Another Day, Another Flat, Another Crash to Bunnyhop

Today had a hectic start like most days, our team managers had left us for the night to go get more supplies, and my being one of the older riders it was our job to make some sort of decisions. Now, if Matt Smith from Ballarat is reading this I should clarify the term "older rider", I've just turned 22, so not an old rider, after he asked me when I was going to ride masters. Try 2023.

Anyway after my little flat/tyre anihilation yesterday I was without wheels. This was ok until the 9am bunch left without me. 140 riders, the perfect sit just rode away from me. By 9:30 my team managers had returned from the course with a new tyre, but no track pump, it's fair to say I was getting minorly annoyed by this stage. By 9:40 I was right to go and we decided that the being motorpaced by the team car back on the bunch was the quickest fix.

My bike waiting patiently without a rear tyre.

After speaking to Nocci I knew the bunch was headed to torquay from geelong so away we went, sitting at about 60kph-70kph all the way there. Unfortunately this still wasnt fast enough, and the bunch had done a loop around torquay and was returning to geelong. So off we went back behind the little Barloword-Bianchi Mercades booting along, unfortunately the bunch got lost and I beat them back to geelong by 10 minutes. Geelong-Torquay-Geelong Sub one hour, good way to flush the lactic........or not.

On the way back we decide to pick up our new kit, then deciding to ride back to the hotel with it. The looks we got as 5 guys with, 2 jerseys, 2 sets of bibs, arm warmers, booties, L/s jerseys, box of PB gels, 2 Biddons, Gillet, and more shoved up there jerseys were quite funny.

As for todays racing the course was a lot less technical, which made for faster racing. The plan was to get either Damage (Chris D'amelio) or myself up the road, this worked well with Lachie getting up the road too. After spending the night with the guys it lets you workout what everyones strengths are, so we could play to that alot more. We were very prominant as a team all race, which is better than sitting up the back sucking wheel like yesterday. But a break was never going to stay away on a course like that. Now it wouldn't be bay crits without me getting a puncture, and sure enough it happen with 4 laps to go, luckily I just got in for a free lap, with the lactic pumping from the stop I was back in and with half a lap to go reasonably placed. Then to continue my awesomeness, to go the guy in front of me decided the ground suited him more than the up right position, so with a quick bunny hop to the left, I watched my life flash before my life and the peloton ride away. As Rob Eva from SRAM said to me for the second day "Well Rob, there's always tomorrow".

Ballarat Cycling Club must of had a puncture spell put on it by some track cycling vodoo that is angry about our recent domination of country cycling events, as Beth Canny also got a puncture in her race.

Just can't win, at least there's always tomorrow!