Round Taupo - Huka XL

Katies Instagram photo Pre race bike clean

Round Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge has been and gone for another year, with 8,500 entries in the many events. The day dawned perfect and wasn’t as cold as previous years but warming up wasn’t very successful. I treated this race like a national champ’s race as there was a lot of prize money and I really needed as much as I could, the money draws in top elite riders from all round the country so it was all on.


I started at the back of the XL pack as I got to the line later than everyone but after a few mins I was in the lead pack. For the first 25km there was a group of 8 or 10 of us just rolling along barely even puffing, after the good hour of warm up pace I decided to jump on the front and start to push the pace, every so often I would give it a bit more and have a look who was struggling but let them come back to the bunch.

Photo Helen Brumby

At about 35km I really hit one of the main hills hard with only Eventual winner Sam Shaw, Dirk Peters and Sam Gaze keeping up we rode together for the next 25km, this whole time I was on the front thinking I was stressing these 3 behind me, turns out I wasn't when Sam Shaw attacked very hard and got away with the other 2 chasing him leaving me on struggle street on my own. The pace they took off at was very high but we still had a good hour to go so I had my Suspicion’s that Sam Gaze a young fella would blow and hoped the other 2 would also. I eventually saw Sam Gaze pop and I went past him in pursuit of Dirk and Sam. After passing Sam and getting some of the Enervit that I was holding onto (and not dropping on the ground) down the hatch I started getting very strong and feeling good again and took off, with about 3 or 4km to go I was flying and all of a sudden I saw Dirk, he didn't look blown but I was coming up on him fast, he didn't no I was coming so as I got close I really gave every thing I had left and went past him a good few kmph faster not allowing him to hold my wheel, I was still giving chase on Sam.

Photo Cyclezone 

It wasn’t to be though Sam finished 2mins in front of me and claimed the $1300 we were after, 2nd for me and 1min back from me was Dirk in 3rd. Rotorua domination

Carl
   

Final Day Of TOS stages 7 and 8

First up was the individual Time Trail, As we woke the hail was hitting town and it was freezing, on the way out to the start in Winton it was snowing pretty hard. Once we started our warm ups The weather was doing the 4 seasons in 10 minutes at one stage it was snowing then sleat then some hail and the the sun come out. I was lucky when I started it was sunny but with 4 mins to go in my TT it hailed so hard I just about stopped.  It was quite hard after loosing my Magellan earlier in the week, with nothing telling me the distance or heart rates I was just riding as hard as I could. I got bloody smoked in this, I was 80th 3 mins down.

Photo: Peter Burggeman 

Stage 8, 87km from Winton back to Invercargill.

Right from the get go I was dropping wheels in the strong cross winds, I was close to the front but soon very close to the back of the splitting pelaton. As I looked up after 10 mins I could see 7 bunches infront of me each with only a few people in it and it was hard. In the end I ended up with a few guys I was way to strong for and they were crying every time I lapped so I let them sit on me for 20kms in the cross winds and we rolled to the finish not without 1 more hail storm dealing to us. We ended up been 20mins down on this stage no one really cared, my GC slipped but I wasn't winning or doing any good.

I ended up 74th on GC out of 130 starters on the final day I lost 12 spots though so it could have been much better. I wanted to be top 40 when I come down but this tour was by far harder than I thought it was going to be and I learnt so much about been in the right place at the right time, bunch position is everything when you are here with the spring time winds, not one day had no wind.

Loved it though and hopefully I can work something out next year to be able to do it again. Thanks for following my Southland Experience .

Cheers
Carl           

TOS Stage 6

Stage 6 was 167km from Invercargill  to Gore, around the country side and back to Gore. From the start the going was tough, gale force winds split us early but after 50km we all were back together after lots of help from the vans and solid lapping. 

James Jubb

Me and the team were having a bit of trouble feeding today as the van was along way back but we ended up getting feed from the neutral support van but with 30km togo the hammer went down and I couldn't hold on so I rode for 20km with Tom Ashley and fellow mountain biker Nick Miller, but I was sponge bob out of water with no vans around to give me bottle my body shut down and I could no longer work with them or hold wheels I drifted off and the last 5km I hardly pedaled luck it was a gale fore tail wind and not head wind. I was 69th on the stage still lots of people behind on such a hard day. Thanks to James Canny and his Creation signs- L&M Group for giving me water and food after the race and also the Ascot park hotel - Kia motors team for the lollies, I was waiting for the team van to come but turns out it had blown up and I had no  van and no gear. Thanks heaps.

My GC slipped 5 spots back to 63rd, but i'm not fused anymore this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done, every day you wake up with very sore legs but have to get on with it. Its only going to make me stronger, it feels like it already is because I have found some new pain barriers.

800km done and only 100 more tomorrow we have a 13km Time Trail in the morning followed by a 87km afternoon stage. The weather for tomorrow is for cold and more gale force winds but I say bring it, I want to see what the snow tastes like...  

Stage 6 was 167km from Invercargill  to Gore, around the country side and back to Gore. From the start the going was tough, gale force winds split us early but after 50km we all were back together after lots of help from the vans and solid lapping. 

TOS Stages 3,4 and 5

Stage 3 was a short 48km stage from Riverton to Tuatapere in the morning, it went along the coast and the cross winds were unreal, and it was all or nothing the boys were full noise. Lucky for me the form was back today and I managed to slip into a good little group as everyone split, we were in bunches of 15 to 20 spread across the road anyone not in the incalon was in the gutter alone. I ended up in the 3rd bunch only 2.30 down.

James Jubb

Stage 4 was 100km Tuatapere to Te Anau in the afternoon. This stage had a decent hill in it, I went over the top with a small break about 10th wheel down the other side there was only 25 of us, but all the teams sat up and there wasn't much I could do about it after 5mins everyone was back together. It stayed together until 20km togo when everything went in the gutter at 55-60kmph and I couldn't keep up after 10km in the convoy a few of us got back onto the leader but then it all went balls out again and back off into the convoy I went. I finished in the cars only 1min back. So all in all pretty stoked with the 2 stages of the day, my GC moved back up slightly after the Shit day to Bluff.

Clinton Winning stage 4 yeah boy 

Stage 5 was the big one 179km from Te Anau to the Crown Range and it was raining. 

by Pete Bruggeman

At the start of this day I was shattered my legs were very sore, my team mates had to help me back on the bunch so many times it wasn't funny

Andy pulling me back on 

I was dropping wheels every time the going got tough. I was even dropped for about an hour with about 35 other guys we did end up getting back to the bunch after some solid solid work this is that break happening 

by Pete Bruggeman

After about 2 hours I started to come right and moved back up towards the front as I defiantly didn't want to go back to the dark place I had just been. Coming along the rolling hills along the lake into the Queenstown area I was feeling really good. Into the final 10km I was with the front 40 guys when Clinton Avery and Hayden Roulston got flat tires pretty close together and their teams sat up in the bunch, I was placed wrong in the bunch again and just rolled off the back again, I chased quite hard into the bottom of the hill leaving my bunch and going alone, Roulston caught me just before the turn into Crown range and I chased him up the hill.. he smoked me. I was only 2min 30 back by the top on the winner and 31st up there.

by Pete Bruggeman

I was really gutted I had lost a minute before the bottom of the hill I really wanted to try my best against the top road boys but been a rookie in their sport im always been out played.       

coming home this is how good my photos get cant be bothered out the window