Post by fenz on Apr 8, 2009 7:26:34 GMT 10
Well what a race, after over 600km in 7 days with 15,000 metres of climbing one of the best races I have ever done is over. Sam Bach and I had the lead and yellow jersey for 4 days from the Torq pair of Dan Macconnel and Luke Fetch, the raceing was fast and furious with average speeds on the stages of over 20km/h even with all the massive climbs. The scenery was jaw dropping (what I saw of it) and the organisation was second to none. If you are up for a real challenge next year I say go and do the Terra Aus.
Here is a typical day on the terra that I have written for my blog.
Stage 1. Falls Creek – Mt Beauty 79km (actual 94km)
Morning came around very quickly and before we knew it we were lining up at the start with the rest of the Terra crew frothing to get started on what was due to be a 80km stage with 2500 meters of climbing. The gun went and we were off, lead at a ferocious pace by Troy Bailey and Joel Donney and followed by the Torq crew of D-Mac and Fetch and Sam and I. The pace quickly settled and the first of the weeks many climbs began. After the initial 10km we were still together and setting ourselves up for the first descent, at this point the Torq team stoped by there team car and this left the BMC boys and Sam and I to haul off down the descent. Troy and I nearly hit the deck on a very loose section and came shoulder to shoulder jostling for line and position. By the bottom of the descent the Torq crew were nowhere to be scene and so I raised the tempo on the tarmac climb back up to Falls Creek. I held a constant 340 watts close to threshold and Sam and I began to pull away from the BMC team. By the top of the climb we had a couple of minutes lead and maintained the pressure to create a good gap. From that point on we saw no one else and kept a steady rhythm on all the climbs and flatter sections. The descents were rugged and on virgin terrain and before long we were struck with the first of 4 punctures for Sam. By the 4th one we had run out of CO2 and so had to resort to the hand pump. Just as we were getting going we could hear a team flying down the rugged descent. This caused some concern so we put the hammer down and cranked off at a hectic pace. Five minutes later and we could hear no sounds from behind so we assumed we had again established a gap and settled back into our rhythm. We later learned that Torq had caught us only to puncture straight away. After the second feed we knew there was only one climb left and then the descent into Mt Beauty, this however didn’t match with the distance on my Powertap and I was getting a little concerned as we were nearly on 80km at the base of the climb! This would throw out all my feeding strategies meaning I didn’t have enough High5 gels and energy drink. By the 7km mark on the climb the it all started to go pear shaped, the familiar and horrible hunger knock started and the power started to drop, after another 1km it was even worse and Sam was pulling gradually away and I was chewing on the bars. By 9km it was nearly all over rover and I could barely pedal the granny gear. The head was spinning the guts were rolling. Sam was shouting encouragement and I could see the top of the climb so I soldiered on. As I got to Sam I started throwing up and projectile vomiting all over the bike. I am sure that Sam thought all I needed was a large can of harden up but the puke seemed to tell him the real story and he helped all he could. It was all down from there to the finish and we descended quickly through the MT Beauty single track, the flow was back and it felt great. We still had the lead and all was good in the world ;o) At close of play Team Total Rush had a 35 minute lead over the Torq Team and another 5 mins over the BMC Team. The 79km stage had actually been measured at 94km and it really was a super tough stage.
I finish work at Glengarry on Thursday to concentrate on FTP Training and so will be around at a few more races with any luck. See you all on the trail.
Fenz
Here is a typical day on the terra that I have written for my blog.
Stage 1. Falls Creek – Mt Beauty 79km (actual 94km)
Morning came around very quickly and before we knew it we were lining up at the start with the rest of the Terra crew frothing to get started on what was due to be a 80km stage with 2500 meters of climbing. The gun went and we were off, lead at a ferocious pace by Troy Bailey and Joel Donney and followed by the Torq crew of D-Mac and Fetch and Sam and I. The pace quickly settled and the first of the weeks many climbs began. After the initial 10km we were still together and setting ourselves up for the first descent, at this point the Torq team stoped by there team car and this left the BMC boys and Sam and I to haul off down the descent. Troy and I nearly hit the deck on a very loose section and came shoulder to shoulder jostling for line and position. By the bottom of the descent the Torq crew were nowhere to be scene and so I raised the tempo on the tarmac climb back up to Falls Creek. I held a constant 340 watts close to threshold and Sam and I began to pull away from the BMC team. By the top of the climb we had a couple of minutes lead and maintained the pressure to create a good gap. From that point on we saw no one else and kept a steady rhythm on all the climbs and flatter sections. The descents were rugged and on virgin terrain and before long we were struck with the first of 4 punctures for Sam. By the 4th one we had run out of CO2 and so had to resort to the hand pump. Just as we were getting going we could hear a team flying down the rugged descent. This caused some concern so we put the hammer down and cranked off at a hectic pace. Five minutes later and we could hear no sounds from behind so we assumed we had again established a gap and settled back into our rhythm. We later learned that Torq had caught us only to puncture straight away. After the second feed we knew there was only one climb left and then the descent into Mt Beauty, this however didn’t match with the distance on my Powertap and I was getting a little concerned as we were nearly on 80km at the base of the climb! This would throw out all my feeding strategies meaning I didn’t have enough High5 gels and energy drink. By the 7km mark on the climb the it all started to go pear shaped, the familiar and horrible hunger knock started and the power started to drop, after another 1km it was even worse and Sam was pulling gradually away and I was chewing on the bars. By 9km it was nearly all over rover and I could barely pedal the granny gear. The head was spinning the guts were rolling. Sam was shouting encouragement and I could see the top of the climb so I soldiered on. As I got to Sam I started throwing up and projectile vomiting all over the bike. I am sure that Sam thought all I needed was a large can of harden up but the puke seemed to tell him the real story and he helped all he could. It was all down from there to the finish and we descended quickly through the MT Beauty single track, the flow was back and it felt great. We still had the lead and all was good in the world ;o) At close of play Team Total Rush had a 35 minute lead over the Torq Team and another 5 mins over the BMC Team. The 79km stage had actually been measured at 94km and it really was a super tough stage.
I finish work at Glengarry on Thursday to concentrate on FTP Training and so will be around at a few more races with any luck. See you all on the trail.
Fenz
