Will Clarke takes out National Series Award
Will Clarke topped off another really consistant year and for his efforts won the coveted National Series Award after accumulating the most points. Ironically it was Wills own teammate Dylan Newell that provided the most competition throughout the year with the prize only secured after the tour of Shipwreck Coast in Victoria. Will was gracious in accepting the award thanking his team for all their hardwork and the great sponsors.
Tour of Southland day Six
Another two stages for the final day of the tour. The morning stage at only 79km is on the short side when it comes to road racing, but what it lacked in distance it made up for in intensity, with riders coming in in drips and drabs to the finish after being ripped apart by the wind yet again. The last stage of the tour was even shorter than the first but once again the field struggled to stay together. Kyle and Big Rigg made the final selection of 23 riders. That group was whittled down further as they approached the finish with Blackgrove coming under immense pressure as his contenders fought to distance themselves from him in a last ditch effort to unseat him from the lead. It wasn't to be though with Blackgrove taking out the tour finishing in the front group. Romain Fondard took the sprint with Kyle 6th and Riggy on the same time in 11th. kyle finished up second in the sprint classification.
Tour of Southland day Five
Stage 7 from Winton to Te Anau was the tours longest stage at 163.6km. Kyle managed to slip in to the days breakaway and gained a heap of sprint points along the way to climb to second in that competition. Meanwhile the GC lead changed hands with Heath Blackgrove taking over the yellow jersey.
Tour of Southland Day Four
Does the wind ever stop blowing here??? Riders faced the 133km queen stage today with the final climb up the Crown Range finally giving the climbers in the field some hope that a stage wouldn't end with a sprint. Nathan was away in the early move but it was never really allowed any room with their advantage never getting beyond the elusive minute mark. The next move to establish itself ended up being the decisive one which saw last years winner of this stage Jeremy Yates bide his time before attacking at the base of the range to ride away and collect the win again. The GC had a bit of a shake up but Jack Bauer still leads with Bissell duo Latham and Vennell only 25 and 27sec behind.
Tour of Southland Day Three
Day Three was another dual stage scenario with riders travelling from Invercargill to Tuatapere in the morning, a journey of some 88km before the longer 101km afternoon stage from Tuatapere to Winton. The boys are all still suffering from the numerous crashes, although they aren't what would be termed serious they are missing plenty of skin and are pretty bruised. The fourth stage saw a group of six escape close to the finish and just hold on with Patrick Bevan taking the win. The afternoon stage was much more aggressive with the wind playing a major role in splitting the peleton in to tiny groups. Kyle managed to make the break of the day and stole enough points to move into third in the sprint classification eventually finishing in eighth place behind three time winner Gordon McCauley. It was good to see Kyle in the mix today, he has been suffering from the flu and hasn't been well since the Sun Tour so it was a really solid ride.
Tour Of Southland Day Two
Only one stage today, from Invercargill to Gore. After yesterdays smash fest the 165km was sure to test the bruised and battered bodies resulting from the numerous pile ups in stage two. A small break stayed away for the majority of the stage until it was brought back largely due to the work of the Zoo Keepers team of the yellow jersey. In the finish a small break managed to hold on by metres with Logan Hutchins winning the sprint. Dylan was forced to pull the pin after yesterdays crash so we are down to only four with Kyle hanging on suffering from the flu, hopefully he can get healthy or we will be down to three.
Tour of Southland Day One
Southland kicked off today with the Team Time Trial in the morning followed by the 81km road stage from Invercargill to the Bluff. The incredibly strong winds that characterise this tour were present from the very beginning even having an effect on some teams in the TT. The boys posted a solid but not spectacular time to finish 40 seconds down on hayden Roulston's Colour Plus team for seventh place.
Read MoreClarke Claims National Series in Shipwreck Coast
Praties' Will Clarke capped off a fine year this weekend with a strong third place in the innaugural Tour of the Shipwreck Coast. Clarke found himself in an elite group as the race neared the finish but couldn't contend with the speed of Cameron Jennings having to settle for the final spot on the podium. "I'm tired" said Clarke, "its been a huge year, I'm just lacking a bit of punch at the end of the season. I'm looking forward to a good break!" Clarkes third place gained him enough points to move back in front of his teammate Dylan Newell, who only just missed the decisive move himself. Newell was typically philosophical after the race congratulating Clarke but vowing to get the upper hand next season.
Launceston to New Norfolk Classic 210km - Wild Weather Wreaks Havoc - Only Seven Finish
In what has to be the hardest race of the year so far, riders in this years Launceston to New Norfolk Classic had to contend with fallen trees, gale force winds, snow, sleet and sub zero temperatures. Dylan Newell flew the flag for the team riding in the front group all day as rider after rider pulled the pin opting for the warmth of the cars over the arctic temperatures of the highlands. Early in the race a lead group of 12 riders formed in the cross winds. This group was to be all that was left of the hundred strong field that departed the Country Club Casino this morning as despite a desperate chase from behind riders were unable to rejoin as the wind made organising a chase all but impossible.
Read MoreGolburn To Citi Classic
The fairytale wasn't to be. But it wasn't for lack of trying - the boys were aggressive from the moment the flag dropped and made sure they were in every move that looked dangerous. Will made the final selection and fought on for another strong result gaining 4th place. Sprint sensation Richard Lang used his impressive speed to once again upset the strong Fly V squad and confirm himself as the heir to Leigh Howards sprint king throne. After last years clean sweep a 4th for Will was proof of his rightful place atop the national rankings and the whole squad are primed for the rest of the busy season.
Grafton to Inverell 228km - Clarke a Valiant Second Praties Wins Teams, KOM and Sprint
The Praties Teams fought their collective hearts out today, and in doing so won the Teams competition, the KOM and the Sprint as well as Big Will Clarke taking second place in a closely fought sprint with Budgets Malcolm Rudolph. Ben Mather rode at the front of affairs all day and picked up the sprint and KOM jerseys as well as providing invaluble support for Will as the races intensity rose to fever pitch in the closing stages. Here's how it happened...
Read MoreTour of Murray River Stage Thirteen - Merbein to Wentworth 81.3km
The number of turns in this race make it a hard one, usually if there is any wind at all there are big splits, however today the wind had the day off allowing the bunch to stay largely intact for the majority of the stage. In the finish a non-threatening break of four managed to stay away and win by around 20 seconds with Sean Finning of the VIS getting the win. All the boys finished in safely in the next group.
Tour of Murray River Stage Twelve - Merbein Criterium 33km
Merbein hosted todays first stage with the 33km criterium around the centre of town. Every year this stage finishes in a bunch kick and today was no different, with Junior World Champion Michael Hepburn taking the win from Joel Pearson and Richard Lang with Kyle notching up another 4th place.Tour of Murray River Stage Eleven - Ouyen to Patchewollock 85km
The out and back course to Patchewollock is normally one of the defining stages of the Tour of Murray River and up until the turn around point in appeared that it would be pivotal once more. The aggression at the start of the stage had succeeded in splintering the race but a light shower and a drop in the wind change things dramatically. The front group lost their impetus allowing small groups to get back on. The net effect of all this was the race was effectively nullified resulting in a bunch sprint. Kyle just missed out on the podium again finishing 4th.
Tour of Murray River Stage Ten - Ouyen Criterium
Ouyen home of the famous vanilla slice festival, with Dave out of action after his accident in China the door was left wide open for another team soigneur to take the mantle of Vanilla Slice Grand Poobah, next year mate. The crit course was being hammered by a strong westerly making it near impossible for the bunch to stay together.Rohan Dennis managed to take out the stage with Kyle improving everday taking 4th. All the GC boys finished in the front group.
Tour of Murray River Stage Nine - Euston Criterium 52km
The Euston crit has been in the tour since it started, I think each lap is a couple of kays, but it still has four corners like all the rest. The plan for this one was to try and get a break up the road and gain some time. Andrew held the boys back out of the action until the GC guys had used up some gas then had Tangles hit out hard. Tangles quickly established a gap that Kyle then came across with a few others and they were away. Unfortunately Haden Brooks had covered the move for Fly V and with Cantwell in Yellow he wasn't obligated to do anything but police the move. Cam Peterson was really the only other guy to contribute so the three towed the others around for the rest of the race. In the finish Brooks took the win from Kyle and Tangles. Not a bad result considering they had to beat someone who had a free ride for 30km. So 2nd and 3rd on the stage plus Tangles picked up quite a few sprints to gain some more time.
Tour of Murray River Stage Eight - Robinvale Criterium 48km
Like so many of these circuts the Robinvale Criterium offers riders picturesque views of the Murray every lap, Its a particularly beautiful spot with tall gums lining the route offering riders a bit of shade. The boys were in move after move but with so many teams trying to set up their sprinters nothing managed to stick. All our boys finished safely in the peleton with Kyle 5th and Tangles 9th.
Not much to report really, very short stage, still very windy with the bunch exploding after less than a kilometre. Still 30 riders at the front in the finish with the all our boys there. Kyle decided to hand over sprinting duties to Tangles for this stage and they looked to have it won untill they rounded the last corner to find the finish a further 300m away than the mocka said, "*$#%%^^". Oh well, at least they are showing the initiative and having a crack, I'm sure the allusive win isn't far away.
Tour of Murray River Stage Six - Swan Hill to Manangatang 87.8km
Great stage this morning, After numerous splits due to the wind a group of 18 formed at the front and held their advantage until the finish. Riggy made the split with Will riding across solo once he was sure the second group weren't going to get back. Will came from a long way back in the sprint and managed to pick up third. Who know what he could do from the right position. Tangles lost 25 seconds on GC after being caught out in the split but Riggy managed to move into the top ten so they are still in contention and will look to move up when the opportunity arises.
Tour of Murray River Stage Five - Swan Hill to Lake Boga 65km
No wind to speak of for today's road stage, in fact the weather gods were playing their part putting on a perfect day for the start of spring. Tangles managed to get into a move that stuck with about 40km left to race. In the move were Tim Decker, Nick Aitken, Adam Semple and James McCoy. With only five kilometres to go the breaks advantage was less than 15 seconds, finally being absorbed at 2 kilometres to go just in time for the sprinters teams to set up their fast guys for the kick. Cantwell was too good again, winning the stage and taking the leaders jersey back from Tanner. Tangles was unlucky to miss out on the most aggressive jersey but managed to pick up some bonus seconds to move up a few places on GC and help give will another day in the sprint jersey.
Tour of Murray River Stage Four - Swan Hill Criterium 45km
This mornings stage was a tough oval circuit on the perimetre of Swan Hill. Featuring two sweeping turns at either end and a hill that crested at the start/finish line and opposite again on the back straight, its probably one of the harder crits, definately one of the hardest in this tour. Nathan managed to slip into a promising move that looked like staying away only to be caught in the dying stages with a move of three getting clear and managing to stay away until the finish. David Tanner (Rock Racing), Cam Peterson and Sean Finning fought it out with Tanner coming up trumps, taking the win and the yellow jersey in the process. Will still leads the sprint category.
Tour of Murray River Stage Three - Moama to Barham
The 112km jaunt from Moama to Barham didn't really unfold as expected. The race did split a number of times but it kept coming back together. Probably a case of tired legs from yesterday and the wrong composition at different times. Once again Will and Nathan did most of the work for the team, with no overall ambitions in this race they are devoting themselves to the team cause and the pursuit of form leading in to Tassie and the Sun Tour. Kyle finished today but only just, a migraine brought on by yesterdays crash meant he had blurred vision making riding in the bunch difficult to say the least. He got through though, and we will see how he is tomorrow before making a decision on whether he continues or not. The rest of the boys finished in the front group with Cantwell taking another win and looking the goods for the tour.
Tour of Murray River Stage Two - Echuca Criterium
This mornings criterium along the river at Echuca was dominated by a break of four that managed to get clear around the halfway mark. David Kemp (Fly V) and Luke Durbridge (AIS) then broke clear from the other two and managed to hold on with Kemp taking the spoils from Durbridge, Joel Pearson of Savings and Loans was third. Will and Nathan were the only two that really worked to keep the breaks advantage manageable, then with two laps to go and the break down to 10 seconds they attempted to set Kyle up for the sprint unfortunately Kyle was brought down in a fall on the last corner and lost a lot of skin as a result.Will still holds the sprinters jersey and the other boys finished without incident. This afternoons stage will be blown to smitherines as the wind is really strong.
Tour of Murray River Stage One 154.5km
Tour of Murray Stage One 154.5km
I should point out a couple of things right from the beginning, one, I am not at this years race for the first time since it started so I will be sending reports that I've channeled through Andrew whilst sitting on the couch having a scotch. Two, we are seriously worried about Will! We think he is having flash backs from last years Goulburn to Citi because even though he isn't riding for the overall in this tour he proceeded to destroy all and sundry to win the points jersey and the most aggressive as well as sitting second in the KOM competition. Its ok though, were sure he will be alright.
Read MoreTour De Timor Wrap Up "Maggot Second Overall"
Still not really sure on the details but we do know that Maggot managed second on stage four to retain the race lead. On the last stage all we know is Ben was overtaken by Paul Vander Plog and pushed into second. We haven't been able to contact Ben and fear he might have been kidnapped and fleeced of his considerable prize money - either that or he likes the weather so much he has decided to stay on.
Tour De Timor Update "Stage Wins For Mather and Maggot"
Information on the Tour De Timor is very hard to get, but we do know that after losing four minutes on the first stage the two Bens have managed to fight their way back into the race with Benny Mather taking out the 65km stage two and Benny Grieve getting the chocolates and the race lead in the 93km stage three. Racing for a share of the $75 000 on offer the boys are highly motivated to try and keep the lead and win the inaugural tour.
Praties Takes On The Winter Challenge And Wins
This weekend saw the Team tackle the popular Winter Challenge in Tassies Huon Valley. Last year we had some success in the mixed teams with Jo providing the female component taking on the gruelling run leg - funny thing was she wasn't that keen to do it again so we were left with the task of finding another runner. Will managed to enlist Dylan Evans a nice young bloke form Wills home town of Campbell Town. Dylan is off to the National Cross Country Titles next weekend so we were confident he would be in the mix during the run. Our major competition would be from the Bike Ride Squad and the Running Edge Team.
Read More
Tour of Geelong Stage Six - "Cancelled"
Unfortunately the last stage was called off due to extreme weather conditions that hit Geelong overnight and persisted into the morning. 120km/h winds coupled with torrential rain simply made riding let alone racing unsafe. It's obviously dissapointing on the odd occasion that these things happen but we agreed with the desicion, riders safety has to be paramount. So the final wash up saw Will finish 3rd overall with Ben Grenda 4th and Dylan inside the top ten in 8th. All in all the tour was pretty pleasing, the lads are starting to get over the China trip and its related lurgies and Will and Dylan consolidated their positions at the top of the national rankings. Will now has a healthy margin over Dylan with a large gap back to third which will probably be Darren Rolfe from Fly V who courtesy of his win in the tour should overtake Tim Roe from Savings and Loans. So less than a couple of weeks at home then off to the Tour of Murray River and hopefully a bit of sunshine.
Tour of Geelong Stage Five - Botanical Gardens Criterium
Late start today which was nice, lazed around all day until we headed down to the Geelong Botanical Gardens for the penultimate stage of this years tour. The gardens are also used for the Bay Crits in January although its a different course. Today's course was basically flat, just a small rise on the start and finish straight and another on the back straight. The plan today was to take it easy and conserve as much as possible for the tough Port Arlington stage tomorrow. Dylan had a dig with 5 laps to go and succeeded in staying away for three laps then Will tried a last lap flyer but was brought back just before the final corner. Other than that it was pretty uneventful, Tom Palmer from Drapac won the stage after being lead out perfectly by the Drapac train. More tomorrow.
Tour of Geelong Stage Four - Individual Time Trial 28.2km
There was a lot of big talk leading into the TT. Such and such was going to put 2 minutes in to everyone blah blah blah!! In fact I think in was the sole strategy of some teams, stay in contention, smack the TT, race over. The Praties boys prefered to sit back and listen to the predictions, but behind the scenes there was a quite confidence and a steely determination to show exactly what we are capable of in the ride against the clock.
Read MoreTour of Geelong Stage Three - Anakie RR 143km
11 sprints, 12 hill climbs and a championship worthy course awaited riders in stage three. Such a hard course was going to be difficult for everyone but the need to stay at the head of affairs and make the right moves tactically was where the rest of the tour was going to be setup. With the time trial looming on Friday some would be looking to conserve whilst overs would be looking to make up some time and possibly get a head start over the stronger riders against the clock.
Read MoreTour of Geelong Stage Two - Lara to You Yangs 79.6km
Stage two started after a brief lunch break, heading off into the mysterious You Yangs, well they aren't really mysterious but they sound it! 5 sprints and narrow roads presented perhaps the biggest challenge to the riders for the majority of the stage. Holding position at the head of affairs became the goal of most teams keen to avoid being caught out in the splits and crashes. The lads did a great job putting the race in the gutter on a couple of occassions and causing chaos in the process.
Read MoreTour of Geelong Stage One - North Shore Criterium 48km"
The first stage of the Tour of Geelong kicked off tday with the customary criterium to ease riders into the swing of things.
Read More
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Nine - Paynesville Criterium 44km
Kyle finished a close second to Howard in this years tours last stage. The boys positioned him on Howards wheel with five laps to go before his teammates ramped it up putting on a TDF worthy leadout. Kyle showed great composure to manage to hold the wheel and then fight for the win. Howard was to good on the day - well the whole tour really but it shows Kyle is headed in the right direction and a win won't be far away. Ben managed to hold on to 9th on Gc with Nearle in 13th. The inaugural Geelong Tour kicks off in a fortnight so the team will be looking to get healthy and really take it to them.
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Eight - Bairnsdale to Lakes Entrance 76km
The last kilometre of the Lakes Entrance stage normally defines it. This is because even if you manage to arrive in the front group the last 1km features a nasty steep pinch up to the Lakes Entrance sports complex that sees enough gaps to keep the time keepers on their toes. A group of three managed to sneak away towards the end of the stage with Scott Davis taking the spoils. Nathan was seventh in the next group with Chuggy just behind followed by Riggy and Mather.
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Seven - Bairnsdale Criterium 33km
Jack Bobridge and David Pell put on a show in the 33km trip around the Bairnsdale circuit. The two combined well to gain a maximum advantage of 60 seconds and one point. In the end Bobridge easily accounted for Pell with the mainfield coming in some 30 seconds later.
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Six - Sale to Licola 88.3km
Howard continued his impressive run this afternoon to win the sixth stage. The Praties boys continue to improve but still seem unable to break the strangle hold Howard's VIS squad have on this years race. With three riders in the front group of 30 the boys tried to get clear of the inevitable bunch sprint but with so many riders still in contention and so many team mates on hand to do the pace making it was all but impossible. The boys still hold down 9th and 15th and fourth in the teams and will look to the remaining stages to move up and go for the ellusive stage win.
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Five - Sale Criterium 36km
Kyle managed to largely look after himself to grab 5th in the Sale Crit. The result has moved him into third in the criterium championship behind Joel Pearson and race leader Howard.
Tour of Gippsland - Stage Four - Trafalgar to Walhalla 75.3km
26 riders finished at the head of affairs after this afternoons fourth stage. The wind and the climbs played their part to split the peleton but try as they might to split the race further the front stayed intact for another sprint finish.
Read MoreTour of Gippsland - Stage Three - Trafalgar Criterium 28km
Read MoreTour of Gippsland - Stage Two - Taralgon South to Yarram 57.7km
Maggot didn't make the start of the second stage, still suffering gastro and general fatigue from China. Will was also struggling but decided to continue. A break of nine slipped away on the climb containing Leigh Howard, David Kemp and Tim Roe. The boys couldn't go with it on the climb but Benny Mather managed to decsend his way across a minute gap on the back side of the climb. Nathan managed to slip into a small move near the finish to come in second in front of the main field.
Read MoreTour of Gippsland - Stage One - Taralgon to Boolara 51.5km
The China boys caught the red eye from Beijing straight after the last stage of Qinghai Lake to make it back in time for the Tour of Gippsland. They met the rest of the team at the airport and set off for Taralgon. Probabaly not the best prepartation spending the hours preeceding the race on a 12 hour flight, but the boys were keen to do it especially after some spent more time on the toilet than on their bikes in China. The other factor that would probably have the boys at a dissadvantage was the fact that the longest stage in Gippsland was only 88km with a criterium everyday - a bit different from one stage a day around 170km. Seriously it's probably time we looked at the format of these races, its hardly condusive to helping to develop riders manage to successfully compete at the distances they are required to race in championships and other races around the world.
Read MoreQinghai Stage Nine - Xining Central Square 99km
The last stage was a 5.5km course around downtown Xining. To say there was a crowd would not do it justice there were #*^!loads of people everywhere. We were told by our translator that they expected a million people to watch the race. Its hard to believe but I think the boys are over the rock star treatment. Over the course of the race they would have posed for thousands of photos and signed thousands of autographs. Once you relented and signed one you were mobbed by bike groupies, crazy! Back to the race...
Read MoreQinghai Stage Eight - Menyuan to Huzhu 165km
The last woad stage of the 2009 Tour of Qinghai Lake set off from from Menyuan today under grey skies. Many of the riders looked a bit worse for wear at the start line probably feeling the effects of yesterdays mammoth stage and the accumulation of 7 hard stages in every kind of weather and terrain. With only Tangles and Nath left in the tour we decided to be aggressive and put the whole team on the front from the start and ride the rest of the peleton off our wheel... when that didn't work we changed the plan with the boys safely tucked away in the bunch conserving as much as possible until the days one and only 22km HC climb.
Read More
Qinghai Stage Seven - 178km
This morning the Praties flag was flying at half mast, we lost Ben Mather and Ben Grieve-Johnson to food poisoning. This meant that we only had three starters in Will, Tangles and Nearle. We drove to the top of the first KOM last night to check it out and I was glad that I did. The first part of the stage was completely new so no one knew what to expect. The road was extremely narrow with a 6ft drop off each side, it wound its way out of town uphill through farmland with goats and yaks and the occasional farmer the only spectators.
Read MoreQinghai lake Stage Six - Bird Island to Xihaizhen 152km
The weather gods finally smiled on the peleton today bringing clear skies and mild temperatures after yesterdays rain and wind. On paper the stage looked fairly tame with only a cat 3 followed by a cat 2 we were pretty certain that the sprinters teams would take control to ensure a bunch sprint. Will managed to slip into an early move of six riders but they were never given any leeway so after 40km they were back in the bunch.
Read MoreQinghai Lake Stage Five - Qinghai Lake to Bird Island 120km
Well not much to report today by Chinese standards, freezing cold temperatures, strong crosswinds, yaks on the road, numerous crashes, Eldo broke his ankle and dickheads drive team cars that probably don't have a licence or certainly wouldn't get one anywhere else in the world - don't get me started...
Eldo after his incident
Read MoreQingahi Lake Stage Four - Xining Duoba to Qinghai Lake 118km
Only a cat one right at the start today that went for 57km! The race had to pass through 5 tunnels on the way up to the 3300m plateau. Marco Polo lead the peleton from the start riding tempo with Tabriz and allowed a break of four to gain an advantage of 2 minutes. Will really suffered right from the start after being severly weakened by the dreaded gastro. Maggot stayed with him when they were dropped and guided him up the climb, later saying that it was one of the grittiest display he has ever seen on a bike. They finishednearly 14 minutes down but were well inside the time cut and will live to fight another day. The gastro is funny in that it comes and goes so quickly, but if you get it at the wrong time like Dylan did yesterday it can end your race.
Read MoreQinghai Lake Stage Three - Xunhna to Xining 173km
Today Tabriz Petro Chemicals put on another powerful display of high altitude riding smashing the category one and Hors category climb. To be honest I think they classified the climbs back the front because the first category climb that came after just 30km or racing was absolutely off the dial. Unfortunately before the race had even hit the foothills of the approaching mountains we lost Dylan to chronic gastro. He was fine at breakfast but went downhill rapidly after that. Nathan was similarly afflicted but seemed to respond better to the medicine administered by the race doc.
Read MoreQinghai Lake Stage Two - Tongren to Xunhna 95km
After yesterdays successful break and the fact that the race had developed a rough order we were sure that Tabriz would want to allow a small break to gain an advantage to make their job of defending and riding tempo on the front easier. It was unlikely that they would give them alot of rope but we though if we could slip one of our GC guys in there they may get over the Cat 1 climb before the hitters decided to put the smack down.
Read MoreQinhhai Lake Stage One - Xining to Tongren
Today stated with the usual flurry of activity and a mad drive to the centre square of Xining for the start. A massive crowd was there to see the field set off to cover the 170km journey with the lads treated like rock stars constanly posing for photos and signing autographs prior to the gun. The forecast was for 29 degrees and little to no wind so we were careful to make sure everyone got enough fluid. The race rolled out of town on big wide double lane highways at a sedentary pace. Two riders took the initative and hit out and with no reaction from the peleton their advantage quickly grew to 4 minutes.
Read More
Qinghai Lake Prologue
Today all the travel and packing and language difficulties were put to the side as the tour kicked off with the 4.8km prologue in the vibrant community of Huzhu. The day started with a one and a half hour transfer but was made much easier than usual due to the fact that they had a couple of thousand police stopping traffic to let the race convoy through. People lined the route waving and clapping all the way to Huzhu - unbelievable!
Read More
Qinghai Lake - Strange Days Indeed!
Today is D Day -1. Tomorrow the whole shebang kicks off with the prologue in Xining. The forecast is for a fine clear 27 degrees so the times should be very slick. The last two days have been a blur of preparation and strange experiences that come with such a clash of cultures. One such strange experience happened yesterday...
Read More
We do too! The Praties Cycling Teams latest intrepid adventure has begun, in fact as I write this I am surrounded by the strange sights and smells that a foriegn city conjures. It's hard to describe really, incredibly beautiful for the most part, dusty, bustling and curious, at times filthy. Jeremy Hills made his first podium appearance in Belgium over the weekend with a strong third place in the Zomergem Open. Jez managed to ride across to a threatening 10 rider break with six others and then used his speed to hold on for third in the sprint. This is Jeremy's second stint in Europe and bodes well for the busy Australian season that kicks off in July with the criterium heavy Tour of Gippsland. Will Clarke continued his run of good form on Saturday taking out the Gloria Jeans Classic in Tassies North. Starting from the scratch mark Will and his fellow backmarkers rode through the field in double quick time. Once at the front Will attacked and found himself off the front with three others before attacking again and riding solo to the finish. Will said that the blustery conditions on the day definately help the backmarkers, "anyone that tried to sit on ended up getting spat out the back." Kyle Marwood was just edged out for the win in the bunch sprint in todays Phillip Island Teams Race. Kyle was well supported through out the race by fellow Victorians Dylan Newell and Josh Chugg with ring in Will Clarke rounding out the team. Dylan was in a move of fiftheen riders that managed to get clear mid way through the race. Will and Josh drove the bunch in the final laps to ensure a bunch sprint for Kyle and managed to absorb the break with a lap to go. The judges were unable seperate Kyle and Leigh Eagan and had to go to the video before finally awarding the win to Egan. Another strong result from the boys. Praties Will Clarke took out his first Tour win thanks to an awesome ride and great support from his impressively strong team to cement the win in this years Tour of Canberra. The team also managed to convincingly take out the newly introduced teams category. Will was more than two minutes clear of second placed Rhys Pollock of Drapac Porsche after yesterdays stage but due to the nature of the terrain and the fact that he was a marked man he was going to need to prove again that he was worthy of the leaders jersey that he held going into the decisive 120km stage. Praties Will Clarke simply too strong for the other 70 A grade competitiors in the fist stage of the Tour of Canberra today. Will attacked with around 30 kilometres to go in the 142km stage to win by 1.45 form his breakaway companions with the bunch only seconds behind. Here's how it happened... Nathan soloing to victory Nathan Earle stole the show on the slopes of Mount Baw Baw this weekend with a premeditated attack with 4kms to go to win this years prestigious classic. Ranked the second toughest climb in world cycling with grades that max out at 20 percent and previous winners like David McKenzie and Simon Gerrans to win Baw Baw is to win one of the hardest races in Australia. Ben Grenda took his first win of the season in the LCCC "Roubaix" on Saturday. The 65km handicap features over 20km of unpaved roads through the quiet agricultural district of Bishopbourne in Tassie's North. Starting from the revered scratch bunch Ben and Will Clarke gave the limit markers a 25 minute start but managed to ride through the field to take the two top spots and keep Praties unbeaten record for the year intact. Tangles form has been improving steadily since shoulder surgery earlier in the year and a solid ride in the recent Tour of Mersey Valley. Dylan Newell took out the Tour of Mersey Valley in fine style gaining enough time on the last stage to distance himself from Jack Anderson of Budget Forklifts who trailed by only one second going into the stage.Praties has won this tour 3 times in the last 4 years so it's our race and we wanted another win. The final stage was always going to decide the winner, with the ascents of the infamous "Heart Break Hill" and "Paradise" making a tough stage already the addition of the steep "Bridle Track" climb 5 kms from the finish made it even more so. This is what happened ... Hardwood's wheelie on Heartbreak Stage Two, 112km of rolling hills punctuated by a couple of short sharp climbs. Budget Forklift's Jack Anderson was sitting in the yellow jersey 8 seconds in front of Dylan. From the outset three things became abuntantly clear, Budget were intent on defending their slim lead, Savings and Loans were happy to sit back and pounce when the opportunity arose and Praties were going to take the race to the rest of the field and make Budget work. The first race of the National Road Series kicked off today in Tassies picturesque North West. A windless, cloudless day greeted the riders for the individual time trial along the banks of the Forth River. With a somewhat curious start order Ben Grieve and Nearle were second and fourth off the start.Ben managed a solid ride for 32.50 with Nathan managing to better Bens time for 31.50. With the big hitters still a long way off Nathan occupied the hotseat until Dylan crossed the line with a new best time of 30.24. The past weekend saw the team compete in races in both Launceston and Hobart. Will Clark took out another LCCC race on the Saturday riding away from his fellow scratchmarkers to catch and pass first "B", then "C" and finally "D" grade who had started some seventeen minutes earlier. Will has won every local race he has entered so far this year and looks to be in great form. Clive Roper Photography In Hobart the boys raced the short sharp Derwent Valley Challenge. Held annually in conjuction with the Derwent Autumn Festival the race features a series of punchy power climbs and normally attracts a decent size field. Nathan Earle won in a two up sprint from crafty local Danny Pullbrook. Maggot filled out the podium with Jessa fourth and yours truely fifth. Easter weekend will see the first race of the National Road Series with the Tour of Mersey Valley in Tassies North West. Budget Forklifts and Savings and Loans are sending strong squads and with a demanding hilly course and a time trial thrown in we should see some great racing. I will endevour to post after each stage. The past weekend saw the team split and compete in two completely different events, one on the road one on the dirt. The second last week of March saw the team converge on the Grindelwald Resort in Tassie's North for the first training camp of the year. It was a great chance to get the team together for some bonding, gear issue and to log some good training miles. With a couple of new faces this year it was also a good opportunity for everyone to get to know one another. The new riders on the team this year are Kyle (Ox) Marwood, Jeremy (Jessa) Hills and Ben Grenda. Todays road race was well attended by all the Continental teams as well as the state institutes, with riders keen to get some racing under the belt ealy in the season. The field faced 13 laps for a total of 153km on an undulating but relatively easy course. Will Clark Praties only representitive in the Oceania Championships Time Trial managed to hold it all together for his best TT effort to date with a strong 5th place. Will time was only a minute and twenty seconds behind winner Chris Jongerward a vast improvement over Will's nationals TT where he lost more that three minutes to Jongerward. It's only Will's second serious TT in his short cycling career and confirms what we have always though - the boys got talent! With no racing on the road on offer a couple of the boys headeedd down to the Tahune Marathon held in the State Forest near Geeveston in Tassies far South. In what will probably go down as one of the most exciting senior championships in years the Praties senior squad of Richie Porte, Will Clarke, Jason Rigg and Dylan Newell put their collective best foot forward for the team.
The field was one of the strongest in years and with more than 130 starters the scene at the start line was very impressive as was the thousands of spectators that had made the pilgrimage from Melbourne and beyond. The infamous Bunninyong road course certainly ticks the boxes when it comes to a championship course. It features a demanding climb straight after the start finish line that winds it's way up Mt Bunninyong before an undulating section that twists and turns followed by a mildly technical descent before a fast run in back to the finish. The early 9.30 start meant that the boys would at least be missing the hottest part of forecast 28 degress but the wind would almost certainly play it's part. Benny G, Jessa and Nathan Earle were representing the team in the race and we were hoping for a strong result. Cam Meyer, Michael Rogers, Portey Praties Richie Porte proved yet again that he is one of Australian Cyclings rising stars when he took bronze in the the Open Australian Time Trial Championships. Richie managed to better his 5th place from last year, showing that he is still improving and could well produce another supprise on Sunday with a bit of luck. The riders faced a windy undulating course that was going to making the going tough for everyone. In front of Richie, Michael Rogers (Columbia) took his first Senior Australian Championship to add to his three world titles followed by Garmin Chipotle's latest recruit, Cameron Meyer only six seconds behind. At the halfway point Richie had the third best split behind Rogers and Meyer and managed to further distance himself from fellow Tassie boy Cam Wurth by the finish. Dylan had a great ride for 12th while Will finished a credible 27th and learned a great deal. The boys certainly looked the goods in the new kit from Champion Systems who managed to move heaven and earth to have the speed suits ready in time for the race. In fact the order was completed in less than two weeks!! Kristjan from Sram spent a full day making sure all the bikes were in tip top condition fine tuning, cleaning and generally fussing about. It sure makes life easier having great sponsors and support. Praties Nathan Clarke took yet another wheel race victory in The Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals in Hobart on the weekend. The win adds to his already impressive palamares and shows that the big fella still has speed to burn. Clarke was simply to strong winning the prestigious race easily. The win marks the teams first for the year. On Sunday the 23rd November Jessa Hills, Will Clarke and myself attented the Cycling Australia Awards night at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne. We were there to receive the Award for the National Teams Series win, a win that was brought about by our most consistant and successful season so far. The evening was a great opportuntiny for us to thank the people and sponsors that make the team what it is. Praties for the great support of the team over the last eight years, SRAM for their awesome equipment and incredible mechanical backup and know-how, Cannondale for the best bikes going around, Zipp for the fastest wheels on the planet, Gatorade for our hydration needs and Tasmanian Bakeries, PFD Food Services and Medhurst Equipment for their financial support. Photo by John Veage Courtesy of Cycling Australia It was also important to acknowledge SBS's awesome contribution to the National Series. Their coverage provide much needed exposure for the racing and the production and commentary was exceptional. The award was presented by Cadel Evans and Onone Wood which made it even more special. Bendigo Cyclismo is the brainchild of sports promoter Michael Hands of Jayco Herald Sun Tour fame. The event combines mountain biking and criterium racing with a Gran Fondo event on the Sunday where the cycling public get to ride with the pros over varying distances. The Praties team was there to take part in the Saturday twilight criterium and the Gran Fondo the following day. As a hectic season draws to a close and the riders all take a well earned break, I thought that it's probably a good time to pause and reflect on the year and the current state of domestic road cycling. This article is not intended to be contentious, although it maybe. Nor is it meant to be overly critical, really its more about looking for a way forward where Australia cycling can continue to grow and be self sustaining. Most riders look to Europe, USA and more recently Asia when trying to make a career out of the sport. Wouldn't it be good if staying at home was also a viable alternative?Wouldn't it be awesome if riders could make a decent living out of riding a bike here in Australia? What can we do to make that happen? What lessons can we learn from other countries? How can we move cycling from the "other sports" listing in the media to having it's own category as we all know it should? Thank you to all those that submitted resumes for the 2009 season, the response has been overwhelming. We should be able to notify everyone by this week. Thanks Again. The Praties Cycling Team sealed the National Team series on the weekend after another strong result by the boys in the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic. So dominant was the teams performance throughout the season that they really only had to start on the weekend to ensure that they claimed the series. The National Series prize has been a major goal for the team this year after last years second place and has confirmed the team as one of the powerhouses on the rapidly growing domestic scene. The team will be presented with the award at the Cycling Australia Gala Dinner on the 23rd November. The Australian cyclist of the year will also be announced on the night as our cycling elite gather to celebrate another successful year for Australia in the sport. Congratulations to the whole team and everyone involved on a fantastic achievement. Click on the link to see our coverage and the results from this years race If you were to mention "Warrnie" to a non-cyclist it would probably conjure up images of the legendary Aussie cricketer or maybe explicit text messages? But if you were to mention it to a cyclist or sports fan they would know that you were referring to the Melbourne to Warrnambool, one of Australia's true cycling monuments. The world's second oldest race(Liege Bastogne Liege is the oldest), the Warnie was first run in 1895. Since then it has gone on to capture the imagination of purist and punter alike and is now also known for being the longest one day race in the world. It's a hard man's race. a race where only the strongest survive, a race where after 150kms you are only halfway, a race where for most just finishing is a victory. One things for certain the rider that wins the Warrnie will go down in history sharing the honour with a who's who of Australian Cycling. Names like Mockridge, Opperman, Woods, Gilmore, Mckenzie and Gerrans are all there. Who will take the prize this year and add their name to the honour roll? Savings and Loans have a couple of likely contenders with David Pell and Joel Pearson. Pell has been looking forward to this all year and although he seemed a little out of sorts in the Sun Tour should be all the better for it and will definately be there at the business end. Pearson has been improving all year after returning form an horrific car crash and will try to use his speed to good effect if it comes down to a sprint. Budget Forklifts have imported some talent in Cam Jennings back from the now defunct Pezula Racing and Kristian House and Tom Southland from the UK. On paper they seem like the team to beat with House and Southland fresh whilst everyone else is probably still feeling a bit weary after the Sun Tour. The Praties boys are looking to put the finishing touches on an outstanding year and will benefit from long distance specialists Josh Chugg and Will Clarke. Big Nath seems to have recovered and with super domestic Richie Porte at his disposal will be trying to keep out of trouble unitl the last 50km's where the gloves will come off and the real racing starts. Either way the team looks set to comfortably take out the National Teams Competition and a win on the weekend would be the icing on the cake. The 66km long circuit around Lygon Street featured 3 hot dog turns. This basically means that you go from 60km/h down to 20km/h every corner and then have to kick back up to speed before going through the whole process again. The riders at the front are already accelerating away before the riders at the rear have made it to the corner. It's really easy to say you have to ride at the front but very hard to do because everyone has the same idea. Melbourne turned on it's charm and with the mercury rising to the low thirties thee conditions for the thousands of spectators lining the course were ideal. The crowds were pretty impressive really, no doubt they were increased by all the cyclists turning up for the "Round the Bay in a day" ride taking place on the following day. Only seconds seperated the top ten on the general classification heading in to the time trial. At 16 kilometres long you could be excused for thinking that the time differences wouldn't be that great but the difficulty of the course meant that if riders weren't on top of their game they could easily lose their place on CG. The Praties brain trust in Dom McNamara and Fatty VanDerAa had concluded after months of calculations and deliberations that the best wheel combination for the course was Zipp Sub 9 rear and Zipp 1080 front. Richies bike was also decked out with a 54/42 chainring combination as we thought it was possible to gain an advantage on the downhill sections this way. Todays stage finished on top of the hors category climb of Mt Buller.CSC were in a strong position with O'Grady yellow and Lars Bak only seconds back in fourth place. The most likely scenario was for a non-threatening break to go up the road and then the GC contenders would sit and wait for the final climb for the real race to start. Early on a group of 9 managed to get away, the highest rider on GC was Chris jongerward more than 6 minutes down so the break was allowed some room. Brad McGee and Lasse Bockman of CSC went to the front to control the peloton and keep the break within reach. Dan had made the break for the team and managed to win a sprint and get second in another to claim a bit of pocket money and help pay for the teams fines (long story). Also in the break were Luke Criland and Chris Jongerward (Panasonic), David Kemp and Pat Shaw (National Team), Cameron Jennings (Budget Forklifts), Craig McCartney (S&L) and Eric Bolley (Bicycle Superstore) and Dan Holt (Type One). The longest day at 130km with a 30km climb thown in 10km from the finish. It was going to be really tough, the course didn't offer any chance for recovery so it was definately going to be a case of the cream rising to the top. The attacks were relentless until two riders were allowed to gain a small advantage and the peloton settled down with CSC riding tempo at the front to keep things under control. The breaks advantage never made it past more than a minute and a half, so it was clear that the smack was going to go down on the days final 30km climb. Stage two was a one hundred and eighteen kilometre jaunt from the coast back inland with two categorised climbs in the first half of the race. With a stage profile that barely showed any flat ground those in the know were predicting carnage. Windy wind, really windy wind, not really what we were after. It was really blowing today and the race was going to be an absolute smash fest. team meeting - Stay at the front - reinterated about 10 times. Pretty simple really.
The stage was 130km in length with two intermediate sprints and two KOM's. While the climbs weren't really that selective the wind added another dimension and meant that if you had been shuffled on the climb over the top when you hit the wind there would be know where to hide.Qinghai Lake Preview
Jezza Hills' First European Podium
Another Win for Will
Marwood 2nd by a Hair at Phillip Island
Big Will's Big Win - Tour of Canberra Stage Two
Clarke Wins Solo - Tour of Canberra Stage One
Read More
Earle Conquers Baw Baw Classic - 18 April 09
Grenda Grinds Out Roubaix Win - 18 April 09
No Mercy in the Valley - Tour of Mersey Valley Stage Three
Praties Wins Wrestle for Yellow Jersey - Tour of Mersey Valley Stage Two
Tour of Mersey Valley Stage One
Read More
Local Racing Round Up 4th - 5th April
Big Weekend 28-29 March
Team Camp
Oceania Championships Road Race
Oceania's Time Trial
Tahune Marathon
Close but no Cigar - Open Road National Championships
Nearle Signals Return with Strong 4th - Under 23 National Championships Road Race
Read More
Porte takes 3rd in TT with Storming Ride
Clarke Takes Another Wheel Win
Cycling Australia Awards Night
Bendigo Cyclismo
Read More
The Promotion of Australian Road Cycling "Think Piece"
Flooded by Rider Resumes 3 Nov 08
Praties Crowned National Teams Champions
Warrnie Live Report
PREVIEW - 2008 Melbourne to Warrnambool
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE SIX - LYGON STREET CIRCUIT RACE
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE FIVE - INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE FOUR - ALEXANDRA TO MT BULLER
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE THREE - WARRAGUL TO MARYLANDS
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE TWO - INVERLOCK TO WARRAGUL
HERALD SUN TOUR STAGE ONE - TRARALGON TO INVERLOCK
HERALD SUN TOUR PREFACE - SUNNY TRARALGON
The Jayco Herald Sun Tour kicked off today in Traralgon and whilst the race would have no bearing on the overall the fact that it was being shown live on Channel Ten meant that teams were keen to get a bit of time on the teley keep sponsors happy and blow the cobwebs out of their legs. The Tour Village was in full swing with the support races keeping the crowd entertained whilst they waited the arrival of the pro teams. The SRAM boys were out in force and had a set up that was pretty impressive. The whole workshop area looked like it was lifted out of a bike shop whilst the SRAM Cafe, complete with great coffee and undercover seating was proving to be a real hit. It was great to catch up with Snozza, Rob and the boys and we left the enclosure decked out in all the latest offerings from the company that is turning road componetry on it's head with all the innovations that they have introduced over the last few years. The race was on from the gun and although the outcome wouldn't have any bearing on the overall it would decide who would wear all the classification jersies, reason enough to ride for the win.
Read MorePRATIES RICHIE PORTE WINS THE TOUR OF TASMANIA - DAY SIX
The first Tasmanian to win since Grant Rice way back in the late eighties, Richie Porte won the tour in style winning two stages, both solo and comfortably dealing with every challenge he faced. Richie was quick to heap praise on the team "The boys were incredible this week, they gave everything they had and scrificed their own chances so I could win, they were awesome." Nathan Clarke also won two stages and managed third place overall in the Scody Cup behind Leigh Howard and Bernie Sulzberger.
Read MoreKING OF THE MOUNTAIN, KING OF THE TOUR - TOUR OF TASMANIA DAY FIVE
Praties Richie Porte put in a royal performance today taking out the tours queen stage to the summit of Poatina. Richie capitalised on the strong work of his team mates who put in an awesome performance driving the pace in the strong cross winds in the lead up to the climb and splitting the bunch in the process. Richie won the stage in style winning solo in the yellow jersey after leaving all his rivals in his wake on the slopes of the climb.
Read MoreNATHAN CLARKE TAKES STAGE 6 RICHIE PORTE TAKES STAGE 7 - TOUR OF TASMANIA DAY FOUR
In what has to be our most successful single day of any tour to date The Praties Cycling Team won both stages on offer today as well as the most Aggressive jersey, the leading Tasmanian jersey and the Yellow jersey. The team really put on a show today and will head into tomorrows queen stage up to the summit of Poatina full of confidence and self belief.
Read More
STANLEY TO DISMAL SWAMP - TOUR OF TASMANIA DAY THREE
The Nut viewed from the top of the nasty climb
You would struggle to find a better backdrop for a stage. Sunny downtown Stanley hosted the start of todays fifth stage of the Tour of Tasmania. The course consisted of eight laps of a 7.9km circuit then a 60km stretch to Dismal Swap. Each lap the riders would have to contend with a steep climb from the sea level up to the top of the bluff, once at the top riders were greeted with a false flat and a strong cross wind that threatened to rip the field apart. From there it was a rapid decent back in to town to complete the lap.
Read MoreMARIST COLLEGE SMASH FEST - TOUR OF TASMANIA DAY TWO
Picturesque yes, hilly yes, dangerous yes, stupid yes! So this mornings criterium ticked all the boxes? The course was set on the side of Marist College, basically up one side then down the other with speed humps and dodgey corners thrown in to really make it interesting. The only saving grace was going to be that the field would split early on and hopefully the smaller groups would add a small degree of safety. The Praties boys decided to take the bull by the horns and push the pace early and after four laps the field had been reduced to less than 30 riders with smaller chase groups littered all over the course.
Read MoreHOMETOWN HERO TAKES POPULAR WIN - TOUR OF TASMANIA DAY ONE
Praties Nathan Clarke took a brilliant win in this afternoons second stage in front of hundreds of cycling savy locals keen to catch a glimpse of this years tour. Clarkey looked the goods in the first stage as well but suffered a mechanical failure in the second last lap to finish out of the placings and Scody Cup points.
Read MoreWILL CLARKE TAKES MAIDEN NRS VICTORY IN GOULBURN TO CITI PRATIES WINS TEAMS
Praties' Will Clarke took out the prestigious Goulburn to Citi Classic today. Fresh off the Tour of the Murray, Clarke used his deceptive speed to great effect taking the sprint in a close finish from his remaining breakaway companions. Will was able to sit back and wait for the sprint whilst Ben Mather covered all the moves towards the finish. This is Will's first season racing the National Series so his finishing speed was probably a well kept secret, but those who have raced against him in Tassie know that once he gets a head of steam he is very hard to get by. Will also won the sprint competition and was second in the KOM whilst Praties secured the teams competition further adding to our most successful season to date. Budget Forklifts Micheal England was second with FRF's Chris Jory third.
Read More2008 MTB World Cup #8 Canberra Australia
Benny Grieve-Johnson represented Australia and the Praties Cycling Team at the Australian leg of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Canberra this August. Benny created history for himself and the Praties Team showing the red and green livery to the mountain bike world for the first time. Ben managed a credible 38th in the race some 19 minutes down on winner Ralph Naef of Switzerland.
**Latrobe Locomotive Takes Criterium Title**7 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage 14
The Praties Cycling Team finished off their most successful Tour of Murray River today in fine style. The team was always at the front of the final 66km kermese protecting Nathan and policing the moves. Nath needed to finish in front of Sean Finning and not finish further than one place behind Leigh Howard to win the criterium championship. So in the final three laps the team positioned themselves near the front to do the lead out for Nath.
Read More
6 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage 13
81.3km Merbein to Wentworth. This race was one that we needed to do well on. Nath was sitting in fifth only one second behind Ben King (Budget Forklifts) and 13 seconds behind Bernie Sulzberger (Virgin). The plan was to keep the race together to enable Nath to have a crack at the intermediate sprints. The roads were very narrow so position was very important. The boys had to dig deep to ensure that anything that went up the road we were in.
Read More**Hitman Makes the Podium Again**6 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage 12
Brad Norton took out third in today's Merbein Criterium. Brad and Will Clarke found themselves in a break of 13 riders early in the stage. The VIS team of race leader Leigh Howard were happy to let it go as they had the highest placed rider in Langedyk so the responsibility fell to Virgin to keep things in check.
Read More**Nathan Clarke takes Bunch Sprint to Win Stage**5 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage 11
Ouyen - Patchewollock - Ouyen, 86.5km, 2 sprints, 7 hill climbs?? With Nathan and Will keen to take on the record for the most vanilla slices consumed in a sitting, the pressure was on as Andrew had said "no result, no vanilla slice." Although they are both big lads with big appetites I was quietly confident that the record set the previous year by the Silver Fox (Dave Eldridge) was pretty safe. Dave had commenced serious training from the moment the tour started and had worked up to his herculean feat of six snot blocks over a month of bad eating.
Read More
5 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Ten
Another day another criterium. Today was the one that everyone was had been waiting for, not so much for the racing more for the vanilla slice festival that takes place every year. It's snot block heaven with the best vanilla slices in the land being put before the judges vying for the coverted "best of the best" title. No snot blocks until the end boys there's a race to win first!
Read More4 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Nine
After Naths big effort this morning we would have been pretty happy to just consolidate and not lose any of the time he had made up in the morning. The Euston criterium has been in the tour since in began and historically it's really hard. The racing was on from the start again with all the boys taking turns at following moves.
Read More4 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Eight
Robinvale was the scene for this mornings kermese around a 2.4km circuit along the beautiful Murray River. With the GC contenders watching each other like hawks it was going to be very hard to get bonus seconds through intermediate sprints. The plan was to try and slip Nath in to a break where none of the other major players were present, get some time back and take a stage win, easy!
Read More3 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Seven
Baranald hosted todays stage, a 63km criterium and the only stage for the day. The township put there hands in their pockets and bumped up the prize money to makes today's stage a bit more interesting. With $2500 for the win more than a few riders had set themselves for this one and with the GC battle still being fought out in earnest it was diffucult to predict what would happen.
Read More
**Norton Confirms Class** 2 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Six
Brad "The Hitman" Norton took stage six out today with a well timed sprint that left his breakaway companions in his dust. The stage was from Swan Hill to Manatanga, 84km, 4 sprints, 2 KOM's ??. There wasn't a neutral section at the start today so when the gun went so did the riders. The action was thick and fast as riders constantly attacked trying to get away. The boys were on song today sharing responsibility for covering the attacks making sure that we always had someone in the move. It wasn't until about 30 km into the stage when the mix was right and a break finally stuck.
Read More2 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Five
Swan Hill hosted the criterium that was stage five. The weather gods were really smiling today, so the guys just had to worry about the racing instead of the weather. The course was characterised by a roundabout at each end with the start finish line situated at the top of a small rise which meant that the riders faced an uphill kick out of each of the roundabouts.
Read More1 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Four
The days second stage took riders from Kerang to Cohuna. A journey of some 70+ kilometres, the strong winds were sure to play a part. It was going to be crucial to have numbers at the front to help Nath as we didn't want to be playing catch up and have Nath having to do too much work.
Read More1 September 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Three
Kerang hosted stage three's criterium and the weather had improved markedly overnight to a sunny day with a little wind still hanging around to make things a little interesting. Dylan was determined to make ammends for his stage two ride and attacked from the gun eventually dragging Sean Finning (VIS) and Craig McCartney (S&L) clear as well. The trio built a maximum advantage of 26 seconds whilst behind the team remained vigilant and tried to disrupt the chase as much as possible.
Read More31 August 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage Two
Stage Two and the conditions had worsened, the wind was really blowing with intermitant rain squalls keeping the riders nice and cool. The smack went down from the gun with Virgin Blue throwing it in the gutter. A big fall involving Brad and a couple of S&L guys was enough to really split the field and as is the norm when riders hear a crash they normally put the hammer down. Luckily Brad was up and underway again quite quickly and only had a few bruises. Dan did a monster turn to get Dylan to the front group which meant that we had three as Nath and Tim were also there.
Read More31 August 2008 Tour of Murray River Stage 1
Tour of the Murray is normal characterised by sunny skies and warm temeratures but that wasn't the case today. The mercury would have been hard pressed to pass 10 degrees and the rain whilst welcommed by the farmers of the region was not looked on as favourably by the riders. Echuca hosted today's stage one criterium, a fast 850m oblong course featuring a couple of very dodgy slippery corners at the start and finish of the home straight.
Read More17 August 2008 Ballarat Grand Prix Road Race
The road course is the same circuit used every January for the Australian Road Championships. At 153km long the distance isn't really a problem it's more the climb every lap that does the damage. For those that aren't familiar with Buninyong the race starts in the centre of town before heading out on to the highway and straight into the climb that continues on for about 4 km before winding it's way back around towards Ballarat through some light bush and farmland before a final turn back towards Buninyong to complete the lap. In short it's a course that favours a strong allrounder.
Read More16 August 2008 Ballarat Grand Prix Criterium
Held in Ballarat's CBD the crit is of the traditional type, four corners, flat out. Usually it's pretty hard for anyone to get away but that doesn't stop people from trying so it's still important to cover moves and make sure that the team has someone in the mix. The pace was really hot early on and try as they might nothing would stick and the inevitable bunch kick loomed.
Read More15 August 2008 Ballarat Grand Prix Time Trial
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 managing to shake off the lingering effects of the flu to achieve a strong 5th place with Nathan Clarke securing 10th giving Praties two in the top ten.
Read MorePraties Cycling To the Herald Sun Tour
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.
Competition will also be fierce within the team as riders have been told that no one is guaranteed a position and the final team will only be picked after the Tour of Tasmania in late September. Richie Porte is back on the bike after his broken hip and Josh Wilson is starting to build form after open heart surgery so hopefully the team will have a full squad to draw from. Andrew Christie-Johnson was keen to play down the teams chances but said "It's always going to be tough with such strong proffessional squads, but we have a strong squad too and the recent experience in the States has benefitted the boys a lot."
**Big Will Holding On In Stage 3**Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland
Check out the finish of Gippsland stage 3 with Big Will just managing to hold it up when his rear wheel explodes in the final corner.
**Big Nath Takes Out Criterium Championship**Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 8
Nathan Clarke wrapped up the the criterium championship for the Tour of Gippsland today courtesy of second place in the Paynesville Criterium. Paynesville should have been spelt Painsville as that was what was being dished up. With the GC competition coming down to a battle of the sprints the racing was hard and fast as the teams of the non sprinters were keen on getting their riders away in a bid to gain time whilst Virgin Blue had to keep it together to give Bernie a chance at the sprints.
Read More
**Big Nath Makes it Two Stage Wins for Praties**Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 7 2nd August 2008
Nathan Clarke put the finishing touches on a great team effort today taking out the seventh stage of the Tour of Gippsland. Nathan found himself in a break away that escaped with about 20km left in the 120km stage from Metung to Omeo. Some how the big guy clawed his way up the final 10km category two climb and then played the final sprint to perfection to beat David Kemp.
Read MoreLakes Oil Tour Gippsland Stage 6 1st August 2008
A big square criterium around Bairnsdale awaited riders this afternoon and with a tough stage already in the legs it was going to be interesting to see who had the legs. Even though we had Dan and Dylan in 1st and 2nd on General Classification it was going to be hard to hold off a crit specialist like Bernie Sulzberger. Bernie has just come off a successful stint in the States ripping up the crits at Superweek, so it was going to be important to try and contain him as much as possible. With bonus seconds on offer every two laps there was a lot of time up for grabs.
Read More**Newell takes Stage**Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 5 1st August 2008
Dylan enacted the team plan to perfection today, using a brilliant display of controlled aggression and some very aerodynamic shoulders to ride away from what was left of the field in todays tough 74km stage from Dargo to Lindenow in Victoria's picturesque Snowy Country.
Read More
**Dan the Man takes the Yellow Jersey**Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 4 31 July 2008
113.7km Orbost to Lakes Entrance, 7 climbs, 2 sprints and a whole lotta hurt. With Dan and Nath in the mix on GC and Dylan ready for battle stage 4 loomed as an opportunity for some destruction. The climbs all came in the first half of the race but the second half was still undulating meaning that the course would definately produce some big gaps and probably sort out the real GC contenders.
Read MoreLakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 3 31 July 2008
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.
Read More
Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 2 30 July 2008
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.
Read More
Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland Stage 1 30 July 2008
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.
Read More!!!NEWS FLASH!!! NEWELL DOMINATES VIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
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.
Look out for an interview with the huge shouldered man in the near future.
Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day Six
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.
Read MoreEagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day Five
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.
Read MoreEagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day Four
Stage five and after yesterdays strong showing Dylan was fired up. Check out the related video to see Dylan in the break.
Read MoreEagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day Three
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.
Read MoreEagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day Two
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.
Read MoreEagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Day One
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.
Read More
50 Hours of Travelling
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.
Read More
Eagle Outfitters Tour Of Pennsylvania
Praties Cycling is off to the States to compete in the richest under 25 race in the world, The Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania. The team was chosen to compete from a pool of 60 teams vying for entry and will compete against teams from Germany, Holland, South Africa, Canada, Italy, Argentina and a strong contingent from the US itself.
Read MoreDerwent Valley Classic 26 April 08
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
Read MoreMelbourne Festival of Cycling 20 April 08
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.
Read MoreBaw Baw Classic 19 April 08
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.
Read MoreMersey Valley Stage 3
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(Virgin Blue) 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.
Read MoreMersey Valley Stage 2 126km
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.
Read More
Mersey Valley Stage 1 TT Results
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.
ResultsMersey Valley Tour Preview
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.
Read More
Tour de Perth Stage 4 - Big Nath Makes It 4 From 4 Richie Takes The Overall
Lost for words............
Read MoreTour de Perth Stage 3 - Two for Porte Three for Praties
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.
Read MoreTour de Perth Photos
Photos from day one.
Read More
Tour de Perth Stage 2 - Porte Takes Time Trial
That's Two from Two!!Richie backed up stage one with a strong performance this afternoon to take out the time-trial of the Tour de Perth.
Read More
Tour de Perth Stage 1
DAN THE MAN triumphant at the Tour de Perth. Dan showed the bunch a clean set of heels sprinting to a two bike length victory in the rain soaked stage.
The boys have landed in the west and are busy preparing for the Tour de Perth. The race will be Richie's last in Australia before heading off to Italy to race the Aussie winter for Gruppo Lupi.
Read More
Tour de Perth Preview
Northern Camp Wrap Up
Well the training camp has finished and the boys have all returned to their respective parts of Oz. The camp was as Borat would say "a great success" and whilst some of the boys are still licking their wounds I'm sure that they are all the better for it.
Read MoreNorthern Camp Report
Day three saw the team heading to the north west of Tassie to reccie the stages of the upcoming Mersey Tour.
Read MorePraties 5 Day Northern Camp Report
Five days of hard riding was only just part of the schedule for the teams first camp of the year.
Read More
Houston the Super Sixes have landed
But only just, weighing a scant 7.2kg with training wheels in they feel like they could just float away.
Read More
Congratulations Brad and Rhianon
Praties new recruit Brad Norton has taken on a recruit of his own tying the knot on top of the mystical Mount Baw Baw.
Photo courtesy of rosemphotography.com
Congratulations to you both from all at Praties we wish you joy and happiness in your lives together.
Sad News 21 Feb 08
The team was saddened to hear of the loss of Mark and Sandy's (Bike Ride) house to fire early this week.
We are glad you are both safe and are thinking of you in this difficult time
Checkout Some Awesome TDU Video
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!
TDU VideoPraties Dominates The Tour Of The Channel
1st 2nd 3rd and 4th. That was the result of the first race of the 2008 Tasmanian Cycling Roster.
Richie, Tim and Dan were only just back from the Tour of Wellington whilst Benny Mather was back on the road bike after competing on the dirt for the past few months.
Read MorePraties Cycling RSS Feed
Yes it is official Praties Cycling has gone all tech with the addition of our RSS Feed.
Keep up to date with team reports and articles by subscribing.
It's really simple just click on the feed and follow the instructions to subscribe. It's a great way to keep up with everything that's going on.
Trust House Tour of Wellington
Hey all, Just got home from New Zealand today so thought I would fill you in on how the tour finished off for us.
Day three the longest stage of the tour, at 185km was always going to be hard with two hard climbs coming in the last 20km. The stage was made even harder by the weather as the temperature did not drop below 30C the whole day.
Read MoreNEWS FLASH
Porte takes Stage Two Solo
Praties Richie Porte has won the 2nd stage of the Tour of Wellington in New Zealand today.
Details are still sketchy but it appears that Richie and Daniel made the break of the day that formed towards the end of the stage. Daniel rode selflessly for Richie driving the break to ensure its success until Richie attacked over the top of the climb to ride away and take the stage ahead of Travis Meyer and Hayden Roulston.
REVIEW
08 Cannondale Slice Carbon TT Machine
By Steve Price
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, we received the bike only a few days before we left for Buninyong but made the decision that it was worthwhile building up as we knew Richie would gain a significant advantage being onboard.
Richie's first ride went well and after a few tweaks here and there he started to feel right at home. Just before leaving for the Nationals he rode the Slice in the road leg of a triathlon in Launceston and beat his previous year's time by over 3 minutes!
Read More27th January Stage Six 88km
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. The boys had to ensure that they kept the field under control so that Alby had a chance to gain time back on the terminator.
The barriers barely contained the thousands of spectators keen to get a glimpse of the worlds best cyclists as they tore around the city streets led by the Uni SA team. Andrew?s quick head count put the crowd at an estimated 1.2 million which we thought was pretty good.
Read More26th January Stage Five 147km
Being Australia Day hopes were high for the Aussies in the tour to make us proud and give us something extra to celebrate. The Willunga stage is always the queen stage of the tour consisting of 3 laps of 40km and one final lap of 27km which takes in the infamous Willunga Hill.
We spoke with Portey last night and he said the team were geed up for a big ride and thought that if they could get Alby over the climb within reach of the leaders they would have a really good shot at the stage as well as the overall as the general consensus was that Alby could out climb most of the other sprinters.
Read More25th January Stage Four 134km
Today the stage went from Mannum to Strathalbyn and included one major climb about 20 km after the start and then mostly undulating terrain.
We had a coffee with Wes and Richie last night and they were in good spirits. Richie put away a milkshake and a pancake before my meal had even arrived so they are obviously working up an appetite.
Read More24th January Stage Three 139km
Well the Uni SA boys were in the thick of it again today. First Simon Clarke had a go at getting in the break; Richie was next to attack and succeeded in getting off the front taking Calstrom, Gilbert and Johansen with him.
Apparently on the SBS highlights Phil Liggett described him as åÃå£the aggressive Tasmanian at it again!!åÃå¤ Word is he even has a fan club over here, unfortunately for him they are all 60 something ladies from the CWA, at least they can give him cake and stuff.
Read More23rd January Stage Two 148km
Ok, so we flew in to Adelaide today rushed from the airport to Stirling where the stage was to start and missed it. No problem, off to Echunga and the KOM. The crowd on the climb was pretty impressive and lined both sides of the road for about a kilometre.
Three Frenchies were up the road with a five minute + advantage. So it seemed like it was going to be much like yesterday with a break allowed to go up the road only to be brought back close to the finish to ensure a bunch sprint.
Read More22nd January Stage One 129km
Well what a day out for Portey. Starting in the first ever Pro Tour race to be held outside Europe, the tour's tenth anniversary and his first time in a National team you would probably be content to sit back, let the nerves settle a bit and take in the scenery right? Wrong!
Ritchie not one to let the occasion get the better of him decided to attack after the first and only KOM taking two Frenchmen with him. The trio spent the next 90kmåÃå¢s off the front gaining a maximum advantage of six and a half minutes before alarm bells sounded and the main field started to chase.
Read MorePraties Richie Porte has earned a spot in the Uni Sa team that will contest the Tour Down Under in South Australia from the 20th to the 27 Jan 08.
Courtesy of a new ruling by the UCI Australia was granted permission to field a National team in the event which has just received entry to the Pro Tour , the highest category in cycling. The step up ensures that the race is attended by the best teams in the world and will attract a massive world-wide audience.
Read More