Results for the ADF National Road Championships held recently in Sydney, NSW. The committee would like to congratulate the winners from all grades, in particular FLTLT Damon Stafani who successfully defended his A grade title

Furthermore the Committee would like to acknowledge the hard work done by LS Suzanne Peterson in bringing the event together

Full results are attached below

Attachments:

File	Description	File size	Downloads	Last modified
ADCC Cycling Champs results 2011.pdf		26 Kb	307	02/10/11 16:42

Hey just thought I'd add a Race Report and some downloads from my Garmin (Road Race, Crit) from the ADF Champs Mens A-Grade for your reading pleasure. Unfortunately I didn't have any info on B, C and the Womens Grade so anyone please feel free to write a report on those events!!

Road Race

Held in the stunning surroundings of the Royal National Park south of Sydney the Mens A-Grade field took off from Wattamolla Beach and began the 85km trek through the rugged but picturesque coastline. The first lap or 25km was ridden at tempo with everyone initially holding their cards close to their chest and no doubt keeping in mind the energy that would need to be saved for the brutal final 25km. Despite some half-hearted attempts to break-off the front the peloton remained largely intact heading into the second lap. The tempo then began to increase the second time up the 4km climb which averaged a gradient of approximately 5%. This solid tempo whittled the lead bunch down to 6-7 riders who would latter fight it out for the top finishing places. After completion of the second lap the fatigue was slowly starting to seep into the legs as the dead roads and constant climbing began to take its toll. However the third and final lap introduced a sting in its tail with a gruelling detour down to Garie Beach. This was a 3km (@ 8%) plunge down to the coast followed by a U-turn at the bottom before heading straight back up. Making the most of his local knowledge Dion Blair guided the bunch safely down the tricky descent and coming out of the bottom he immediately launched an acceleration that decimated the remaining bunch of riders.  Only myself and Chris Holbert were able to follow and approximately halfway up the climb I got a rush of blood and attacked the lead group in an attempt to go it alone. Despite being pegged back at the top hitting this climb at such a fierce pace left only the top three finishers from last years road race (myself, Dion and Chris) at the front to battle it out with nobody else in sight. The final 4km climb towards the finish saw the front three riders launch consistent attacks at each other with Dion and myself going clear of Chris. Despite going turn-for-turn with Dion, Chris employed his remarkable time-trialling ability to peg Dion and myself back with only 5kms remaining. After more cat-and-mousing Dion attacked up the final 1km climb to the finish with only myself responding and Chris being unable to follow. Having studied the finishing straight meticulously before the start I knew exactly where to launch my sprint from and was fortunate enough to time it just right for a second-consecutive year. Dion came in a close second with Chris finishing third a few seconds back. Overall it was an epic road race over some breathtaking terrain which culminated in some great attacking riding that resulted in the bunch being torn to pieces.

Criterium

After a gruelling road race the next stop was a 50-minute criterium at the enclosed Sutherland Shire circuit. Riders hoping for respite from the hills were soon disappointed as this was anything but your standard crit circuit. Featuring a false-flat finishing straight the road them plunged 500m downhill and then raised back up towards the finish. There were no corners to be concerned about so this circuit would certainly favour a rider who had strong legs and was not overly fatigued from the previous day’s epic. The race was littered with attacks however with everyone so watchful and attentive barely 50m was spared on any breakaway attempt. Dion showed he still had plenty of fire in his legs and launched several consecutive attacks up the hill in an attempt to get away. However with two-laps to go it was clear that a bunch kick would be the final order of the day so the riders began preparing themselves accordingly. Up the hill the final time saw Dion attack again however by taking the inside line unfortunately he found himself squeezed in and abruptly came to grief. This rattled the remaining bunch who all dramatically swerved to avoid the carnage and thankfully no further casualties resulted. Tim Grover was first to launch the sprint with 400m remaining and I quickly got on his wheel and with 200m to go I dropped it down a gear and went for the doctor. Uphill sprints always seem to last an eternity however I fortunately managed to cross line first ahead of a fast-finishing Brian Fish and Tim Grover. Unfortunately for Fish the Commissaries did not appreciate the line he took during his final kick and relegated him to the back of the bunch. This resulted in Tim Grover taking second place and Chris Holbert claiming third. Thankfully Dion seemed okay despite some nasty looking road rash...

Time Trial

Well the final day of racing saw some very fatigued riders and another tough and hilly circuit featured within Holsworthy Army Barracks. Much cooler temperatures greeted the riders which made a solid warm-up imperative in order to get the blood flowing and alleviate the accumulated fatigue from the previous two days. The circuit featured 3-laps of a 13km circuit that featured two long drags out to both turn-around points. This circuit would certainly favour a strong time-triallist who could quickly settle into their rhythm. 30-second starting intervals between riders gave the strong boys plenty of carrots to chase with Chris Holbert again displaying his superior time-trialling ability and showing everyone how it’s done!! Despite my victories in the road race and criterium claiming the silver medal in the time trial was my most satisfying result of the champs as I certainly cannot remember the last time I took something home after a time trial. Tim Grover again delivered a consistent performance by taking out the bronze medal.

Overall

Although I have yet to see the official results I was fortunate enough to take home the overall Points Classification and repeat last year’s achievement. Chris Holbert was in second place (and took out the GC category) with Tim Grover in third. Overall it was a fantastic three days of exciting and well-organised racing so many thanks to all the riders and support staff!! Despite being three-days on I’m still reminded of how hard the sport of cycling is as I’m still not fully recovered!! In terms of the future it would be great to see the ADF riders compete together (or conduct training camps) as there is certainly some great talent out there particularly when you consider the demands of service life. So hopefully this can occur and as a committee member now (SA Rep) I’ll certainly be trying to encourage it…