Team Jayco Alula releases their 2023 Kit - Same color scheme but with more white and it is less cluttered - Interesting the two main models were Sobrero and Paternoster.
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Day 1 of the Bay Crits.
RRG easily wins the womens race and, in the men’s race, Blake Quick leads out Brenton Jones, in Jones last hurrah before hanging them up, Jones gets the job done. Plapp doing huge turns on the front of the pack, and had a good work-out.
Day 2 tomorrow, same course raced in the opposite direction.
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I was interested to see Cameron Rogers in the race - He along with McKenzie and Chameberlain are the Aussie junior riders of the future. Expect, Mckenzie and Rogers to join Team Jayco in 2024, while Chamberlain more likely to join a European team - It’s disappointing that none of these three made the Aussie team at the TDU, but when Lotto Disny refuse an invitation, even though their best rider Ewan wants to ride the race which then forces the organisers to put Ewan and Drizners into the Aussie team.
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Day 2 stream
Roseman-Gannon is progessing well and should win a race in Europe in 2023 - There are some problems with the women’s team with Campbell out for 4 to 6 months with a knee injury - This is magnified when they kept on Allen who is no longer WT standard and Tan who is funded by the Singapore Cycling Federation who is barely CT standard - Expect new signings Pate and to a lesser extent Howe to ride at the front of the peleton - Manly needs to improve 5% to be at the top end of the peleton while Faulkner is the question mark - Was never the same after catching COVID after the Giro - Hopefully she recovers because she is elite.
Seems like Ewan could have a decent lead out in Frislie if he can navigate himself through a WT peleton - You can lock in Ewan to win the National Criterium on Friday with no Groves - I’m excited to see what Bling can do at the Nationals as this is a target race in 2023.
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RRG and Frislie win day 2 races.
Team Jayco have all their Aussie riders competing in the Nationals - Team is Matthews, Hepburn, Durbridge, Scotson, Harper, Quick, Hamilton, O’Brien and Porter - It will be all in for Mathhews with Harper a worthy back up. Four are riding the ITT - Dennis should be favourite if he rides, however Durbo is always on-form at this time of the year - They will have a full team in the criteriumm however Quick will be flat out beating Ewan or Groves.
Women’s team includes all the Aussies who are Manly, Baker, Polites, Howe, Allen, Roseman-Gannon and Howe. This is a race for Manly with Roseman-Gannon as a back up. A few are riding the ITT but it should be a Brown benefit - They will be favourties for the criterium if they ride for Baker who is the fastest.
The TDU has an exciting line up and it’s a wide open race - Men go in with Yates, Matthews, Hepburn, Scotson, Harper, Hamilton and Stewart - It seems like it will be Yates for the GC and Matthews for the sprints.
The women’s team is the same as the Nationals less Polites - The field is nowhere near as strong as i anticipated with half the WT teams not participating - The women’s team can win this race.
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Team presentation for Team Jayco Alula will occur at 5pm on Friday the 13th - All the heavy hitters will be in attendance including Jerry, White, Copeland and a rep from the Alula resort - To be hosted by Phil Ligett - Had planned to be there BUT COVID and exorbitant airfares stymied the plan.
Apparently, Plapp is the key target for 2025 and Jayco will offer big dollars - There is also the expectation that Yates will leave at the end of 2024 - They would like to get Ethan Hayter, though I suspect this is a pipe dream.
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Doesn’t appear on the start list.
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Watching the road championships on SBS.
The ABC continues to neglect any reporting on Australian cycling.
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Great to see a quality rider in Chapman win the women’s elite RR - The downside is she is moving to Trek which does not suit her characteristics.
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Interesting that Jayco/Aluila has backed off the chase and may rely on Durbridge from the break.
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I think the break will be caught.
Plapp with a late attack wins from Clarke and Matthews - I am certain that L.Hamilton was the strongest rider in the race, but unfortunately he crashed at the top of Mt Bunninyong on the third last ascent - He then spent a lap chasing the peleton, otherwise he would have attacked on the last ascent of Mt Bunniyong.
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Plapp from Clarke and Matthews.
Matthews didn’t have anything left when Plapp went a 2nd time with 2km to go.
The top 10
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Well done Plapp, Christmas training in tassie might have helped.
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A guy i see regularily on my rides finished 21st…he did the work he be stoked yet disappointed not to finish top 20
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Actually, Plapp crashed in training in Mid-December and had a week off the bike - The win was a surprise for Plapp.
He looked cooked early on!
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Reckon Dubo was wasted in the break.
If he stuck with Matthews, perhaps he could have matched Plapp’s advantage and given Matthews a chance in a sprint.
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