Condy Wins Queensland Masters State Championship

Condy is the newest member of the team, but also the one with the most experience and on Saturday he lined up for the ultra competitive Masters Queensland State Championship in Warwick. This race was a part of his steady come back to competitive cycling and it ended with a great result.

The weather in Warwick was atrocious with heavy rain and strong wind pelting the course. The race was going to be a race of attrition, with the winner being one who could tolerate the bad weather the best. Luckily Condy is a good Irish lad and knows a thing or too about cold, wet and windy bike racing.

After the first windy section of the race a selection of 15 riders had already been made, with Condy being comfortably in the front group. The weather slowly took its toll and as the laps went by, the front group dwindled until only three were left.

On the last lap the front three watched each other as the sprint finish came closer, however Condy has been showing good for in sprints of late and was confident he could get past the other two. With 200m to go, the sprint opened up and and Condy quickly got a gap and won the state Title with ease.

Well done Condy. Next stop the World Championships in Austria next year!!

Warwick - Teams Series 5

Warwick was looking on paper to be a pretty straight forward event. The course only had a few small climbs in it, with most of the course being flat. However, as the morning progressed, the wind slowly built up and by the time the race reached the back part of the course, strong cross winds were causing problems with the pelton.

From the start, the team was looking to get into some early moves, however Tinelli and Budget were controlling the bunch for the Sprint and KOM. After 25km, the race turned left and the cross winds cut through the field. For those not strong enough to be in the front group, the race was already over, as a group of 10 riders went off the front, with another group of 10 riders chasing. The rest of the peleton were already minutes down.

Thankfully Condy made it into the front group with Matt making it into the second group.

Matt's group chased for 40km and finally made across to the front group. However, Condy became sick during the race and had to abandon.

Matt was left in the group of 20 riders and knew as the group approached the cross winds, that someone would drop the hammer. Knowing this Matt moved up to the front of the group as they sprinted into the left hand corner. Unfortunately Matt had burnt allot matches to get across to the front group and couldn't hold the pace. He came in a few minutes down on the winning group.

Budget again took the top three positions.

Cunningham Classic

The Cunningham Classic is probably the one race of the year which a rider wants to win. It’s the hardest, longest and oldest race on the calendar with a win in this race being a very prestigious inclusion on anyone’s palmares.

Conditions this year were perfect and the team was well prepared to take on the challenge.

As per usual, early breaks went to try and get the KOM prize that come up early in this 176km race. After 40km, the KOM was contested once the early break was caught on the lower slopes of the climb. A counter attack saw a small group ease off the front, with the bunch setting an even tempo up the climb. With about 750m to the top, more attacks occurred and another break away formed off the front. This round of attacks also saw a large part of the peleton get dropped from the race and the first selection was made.

On the decent the groups consolidated at the front again and the next climb at Pilton came upon the group. It was here in this more exposed and steeper climb, that a big attack saw another group break away and gain some time.

For almost 50km this break was kept in sight and no one in the group was panicking. However, at the turn at Leyburn it was apparent the gap had blown out to more than 2 minutes. Still no one panicked.

On the run into the second feed, the group became more animated and a chase began. Coming into the second feed the gap was more than 3 minutes. This was not good news for the chasers.

For the final 40km the chase was on, but the front group had too big a lead and were not brought back. Pete Thompson took the win.

The team did well to stay in the chase group, with Condy taking the group sprint for a top ten result after Matt and Brendo tried to break away.

Charles Coin Road Race

The Charles Coin Road Race is always a speacial and traditional inclusion on the racing calendar. Uni CC have run the race for many years out at Laidley and is always a great race. The course is generally flat with a few small hills breaking things up.

The team knew we needed to keep an eye on the Tinelli team with their great season so far making them marked men. Knowing this, the boys made sure we tried to get one of us into any move that a Tinelli rider was in.

For the first 40km there were many attacks, with a few small breaks getting away, but nothing staying away for long. After 50km however, a group of 5 riders got away and built a bit of a lead. Unfortunately we didn't have a rider in the break, and so the chase had to be done.

Callum and Brendo did amazing work on the front to slowly bring the break back. These two animals worked together with a little help from others for more than 50km to finally bring the break back. At this point, the counter attacks were to start. This is when Tom Collier attacked solo to build a big lead.

With less than 40km to go, the race split and things started to get serious. Callum was ever present in the front group, with Matt and Taylor working hard to get Condy up into the front group with Callum. Meanwhile Collier's lead built.

As the rest of Tinelli attacked, Callum was able to sneak away in pursuit of the leaders to get 5th, while Condy sprinted in for 8th. Well done boys.

Tom Collier won solo - very strong!

Teams Series 4 - Kingaroy

The 4th round of the Teams Series saw the inclusion of a new rider to the team, Darren "Condy" Condon. The rest of the team were also there to try an improve the teams standings in the series, which they managed to do.

The course was very hard, with several small climbs and one larger 2km climb punctuating the course. After the first lap, the bunch had already dwindled and several breaks forming.

Callum, Taylor and Darren made it into the second chase group, with the leaders building a good lead. As the laps past, more and more riders dropped off and the chase group became more select.

Callum and Darren managed to stay in the second group and get top ten results, while Taylor came in soon after to ensure the team moved up a spot on the team standings.

Good work boys!!

Tour of Toowoomba

The Tour of Toowoomba is the first National Series event for the team and it proved to be a big test for the team. The race was to include all of the best teams and riders and was no doubt going to be a hard race.

The wind was to ultimately going to play the biggest part in the tour, with over 40 km per hour cross winds slicing through the peleton.

Stage one was eventful with Taylor and Mat getting punctures and Mat getting sick late in the stage. Callum, Sam and Brendon finished in the fractured groups that formed, while Matt and Taylor struggled home.

Stage two included more incredible wind and fast racing to again cause havoc with the pelton, that again fractured into many groups. The final climb of more than 25% gradient, certainly tested the will of the team.

Stage three was set to be an easier affair with no wind or large climbs. However, after 20km Sam was involved in an horrific crash and had to abandon, while other team riders ended up in hospital. Sam looks to be not seriously injured and will hopefully be back soon.

The final stage was much welcomed and was an opportunity for redemption after tough weekend and lots of bad luck. Taylor and Brendon rode well to be up the front and showing off the team jersey infront of the great crowds.

Round 3 Qld Teams Series

This round of the Teams Series included a criterium in Miles and a road race from Chinchilla to Bunya Mountains. The criterium was uneventful, however the road race was a true classic.

The road race was 150km, with a 10km climb to the finish. This climb was always going to be decisive, especially with the 20% ramps that featured on the climb. As a result, the race was fairly subdued for the first 50km as the bunch anticipated the tough finale.

Once the first hour was raced, the bunch became very active with many attacks taking place on the flat and fast course. It was difficult for a break to get away, but finally after 50kms of racing a break of about 15 riders finally got away and would stay away until the foot of the final climb
The team was thankful that Taylor was able to make it into this break, which allowed the rest of the team to sit in while other teams chased. Along the way, Taylor was strong enough to get points in both the King of the Mountains competition and the Sprint competition.

As expected, the break was caught at the foot of the climb, which is where the real race started. The climb started with a hard 20% ramp, which splintered the remaining group. Those who were left simply had to do would they could to get to the finish as the climb slowly broke rider after rider.

Peter Herzig was the strongest rider of the day and won in strong fashion. Meanwhile, the team all managed to finish the tough race, with all the boys getting themselves into good positions (results still pending).

Next round – Kingaroy

Next race – Metro Championships

Battle on the Border

Stage 1
The first stage was a short 5.5km TT. This stage had little influence on the overall race, with both Matt and Sam putting in decent times to be within 50 seconds of the lead. After this short test, it was important to save the legs for stage 2 in the afternoon

Stage 2
This stage was a hard 150km hilly stage around Mooball in northern NSW. With several large climbs and the distance, it was always going to be a hard race. Interestingly, there were no significant breakaways, and with 10km and two large climbs to go, there was still a large group together and a bunch sprint was to ensue. Sam managed to stay in the front group and finished up the front and was 18th overall. Nick Schultz too a great win considering he’s only 17. He also took the overall lead.

Stage 3
Stage 3 was 120km with several good climbs. Matt decided he would lay it on the line and try and get into some kind of breakaway to try and take the pressure of the rest of the team. Matt got into a couple of small breaks, but with 20km to go, the race was still mostly together. Over the last climb and with 10km to go, two rider slipped off the front and gained a good lead. Sam got into a small chase group who tried to bridge up to the front pair. Although they didn’t catch the front group, they maintained an advantage on the main group and Sam managed to get himself into 8th overall. Michael Hoskings took the lead.

Stage 4
The last stage was a tight 45min crit around Salt. Sam hoped to maintain his 8th spot and did a great job to hold onto the front group and managed to move up one spot in the overall to get 7th, which is a great effort for his first multi stage race.

Michael Hoskings took the overall win.