Sweet As.

Bundaberg Sugar rider Lauren Rowney recorded the biggest victory of her young career winning the Honda Hybrid Women's Tour by the narrowest of margins, placing third behind stage winner Kendelle Hodges and Russian Venera Absaliyamova. Third was good enough for the 23-year-old in the 18 lap criterium, staged on Lygon Street this morning to secure not only the tour win but also the green sprint jersey and U/23 classification. 

 

Rowney went into today's stage needing to bridge a 4 second deficit to Lisa Jacobs to secure the tour win, but a break away with five laps to go by Hodges, Absaliyamova and Emma Lawson nearly spoilt the dream finish. 

"I got a little bit nervous when I went for the sprints, then Kendelle Hodges and the Russian girl attacked and I just couldn't go with it.

 

"The goal was for the girls to chase down anything. I worked so hard going into the sprint that I just sort of missed the move.

"No other team was helping out so my teammates got on the front and worked hard to try and pull it back," said Rowney.

"The opening laps of the criterium were tentative as the bunch felt out the course. I didn't remain that way for long as the pace up the front increased and the lead group reduced to 32, but contained all the contenders.

Rowney's team set her up perfectly for the first sprint lap, easily taking the full points on offer and reducing the gap to Jacobs to just 2 seconds. 

At the half way mark the move came as Hodges and Absaliyamova worked well together to establish a good break before being joined by Lawson, the trio then extended the lead to 21 seconds. 

"I did have a little moment of doubt, but new that if I got third in the sprint I could win, so when we caught Emma Lawson I knew that we could take it," said Rowney. 

The bunch then regained control and closed the gap to 15 seconds, not enough to catch the leaders, Hodges getting over the top of Absaliyamova in the end for an easy victory and her first stage win. 

"We knew we had 4 seconds and Bundaberg were out to get the time bonuses, so we had to be aggressive and we just tried to pick whoever was in the right spot at the right time to get a break up the road," said Hodges. 

"Loren got the first sprint but we stopped the second. We only had two in the break, it would have been good to keep the three. 

"The Russian worked really well today and it was just a shame Emma didn't have it today to hang on. We nearly did it but not quite, it's still great to grab a stage win," added Hodges. 

The bunch sprint came from a long way out, Rebecca Wiasak the first to attack but with tired legs on a slight uphill finish Rowney accelerated and her powerhouse sprint too good crossing the line with raised arms for the victory. 

Rowney was the dominant sprinter all tour so little surprise she collected the green jersey and U/23 classification. 

 

 

This win is the biggest of my career, I can't believe it," said Rowney. 

Jacobs gave herself every chance today of holding off Rowney but just didn't have the sprint legs, the 30 year old did take out the Queen of the Mountain jersey. 

The Russian National Team's solid performance all tour saw them award the teams' category.

 

Queensland 2011 Teams Time Trial Championships

 

Sunday 25th September saw the staging of the Queensland Teams Time Trial Championships at Gatton west of Brisbane.

 

This years event held double importance for the Bundaberg Sugar Team, as this years Honda Hybrid Tour will also have a Teams Time Trial and is only 3 weeks away.

 

So there was a State Championship on the line, and a fantastic opportunity to finese Team Time Trialling.

 

 Zoe's Bike ready to Roll

 

As the last team to start, Zoe, Loren and Trish set off in pursuit of the Bicycle Riders Morningside team who are also lucky enough to be riding Specialized Bikes. With a 2 minute spacing between teams, it was the perfect opportunity to play " chase the team in front"

 

This 40klm test saw  varied terrain and road surfaces. The Team time trial discipline is a difficult one to master, so this race was vitally important for honing the skills AND trying to WIN!

 

The girls set off in typically controlled fashion...blasting off the line and setting a hard tempo. Swapping turns like we've all seen the pros do in the Tour De France was great to watch and it was quickly evident that this race was going to come down to either Bundaberg Sugar or Bicycle Riders Morningside as both teams were catching the teams in front of them at a lung busting rate.

 

 

Riding this hard tempo and controlling their exertion was the name of this game, and in the end their effort paid off.. Winners of Queensland Teams Time Trial Championship..nice!

 

 

As predicted the event did come down to Bundaberg Sugar Team and Bicycle Riders Morningside showdown, with the Morningside team a super strong second.

 

Congratulations to both teams for a great days racing!

 

The teams next rendevouz is the Honda Hybrid Women's Tour held in conjunction with the Herald Sun Tour on 12th to 16th of October. This will be a big event with Pro Teams from Europe, US and Asia, and should see the girls showcasing their abilities to the world.

 

"Bundaberg Sugar, No 1 in QLD and Victoria"

 

After a successful trip down south for the Bundy team, it was time to back up for the Queensland State Road champs on Sunday the 28th. Unfortunately the field wasn't as big the Vic champs, but a race is race and the QLD state medals were up for grabs.

The course was pretty flat, no wind and to top it off a beautiful day. It was evident from the start of the 90km race it would come down to sprint finish, with all riders maintaing a decent pace around the 30km loop course. With 1 km to go, Kat Baker from Team Tinelli put in a strong an attack, which Loren was quick to jump straight on her wheel and with 500m to go QAS rider Alex Odea decided it was time to go, going just a little bit early. With 200m to go Loren launched her sprint, crossing the line 1st. Bundy Sugar Qld State Champion.  Alex Odea 2nd and Cassie Dodd 3rd to round out the minor placings.