Cunningham Classic

This years Cunningham Classic included a number of very good riders, and was set to be one of the best editions ever. The weather was perfect, with just the right amount of wind present to make things interesting over the 171km course.

The race started as per usual, with a break away trying to get the KOM at 41km. This year, it was one rider away solo who stayed away to take the points. Once the KOM was passed, the real action started.

Leading into the first feed, the cross winds started to play their role, with many teams trying to take advantage of the wind. For several kilometres the cross winds meant that the race for many was cut short. Through this section, the team rode well to stay at the front and ensure a full team was present for the second half of the race.

After the first feed, there was 30km of head wind, that allowed a break of two riders get away. With TDU controlling the race, the break never gained more than 2 minutes, and were brought back once we turned for home.

As the race turned towards home, with 70km to go, the real attacks began. James Miller started to get amongst the action, but the group didn't want to let anything go. However, for more than 30km there were constant attacks, but still nothing got away.

Coming into the final 40km, the race headed east, and the wind had picked up. For almost 20km, the cross winds battered the field, and finally a break of 4 riders broke clear. Thankfully, our form rider Ben Cook made the split and allowed the rest of the team to wait for the finale.

As the front group came into the finish, Ben had an attack on the final hill of the day, 2km from home. Despite his best efforts, his break away companions counter attacked, where Ben held on to take 4th place. Anthony Collins had the power to take a great win.

Again with 2km to go, Matt counter attacked the moves being made in the chase group, and managed to slip off the front with Jayden Copp. The two stayed away, where Matt out sprinted Jayden to take 5th.

The team showed great patience to wait until the right time, to make our moves, where we we rewarded with some great results.

Check out some great photo's here at ESI Sports Photography

QRTS Round 4 - Kingaroy

The fourth round of the Queensland Teams Series was held in the Kingaroy region and the team was certainly at full strength to challenge for results.

Day One
The Saturday was located in Kumbia and featured 112km over a rolling circuit. The team was very aggressive throughout the race and rode at the front all day, making sure we were represented. All the team were very active and certainly made a good race of it.

A small break of 4 got away, and so the team went to the front trying to bring the small break back. With 40 seconds between the peleton and the break with only 5km to go, Ben Cook made a strong move over the final hills to try and get across to the front.

Despite no getting across, he still held on to a top 10 finish, with Ben Chambers and Graeme Rose also featuring in the top 20.

Day Two
Sunday's race was a very hard 145km race, that included plenty of climbing. A

gain the boys were very active and worked hard to get into the selections that were sure to happen.

At approximately half way, the race was split by the cross wind, and it was the ever present Ben Cook who got across to the front group as it split up. Once the break was established, the rest of the team was able to sit in and allow the other teams to chase.

Meanwhile, Ben was left to fend for himself up the front, where he managed to keep making the selection, until 10 riders broke clear and were away to contest the finish. Ben was out numbered by other team's but still managed to get some KOM points and make a real race of it.

In the finale, the strength in numbers by the other team's saw Ben luck out, however he still held on for 10th, which was incredible for such a young rider. Well done!

Queensland Teams Series Round 2

Round 2 of the QRTS was held in the southern downs region, with day one in Stanthorpe and day two in Warwick. Please note that official results are still to come, so we don't know the exact results.

Day One
In the morning of day one, the boys had to contest a 32km Team Time Trial. The goal for the morning was to limit loses given the TTT has never been the team's strength. The boys averaged more than 40km over a pretty hilly course, which we believe was enough to finish mid pack.

In the afternoon, the riders had a 115km road race. Just in time, the wind picked up, and the clouds rolled in. The conditions were becoming testing for sure, which resulted in a very selective race. Within the first few km's, the wind, hills and relentless attacking quickly thinned the group down.

Ben Cook was very active early, forcing the pace and trying to get a break away. No breaks were to go however, with the first 40km being extremely fast.

After 50km, Matt followed two riders up the rode, and was very briefly allowed to gain a small advantage. However, the big teams wanted the bunch to stay together for a little longer.

With 20km to go, the real action started, with James Miller and Ben Cook making sure they were up the front and getting into the moves. Tried as they did, the winning break still managed to get away in the final 10km without a team rider.

Despite missing the break, the boys rode well to be in the main bunch into the finish.

Day Two
Day two was a very windy 130km road race. The boys knew it was important to be at the front, and from the gun, Matt attacked and formed what ended up being the winning break.

For the first 30km, the break grew from 3, to 5 and then to 10 riders until a crucial turn and subsequent cross wind broke the lead group up. Matt was split off the back with several riders and was forced to chase.

As the race went on, the wind whittled down the bunch, until in the finale, there were just ones and twos across the road. Ben Cook was able to persist with the small groups and managed to get himself into the front few groups.

Well done to Jack Anderson for winning all three stages.

Metropolitan Championships success

This years metro champs proved to be a very successful weekend for the squad, with the B grade team dominating both the criterium and road race.

Criteriums

The A Grade race was characterised by a long break away that went from the gun. For most of the race, the break was clear of the field, gaining up to 50 seconds on the chasing pack. As the laps went by, the gap did eventually come down after being stable at 40 seconds for much of the race.

With some strong turns at the front by Michael Hill, the gaps came down further, as the team set up Dan McCulloch for a sprint.

In the finale, the break was caught, and the usual counter attacks began. However, Dan showed great patience to wait for a sprint and work to his strength. Another large break did get away in the finale, however it came back together with 250m to go. This saw a messy sprint, which caused Dan to have to interrupt his sprint. Dan managed to hold on for 7th, but if the "racing incident" hadn't occurred, Dan would certainly have made the podium.

The B grade race was a demonstration of great team work. The team worked hard towards ensuring the race was to be a sprint, so they could set up form rider Jack Richards for the sprint. All the boys covered all dangerous moves and into the finale, made sure Jack was in position for the sprint.

In the final lap, Jack was dropped off by the team onto the leadout train of a rival team, and took full advantage of this lead out.

Jack had the power to open up his sprint and hold it to the line for a great win.

Road Race

The road race the following day was highly anticipated with the team motivated by Jack's success.

The A Grade race was first off, with the boys looking to be aggressive on the selective road course.

On the first lap, a break of two riders went away and eventually established a gap of almost 3 minutes. As such, the team had to contribute to the chase to allow Matt and Ben to attack in the finale. As the gap reduced, Matt and Ben tried several times to bridge across, but the motivated peleton wouldn't let them go.

In the final 10km's, a small break bridged across to the front duo, which the team initially missed. Ben and Matt tried to get across in the dieing kilometres, but it was too late. It was good racing all the same.

The B Grade team was especially ready to go, with Justin Jelenkovic attacking early in the race. JJ gained an early lead, and was soon joined by four other riders, who set about increasing the gap to the peleton.

The break worked hard for the entire race, and was never to come close to being caught by the main group. As such, the break was able to indulge in some cat and mouse in the

finale, with JJ using some great attacking riding to get away from his breakaway companions.

JJ was strong enough to hold his lead and take a great win. JJ will now be promoted to the A grade squad. Well done!

Tour of Toowoomba

The second NRS event for the men's team was the Tour of Toowoomba. Renowned for it's hilltop finishes and brutal cross winds, this year's tour was no different.

Stage 1 for the team was fairly uneventful, with the boys just looking to get through the first stage and not loose anytime. First mission complete.

Stage 2 finished up the Bunya Mountains. The fact is, this climb is brutally hard, and ultimately shaped the GC for the rest of the race. Ben Cook did as good as he could to stay with the front group, but as the 7km climb continued, the Genesys team tightened the screws on everyone, and blew the race apart.

Ben did well to still finish in the top 20, and be 3rd overall in the Young Rider classification.

Stage 3 was a Team Time Trial. This wasn't the team's strength, so it was all about limiting losses and getting to the finish. Another box ticked.

Stage 4 was by all accounts, the hardest of the race. The wind was very strong, and from the start the attacks made sure those in bad position were to be left behind. Dan did well to stay in the front group, however Ben was dealt a tough lesson as he got caught at the back in the crosswinds. He did gain a valuable experience in positioning in such races.

Stage 5 was the usual Queens Park Criterium, which is the traditional finish to the race. The boys tried to feature in the race, but the big NRS teams made sure they had complete control of the race, and had the strength to ensure nothing dangerous was to get away. The boys did well to finish off a very hard tour.

Women's Race
For the first time, a women's race was included around Queens Park on the final day. Our form rider, Jasmin, made her way up to contest this inaugural event and did a great job. Early in the race, four girls broke clear and established a good gap. Jazzy was attentive enough to make this group and contribute to the pace making.

As the laps went by, it soon became clear the four leaders would stay away, so the cat and mouse tactics came to the fore. coming into the finale, the attacks began.

Ruth Corset made a strong attack, and was soon going solo. The three chasing girls couldn't bring her back, and started to fight for the minor placings. After a great effort, Jazzy took 4th behind a storming Ruth Corset.

Quick Update

It has been a very busy few weeks for the team, with loads of travel and racing being done.

The first round of the Queensland Teams Series was held in Gatton recently, where Ben Cook did a great job in coming 10th in the time trial and 7th in the last road stage. Meanwhile Condy and Dan got top ten placings in the road races as well. Overall, the team is sitting very well and have room to move up the standings.

The Team's series race was followed by Battle on the Border. Battle for this year was an NRS race for the women and A Grade men, so hard an fast racing was on the menu all weekend. All though there were no results of note, the team worked very hard to do as best they could, while ensuring plenty of fun was had along the way. I highlight of the weekend was certainly the team bbq on Saturday night. After four days of racing, the crew deserve some time off...if only.

The Tour of Toowoomba is next on the agenda.

ANZAC 25

The annual ANZAC 25 race at Lakeside Raceway is a great way to pay tribute to the diggers that have served the country so well.

The A Grade Men's team was well represented and eager to go. The boys had discussed about going for the primes, and then setting things up for Dan in the sprint. This mostly worked out in our favour, with Ben Cook and Matt Murray both getting a prime each.

Ben took his prime by attacking with almost 2km from the line. After the whistle for the prime blew, Ben waited until the first hill on the circuit to launch an attack that no one responded too. He managed to power away and take the first prize solo.

Matt then was able to wait until the final of four primes, where he followed an attack by Brad Nightingale. The two opened a gap 2km from the line, but were joined by two other riders about 1km to go. Matt played it smart and allowed the other two riders to come across, where he managed to wait until the final climb to attack the small group. With no response to his attack, Matt was able to also solo to the prime win.

The boys then went about setting Dan up for the sprint, where things went well until the final kilometre. The boys had Dan in 5th wheel going over the final climb, but by the bottom, Dan was at the front with 400m to go. Dan was forced to lead out the sprint, and was unable to get the result he was capable of.

It was a succesful day none the less.



Qld State Criterium Championships

The Sunshine Coast Cycling Club was host to the Queensland State Criterium Championships for 2013. The tough circuit was to ensure a worthy winner in each category was to come to the fore, and the team was ready for action.

Elite Women's Title

The women's team was certainly the strongest of the day, and the results will reflect that. Jazzy continued her amazing form to win with ease, while Lou showed her form was also on the improve, by taking 3rd. Sally was also in the action by doing a great job of softening the field up and also monitoring any dangerous moves.

The race started with Sally attacking the first time up the hill. This allowed for Jazzy to counter attack, which proved to be decisive. Jazzy quickly opened a gap and looked to be riding away solo. However, Jemma Brown quickly decided to try and bridge across, and soon made contact with Jazzy, where they worked to build a lead.

The gap opened up quickly, and it was obvious the win would be from these two. In response, Sally and Lou traded counter attacks, with Lou managing to get away and begin a solo journey.

Jazzy was able to escape on the final lap for a great win, while Lou soloed in for third place. Another dominant display.

Elite Men's Title

With a previous winner in Dan and Matt taking second last year, the Elite Men's Title had every chance of coming the teams way. With a depleted team, and some local sunshine coast teams present, the race would be difficult to control.

Immediately the race was aggressive, with the new Tineli team sending rider after rider off the front in the hope a break would stick. Dan did plenty of good work to control the race, while Matt waited for the right move.

After much attacking, it came down to a two man break that formed in the final 5 minutes of the race. With 3 laps to go, Matt attacked in an attempt to bridge across to the two up front. Despite his best efforts, Matt couldn't make the final junction, and was taken up by the fast moving pack.

Into the final lap, there was a significant crash, which halted many riders progress, while one of the break away riders held on to win, as the remainder of the bunch took the rest of the podium places.