Ingerreke Stage Race, day’s 2 & 3

15/5/13

STAGE 3 ALICE

Beginning at the old Telegraph station, this stage started with some fast fire-roads that then narrowed into some rough 4wd tracks.  From around the 6km mark the course turned into a mtbikers heaven, with an endless maze of single track and just a few 4wd sections thrown in.

Unfortunately it was during this stage, that I was forced to withdraw from this year’s Ingerreke Commercial Mountain bike event, due to medical reasons.  To be honest it was a bit of a relief to finally make this decision as I know it was really what the doctor had ordered!

For most others, the race went on and this year’s event was certainly shaping up to be a great one!

The rough terrain caused a little havoc in the men’s field, when race leader Andy Blair punctured as did his teammate Sean Lewis.  This allowed current U23 National Marathon champ, Michael Crosbie, to open up a gap. Michael showed great strength for such a young guy and held on to his lead to finish 50sec clear.  Sean Lewis and Andy Blair recovered well and worked together to finish 2^nd and 3^rd on the stage.

In the open women’s event Rowena Fry and Jenny Fay rode together again until the single track started.  Row then showed her technical skill, to gain a good gap on Jenny.  By race finish she had gained a handy 2min margin.  Terry Rhodes rode a well-paced race to finish strong in 3^rd place.

Two of the pedallab riders I look after are also competing in this year’s event.  Jane Ollerenshaw is currently sitting in the top 3^rd of the competitive Veteran Women’s category and Kerry Ryan placed 2^nd in the Masters male category, despite racing guys up to 10 years his junior!

ICME STAGE 4

This day was always going to suit those who can push a big gear and sustain high powers for a long period of time. It was also going to be a day when more tactics would come into play, being a flat open 88km course. Larger groups of riders were inevitable as drafting and swapping off turns were in order. One for the roadies for sure!

It was an early start, as we all boarded buses at 5am to make the hour or so journey out to the remote town of Santa Teresa.  The riders were to set off at 7.30am from out front of the town school where some of the local Indigenous kids had gathered to view the spectacle. These kids had a grin from ear to ear as they watched all the riders warm up and a few handy trials riders showed off their skill.

It was interesting for me to watch this stage from the sidelines and experience first-hand the role of team souneiur.  I jumped in the car with team mechanic / support crew for giant riders Ben Hogarth and Terry Rhodes who were sitting in 4^th and 3^rd in the open men’s and women’s categories.

After collecting warm up jackets and seeing the riders start, our first mission was to find the 40km feed station.   This required some 4wdriving along bumpy tracks seemingly in the middle of no- where. Hopefully he farmers appreciated the cow-herding we did along the way! With help from some of the more local supporters we eventually came across a red arrow meaning we had found part of the race course.   In this race, outside assistance was not allowed, so while tools were not required Lee was still able to hand the riders nutrition at each of the feed zones. The rest of the day entailed jumping in and out of the car and getting to the next water point before the riders did.

Some of the school kids gathered at the start of stage 4

By the halfway mark the lead bunch had whittled down to 7 or 8 riders, including all of the favorites  apart from Ben Mather who had obviously chosen to ride with his partner Rowena Fry in a pack a few minutes behind.

Apparently, several attacks were launched in the last 40km; however the lead bunch were together as they rolled across the line.  Jenny Fay and Rowena Fry had also stayed together in their bunch, and so at day’s end there were no changes to the leader’s board. A few of the riders in some of the other categories had however suffered mechanicals or missed out on getting into a strong bunch, and there were a few changes to category positions.  These riders have to be even more aware of their competitors as it can be hard to know who in the field is racing in their particular category.  I guess most go in with the attitude of racing as hard as they can and worry about where they placed later.