Kiwi invasion for the Jayco Tour of Tasmania
By Shane Goss Just when you thought most New Zealanders headed north to the beaches of the Gold...
By Shane Goss
Just when you thought most New Zealanders headed north to the beaches of the Gold Coast in Australia, three have gone south to a cooler climate to prepare for the Jayco Tour of Tasmania. Gordon McCauley 33, Matthew Gilbert 22 and Matt Haydock 19 are in Australia to compete in the 2005 Tattersall's Cup Cycling Series. The series consists of three five day stage races held in Victoria, Tasmania and dipping into New South Wales during the last race, the Tour of the Murray.
The second race in the series begins on Wednesday in Launceston and the field will cover 428.3kms of undulating roads in the beautiful region of Northern Tasmania. With scenery similar to that of New Zealand, McCauley, Gilbert and Haydock will feel right at home on the back roads of Launceston and surrounding townships.
The three landed in Launceston a week ago to prepare for the tour and were greeted at Launceston airport to torrential rain. The first leg of the series held in Gippsland, Victoria went to Gordon McCauley from Dunedin, the most experienced of the trio. McCauley, who is riding to qualify for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, will start one of the pre-race favourites in Tasmania and is looking to assert his dominance over the hills.
Tasmania is notoriously hilly, so McCauley's climbing abilities will get a severe test. One of the race's tougher climbs comes on stage five during the third day from Deloraine to Sheffield. Heartbreak Hill is a climb feared by locals during training rides and has not been used in a race since the early days of the Sun Tour. A four-kilometre, leg-sapping test, it is expected to put minutes into the general classification.
On a recent training ride McCauley rode the climb twice to make sure he was comfortable with his gear set-up and familiarise himself with every twist and turn on the ascent. He rode on ahead of Gilbert and Haydock who were more relaxed taking in the views from in between the trees. Over the top and descending Matty Gilbert set the pace and was the first one into the tiny town of Paradise at the foot of the sensational backdrop of Mt Roland.
The stage finish will be in Sheffield, a town steeped in Tasmanian cycling history and a region where riders like Mark Jamieson, Belinda Goss and former Australian track scratchmen - brothers Frank and Grant Atkins rolled around on their training rides.
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Apart from becoming accustomed to the roads in Northern Tasmania the travelling kiwis visited schools in and around the tour course. Matt Gilbert answered questions from "how fast can you go?" to "have you met Lance Armstrong?" He showed curious school children how to change gears and position yourself on the bike ready for an all out assault on a sprint to the line for a stage victory. The kids were amazed at the weight of the bikes and hands were shooting up all over the room to test Matt's knowledge of this sport that fascinates all ages. After each session in the schools the riders signed autographs and received good luck wishes for the tour ahead.
It's a long way from the warmer weather of the Gold Coast but these three New Zealanders are happy to be in Tassie. The weather may be cool and the surrounding mountains are covered with snow but the roads of Northern Tasmania will be hot with action and plenty of colour with the 2005 Jayco Tour of Tasmania.
