Pro athletes develop simple techniques
that become automatic. A three-point shooter’s follow
through or a golfer’s silky stroke are techniques
they’ve honed until they no longer think about them.[more.]
Canberra Tour 2010 Dates - 1st and 2nd May - More details to follow
25th Anniversary Canberra Tour
2nd & 3rd May 2009
The 25th Anniversary Canberra Tour will be held on Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd May 2009. All races will start and finish at the Stromlo Forest Park, Uriarra Road, Weston Creek. (http://www.stromloforestpark.com.au/)
The Australian Cycling Territory, lit in autumn colours with a back drop of ocean blue sky welcomed cyclists for what was an awesome Canberra Tour 2009. Around 50 riders readied themselves for the first stage of my grade (E-grade) – a stage that would follow Uriarra road before dropping sharply into the Crossing followed by an upward pinch and then the long false flat to the turnaround at Uriarra Homestead. A good pace was set early as riders vied for positions, which intensified as the peloton approached the descent into Uriarra Crossing. I had let myself fall back through the bunch but knew I would make up time going up out of the Crossing. While I knew I was not in contention for the stage KOM, that honour went to Mark Pont from ccc, I did accelerate past many in the bunch before there was a kind of regrouping at the top. I wonder if we were all thinking the same thing, ‘I need to make sure that I am in a bunch before the grueling effort up to the Homestead or else my race is over but I’m not going to outwardly show the dependence on others’? I progressively moved up positions to sit near the front of the bunch. At the turn and the run back, I could see the tail stretching back along Uriarra road. The return to the Crossing was reasonably fast with no one appearing to take any major moves. The break up happened while going up the ‘the three sisters’, that succession of three pinches which is only ever reached after riding for a considerable time. I had to work hard to join the second of the two leading bunches (which is where I finished the first stage – about one and a half minutes off the lead). The stage victory went to Mark Hadfield from Sutherlands Shire Cycling Club in a time of 1 hour and 5 minures in a sprint finish along with 12 other riders. The afternoon stage was a criterium. I thought ‘this will be fun – 50 riders hurtling around – I just hope everyone keeps their line’. Strong riding was demonstrated from the start. There were a few calls ‘that was close’ but otherwise it was a clean race. To me it seemed unusual not to see the various Wednesday crit teams, working together – there was no way the couple of Quon boys were going form a train and bring a few freeloaders from the rear to the front in the final laps. This race was wide open with any thought of a breakaway not a happening thing. Pretty much the bunch finished together with line honours and bonus time to Charles Dorron from the Central Coast Cycling Club with no less than 35 other riders recording the same time.
Stage three would be the decider. There was a bit of a wow factor, ‘how is all this going to play out? – a big bunch with plenty of unknown riders of untested ability?’ This stage would take us beyond Uriarra Homestead and along undulating terrain before descending Mt Macdonald and then facing the slog up the mountain at Pierce’s Creek. We set out as we did the day before – from Stromlo Forest Park we followed Uriarra road. There seemed to be more smoothness in the bunch until we sensed KOM points ahead – “Rob (Diamond), I really what one of those Diamond cycletours KOM jerseys, but I thought ‘I might let others win it’ – where can I get one?” Anyway, we pressed on. I positioned myself near the front, doing a turn before being swept up in the charge down to the Cotter. Across the peloton, went the clunk clunk clunk tick tick tick of gears dropping as riders began the Pierce’s Creek hill accent. As hills go, I have to say, it didn’t seem the breaker I had thought, although I seemed to be putting in a huge effort and not getting anywhere – in fact, I couldn’t believe it, the bunch was pulling away. I looked down, and sure enough, I could tell I had a flat tyre! I couldn’t believe it and thought, ‘this doesn’t happen to me’. At the same time Mark Hadfield from Sutherlands also got a flat. It is not until things like this happen that you remember the people who have volunteered to marshal and drive the support vehicles. It was such a relief to see our support vehicle and the driver who very swiftly had given us both new wheels. As we set off I noted that the spare wheel I now had was better than my race wheel. The stop had cost valuable time and mental energy. The two of us worked together before picking up Shaun Dodson also from Sutherlands and Luke McCann who I ride with in the SportsCare ccc crit team. As we passed various KOM positions on the ride home and said a friendly ‘hello’ to the marshals recording ride numbers, I thought, ‘there is always next time’. I was glad to come across David Rowe representing Eurobodalla as we worked together over the final kilometers before a triumphant crossing, ‘well it was’, under the Canberra Cycling Club finishing banner. I finished halfway through the field; so watch out next time to those ahead of me! Charles Dorron from Central Coast picked up the stage win in 1 hour and 45 minutes, the stage and overall KOM, and victory in the general classification with a ride time of 3 hours and 17 minutes. Well done. Thanks to the event sponsors BBB, Lazer helmets, Diamond cycletours, BikeSportz and Endura. Thanks especially to club officials, notably the race director Peter Gough and ccc president Jason Parkes, and volunteers including the race and grade Commissaires, marshals and support drivers for a fantastic weekend.
The Canberra Tour will be conducted under the rules and regulations of Cycling ACT and Cycling Australia. The Canberra Tour will host the second of the 2009 National Road Series races for A grade men and women. The Canberra Tour will also conduct racing for B, C, D, & E grade men, B & C grade women. Based on race numbers at previous events an allowance has been made within the program for 2 D grades to compete in this year’s tour.
All races will start at 9.00 am Saturday and Sunday from Stromlo Forest Park. Saturday racing will use the Cotter Uriarra Loop with Sunday racing heading out towards Tharwa.
As each race is conducted on public roads all grades will be briefed on the rules for the race and any other special instructions by the Chief Commissaire and ACT Police prior to the start of the stage.
See yourself in Canberra — there’s never been a better time to visit, http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/ for all your accommodation, attractions, food and entertainment information. Canberra is full of fantastic experiences for visitors. Set within leafy surrounds, this modern city offers fun for the kids, a busy calendar of events and festivals, as well as stylish restaurants, bars and shops.
Eligibility: Participation in the 25th Canberra Tour is open to:
Individuals: male and female members with a current CA licence, in Elite and Masters age categories;
Teams: an A grade elite team may be entered consisting of a maximum of 8 riders.
Race entries will be open through the Canberra Cycling Club website,
Closing Date for Entries – Sunday, 26th April
Late Entries – No late entries will be accepted.
Clothing, riders must wear their endorsed Club racing uniform. The wearing of alternate racing uniform may only be with the approval of the respective State Association and confirmation of such approval must be presented at registration. NRS Teams riders are to wear the official team clothing.
New RFID Results System, It is expected that we will use the Times-7 Sport’s RFID timing solutions to provide a more improved and accurate results down to split-second placing. The Times-7 RFID Wheel Tag eliminates the need for manual timing. The new technology have been proven at National events throughout Australia and New Zealand and is capable of handling a large numbers of competitors and fast peloton finishes with close to 100% accuracy. All Riders will be provided a wheel tag for the duration of the Canberra Tour.
Transport
Air– Canberra Airport is serviced by connections from most capital cities. We note that some aircraft servicing Canberra have limited freight capacity for a large numbers of bikes. Alternately, Canberra is 2½ - 3 hours drive from Sydney Airport.
Road – Canberra is accessed from the Hume Highway – turn off at Yass approaching from south or west and at Goulburn approaching from the north.
Accommodation
Canberra has a broad range of accommodation options. For assistance contact:
Spares Vehicle – If your support crew would like a closer look at the tour why not be a spares vehicle for your grade. We are after three vehicles per grade if you can help.
Event Registration
Friday 1st May – registration at Stromlo Forest Park (pavilion main deck area) from 6pm to 8pm.
Saturday 2nd May – registration at Stromlo Forest Park (pavilion main deck area) from 7.30 am to 8 45am.
Note – all riders to start from the car park support road, all riders are to finish on the Criterium circuit. Riders may warm up on the lower half of the Criterium circuit till 10.00am.
Saturday Road Race – Riders start on Stromlo Forest Park car park support road and proceed to Uriarra Rd (neutralised U1), turn left at Uriarra Road, continue towards and descend into Uriarra Crossing (U5) (caution steep descent), after crossing turn left and head up the climb for KOM/QOM (M1). Continue to Uriarra Homestead (U6) (Women A, B, C & Men D, E turn) (Men A on last lap), and continue along Brindabella Road, descend to Condor Creek (caution steep descent), continue to Condor Ck turn (U7) (Men A, B, C turn), on return climb out of Condor Ck (M2) and then return to Uriarra Crossing (caution steep descent) before climbing to (M3) and then onto Stromlo Forest Park.
Details of Stage2– Road Race and Criterium, Saturday PM
Start - Stromlo Forest Park Service Rd for start of road race and Criterium Circuit for Criterium events
Note –Riders may warm up on the lower half of the Criterium circuit.
Sunday Course – Riders start on Stromlo Forest Park criterium circuit and proceed to Uriarra Rd (neutralised U1), turn left at Uriarra Road, continue towards and descend into Uriarra Crossing (U5) (caution steep descent), after crossing turn left and head up the climb for KOM/QOM (M1). Continue to Uriarra Homestead (U6) (Women C continue to Condor Ck U7) and turn left into Brindabella Road, descend Mt McDonald (caution steep descent), turn right at the intersection Brindabella Rd junction.. Riders continue along Paddys River Rd and climb Pierces Creek Hill (M8) (Men E and Women B turn), continue past Tidbinbilla Reserve (Men D and Women A turn), past Corin Forest turn off to final tun point for Men A, B &C. On the return Men A will turn left at Corin Rd and climb to the Recreation Reserve (M9) on descending Corin (caution steep descent) riders will turn left and continue to Brindabella Rd Intersection, turn left and climb Mt McDonald (M4) then continue to Uriarra Homestead. At Uriarra Homestead turn right towards Uriarra Crossing, descend to the crossing and continue along Uriarra Rd and climb to KOM/QOM (M3) before heading to finish at Stromlo Forest Park. For Men A, B & C, at Uriarra Homestead turn left and continue to Condor Ck (U7) and return to Stromlo Forest Park.
CAUTION - all riders are to use extreme care on return route with tight blind curves on descents especially past Murray's Corner and down Corin Rd, be aware of oncoming traffic.
NOTE – for those providing support to riders at feed stations, please use Point Hut Crossing road for access.
