Tour Down Under: 'The Tour, The Tour, it's the Tour Down Under! It's so exiting! (percussion, loud drumming) The sport of the centuuuury is cycling!'
Yes, the Tour Down Under had got its' own theme tune. (I should know, I've been humming it for weeks now.) The first race of the season, and indeed my new pro career, was finally upon us.
The Hilton hotel was to be our base for the week of racing ahead, with the race 'village' just opposite. The 'village' was a neat idea; it enabled the public to mix with the riders, see the bikes being prepared and generally chill out after each stage. They could also sample espresso from a Saeco coffee stand whilst the now almost legendary 'theme to Down Under' played on in the background.
The first crit stage came and went without incident. We all rode near the front, keeping out of trouble. Dave got 5th on the stage, not a bad start. The atmosphere was great - 30,000 people around a 2.5km circuit with a BBQ seemingly every 100 metres. (No, I didn't sample any).
Our first proper team meeting was interesting, not only for it's content, but also for it's linguistic element. It's going to improve my ropey Italian no end. Basically the jist was - 'Don't let anything go without a McCartney in it.'
Although it's still only very early in the season we need to make an impression and if possible score some UCI points. This will help us get into the important races and heighten the team's profile. (That's the PR bit done.)
15km into the 2nd stage I decided not to wait for the racing to happen. I decided to start some off. I took off after two early escapees, joined one, rode with him for a while until some reinforcements arrived, got detached over a climb, chased, got on again with O'Grady and Vinicourhov until finally we established the move of the day.
Apart from taking the advice of a seemingly confused marshal who sent me the wrong way, with the resulting chase putting me firmly into oxygen debt, the day went well. By the finish we had taken 26 minutes out of the bunch.
My sprinting prowess netted me 10th , but more importantly the possibility of getting a top 10 overall was now on the cards. I felt pretty strong but lacked the real speed needed to contest the short climbs and finishes. This will come in time.
The rest of the race for me was a matter of one good day then one bad. Being so early in the year the real consistency just isn't in the legs yet. On one of the better days I moved from 11th to 8th overall. This was only a shortish stage but it was raced from the gun and had hardly a flat bit of road in it.
On my poorer days the team really helped out. It was an experience having Max ride in the wind for me and Pascal take me up the bunch when I needed it. On one stage I had two punctures within 4km - team interval training or what! I think people in the convoy must have thought we were doing it for some kind of bizarre training! The team definitely gelled, not just the riders but the whole crew.
The bikes were the envy of the peloton and our dietary habits caused a few raised eyebrows. (Our table manners by the way were and indeed are exemplary). After Louise had an impromptu meeting with the head chef our own buffet table appeared, laden with the finest of vegetarian fare. It was then a habitual rancour trying to ward off the unofficial samplings of rival professional squadrons. It has helped somewhat in showing that there are some rather tasty and innumerable alternatives to pursuing a carnivorous diet.
Sorry about the sidetracking, basically the whole team is getting along fine. I managed to navigate the final crit safely plus we got two in the top 10 on the stage. I held onto my 8th overall thanks to some great team riding by everyone. I just hope my climbing improves for The Tour de Langkawi, which starts in just a few days. So, my first pro race over and a top 10. Not bad but I hope to improve on that next time.
Next stop the coffee shop for a serious latte and a cookie or two. Then 'Hello Malaysia !'.
