Clock2Clock gets a big tick

The Sunday of the long weekend in Victoria saw the inaugural Clock2Clock MTB event run in Woodend. There were 2 events to pick from, a 70km test that had riders climbing Mt Macedon twice and a friendlier 30km event that skipped the big climb. The Crew was well represented with Brett taking on the 70km and 5 riders in the 30km event being Mel, Roz, Tony, Phil and Dave.

First of all let me say that for a first time event the organisation was pretty good and any issues that arose were only of a minor nature. Yes there were a few wrong turns and missed corners but when you are belting down a fire road watching the trail ahead for obstacles its pretty easy to miss a signpost.

Anyhow the good news is that thanks to Mel and Roz the SMC was represented on the podium (well next year they might have a podium for the girls to stand on). Mel backed up her great effort at the Otway with a strong second in the Open Ladies and Roz ignored her lack of serious training to come home third. Roz also did some of her best work after the race with a very nifty trade of her 3rd place drinkbottle prize for the winners Camelbak.

The boys didnt get on the podium but the 30km group had a very enjoyable ride. The course was a good mix of up and down fire road mixed together with some nice singletrack and a fast fire road/backstreets of Woodend sprint to the finish.

It was a pretty hectic start to the race with the guy in the pace car getting caught up in all the excitment and turning his 20kmh controlled start into a 30-35 kmh Keiran event for the first 4kms. But once he was out of the way everyone could try and find their own rhythm as we rode through a paddock at the back of the Macedon Winery. After leaving there it was a good stretch of hilly fire road a bit like a mini version of the Otway course from 2010. There were some testy climbs but nothing too long and some quick decents with top speeds in excess of 50kmh. From there we headed into the first section of single track. This first part was probably the most technical with a couple of interesting spots that could catch you out if you werent concentrating.

At this stage all the SMC riders were close together and caught up in a group of about 10 or 12 riders that keep swapping positions. It was on a long gradual fire road climb after the first single track that Dave and Phil made their move and took the lead of this group. They held the lead to the end of the second lot of singletrack which was the point where a little bit of inexperience cost them a few placings. With the benefit of hindsight and knowing now what the final section of track was like we really needed to put the hammer down as soon as we exited the single track. But we took it pretty easy for the first km or so and our battlepack reformed with a group of 6 acting like a TDF breakaway with some serious speed, drafting and plenty of position swapping taking place over the next few kms.

After a quick down hill turn under the railway line Phil and I were at the front of the group again but alas the sprint home was a km too long for me and my conditon gave out as the road took a very slight uphill gradient. Phil kept the power on but was passed by a couple of riders and after narrowly avoiding an old man on a walker decided to resist any urges to make a kamikaze dive at the line. There ended up being 7 riders within 42 seconds of each other in our midfield position. Tony came home strong and didnt lose any more time apart from the small amount he lost on the climb. Several times he could see our group ahead but just couldnt bridge the gap. However there was a consolation prize for him as he made a new friend as a result of a conversation he struck up on the way around.

There was no detailed race report filed by Brett from the 70km event but we all hope he managed to finish before the thunderstorm hit.

Brett's off to the Terra this week and we wish him all the best for a safe and enjoyable race. You can track his progress on the following link. http://www.terraaustralismtbepic.com/

ps. we have some technical problems with the upload of the photos and will try and get them up shortly. In the meantime you can amuse yourself with the video link at the top of the page.