Epic. That's the first thing that came to mind, when I started this blog - the 2011 Tour of Gippsland was E.P.I.C and I loved every minute of it. Riding for the Lakes oil Team was the most fun I've had in a long time, mainly because we were all on a learning curve or just struggling in general. But we took it in our stride, and woke up every morning with a smile on our faces, ready to go. 

The team was made of of a variety of riders, from New Zealand and Australia; all riding the Tour for different reasons. My reason was to get fit again, and slot back into National level racing after a year Missing In Action. Here's a straightforward rundown of how it went for me.

Stage one - criterium: I struggled to keep pace with the intensity of the first stage, lacking power and acceleration. I was involved in a serious accident in this stage, last year. I was glad to make it across the line.

Stage two - road stage: I felt much better in the road stage, managing to sit near the front for the entire stage. I managed to charge across a gap, to a 5 man breakaway. The breakaway was subsequently reeled back by the peloton, and I made my way to midfield. We then reached some decent climbs, and a group of 30 riders rode clear of the field, leaving me and small groups of stragglers fighting to minimise time loss. Once again, I lacked power and was always near the top end of my Hear Rate range. I came off fairly well compared to most, even though I lost almost 3 minutes.

Stage three - criterium: A super fast criterium, averaging 44km/h on a residential course. I managed to stay midfield and out of trouble, but pushed it pretty hard just to keep up. Almost 50% of the field pulled out or 'suffered mechanicals' during this stage, so I'm glad to have finished it.

Stage four - road stage: A whopping 102km stage through rolling hills and power climbs. I struggled to recover from my mornings criterium effort, and to top this off I was sent the long way around a roundabout after a crash. This left me 50m behind the main field, with a strong sidewind and rough roads. I chased for 10km but the field just got further away from me. I accepted that I'd be riding the next 80km solo, to the finish to try make the time cut (which I did).

Stage five - criterium: Really struggling from yesterdays solo effort, I felt weak today - After 40min I was unable to hold a wheel, and was graciously pulled out of the stage by the commissaire. 

Stage six - road stage: I managed to fuel up for the road stage, and made my way to the front for what was to be an extremely dangerous stage. Narrow roads, flat profile and no winds made this stage perfect for an attack. After 30km I went off the front, in an attempt to get a group together that would cooperate and get clear of the main field. The move failed, and I was back in the front of the field. I then managed to get into another move, which also didn't succeed. With 10km to go, I was sitting comfortably in top 20's. We then passed the '1km to go' banner, and all hell broke loose. Travelling at 55km/h, a rider went down at the very front of the field, and right in front of me. I went flying straight over him, landing on my hip (and destroying my front wheel) Around 30 riders came down I believe...

Stage seven - criterium: I could barely stand and sprint, which left me out the back of the criterium. There were five crashes in this stage alone, which made many people voice their concerns about rider numbers on restricted courses... 

End of tour!

Just on the phone to Velosure, to sort out my insurance claim.