Tour Of Tasmania: Stage One.

Suffering second wheel behind Camo inside the final km.  Above the cloud line! 

Photo Credit: Shane Goss/Licorice Gallery

Yikes what a way to start a Tour!  18km uphill TTT up Mt Wellington!  After some good recovery post Launceston I was confident but slightly unsure how the legs would respond to today’s brutal effort.  We drove the climb yesterday and this bad boy is the real deal, and I actually liked it a lot, reminding me a great deal of the climbs around the Yarra Valley. A Tasmania version of Donna Buang perhaps?  Either way this sucker was big, with 1200m elevation gain we climbed through the clouds and finished above which was way radical. 

 With the rules stating that time would be taken on the fourth man, we calculated a plan to use our non climbers early in the piece, and be as consistent in our pacing as possible not to blow anyone up early or leave the team stranded.  It’s clear in an event like this that you are only as strong as your fourth man, and we had to be careful especially on the opening day of a 6 day tour.  As painful as it was, I look back on this mornings effort and it was a great stage.  The team did a top job of pacing, using Kemps and Sully early, and each of us giving their utmost effort, with the final four crossing the line being Tito, Bernie, Camo and myself.  I was really proud of the guys all coming together today for the common goal and in the wash up we finished 4^th @45sec down on Jayco-2XU.  Hats off to those guys, they rode great, but I sure am looking forward to the stages ahead and seeing how the tough terrain will shake things up.  Thanks to those too watching out on the climb today too.  There was a rabble of guys going nuts at around 3km to go which kept my spirits up!  Recovery time now, big day tmw.

 Recovery at it's finest as shown by Tito.