Tour of Bright 2013

Road cycling & upcoming rides
Strawburger
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 08:27

Postby Strawburger » 30 Aug 2013, 13:20

Hi all,

Cycling Victoria have announced the dates and entry process for the Tour of Bright this year.

Since the tour of Canberra is closed to all but NRS (and the course is now mostly flat), i thought i'd join the lottery and gain a spot on the start list to get my hillclimbing fix.

For those of you who have done it previously, how difficult would it be for a person who specialises in hillclimbing?

Details on entry here (and summary below):

http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/?Page=51143
Race Schedule

The schedule will be:
Friday Stage 1 Time Trial starting approx. midday
Saturday Stage 2 Gaps Loop starting approx. 9:30am
Sunday Stage 3 Mt Hotham Ascent starting approx. 9:30am


Grades will follow the same format as the Victorian State Series, with 1 extra. There will be:
Open Men A, B & C
Open Women A, B & C
Masters A, B & C


Entry Process

Due to the high demand for entries into the race, the Alpine Cycling Club (ACC) along with Cycling Victoria (CV) have introduced a process to gain the opportunity to race as fair as possible to all.
People who have qualified as shown below, have the opportunity to gain entry first.
A Grade (Men & Women): Top 3 teams and the General Classification winning riders team (if not in the Top 3) from 2012 Tour.
All other categories: Top 20 General Classification riders + Top 3 Sprint Competition + Top 3 KOM Competition from 2012 Tour.
20 spots will be held for the top 20 of each grade in the 2013 Victorian Road Series after the Stratford to Dargo on October 27.
Top 3 in each grade from 2012 Sprintfest Eliminator.

2012 Bright Pre-Qualifiers (Sep 16-22): Entries for those that have pre-qualified from the 2012 Tour of Bright will open on the 16th of September 2013. Each of these individuals / teams will be sent an invitation and given 1 week (until midnight September 22nd) to provide their entry if they choose to enter. If a rider chooses not to enter this spot will be opened up to general entry. It is sole responsibility of the rider to send in their entry.

General Ballot (Sep 23-29): For all other entrants a ballot will open on the Monday 23rd September 23rd for 1 week (closing midnight Sunday September 29th) for those who did not receive automatic entry from the 2012 Tour of Bright. At the end of the week a random draw will be taken for the remaining places within each grade (minus the 20 spots saved for the Top 20 in the 2013 Victorian Road Series).

2013 VRS Qualifiers (Oct 28-Nov 3): After the Stratford to Dargo, the Top 20 in each grade of the 2013 Victorian Road Series standings will be sent an invitation to enter. Each of these individuals will be given 1 week (Monday October 28th - midnight Sunday November 3rd) to provide their entry if they choose to enter. If a rider chooses not to enter this spot will be opened up to general entry. It is sole responsibility of the rider to send in their entry.

Secondary Ballot (Nov 6): On Wednesday November 6th, any remaining places in each grade will be randomly allocated from those who entered the ballot in the week from September 23 to 29.

wallman
Posts: 298
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 15:10
Location: Marrickville

Postby wallman » 30 Aug 2013, 16:48

For those of you who have done it previously, how difficult would it be for a person who specialises in hillclimbing?
Well specialising in hill climbing is a relative measure, which means that it's likely to be pretty difficult because there'll be other "specialists" there who'll weigh 15 kg less than you and who are, therefore, genuine climbers. It looks like the race itself might be less difficult than it will be to get an entry though. Good luck.

Strawburger
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 08:27

Postby Strawburger » 31 Aug 2013, 07:18

Thanks Wallman. Just as I thought. A race for very small people! I wasn't sure if the "bigger" riders entered or stayed away from this one.

Sounds like the Tour of Bright is the equivalent of the Dinnerville entry wise (harder to gain a start than the race itself).

Cheers

User avatar
mikesbytes
Posts: 6991
Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 13:48
Location: Tempe
Contact:

Postby mikesbytes » 31 Aug 2013, 12:19

Must admit I'm tempted, though there's a lot of cost in $ and days

wallman
Posts: 298
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 15:10
Location: Marrickville

Postby wallman » 31 Aug 2013, 13:16

Thanks Wallman. Just as I thought. A race for very small people! I wasn't sure if the "bigger" riders entered or stayed away from this one.

Sounds like the Tour of Bright is the equivalent of the Dinnerville entry wise (harder to gain a start than the race itself).

Cheers
Don't let me dissuade you from throwing your hat into the ring. It's a beautiful part of the country and a very well run race. You will get pulverised on the climbs, although how badly pulverised will depend on how you're graded. Once you're dropped you can take the climbs at your own pace and enjoy the view.

Strawburger
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 08:27

Postby Strawburger » 03 Oct 2013, 17:28

I won an entry. Now to ask work for a day off...

Can't wait to soak up the rays and enjoy the countryside when I get dropped

Strawburger
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 08:27

Postby Strawburger » 08 Dec 2013, 20:21

Last weekend i headed down to Bright for this year's edition of the Tour of Bright. It has a new format, with the ITT on the Friday afternoon (new course, essentially 13.5kms of flatish terrain), followed by a 90km stage on the Saturday that finished with an uphill 7.5km climb of Tawonga Gap, then on Sunday a 26km ride to the base of Mount Hotham and (un)fortunately a 30km ascent of the mountain finishing at the peak. I put myself in Masters B grade thinking that it would be the equivalent of D-E opens here in NSW. I was very wrong.

I had done just enough training and lost just enough weight to consider being in ok shape for the event. I'd give the TT my best shot and see where i would sit for the rest of the weekend. So, after a small but intense warmup involving a time trial effort from my accommodation to the start line I rolled off. I kept to my plan of not overcooking myself in the first few mins and hope to finish strong. I succeeded in avoiding one overcooking but failed in the first corner. I thought i was taking a RHT, instead it was a 180deg turn. The back locked up so i rolled through the barriers and rejoined the course once i wiped enough speed off to turn. The rest of the stage was uneventful as no-one past me and i passed no-one. Finished just under 21mins. That put me in 52nd position (out of 92 starters). Strava here: http://www.strava.com/activities/98166732. The beauty about Victorian races is that your results are posted up live! Meaning you can see how much you suck straight away :lol:

Day 2. The plan was to keep with the bunch until the final climb. I kept out of trouble as a few were dropped early on. Midway through the stage there was a 4.5km climb. I stayed with the bunch but the few that attacked were very very very strong. Loads went out the back. I was the last to be dropped only a few hundred metres from the crest. I was looking around for help on the descent but i was out of luck. A few others caught up and eventually we had a working group of about 15 and it wasn't long until we got back. We got to the base of the final climb and the peloton split and most riders went at their own pace. I ran out of water not long after the base and started to cook in the 30deg heat. I was going backward fast, fortunately there was a natural spring at 2km to go. I jumped under it to cool down, grabbed some water and kept rolling. I passed the few that passed me whilst stopped, with 200m to go i get a "keep left, riders approaching". I turned around and they were nowhere to be seen. As i passed the finishing line a guy was hands in the air woohoo-ing. Ahh, ok, there they are. Photobombed the A grade finish! :oops: And they weren't even breathing hard. :shock: Ended up with heat exhaustion and took me a long time to get back on the bike. Placed 55th/92. Strava here: http://www.strava.com/activities/98166779

Day 3. The legs were good considering. The plan again was stay with the bunch until the base, then the first KOM, then see how we go! I kept with them until the base. Then the group shot off up the first 5.5km to the KOM. I adjusted the plan to be within eyesight. That worked well. The race disappeared once it flattened out a bit after the KOM so i settled in for the next hour. I passed a few popped riders along the way and got passed by a few as well. With 10kms to go the road got steep, then has a short descent twice, then ramped up with a few kms to go. I had enough gas left to get up there fairly quick and hit my target time of just on 90mins for the climb. Finished 54th/92 and 52nd overall on the GC. Strava here: http://www.strava.com/activities/98166772

As Wallman states in an earlier post, the racing is brutal. There is a fair amount of sandbagging going on. Masters A was only a few minutes off Elite A (Containing most NRS teams), Masters B was as quick if not quicker than Elite B & C, and Masters C was not far off Elite B & matching C. Still, it is a great race and well run. I may need to train harder for the next time or join the timed gran fondo which covers stages 2 & 3.

Eleri
Posts: 1753
Joined: 31 Dec 2009, 08:43
Location: Erskineville

Postby Eleri » 08 Dec 2013, 22:08

That's epic Simon! Great report.

User avatar
JoTheBuilder
Posts: 1500
Joined: 19 Feb 2011, 15:32

Postby JoTheBuilder » 09 Dec 2013, 07:49

And very consistent results.

Must have been that 'secret' Turbo training.

rach
Posts: 7
Joined: 13 Oct 2012, 14:51

Postby rach » 14 Dec 2013, 09:04

Great race report! I did ToB in 2011, its a fair bit different in the women's grades the bunches don't tend to attack until the climbs and its a lovely course and very well run event. If I can get my fitness back I'd love to have another crack at it in 2014. Any other DHBC women ridden it?

kiwiames
Posts: 210
Joined: 06 Jul 2008, 17:56
Location: Stanmore

Postby kiwiames » 15 Dec 2013, 07:25

Not the Tour of Bright - But I did race the Tour of Canberra in 2010 and 2011. Tour of Bright was on my to-do list but then I got injured and spent 2 years out of action. I'm getting my fitness back now and if all goes well in some of the road opens next year I MAY have a go at the ToB in 2014.

Amy.


Return to “Road”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 112 guests