy into the parking hype though... other than the first day when I parked a block from the start/finish line, I managed to get a park in Stephen Street, just one over from Aphrasia Street and right near the top of the second climb!

 

[Martin318is]

You guys should have shelled 3 mill for Lance. He would have doubled your crowds to about 20,000.

Where was the atmosphere????

Bad math, bad, bad math....

 

[barn yard]

whoever organised the big screens etc could learn a lot from the tour down under organisers

 

[Spare Tyre]

Hi all you cycling fiends,
Your all new in my life I am a resident from the time trial track World Champs, Geelong. I wondered what all of you lot would be like? How much you would disturb my routine and many more questions. Now after all these days of racing and cheering and wandering Mt Pleasant Rd and Challambra Cres like a nomad I have the questions all answered you guys ROCK!!! I love you all and I love the party festa feeling you bought to our streets. How could we not love your infectious approach to competition and life. Only one problem after becoming lycra-addicted what now all you guys are such a new addition to my life. Would I have to go thru a massive and painful lycra withdrawal well not if I can help it. To see riders like Fabian out for a morning ride you say hi and he says hi right back yeah right am I living in the real world?? As for Howard the sweet Norwegian photographer thanks for helping me with my camera malfunction and for making me feel proud when you said that you thought our track was very good as good as any in Europe. Damm it why do you all have to go!!! Well I do have one semi-permanent reminder of the weekend bright idea number 1 face paint CADEL all over both arms and on one side of my face. Yep you guessed given hot conditions and no sunscreen I am now branded with Cadels name all over and top it all off I have an interview tomorrow lol. I only hope they are cycling fiends like I've become lol Have lots of pics if anyone wants to have a look. Love to hear any suggestions of how I could become involved in the lycra-sport scene. Miss you all heaps already!!
Cheers Jill

Glad you enjoyed it Symphonic. There's a lot of fun in having an event pass by your front door.

As to getting involved, do you ride a bike? Have you heard of the Jayco Bay Series of criteriums that take place in the first week after New Year? Most of them are in Geelong.

 

[auscyclefan94]

You guys should have shelled 3 mill for Lance. He would have doubled your crowds to about 20,000.

Where was the atmosphere????

whoever organised the big screens etc could learn a lot from the tour down under organisers

They had a few of them all in the one area. Could of spreaded them out a bit more.