http://www.pratiescycling.com RSS feed for the Praties Cycling Team en-us Check out the latest news from the first four stages from the Tour of the Murray. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#tourofthemurrayriverstage1 Check out the latest news from the weekends racing at Ballarat. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#ballaratgrandprixcrit The Ballarat Grand Prix kicked off today with the 38km Time Trial. With an incredibly strong field in attendance the whole weekend will be a closely contested affair. Dylan Newell was the top performer for the team today with a strong 5th place with Nathan Clarke securing 10th giving Praties two in the top ten. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#ballaratgrandprixtt The Praties Cycling Team has officially been invited to compete in this years Herald Sun Tour. It's a major coup for the team and is a just reward for the last year's brilliant domestic season and this years solid start. With less than 10 weeks to go competition will be fierce among the remaining teams vying for a spot in Australia's oldest race. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#heraldsuntourinvite Orbost was the venue for stage 3 of this years tour. A bright sunny day greeted the riders for 11 laps of a 1.4km oblong criterium. The mission was to try to set Nath up for the criterium championship and hopefully a stage.Dylan and Dan were under orders to conserve as much as possible for the afternoons road stage. The spanky new marquee got a run and provided the perfect shelter for the riders to sit back and relax prior to the start. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#tourofglandstage3 Another stage and another strong performance from the team. This time it was Dan representing the team in the break and with Nath sitting in second overall he was able to sit in and protect the teams GC position. 8 laps of an 11km course with a cat 3 climb every lap was going to be decisive. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#tourofglandstage2 The Tour of Gippsland got off to a flying start today in the tiny coastal hamlet of Malacoota. Last years race saw Ben Mather fly the Praties flag when he achieved an awesome third place on general classification. Today It was Big Naths turn to stand on the podium when he finished second in a photo finish to fellow Tassie boy Bernie Sulzberger in an uphill sprint in the tours stage one criterium. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#tourofglandstage1 Dylan Newell aka Dennis, won the Vic road championships today. Newell first managed to make the major split of the day and then started the hostilities repeatedly attacking until he finally managed to simply ride away winning solo by 13 seconds over Sean Finning and Casey Munro. Dylan and Nathan Clark were the only Praties representitives this weekend but rode with intelligence and strength to secure another great win for the squad. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=homeBody#victorianchampionships Stage six was a 50 mile circuit race around downtown Pittsburg. Prior to the stage the boys had an engagement at the Alcoa Marquee where they met some of the hard working guys from Alcoa. The marquee was part of an expo that had various stands and displays and was absolutely jam packed with people. The team signed some autographs and made themselves available to the public before heading off to check out the course and complete a warm up. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#daysix Day five and probably our last chance to really shake things up. With 1 second seperating first and second on GC and the top 10 all within a minute the stage was shaping up as a battle royal. The stage was 91 miles/ 146km long with no climbs of note but up and down all day. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#dayfive Stage five and after yesterdays strong showing Dylan was fired up. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#dayfour Stage four and the first real climbs of the race, the stage finished in the home town of our sponsor Cannondale so we were keen to come up with a result and try to resurrect our tour. Two KOM's and a 104 mile stage with 30 degree temperatures was going to make the going difficult. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#daythree Stage three, the first road stage, 93 miles long with one categorised climb. The plan was to have Dan go for the KOM and look after Dylan and Josh. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#daytwo Well day one of the tour began with a 4km TT around a picturesque park in the old section of Philladelphia, right down the road from the steps made famous in the Rocky movie where Sylvester Stalone runs to the top and punches his arms in the air. Unfortunately we lost Brad before the tour even started due to a crash in the week prior to the race. He sustained a bad concussion, torn abductors and was walking around in a daze for quite a while. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#dayone Well we made it! This may seem like a silly statement but after nearly 50 hours of non-stop travelling at times we were't sure that we would. We all have some war stories some of which I will impart some I won't but the trip was alot of fun and after the hillarious drive from New York to Hershey Pennsylvania I don't think my sides will stop hurting for some time. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#jetlag Well, either the journey from the North of the state was going to require too much effort or the course scared everyone off as it seemed that only the riders with a bit of ticker bothered to turn up to what is arguably one of the hardest races on the open calendar. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#derwentvalleyclassic Big Nath is a sprinter again!! After yesterday's effort in the Baw Baw Classic, the big fella morphed back into a sprinter for todays race around the beautiful Albert Park. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#melbournefestival Mount Baw Baw is rated as the second hardest climb in the world by cycling pundits. It is definately not a race for the vertically challenged. After last years awesome effort which saw Nearle 2nd and Richie 3rd the team had a pair of size 13's to fill. Sadly we had been cut off at the knees by flu with Ben Mather opting to stay at home and recover and the rest looking far from their best. But in true Praties style the boys were determined to have a crack http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#bawbawclassic Starting and finishing in the metropolis of Kimberley today's stage was going to be a real doozie! If the riders thought yesterday was hard they hadn't seen anything yet as the climbs today were the real deal. Timothy Roe(Savings and Loans) was in yellow after yesterdays storming ride followed by David Kemp(Flight Centre) then Ben Mather and Dylan Newell(Praties) in 3rd and 4th respectively. Dan was in the pokadot jersey of best climber after his efforts from stage two. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#merseyvalleystage3 Riders arrived in Sheffield to be greeted by 20km/h N/W winds and bleak overcast skys. With three laps of an undulating course to complete it was definately a day for the hardmen. Russell Van Hout was in yellow courtesy of his TT win in stage 1 so the onus was on the other teams to put them under pressure and take some time back. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#merseyvalleystage2 The first stage of the Tour of the Mersey Valley was a tough 23km out and back Time-Trial. Starting in the small town of Forth the course follows the river passing farms and state forrest along the way. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#merseyvalleystage1 After returning from Perth on Monday the team has had to regroup and recover to prepare for the Mersey Valley Tour starting this Friday. The tour is certainly one of the toughest races on the national calendar, featuring some testing climbs and a long 21km time trial. Once again all of Australia's big continental teams will be in attendance so the racing will be on from the start. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#merseyvalleypreview Lost for words............ http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#tourdeperthstage4 Well I'm running short on superlatives that even come close to describing the incredible results from the boys this weekend. In scenes reminicent of the Nationals Richie simply rode away on the last lap and no one was able to follow. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#tourdeperthstage3 Richie backed up with a strong performance this afternoon to take out the stage two time-trial of the Tour de Perth. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#tourdeperthstage2 DAN THE MAN triumphant at Tour de Perth. Dan showed the bunch a clean set of heels sprinting to a two bike length victory in the rain soaked stage. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#tourdeperthstage1 Five days of hard riding was only just part of the schedule for the teams first camp of the year. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#trainingcamp But only just, weighing a scant 7.2kg with training wheels in they feel like they could just float away. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#supersix Some guys from Uni SA made a sort of fly on the wall doco about the Tour Down Under. They followed The Uni SA Team and captured some awesome footage of the race and behind the scenes. Follow the links and check it! http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=homeBody&mast=homeBanner&name=HOME#tduvideo 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th. That was the result of the first race of the 2008 Tasmanian Cycling Roster. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#Channel Yes it is official Praties Cycling has gone all tech with the addition of our RSS Feed. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=homeBody&mast=homeBanner&name=HOME#pratiesRSS Praties Richie Porte has won the 2nd stage of the Tour of Wellington in New Zealand today. http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#wellington Check it out! This is the bike that Richie piloted to 5th place in the Senior Time Trial at the Nationals. One of only a couple in Australia... http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#slice Well in what must have been a severe case of Deja-vu for the Uni Sa team members who rode last years tour the final day scenario was not much different, how to make up a seemingly insurmountable deficit on the last stage... http://www.pratiescycling.com/template.php?page=news&mast=newsBanner&name=NEWS#stage6