SunTour: A Big Step Up - bmwcycling
387
wp-singular,post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-387,single-format-standard,wp-theme-bridge,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode_grid_1300,footer_responsive_adv,qode-theme-ver-13.0,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.10.0,vc_responsive

31 Jan SunTour: A Big Step Up

Posted at 02:33h in Racing by

Heading over to Melbourne for the 2018 Herald Sun Tour I wasn’t really sure what to expect. For myself, and a few of my team mates, this was the biggest road race we had ever done. Just racing on closed roads was a change for me, let alone going from racing a field of 30 to racing over 90 world class riders.

Luckily we had many experienced riders in our team to give us advice before the race, helping calm the nerves.

Going into the tour I wasn’t aiming for a certain result. My main focus was to learn as much as I could and gain some valuable experience.

Riding in the peloton was heaps of fun. The race was fast and aggressive from the start, with multiple riders attacking and fighting for positions within the peloton. I was very happy to be able to hang on for half of the 123km race.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hang on up the first QOM but eventually ended up in the gruppetto. Being part of the gruppetto was a lot of fun and a bit surreal being able meet and ride alongside with some of the riders who I have watched race on TV such as Annette Edmondson.

Stage 2 was a short 1.6km time trial racing from Federation Square to Queensbridge Square. Having the time trial in the heart of Melbourne created such an amazing atmosphere with many people coming to watch the race. The length of the course definitely wasn’t suited to me but I really enjoyed being able to ride such a unique course which consisted of narrow paths, many bends and couple hundred metres of tiles leading into the finish.

Overall, being able to race in the Herald Sun Tour was both a fun and challenging experience. I loved getting to know my team mates better and being able to challenge myself and see what its like racing against the worlds best female road cyclists.

Thanks to Patrick, Katri and my team mates I was able to learn a crazy amount of lessons, identify areas where I can improve and gain experience which will help me immensely in my progression as a road rider. Once again, a big thank you to both Patrick and Katri for their hard work and support both before and during the event.

Tags: