Wheelworks.co.nz, Handbuilt wheels by Tristan Thomas

Race reports form the boys and girls at Wheelworks Racing. Check out facebook.com/WheelworksRacing for more photos of a great weekend away.

The Wheelworks Women’s Elite team is ecstatic this evening after doubling team numbers (now at 2) in a stellar morning race in tough conditions. Kirsten Price debuted in the women’s elite race, with not even a puncture able to hold her back.

Janine went on the attack before the final climb, and hit the bottom with a 30s lead. Hatepe heartbreak saw the chasing pack catch her at the top.

Janine ticked off her race goals, and is happy with the way the race went. Kirst was fizzing after being comfortable in to the peloton.

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A tough head wind start saw about 20 dropped from the bunch in the first 5km. At 6km, WWR turned WWF. Two riders went down mid bunch, Tristan had nowhere to go except over his handlebars and with a bodyslam that Brett ‘the hitman’ Hart would be proud of, landed in the waiting chest of PBR’s Fraser Gough. We don’t think Gough got back up (hope he’s okay!).

The crash split the bunch, and about 10 riders continued around the lake with the first bunch of the rec riders, including Tristan.

At the pointy end, the pace was sustained while the downed riders dusted themselves off. The surging pace and relentless attacks for about 60km saw more riders shelled from the bunch. WWR were well represented in most of the attacks, and when the break of 12 finally stuck Andy was right in the mix.

Andy rode really well, and as the front group fragmented, managed to stay up the front. Torckler attacked the break at the bottom of Kuratau with 75 to go, and Cooper bridged across. Andy and Mike Northey attacked at Turangi, and caught Cooper on Hatepe. Torckler put 2 ½ minutes into the chasing three overthe final 20km. Northey sprinted in for second, Cooper third, and Andy in 4th. The rest of the boys came in in the chasing bunches. All in all, a successful day.

As with most Elite level cycling teams the contractractual obligations at Wheelworks Racing are steep; icecream can only be eaten on days ending in Y, coffee with milk is forbidden, and sock-height protocol must be obeyed at all times.

Racing for another team is also strictly forbidden, however the Wheelworks Racing board of directors has approved a sabbatical for rider Greg Taylor.

Greg will be heading to the Powernet Tour of Southland and racing with Team Ultimo / HGM.  Greg will be racing alongside Southland veteran Richard Rollinson, climber Dan Molyneux, US-professional Aaron Schneider and rookies Nick Jowsey, and Richard Lawson.

Daily updates of race progress will be published by Greg at www.facebook.com/WheelworksRacing

Check out all the Wheelworks Racing news and heaps more photos on our Facebook page.

We had two riders strong enough to win on Sunday: Greg and Andy. My job was to be the donkey.

With the nature of the climbs and crosswinds we anticipated a race of attrition, however with 5 strong Subway riders coming from the Tour of Korea we needed to be vigilant and make sure if a break went that we were in it. As soon as the flag dropped a break formed with Sam Horgan, Matt Wheatcroft, and Mike and the three of them quickly built up a solid lead.

Mike, Stu and myself stayed near the front of the race for the first 60 km and set tempo and covered moves. Subway didn’t look especially happy despite having Horgan in the break and they would sporadically send a rider off the front of the bunch who would be quickly covered by myself or Stu.

On the second lap (44km) Horgan punctured from the break and after a slow wheel change returned to the main field leaving Mike and Wheatcroft to go it alone. With no Subway rider in the break and with some of the best legs in the field we had to be especially vigilant.

On the third lap my legs (66km) were starting to get tired so I let Kendall and Dan take over and drifted back to check on Greg and Andy and have a bit of a rest. Greg asked for a push while he watered the roadside flowers – the first time I’ve done this and it made me feel very PRO. Andy then tapped me on the shoulder and told me to get back to the front and watch the Subway guys – no rest for the wicked.

The second hill on this lap (~80km) was where the first big move came. Just before the climb Odlin took a flyer – I chased for a while but with Horgan on my wheel and the peloton single-file I wasn’t getting much help. Greg saw the move and bridged across as I started to fade – whew! As the climb hit, the pace was high but not crazy and I was sitting comfortably in the first 5 wheels following three Subway riders when they looked at each other, nodded, and attacked.

I was red-lined and the long effort just before the climb wasn’t doing me any favours. I followed the attack and slowly the bunch thinned out; first a couple of individual riders, then the whole back half of the peloton drifted away. I clambered over the top with the front bunch with Greg and Andy. Dan and Stu weren’t far behind and they managed to work together to get back on.

On the next climb Subway rode a solid tempo and Mike was brought back from the break. I gave him a push but it was pretty clear his day was done. This left Wheatcroft out by himself.

On the 4th lap (90km) my legs were again tired so I drifted back for some well-earned rest. Andy and I were halfway through a chat when Horgan attacked from just in front of me. I didn’t hesitate and jumped on his wheel. He took a flyer off the front and we were 100m up the road before I knew what had happened. He flicked his arm for me to pull and turned around. I shook my head. He attacked me so hard I went cross-eyed but I held his wheel and within 30 seconds we were joined by the silver medal winner of Thursday’s time trial, Paul Odlin, and Matt Siliars. 3 strong Subway riders, a great time trialist, and me. Oh dear.

And this was where I made my big mistake of the day: I lapped it out with them. I had no need to. My two riders were back in the bunch and my job was to tail this break, not contribute to it. On a climb I would have stood a chance with them, but riding on flat roads with crosswinds the pace was above what my legs could deliver and I only lasted about 10kms.

I went back to the bunch with wornout legs and the realization that I’d messed up. Such is life.

As soon as I joined the peloton the attacks started and Stu, Dan and myself were dropped on the next climb. I fought like hell in the crosswinds for a couple of kms to get back on, and managed to just in time for the next hill to start. I was boxed. I made it to the top of the climb with the group but the drawn-out false flat with a cross/headwind top afterwards was too much and as other riders were shelled I didn’t have the horsepower to go around them and make it to the relative safety of the bunch. With 2 laps left my day was done.

With the exception of Greg’s flyer after Odlin, when I was dropped at the 110km mark, neither him nor Andy had been on the front or been forced to chase any moves for the entire race. Despite the disappointment of being dropped I was happy knowing that the work I’d done meant they’d have good legs for the final two laps of the race.

I rode the final 40km with U23 rider Tom Francis. The weather was sunny and warm, and other than the crosswinds and sore legs it was generally a pretty good day for a bike ride so we cruised around chatting.

Up front, the race came back together leading into the last hill. The pace must have been mighty and a group of 6 including Andy got away. Judging by the photo sequence at the finish the sprint was a bit dodgy and Andy did amazingly well to stay upright and cross the line in third place. He was later upgraded to second because of being badly impeded in the sprint.

Greg crossed the line in 8th place – an excellent result considering that only a few weeks ago he wasn’t going to race this event.

My new friend Tom and I finished up 20 minutes off the pace yielding me 13th and the last rider across the line.

We rode really well as a team and the work done by Stu, Dan, Chris, Mike and myself all paid off with those two great results.

The BDO Tour of Northland was one of the best-organized bike races I’ve been to.  Mike, Ross and I had a great time in the Winterless North – here is Mike’s report of events

The Tour of Northland is a very different beast than its name cousin the Tour of Southland. Whereas Southland brutalises its riders with long cold hard days racing in the gutter. Northland provides short days of racing, in warm weather and on some of the country’s most scenic roads. Tristan, Ross Watson and I were all enticed by this idea of good racing, in beautiful places as a semi-holiday after several months of hard training and racing over summer.

Day one of the race took us 93kms from Whangarei across to Dargaville on the west coast. Our elite field of 40 riders contained a mix of top riders from the likes of Pure Black Racing and Subway as well as a number of other A grade riders whom are not often seen at the national level races. The pace was pretty solid over the first 50km as numerous efforts to breakaway were keenly reeled in by the peloton. The major drama occurred at the 30km mark when touch of brakes and a clipped wheel transpired to send 4 riders hurtling to the tarmac while the bunch was strung out at 50kph. Tristan had a closer view than I but it looked and sounded extremely painful – so much so that for the first time in my time cycling the entire bunch actually stopped to check everyone involved was alright.

At the 50km mark we entered a section of rollers gradually climbing to almost 300m. Somewhere in here Will Bowman and James Northey snuck off the front and started building themselves a very healthy lead on the bunch. I didn’t rate their chances of staying away on the flat run-in so chose to sit back in the bunch a choice which become mandatory once a hit a pothole hard and my seat post slipped down almost 3 inches forcing me to pedal with my knees knocking my chin.

In the tradition of the peloton hurtling down the via roma we all but pulled back the two breakaways within 6km of Dargaville but a bridging effort by the NZ Paralympic team powered tandem provided them with the extra watts to stay away to the finish by about 30secs. I came in 10^th and Tristan was a bit further back in the bunch.

We spent a great afternoon in Dargaville, taking in the sights and enjoying the hospitality of our host Dot, who was probably one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Day two had some decent climbs packed into its final 50km and was likely to by a decisive stage. Just before the first of the climbs Brad Carter and Matt Gorter rode away in what was a dangerous looking move. We kept a steady pace up the first climb shedding a few riders but when we hit the 12km long second major climb things heated up. I attacked hard at the bottom but was closed down by the time it levelled off at the top. The group was now down to just over a dozen as we began a fast, wet and dangerous decent into the Kauri forest.

At the bottom of the descent it was straight into the next climb this one being the longest at over 10km but not too steep. Attacks were flying and Tristan and I were right amongst it but no one was strong enough to make anything stick. As we crested the climb and passed the might Tāne Mahuta (New Zealand’s largest and oldest tree, known by Māori as god of the forest) we captured Brad and Matt making our front bunch 12 strong. It wasn’t until just 6km to go that a decisive move was made as myself and a Subway rider managed to bludgeon a gap over a small climb and 4 others managed to make it across but not the yellow jersey.

We kept a small gap going into the final steep climb. It wasn’t long before I was drowning in lactic acid and dropped off the pace. From there it was just a matter of gritting teeth and trying to limit the time loss as best possible to the top, down the wet twisting descent and over the final km to the finish at Omapere. I ended up 5^th on the stage and on GC while Tristan took 7^th place and the same spot on GC. Ross rode well in the B grade to finish 8^th in the open men’s section.

Omapere is a tiny township near the mouth of the Hokianga harbour. It doesn’t show up on many maps and that means it doesn’t offer much in the way of accommodation and food. Booking late we had no option but to cram the three of us into one room at the extravagantly priced but hugely underwhelming Copthorne resort. The tough day was finished off with what must have been a two week old bacon and egg pie form the local ‘café’. Luckily the rain cleared by evening and we were able to enjoy the stunning views of Hokianga harbour and the sand dunes while alfresco dining on very small meals at the Copthorne.

Against predictions day 3 dawned dry and stayed that way. This was probably the best day’s racing as Subway put the pressure on James Northey who was wearing the yellow jersey. After 20km they had two up the road including Tom Hubbard who was 2^nd on GC at 30sec. The must have ridden hard as with 25km to go they were still holding a 2 minute gap on the bunch. At this point James and most of the field really ramped things up and we flew to the finish in single file.

Having studiously studied the race information Tristan and I were looking for the 200m climb with a passing bay on it which was said to be the finish. Nearing what I thought must be the finish we hit such a climb and I attacked hard gaining a good 50m gap. Cresting the top I was dismayed not to see finishing barriers but instead a 1km to go sign. I kept riding futilely but was caught within a hundred metres of the next climb which was the actual finish and had an almighty fight to keep from getting time gapped. I finished 10^th and Tristan was just two places behind.

This brought us to sunny Pahia in the Bay of Islands and we had a great afternoon relaxing and visiting the Treaty of Waitangi grounds.

I was convinced day 4 was going to be my day; I was feeling great and the profile offered plenty of climbs. I was expecting Subway to put the heat on James again after they closed the gap to just 5sec yesterday. However they choose to sit back instead and it was Brad Carter who took the initiative and rode off solo on along the numerous short steep climbs along the stunning Tutakaka coast.

At the 50km mark we hit the major climb of the day Herne Bay Hill. At 4kms it was long and steep enough to whittle the field down to 7 pretty quickly. I gave it a dig with 1km to go and got a good gap but with no one willing to come with me it was a waste of energy. Over the other side and Subway still wasn’t making an effort to attack James. My hope was that I could join one of the Subway riders and make up enough time to move into the top 3 or take the stage win. With 12km to go we were about to enter the final climbs when the dreaded soft feeling came from my rear tyre and I had to stop for a wheel change. Unfortunately by the time the wheel van came the entire race had passed me by and I was left to ride a lonely and bitter road to the finish where I’d dropped to twelfth.

Tristan had a great day, out sprinting the field for 4^th on the stage and moving up to 5^th overall to make it a very successful tour for him. Ross held onto his 8^th place in the senior men’s grade and fellow Wellingtonian Oliver Ferry took 2^nd in the men’s Vet 2 grade.

So that was it, there was nothing left but to pack the Falcoon and make the long drive back to wintery Wellington and the office. It was a great week at the Tour of Northland, great roads, stunning scenary, good racing and the best company. Now Southland……….

Mike Naylors race report from the Hub Tour in Hastings

Hub Tour 2011.

The Hub Tour in the Hawkes Bay is a well-run event which given its proximity to the other major races of the summer season, elites and Tour of Wellington tends to attract a formidable cast of riders all in fighting fit form. When Tristan and I watched Tim Gudsell of PBR disappear rapidly into the distance in-front of us during the Friday evening time trial all illusions that this would be an ‘easy weekend of sun, nice roads, vineyards and ice cream quickly dissipated.

The 6km prologue through up some pretty large time gaps, with Jeremy Vennell decked out in full TT kit putting an impressive 28sec into Andy who rode strongly for 7^th and over a minute into my-self and Tristan who occupied the lower part of the results. Never the less the ride back to the motel with the sun setting over the surrounding hills and the roads devoid of traffic put me in good spirits “I’ll make it back tomorrow”…

A scorcher of a day was building as we got ready the next morning for stage one of the tour, 3 laps of a 33km circuit which offered plenty of climbing. The bunch set off at a fairly sedate tempo and it stayed together over the first 10km which was effectively a series of short climbs strung together by false flat sections. After the K.O.M I felt confident enough to try my hand in a few moves none of which were of any real success. A strong group of 8 slipped away just before the second lap and looked certain to ride away with the race as their lead stretched to over a minute. But once we started climbing, the tempo rose and we pulled them back by the top of the K.O.M, shelling a dozen riders in the process.

All three of us Wheelworks riders were still accounted for in the group and things were looking good as we entered the last lap. I was feeling strong and was readying myself for fireworks on the K.O.M climb but they never eventuated soon after though every man and his dog was trying their hand and Andy and I were getting amongst it with vigour.

While I was on the front of the bunch Gudsell stormed by on my left shortly followed by Vennell on my right. Foolishly I burnt my matches trying to grab Vennell’s wheel and when failed got sent straight to the back of the bunch which was strung out in chase mode. The wheels in front of my lost contact with the bunch on the next climb and I gave it everything to bridge back up to them just in time for the next climb, which proved to be a bridge to far and I the gap opened again.

I looked behind me to see if help was on its way but given my state of extreme exhaustion couldn’t actually manage to co-ordinate this small task with that of steering. When I looked forwards again I was staring at a barbed wire fence and was soon crashing into the gravel verge in a cloud of dust and humiliation.

Thankfully Tristan stopped to pick me up, dust me off and provide company for the final 10kms to the finish. The scratches and bruises weren’t severe my front wheel and jersey were the real victims, both now retired from service. Up front Andy scored a solid 9^th place on the stage which was taken out by Bissell’s Patrick Bevan.

A few hours rest and we were back at it again with the afternoon criterium. The course looked easy enough with just four well-rounded corners. It started pretty easy to but after 10 minutes the pace started ramping up and never stopped. I was lazily sitting at the back and lacked both the power and will to move up and thus it was just a matter of time before a gap opened which I couldn’t close. I gave up the fight after the 20 min mark and joined the growing number of riders sheltering in the shade. Tristan followed soon after. Our melancholy was broken by the sight of Andy storming away from the bunch with one other inside five laps to go. Incredibly the two of them held off the bunch and Andy took a well fought 2^nd to Ben Olsen.

Stu did an outstanding job cooking us risotto and steak for tea and we all spent the evening enjoying the cooler temperatures outside.

Another morning another can of creamed rice and another stage, this time the last one of the tour. At 77km it wasn’t the longest but the two laps of the circuit provided a steep 2km climb each time followed by a rolling section exposed to the side wind which was just tailor made for attacking before turning off on the final lap for a short 1.5 km climb up the very steep Burma rd to the finish line.

The first lap provided almost no action and it was gruppo campacto at the bottom of the climb the second time around and just 20km to the finish. The pace was hard but not terrible as a headwind on the ascent hampered Andy’s efforts to blow things apart. I crested just metres off the back over the top and was back with what was left of the group by the next climb. Unfortunately I was maxed out and when the pace rose again and I went to get out of the saddle there was nothing left and my legs came to an almost complete stall. By the start of the Burma Rd climb those of us who’d dropped had formed into a small group, which included Tristan and the two of us engaged in a full on battle for line honours which involved head butts, elbows, swinging arms and more than one soiree into the gutter. I was proud to claim victory in the battle with a sprint in the last 150m.

Andy had been unlucky to make the front group when they split along the rolling section and finished 6^th on the stage for a final GC spot of 7^th which was highly commendable given the quality of the field. Thanks to his better criterium finish Tristan did one better than me to finish in 19^th. Jeremy Vennell won the stage but didn’t do enough to dislodge the yellow jersey from Shem Rodger’s shoulders as he took the overall win.

All that was left was to pack up the car buy an ice cream and head on home. A good weekend all round with great company, great weather and great racing. See you again next year Hawkes Bay!

Mike.