Canberra riders will be hoping that NSW will be a better hunting ground than QLD when the third event of the National Road Series starts on Thursday, 21 June 2012.
Santos North Western Tour
Riders will not know what to expect from the inaugural Santos North Western Tour, which starts in Narrabri on Thursday. Similar to the FKG Tour of Toowoomba, the Santos North Western Tour is a five stage race over four days. Riders will have to traverse regional towns such as Narrabri, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah and Tamworth and watch out for the trucks that use these routes regularly.
One of the key finishes that could break open the General Classification will be stage 3 at ANU Siding Spring Observatory. GPM Wilson was doing some reconnaissance on the stage finish today. The boys may be eying off this stage as a potential one to win.
The team to beat will have to be Budget Forklifts after a strong performance at Toowoomba. The orange army will be looking to get their season underway if they want to replicate their 2011 form. http://nationalroadseries.subaru.com.au/news/santos-north-western-tour-ready-for-debut/
Stage 1 Thursday, 21 June 2012: Prologue - Narrabri Town Centre - A quick 3.6km prologue conducted around the CBD area of Narribri. Budget Forklifts Team Manager, Cameron Watt has already declared that this will be a stage that they will focus on to win the leaders jersey.
Stage 2 Thursday, 21 June 2012: Criterium - Narrabri Town Centre - In the afternoon the women and men will saddle up for a criterium road around Narrabri. The women's race will 30 minutes plus three laps, while the men's race will 60 minutes plus 3 laps.
Stage 3 Friday, 22 June 2012: Coonabarabran to Siding Springs Observatory - It will be a testing stage for the riders today that culminates with a hill top finish. Watch out of the cattle grids!!! Riders start the stage at Coonabarabran before heading out on the Tooraweenah Rd and then into the Coonamble Tooraweenah Rd before climbing up to Sidings Springs Observatory. The last 14 kms will be uphill, travelling from 400m above sea level to around 1100 metres above sea level.
Stage 4 Saturday, 23 June 2012: Siding Springs Observatory to Gunnedah - Unlike yesterday's climbing efforts, today's stage will mostly downhill. Starting at the Observatory, riders will cycle day (thankfully the race will be neutral to the bottom of the 4.4km hill). Then it is full race conditions out to Gunnedah. The women start in Coonabarabran and head out to Gunnedah.
Stage 5 Sunday, 24 June 2012 : Gunnedah to Tamworth - Both men's and women's races will leave Gunnedah and travel south-east for roughly 70km before turning north-east for the remainder of the race to finish in Tamworth. While there is a little uphill section just after Werris Creek, there will be no KOM or QOM points for Stage 5.
More details on the stages, good speculator spots etc, see the event organisers website at http://www.nsw.cycling.org.au/?MenuID=Santos_NWT%2F20616%2F0%2FCan
CANBERRA TEAMS AND RIDERS
Suzuki-Trek will be sending a full contingent of men and women for the Santo North Western Tour. Although performing strongly, the team will be hoping that it finishes slightly higher up the team classification than it did in Toowoomba (13th).
The men's team consists of:
| 1 | FLYNN, Mithell | Elite Men |
| 2 | LACEY, Jamie | U23M |
| 3 | CAMERON, Tim | U23M |
| 4 | JOHNSON, Brendan | U23M |
| 5 | LIND, William | Elite Men |
| 6 | BEARD, Ivan Michelin | U23M |
| 7 | SAUTELLE, Sam | JM19 |
| 8 | BERRY, Josh | U23M |
The women's team will be looking at trying to do one better than at the Battle of the Border. Rebecca Wiasak will be hoping to knock off Ruth Corset and win the the individual GC elite women. The Suzuki-Trek Women's team consists of:
| 1 | MEADLEY, Lisa | Elite Women |
| 2 | WIASAK, Rebecca | Elite Women |
| 3 | RICE, Allison | JM19 |
| 4 | VIOTTO, Emma | Elite Women |
| 5 | MCDONALD, Ailie | Elite Women |
The Subura National Road Series discusses Suzuki-Trek team in their Women and Wheels Feature. http://nationalroadseries.subaru.com.au/news/women-wheels-feature-team-suzuki-trek/
Details for Suzuki-Trek can be found at: http://www.suzukicycling.com/
A large number of Canberra riders will also be participating in other teams at the Santos North Western Tour. These include:
- Joe Lewis (RBS Morgans - ATS) - Had a strong end to the FKG Tour of Toowoomba finishing fourth during stage 4 and picking up a second spot on stage 5.
- Ben Hill ((RBS Morgans - ATS) - Picked up to top 3 finishes at Toowoomba. Will be hoping to go one better and win a stage in NSW. Finished in 20th spot overall in Toowoomba.
- Alistair Loutit (GPM Wilson Racing) - Helped Josh Wilson win the last stage at the Tour of Toowoomba. Finished in the top 50 on the individual classification (46th spot).
- Mitch Lovelock-Fay (Jayco-Honeyshotz) - Picked up a 12th spot in Stage 2 of Toowoomba. Late news appears to indicate that Mitch was a late minute omission from the team. In need of a rest after riding in Indonesia and then Toowoomba.
- Marc Williams (Budget Forklifts) - Hoping to help Mark O'Brien take out a hat trick of stage races in the NRS.
- Etienne Blumstein-Jones (No team) - CCC will be hoping that Etienne can pick up a couple of top 10 finishes. Will be tough without team assistance. May get some support from Ruan Benson (CCC).
- Ruan Benson (No team) - Hopefully Ruan and Etienne can team up and help each other secure a top 10 finish.
- Kimberly Wells (Specialized Women SA) - Kimberly got two top 3 finishes at the Battle on the Border, but finished well down on the GC. Hoping for a better result in NSW.
- Alexandria Nicholls (No team) - Alexandria will be completing in the JW19. No team support, but the Suzuki-Trek girls may keep an eye out for her.
- Boss Constructions by Nutrixxion will be well represented by Canberra riders, including Megan Bagworth and Lisa Keeling. Both Megan and Lisa will be hoping for a better performance in the NSW. While both riders finished outside the top 20 at the Battle on the Border, we have expectations that the new team will start to gel in outback NSW.
- And an honourable mention to ex-Canberra resident, Narelle Hards, also of Boss Constructions by Nutrixxion. Making it a strong Canberra contingent to start in Narribri.
Good luck to all Canberra riders.
For more details on the race, please see http://nationalroadseries.subaru.com.au/events/north-western-tour/ and http://www.nsw.cycling.org.au/?MenuID=Santos_NWT%2F20616%2F0%2F
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