Thrills & thankfully no spills at this years TOUR OF BRIGHT bike race.

Yes , it's not all about TRIATHLON as a few members headed north to the beautifull town of Bright last weekend to tackle our own version of "LE TOUR"..it isn't Alpe D'Huez, but my lord it almost blew my kneecaps apart and made me more determined to drop a few kilo's.

Bev Thomas had a blinder and came 3rd in B Grade women whilst Jeremy Smith and myself tackled the Masters category and showed the roadies we can handle a bike pretty well when you dump the aerobars.

I have to make special mention to Jeremy who suffered a nasty fall last year when he thought the quickest way down  was through the mountainside rather than around it and ended up with a free flight home to hospital.He got back on the horse and placed midfield this year which was an excellent result in a very tough category....and he climbs like a mountain goat.

Don't be daunted by road cycling kids, it's a great way to improve your skills and give you confidence when you hit the hotdog circuits at your local tri....and you can DRAFT legally too..;-).

Bevinator put together a great report so read on......   Mick Skerritt

Yarra Tri head to the hills – the Tour of Bright 2008

As the popularity of the Tour of Bright increases, it is attracting more and more triathletes to join in the excitement. This year saw the return of our Yarra group from last year, plus some newbies who had been convinced to join in the fun. A total of 500 cyclists turned up for the weekend of racing, despite a less than ideal weather forecast. We were fortunately greeted by fabulous weather, with the definite need for strong sun block on Saturday and a perfect view on the climb to Mount Hotham on Sunday.

Saturday’s racing involves a road race in the morning, taking in the ascent and descent of Tawonga Gap and a time trial in the afternoon. Stage 1 varies in distance for the various grades, with Men’s A grade ride 141 Km, Masters 1,2,3 & 4 have 105km and us lucky ladies get 79km. The flat start through the Ovens Valley comes to a heart-starting stop at Rosewhite Gap, with some KOM points on offer. There follows another valley section with some sprint points up for grabs before starting the climb proper over Tawonga. I was lucky to get into a 6-chick breakaway that worked together to stay away from the chasers until Tawonga when it was every chick for herself. A lot of fun & it had all the hallmarks of a real road race. Simon did a great job of chasing back to the pack through Rosewhite Gap and the Ovens Valley, after getting a puncture near the start. Mick worked the pack hard though the flat sections, tidying them up again after a bit of a split over Rosewhite.  Jezza showed some great form and enjoyed the thrills without the spills, posting some excellent times.

Stage 2 is a 15.8km time trial over gently undulating terrain. It all sounds too easy until you factor in the fatigue from the morning’s stage. Nutrition during and after the first stage play a huge part in how the second stage unfolds, but the adrenalin kicks in at the start when you’re held in place on the starting platform and you have to try to think about everything else but the quad and glut burn.  It’s hard not to get too excited at having completed stages 1 &2 and overdo the liquid carb loading on Saturday night, with some great boutique beers in the region, but the thought of Sunday’s stage does hang over you like a small dark cloud.

Sunday involves a gentle 25km warm-up ride along the valley from Bright towards the mountains. A couple of sprint keep people on their toes, but the packs tend to stay together until Harrietville. At this point, you start the 30km uphill climb, which can be divided into 3 10km sections. Firstly, a winding road with an average gradient of 6.6% with the 400m of 9% (The Meg) thrown in for good measure. Next is the false flat, where you can intermittently generate some decent speeds. The last section is not for the faint-hearted and relies on you saving a little in the tank. There is an initial 750m pinch of 7%, CRB hill at 10% for 1.1km and Diamantina rise of 9.7% for 850m. The two crazy descents for >65 kph can’t quite make up for the heartache of the uphill, but the elation at the finish line is clear on everyone’s face.