Canberra Tour 2011 UPDATED
After solid riding last year by Mick Troy with the help of Owen MacPhillamy and Tim Hughes, Mick walked away with 5th on GC, second on stage 2 and second in the King of the Mountain category due to a strong break on the second stage that he consolidated on Sunday's stage.
This year was a different story with out the help of mates and up against a team of 6 in the shape of the Merida Waki Lexus team from Newcastle.
Saturday morning saw the use of the same course as stage two of last year, two laps out past Piccadilly Circus. This year there was also sprint points thrown in at the Uriarria Homestead in both directions and KOM points at the top of Piccadilly Circus and the Three Sisters on both laps.
Mick made a small break out of the crossing on the way out with several other riders in the hope of getting the sprint points but with the bunch closing in coming into the prime, he lead out the sprint, taking second.
(c) Greg Long Photography
Next up was the KOM at the top of the Circus and again, after covering wheels up the climb took second in the kick for the points. The bunch was splintering on the climbs but they were never long enough or the gaps consolidated on the descents to make and real split in the peleton, so coming back through the homestead, again it was a bunch kick for the sprint prime, this time Mick took third.
Sitting back in the bunch on the decent down to the crossing, a small break got away with eventual tour leader, Josh Blick (Waki Lexus) and a Canberra rider who took the first two placings on the Three Sisters KOM, with Mick again scoring points taking third across the line.
From here the bunch just rolled along through the crit course and heading back out for the second lap allowing Blick to consolidate his lead over the bunch and also in the KOM classification.
Out of the crit course, Jordan Davies (Penrith) got a gap on the bunch, taking between 30 seconds and a minute in the hope of making contact with Blick. Back in the bunch as it climbed out of the crossing for the second last time, Troy rolled off the front and once he realised he had a gap, quickly bridged to Davies with the two of them working strongly together in the hope of either bridging to Blick or at least holding off the bunch to take a placing in the stage. Troy took swallowed some more sprint and KOM points on the out and back leg, and caught Blick's breakaway companion who had been dropped by the youngster's infernal pace setting.
Still working strongly, Davies and Troy kept pushing on in the hope of a stagnant bunch due to the Waki Lexus rider out in front and the rest of the team slowing down the bunch for their boy. But coming out of the crossing and beginning the climb up the Three Sisters the bunch was on the coat tails on Troy and Davies. Still Troy managed to take second on the KOM sprint at the top and managed after that effort to stay in the bunch for 19th place on the stage.
Saturday afternoon saw the riders face a 20km TT effort, heading back from the Stromlo Park to the top of the Three Sisters and back. It was a testing course with very tough wind, never giving the riders a tail wind. Mick managed a top 10 placing with a 28:51:11, which gave him 9th on the stage and 9th on GC
(c) Greg Long Photography
Sunday morning dawned a bit foggy but it rapidly burnt off, with B grade facing 130km out from Stromlo, past the homestead, out past the tracking station to Tharwa and back. There were two sprint points, located at the Homestead in each in each direction, at the top of Peirce's Creek Hill on the way out and at the top of Mount MacDonald on the way home.
Troy jumped clear of the bunch coming past the homestead and joined a trio up the road to take top points at the sprint prime and stayed working with the bunch down past the Cotter and up Pierce's Creek Hill where again he took top points in the KOM to take the lead in that category with one KOM point to go. From there Troy fell back from his breakaway companions to the bunch where he sat and waited for smack down on the way home, biding his time.
As Mount MacDonald loomed on the way home, Mick made his way to the front of the bunch and positioned himself at second wheel, following Blick who was his sole competitor in the KOM jersey. As the sprint for the top loomed, Blick opened it up after setting a super strong pace up the climb, but Troy rounded him over the crest, taking the points and confirming his lead in the KOM. As the gap opened up, Troy saw the opportunity to take the sprint points at the homestead so soloed to take the points. Looking back he saw that he had extended his lead on the decent, with a Penrith rider, Andrew Lumley bridging. The two worked together, holding their lead of 50 seconds at the crest of the Three Sisters and kept pushing it all the way back to Stromlo Park, holding off the chasing bunch. Coming into the criterium circuit, Troy forced Lumley into taking the lead, sitting second wheel. As Lumley opened up the sprint with 200m to go, Troy turned on the afterburners and came round Lumley to take the stage win, with the bunch coming in 33 seconds behind the pair.
(c) Greg Long Photography
At the end of the weekend, Mick managed to leap frog up to 4th on GC with his breakaway and stage win, claimed the King of the Mountain and Sprint Classification, a stage win and 9th in the TT.
Sprint Classification:
Michael Troy 20
Tom Behrens 13
Josh Blick 10
KOM Classification:
Michael Troy 21
Josh Blick 20
Fergus MacLachlan 5
(c) Greg Long Photography
(c) Greg Long Photography
Route profiles and maps can be found at:
Stage 1: www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33157410
Stage 2: www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33157908
Stage 3: www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33158150