The tour of Tassie was arguably one of the harder races i have done for the entire season. 11 stages shared over 6 days and while they were only short, the intensity and competition meant that everyone counted....and the legs felt every km.....
What it did provide was an insight into the future of Australian cycling....the 2 Meyer boys and Leigh Howard were the dominant parties of the race and i look forward to enjoying the promising careers of all 3 from the comfort of my couch over the coming 10 years.
I had the pleasure of riding in the same team as Leigh....and the kid has something very special about him. He is unbelievably fast, incredibly tough and mature beyond his years. It would not be every day that a person like me would be more than happy to lead out a 17 year old kid....but his ability commands respect and i would do it any day of the week.....and anyone who knows me well can testify to my opinion of the Meyer kids.....they are freaks and its scary to think of how little they know about the sport....wait until they learn....
FINALLY A WIN....
I also was able to take my first win on the road bike since my Aussie crit title in Jan 06. It was supposed to be a lead out for Leigh and no one came past me. And as they say "success, breeds success". Not 3 days later i was able to top it off with a 2nd victory to give the VIS its 5th stage, from 10, and make it into a very successful tour. It was an excellent confidence boost heading into Sun Tour, as apart from a mechanical mishap on stage 4, i barely missed a beat all tour. When i wasnt going for the win, i was taking care of Leigh and Pat and making it over climbs that 12 months ago would have killed me.
Me on the podium after my stage 10 victory....
The first win of the year....in Menzies home town and a big victory hug from his Mum after the race made it twice as nice..
Photos courtesy of Shane Goss: www.licoricegallery.com
So bring on the last 2 weeks of my season. I have renewed determination and a desire to continually improve headed into next year, which will hopefully keep my team on top of the podium for many more races....and who knows, maybe i will be able to beat Freddie?
KATE AND RICH, TOGETHER AGAIN....
Finally, after 4 days from the past 6 weeks, I have got the chance for some more quality time with the mrs. Apart from the odd occasion, we will be joined at the hip until Feb and i look forward to every minute. The arguments, the training, the TV, the movies and the snuggling....all the great things that mesh together to form the basis for our relationship.
We had a very nice ride today, and i am convinced that the HOT PINK of T-Mobile acts as a deterrent for the magpie swoop, that i expressed my fondness for last post. On a route that i did not 10 days before and was hit by no less than 3....not 1 magpie today. That is a sweet thing and may see me spend more time training at her side than we both can handle....or maybe i just steal a jersey???
So all in all, my life is pretty smooth and sweet at the moment. Bring on the Sun Tour (starting Sunday), bring on Melb-Warrnambool and then bring on the TV and 3 weeks of couch potato. I hope to see you all out lining the roads in the coming week for the Sunny and dont forget to visit my stall for some quality bargains after Sundays stage in Melb.....
Peace.
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