Category Archives: UCI Events

Matt Hayman take a bow

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Dear Rouleurs,

I’m sleep deprived but very excited.  It was a late night, watching the 2016 edition of the Paris-Roubaix and the race provided a thrilling finish that made the wait so worth while.  In an astonishing 5 man finish in the Roubaix Velodrome, Orica-GreenEdge’s Matt Hayman broke through for just his 3rd professional win and become the only Australian since Stuart O’Grady to win.  In case, you don’t know who Matt Hayman is, this is what he looks like.

Matt Hayman beats Tom Boonen by half a wheel.

Matt Hayman beats Tom Boonen by half a wheel and celebrates in style.

2016 Paris-Roubaix Podium - Left to Right, Tom Boonen, Matt Hayman, Ian Standard

2016 Paris-Roubaix Podium – Left to Right, Tom Boonen, Matt Hayman, Ian Stannard.

Whilst the weather was kind, race conditions were still pretty tricky…ask Fabian Cancellara who slid sideways on the pave or Luke Rowe who dived over the handle bars after he tried to bunny hop a fallen team mate or Luke Durbridge who was on the receiving end of an untimely puncture.  The hospital casualty list included:

  • Sky’s Elia Viviani was hit by a motorcycle after a crash held up the peloton in Arenberg.
  • Mitchell Docker of Orica-GreenEdge,  suffering from severe craniofacial and dental trauma, with multiple face wounds.
  • Etixx – Quick-Step’s Niki Terpstra,  sustained a knee injury that forced him out of the race.
  • Others included Nikolas Maes [Etixx – Quick-Step] , Nelson Oliveira and Francisco Ventoso of Movistar and Lampre – Merida’s Federico Zurlo.

However, what became clear at around the 60Km mark was that Tom Boonen was in the right place to win and that Cancellara and Peter Sagan were not. I reckon Cancellara’s fall at the 30Km mark on pave was contributed significantly by the knowledge that he had missed the key breakaway group.

However, that doesn’t take anything away from Orica-GreenEdge’s Matt Hayman, who at the ripe old age of 37 years old, competing in his 15th ‘Hell of the North”, outfoxed and out spirited a quality group including Tom Boonen [Etixx-Quick Step] , Ian Stannard [Team Sky], Sep Vanmarck [Team Lotto NL] and  Edvald Boasson Hagen [DImension Data].  The win made all the more incredible, by his rapid recovery from a fractured radius and limited racing.

I can’t wait for the next instalment of the Classics.

Marv

Zoom, Zoom, Froome…Apologies to Mazda

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Dear Roulers,

Alas work and other parts of my life have been interfering with New Year’s resolution to blog weekly.  Rats………

However, MMT was very excited to watch the recent Herald Sun Prolog held last Wednesday 3rd February.  For some reason MMT has managed to miss this event in previous years, but not this time.  Located between 50m to go marker and the finish line, I managed to take a few reasonable photos as the riders zipped by.

The 2 km course, was very technical and had a mix of surfaces, acute corners and proximity to the crowd that some of the riders would have found disconcerting.  Nevertheless, last year’s winner Will Clarke and and runner up Caleb Ewan were again first and second over the same course.

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However, my favourite moment was watching Chris Froome sprint past, which I managed to capture in this sequence of photos.  I’m guessing that this is about as close as I will ever get to a Tour de France winner, without being tackled by a security guard.

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MMT is relived that no blatant breach of copyright will occur in this latest blog, for a change.

Until next time, ride safe on the roads

Marv

 

Marv’s Jan 2016 Bike Log

 

Dear Rouleurs,

I’m a bit pissed off.  I spent the last two weeks afflicted by a stomach bug and chest inflection.  The first illness wiped out a long planned Australia Day holiday at Apollo Bay.  The second, prevented me from riding in the Cadel Evans Peoples Ride this week.  In short, this ruined my preparation and left me with a lingering chesty cough.  Bummer….oh well.

Peter Kennaugh wins the 2016 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Classic

Peter Kennaugh wins the 2016 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Classic

Having watched the men’s road race today, it looks like Australia has new one day classic on its cycling calendar.  I thought Team Sky’s Peter Kennaugh’s win today was outstanding, with his attack on the final climb of the last lap, showed impeccable timing.  The resulting gap extended out to 20 seconds which left the high tempo exhausted peloton with too much do.  Local rider Leigh Howard, riding for IAM Cycling, finished second.  May be we’ll see an Australian win next year.

2016-Jan-AccKmGraph

So looking at my cycling log for January, I’m seeing so-so start to the year.  Weeks 2 and 3 were blessed with good weather, light traffic and few disruptions.  Weeks 4 and 5 haven’t been as anywhere as productive. So I’m slightly below my target for week 5.  Bummer…

I guessing Feburary will be a big month to get this back on track.

Until next blog ride safe.

Marv

New Shoes, New Cleats….what could go wrong???

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Godamnit……rookie error.

Last Wednesday, I managed to score the cycling equivalent of a home goal. Recently I’ve purchased a snazzy pair of Giro Rumbles, a light-weight lace up casual MTB shoe. Much to my surprise they didn’t come with cleats, rather fake bits of aluminium that were cleat shaped but were actually junk. I purchased new SPD cleats the other day and fitted them to the shoes on the weekend. So last Wednesday, I finally got around to trying them out on my morning commute to work.

As I cycled to work, I couldn’t remember whether I had closed the garage door. I looped around to check. Being back from holidays and a bit sleep derived, I thought a policy of ‘better safe than sorry’ was wise. So I pull up to a roundabout, give way to traffic, go to click out, when I discover I can’t. I think my exact word was “shiiittttttt!!!!” as I fell over in slow motion. I hate it when that happens. I feel so stupid for what was an easily preventable accident. This is where I committed my rookie error by not testing the click-in and more importantly click out.

To make matters worse, whilst the right foot cleat has released, I couldn’t get the left foot cleat to clear. So I’m stuck to the bike and sprawled out on the road. A 30-something female power walker comes over and asks me if I’m ok. Apart from losing some skin on and jarring my right knee nothing seems too badly damaged. I thank her for her consideration and assure her that I’m ok. Finally the left cleat releases and I’m able to stand up. My ego on the other hand has taken a crushing blow.

So what happened?
In short form, the cleats bolts loosened and this enabled the cleat plate to pivot round to an angle that was greater than amount of ‘twist’ I can manage on the ball of my foot. The cleats were able to move because I hadn’t done the screws up tight enough. Looking at the photos below you can see how much the cleat has pivoted around, out of position.

 20151111-VR70  20151111-Rumble
 My usual Shimano SPD shoes with cleat in correct position  My new GIRO Rumbles with cleat out of position

A simple click in and out test would have detected this problem. Like I said rookie error. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Oh BTW the Herald Sun reckons Chris Froome is coming to Victoria to compete in the Herald Sun Jayco Tour this year.

Until next time

Marv