Tour de Timor - Stage 1 results

[JasonM]

The results for stage 1 of the Tour de Timor are now up and available at http://www.tourdetimor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TdT_St1_Overall_1502.pdf

Some good results from Canberra riders, most notably

Gracie Elvin, 1st U23 Female (21st overall)
Libby Adamson, 3rd Open Female (32nd overall)
John Henderson, 1st Masters 50+ Male (18th overall)
Sue Kleven 1st Masters 40+ Female (81st overall)


Keep an eye out for more results and race reports at http://www.tourdetimor.com

[Hoops]

And our own Dan Foo sitting 19th overall.

[dadcram]

http://picasaweb.google.com/lematelot56/2010TourDeTImorPreRace#

[JasonM]

Stage 2 results are now up

John Henderson, 16th on stage (17th overall)
Libby Adamson, 33rd on stage (30th overall)
Sue Kleven 1st Masters 80th on stage (76th overall)


Gracie Elvin, listed as DNF but also a time (10hrs+) and 200th overall.

[dadcram]

Photos (http://www.tourdetimor.com/?page_id=1013)

[j_young_80]

Libby's still smiling!

Danny Foo still tracking well at 49th too.

[JasonM]

Stage 3 results are now up

John Henderson, 22nd on stage (1st on GC - masters men 50+)
Libby Adamson, 35th on stage (5th on GC - open women)
Sue Kleven 1st Masters 119th on stage (2nd on GC - masters women 40+)

[Chris]

Dan Foo is climbing those places 25 overall.

[Driver]

Gracie Elvin, listed as DNF but also a time (10hrs+) and 200th overall.

according to FB she has a dislocated collarbone.

[Simonsky]

according to FB she has a dislocated collarbone.

Boy, she's had a bad run of luck! Too bad.

[idol]

What an adventure! The toughest race I've ever done for sure! I finished 31st Overall, 15th Open Mens. To give an idea of how tough conditions were, 70 bags of IV drip were consumed after Stage 1 to treat severely dehydrated riders. The medical team constantly had their hands full.

I've been in bed all day recovering from that effort. Race report to follow when I'm back to my comfy home.

[SSSimon]

Far out, and they hold it in Winter!

[libbya]

Dan said it well - tough. Way more so last year, not just the racing but also the living inbetween racing. This is an awesome race but the effects of camping amongst 350 racers in the poorest country in Asia, with dodgy washing facilities and toilets, monsoonal rain and stinking hot weather cant be underestimated - and that's before you try to sleep with the generator, fighting dogs and snoring people in the background. It all adds up to a really tough week, and I'm currently still singing hallelujah everytime I turn on a tap, use our flushing toilets or have a shower - we are so amazingly lucky and spoilt.

Dan is a super super domestic! He sacrificed his own race on the 5th and last day to be my own personal domestic, well aware most of the girls up the road had just that the entire race. He dragged me up the hill, threw me water, paced me down the hill, and then towed me all the way along the flats back home to Dili, along the way tearing us past at least 15 single riders, many who tacked on to my wheel but only one of whom bothered to pull a turn. He made me hurt as much as possible, but certainly made that last day a huge amount of fun - hope he enjoyed it as well! Thanks Dan :)

[SueP]

Sounds like a very eventful race! Well done to anyone that finished and congrats on those great result too.

[j_young_80]

Well done guys - this ride is definitely on my "Things to do before I die" list....however, by the sounds of it, it could be the very thing that brings about my death by the sound of it!

Huge effort Libby and it's good to see Dan is still the gentleman!

[idol]

2010 Tour de Timor Race Report

Pre-Race

Our team was finalised 4 weeks before the race. Tim and Ches were inspired to participate in the race after attending President Jose Ramos-Horta's speech at the ANU where he introduced the race as a symbol of peace. Tim had been riding with the vikings for a while but Ches had only started mountain biking recently. Our other team mate Rachael is an avid mountain biker and had done a fair bit of cycle touring before. I had not been mountain biking since moving to WA, and was spending 4-5 days a week staying at a mining camp in the Pilbara with only my weekends available in Perth for riding. Somehow the 4 of us got together to form the mixed team "No Parking", name inspired by Tim and Ches's local dumpster.

I spent the week before the race in Singapore to acclimatise to the heat and humidity and to sort out equipment for the race. My bike choice was a Jamis steel hardtail. In fact our entire team was on steel bikes. Tim, Ches and Rachael were all riding Charge steel hardtails too! The Timorese President was on the same flight as me from Singapore to Dili, and he was quite the celebrity. He constantly granted interviews and autographs from curious economy class passengers, although he was escorting a delegation from Africa. At Dili airport, Tour de Timor participants were given the VIP treatment. We were greeted on the tarmac by local volunteers, had our visas processed and were escorted to our accommodation in UN vans. Most participants that flew from Darwin did not have their bikes arrive with them due to the backlog of bikes from previous flights. Special UN military planes had to be chartered just to ensure the bikes were delivered on time before the race started. Now that's serious race support!

Dili was so hot. During the day, all the locals were sleeping under the shade, with only us foreigners out on our bikes. Sunday was a mad rush to get ready - meeting team mates, assembling bikes, registration, race briefings, packing, etc. It would be like that for the next 5 days. Wake up at 5am. Pack daypacks and camping equipment. Load daypacks and camping equipment onto trucks. Queue up for toilets (6 porta loos among 400 people). Line up for breaky. Collect enough bottled water for the day. Get bike and gear ready. Sign in at start line by 7.20am. Race start at 8am. Finish stage and lie down exhausted. Collect daypack from advanced party truck. Shower using a bucket of rainwater and a scoop. Line up for food asap to get maximum recovery. Wait for team mates to finish stage and make sure everyone is safe. Collect camping stuff from sagwagon party. Setup tents and camping gear. Clean and lube bikes. Line up for dinner. Talk about the day's stage. Sleep. Repeat.

[idol]

Stage 1 - Dili to Balibo 124kms

Stage 1 was the longest and fastest stage of the tour. The race started from the President's Palace in the centre of Dili, with thousands of locals lining the streets of Dili. I got myself into a good position near the front of the 350 rider bunch and made my way to the front of the bunch through the 2km neutralised start out of Dili. As we were leaving Dili, I got to experience a Tour de France style peloton split through a roundabout which I thought was pretty cool. When the commisaire's flag came down, countless attacks were made at the front to split the bunch up as much as possible. I held on to each attack, and after about an hour and a half into the race I was in the main 50 rider peleton which was chasing a breakway of 2 riders. Today's race was along the flat north coast with a tail wind on a tar road, but the road conditions were so bad that I was constantly bunny hoping to avoid the car-sized potholes. At the first KOM, I managed to stick with the main peleton up the climb and this was when I realised that I could actually finish with the top riders today. At about the 100km mark the road headed inland and began a winding 15km climb of about 5% gradient to the finish at Balibo. I counted less than 20 riders in front of me at this stage and knew that if I just held my position I would be in top 20 and would be able to start at the front tomorrow (which was important as the next stage had a long downhill start). I rode up the hill with John Henderson, but didn't contest the sprint with him at the finish. I finished 19th place today, my best performing stage of the tour.

One guy on a carbon fibre bike broke his chainstay during today's stage. He fixed it with the help of a local who cut a piece of bamboo and zip tied it to the frame to hold it in place. He actually rode the broken bike to finish the stage! 70 bags of IV drip were consumed to treat severely dehydrated riders. A few riders had to be air lifted to Dili hospital for treatment. A rider who was queueing in the dinner line in front of me collasped while waiting for his food. The medics had to plead with the riders before the start of Stage 2 to stop at every aid station and to consumed at least 10 litres of water a day. The medical team did not have any sleep that night treating sick riders.

[idol]

Stage 2 - Balibo to Suai 95kms

Stage 2 was the longest and toughest day of the tour. A narrow winding 11km tar descent followed by a relentless 50km dirt climb with gradients up to 10% to an altitude of 1500m. And it wasn't all downhill from then either. The next 30km after the climb was a series of undulations over rough terrain passing through mountain villages followed by a 20km rocky descent into Suai. I knew I had gone too hard on stage 1 as I started the day with a very sore back and legs. I was called to the front of the startline for finished top 20 yesterday, and my plan for today was to stick with the front bunch for the descent then take the rest of the stage as easy as possible to save my legs for the next 3 days. I held on to the front bunch until the start of the long climb, where i shifted into my granny gear and started spinning up the hills. Libby caught up with me about 10kms into the climb and I rode together with her for the next 30kms. The company really helped as she was a good wheel to follow up the dirt climb and she set a good pace. I realised I was in trouble at the 50km mark when I had finished all my food and had only half a bottle of water left. I lost Libby's wheel and could feel a major bonk coming very soon. I decided to take the rest of the stage really easy until I reached the next aid station where I could top up water and hopefully get an isotonic drink. I lost a lot of places, with many people overtaking me on the rocky sections as I struggled to stay safe on my bike. I seriously underestimated the amount of food required for this stage, although I had 3 gels and a bar I still bonked with about 30kms to go. I eventually finished the stage after almost 5 and a half hours in the saddle, finishing 49th.

Almost 70 riders did not complete today's stage. The sag wagon was full and many 4WDs had to be sent out to collect riders who did not make the cut off time. The last rider to finish the stage took almost 9 hours to complete the route.

[idol]

Stage 3 - Suai to Ainaro 67kms

Today's stage was misleading easy looking at the profile. 50km of relatively flat roads followed by a 10km climb to Ainaro. The flat section was anything but easy, with some of the rockiest sections of dirt roads that really tested my ability to hold on to the main peleton. I had lost too much time from Stage 2 to be competitive in the top 20 GC, so my plan for the rest of the race was to go for good stage placing in stage 3 and 4, where most riders would be looking to maintain their GC placings and conserve energy for the last day. 30 kms from the finish the road changed to smooth tar again, so I knew I had to stick with the peleton until that point and hopefully get a tow until the climb. A breakway of about 10 riders got away early in the race, and I was in the next chase bunch. The rocky roads made drafting impossible, as you could not see what was ahead if you were just sitting behind the rider in front. So the bunch was sort of riding together pacing each other, but without the actual benefit of drafting. It was a stuggle to hold on, and I had to constantly fight to hand on to the wheel in front of me. I made it to the tar section with the bunch, and the bunch split apart as soon as we hit the final climb. A 10km climb with 6-7% gradient, I kept looking back to make sure nobody was coming past me. I held my position for the climb, finishing 25th overall today.

[idol]

Stage 4 - Ainaro to Aileu 68kms

Stage 4 was another big climbing stage, with a 20km relentlessly steep climb via Maubisse peaks at just over 1900m, followed by a downhill section with 2 intemediate climbs. The roads were in much better condition though, with tar sections for almost 90% of the course. Today was my favourite day of the Tour, a sentiment shared by many riders. The scenery was absolutely spectacular, with riding through views of deep gorges, waterfalls, high peaks, coffee plantations and mountain top villages. The local crowds at each village were unreal, with school children singing songs and cheering us on as we passed through. Not to mention the smell of freshly roased coffee from the local villages! I got into a good climbing rythm, and rode a relatively easier pace from the start with the intention of catching people who had gone too hard at the start. This plan worked really well, as I reached the top of the first 20km climb with my legs still feeling pretty fresh. On the descent, I jumped on the wheel of on of the boys from Hendry Cycles and he set a ripper pace for the downhill and the next 2 climbs. He said "Lets work together!" and it was game on. We gradually started picking up riders who had passed me earlier, and had gained at least 5 places by the last climb. After the last descent, we caught up with the Team Torq and we formed a wicked paceline to the finish where we finished in a bunch of 5. I finished the stage 32nd overall today.

[idol]

Stage 5 - Aileu to Dili 57kms

By this point, almost everybody was looking forward to the comforts of Dili. 5 days of camping, shared toilets, loud generators, insufficient sleep and general exhuastion had gotten to most riders. Today's stage was the shortest and possibly easiest, starting off with a 10km climb at 5-6% gradient followed by a flowing downhill section and a technical singletrack and doubletrack descent. The last 25kms was mostly flat along the coast back into Dili, with 2 short but steep climbs thrown in just for good measure. Libby approached me in the morning asking for help in today's stage, as she wanted to keep away from the other girls. I wasn't going to lose much time today as it was a short stage and I had already done well on the past 2 stages to secure a place in the top 30 so happily agreed. On the first climb out of Aileu, Joe (from BC/Bilby's) and myself paced Libby up the long 10km climb, which seemed to go on for ever! A very unlikely V-Mobile/Bike Culture partnership I kept thinking to myself! We made it to the top of the climb and started tearing up the descent, overtaking many riders. We were about 60 riders back at this point, as Libby started the technical singletrack descent ahead of me. Libby absolutely carved through the descent, picking the best lines and overtaking countless riders struggling to stay upright on their bikes. Emerging from the descent, I took over as super domestique. I told Libby to jump on my wheel and basically TT the last 25kms back into Dili at a pace of 37-40kmh. We gained at least 15 places in that last section, and it felt great overtaking all the single riders who tried to jump on but couldn't hold the pace. As we hit Dili, there was a group of about 10 hanging on to our wheel and Libby shouted "Would one of you boys like to take a turn?". A guy tried to come to the front for a couple of minutes but was called by his team mates. "Scotty, what are you doing? Just let him do all the work!". Libby and myself stayed together till the finish, where screaming crowds lined the streets of Dili. It was unreal! Both of us finished with our hands across our shoulders, the perfect way to end an unforgettable cycling adventure. I had the most fun today, it was more satisfying riding a race for someone else and have them finish so well. Libby and myself finished 51st and 52nd today. My overall result for the tour was 31st GC overall and 15th GC Open Mens.

One of the riders in the top 10 got off his bike in the last 100m, sat on his handlebars and rode through the finish line backwards on his bike. The crowd and media went wild.

[dadcram]

Dan (http://picasaweb.google.com/lematelot56/2010TourDeTimorRaceStages13_17Sep2010?feat=content _notification#5518100980666213458)

[SimonD]

Dan is a super super domestic!

He certainly is. I think he knows no other way.

The only thing more epic than the race is Dan's report! Well done!

[_ABC_]

Thanks for the wordage Dan - a great read!

[_ABC_]

Sidesaddle?
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_i3Dk5bN446Y/TJRNM6KRqZI/AAAAAAAClKw/9Mh-MPNnkrE/s720/_MG_0395.JPG

[bosworth*]

great report, dan.

[Vanessa]

Sounds epic & bloody exhausting - great to see the jersey flying OS again :)

[Bean]

Nice work Dan, both on and off the bike!

[Driver]

Great read. You are better than me; I could handle the portaloo shortage, maybe the heat, maybe the racing, but camping and no regular coffee, fwoar that seals it for me.

A very unlikely V-Mobile/Bike Culture partnership I kept thinking to myself!

Not as unusual as it sounds, been happening (covertly) for years, SimonD owns both sleeves on the first ToB green.

[mikeyc]

Wow, now that's a race report. Nice work Danny, good to see you on the bike representing. Any plans to visit Canberra in the near future?

[idol]

The reason I could write such a detailed report was that I had taken yesterday off work to lie in bed somemore!

I'm not sure when the next trip to Canberra will be, but I still remember you owe me a dumpling dinner, Mikey!

[lovetoride]

Well done Dan, fantastic report. And also to all the other Canberrans that rode. Rowena Headlam was another Vikings that competed.

[dadcram]

any ideas on the Canberra lady that is in one of the photos on a 29er?
I'll insert a link when I find it again. I'm trying to work out what flavour of 29er she rides.