We arrived at our accommodation on the saturday afternoon, not sure what to expect, we found a beautiful and HUGE house behind the front door. We nearly needed walkie talkies to talk to each other in the place. Whilst lapping up the luxury of space, our team got to work, carb loading, strategising, going over tech regs and welcoming our lovely guest rider, Nikolina Orlic from QLD into the team. We were all set and pumped, and off to bed looking forward to what Sunday would bring.
Sunday was an early start. Luckily we only had to roll out of bed and 300m to the start line. Joking! We were well warmed up and raring to go. We got our brief, and we were off. We immediately started along the picturesque Great Ocean Road, and the pace was on. Bicycle Superstore, Suzuki Brumby's and Securitor seemed to be keeping the pace at a steady high for the first 10km. As soon as there was a lull in the pace, Tayla took off in an attack. She got away with only one other, and unfortunately it didn't stick. As soon as she came back, another attack went, this time a good number of riders went up the road, and seeing no BCS in it, I took off. I reached the break and we had a nice little gap, but it fizzled out. It seemed the peloton had decided we were sticking together until the climb.
We had Nikolina sitting nicely in the bunch getting ready for the climb, and Tayla recovering for the first intermediate sprint, so Von and I got to work with looking after our riders. I sat on the front and set the pace for a few kilometres, then Von took over and pushed the pace up. Coming up for the first sprint, with Tayla in tow she kicked 500m to go, reeled off and Tayla sprinted superbly, getting fourth to Rebecca Waisak from Suzuki Brumby's by a fraction. The peloton rolled along content for a while. Up to this point there were two near crashes, a couple of mechanicals, a very expensive camera dropped on the road and a motorbike down. BCS we involved in none of this thank goodness.
Next thing we know, we turned right, and Skenes Creek climb to the QOM began. 9km of 5.6 percent gradient, and the hill climbers excelled. Now, I'm from Echuca, where hills are unheard of, and spoken about in hushed cautious whispers, like an urban legend. So lets just say its not one of my strong points! Luckily though for BCS, its one of Nikola's. She took off, with Tayla as well, with the climbers. I bid them farewell and good luck, and settled into my rhythm. I wasn't alone. We formed a nice little bunch of a dozen or so riders, Von included. We rode tempo to the top, enjoyed the descents, rolled turns on the flats, and pushed the pace on the final climb. My legs were complaining at the 80km mark, but with the end in sight, we trudged on.
Meanwhile in the main front bunch mind you, Nikolina was riding superbly. Ruth Corset and Ellen Skerrit had put 3 minutes into the main bunch up the first QOM, and held their break all the way to the finish. Nikolina was with the main bunch right til the final climb, which was were it all broke apart. She climbed her heart out and came tenth overall!! A fantastic effort on an extremely tough course. We are all super proud. Tayla also rode a fantastic race, only losing contact with the front bunch towards the end, and rode to an impressive 24th. Von and I came in with our bunch of a dozen or so, crossing the line together for 35th and 36th.
(photo stolen from guest rider von make sure you check out her blog from the day as well links on our facbook page Overall a great day for BCS. Nikolina rode fantastic, and we all learned an extra something about ourselves that race. It was such a privilege to ride in the first Amy’s Otway Classic NRS, and to show our support to such a fantastic cause that ultimately affects and means so much to us all as cyclists. Huge thumbs up to the event organisers, it ran seamlessly and made it all the more enjoyable. Also I would like to add a huge thanks to our sponsors, who continue to show us immense support, so thanks Feelgood Fitness, Bendbal Financial Services, Symes Motors Skoda, Bendigo Cycles and Specialized AU, we are extremely grateful.
Next up for BCS is Tour of the Goldfields, bring it on!!!
