Age has proven no barrier for the winners of stage 3 of the 2011 Terra Australis. The Yeti Gu team of Roger Cull and Rodney Hart (57 and 49 years of age respectively) achieved a narrow stage victory in an exciting but brutal stage 3 of the 2011 Terra Australis from Dinner Plain to Bright.
Stage three was a new course for this year due to the recent heavy rains that damaged the trails that took the riders through the Alpine National Park. Cull and Hart took full advantage of the brutal stage to chalk up their first stage win and gain a valuable 59 seconds in the overall general classification.
The riders departed Dinner Plain in heavy cloud and mist but soon after the start the clouds broke to reveal the awesome landscape of the High Country. Riders got to enjoy the view of the Razorback, Mt Feathertop and out to Mount Buffalo before descending along the Great Alpine Road. At this point the course and the event took a turn. Soon after leaving the bitumen race leader Andrew Hall and Jason McAvoy encountered their first piece of bad luck for the week with McAvoy’s derailleur being ripped off. Some quick mechanical work and a new derailleur hanger had them back on track but by this stage Cull and Hart had overtaken them.
The two pairs battled along the uncompromising saw tooth section which was unrideable in parts and just plain hard in others. The lead changed a number of times on the climb up Mount Ebenezer and Cull and Hart were able to hold through the final singletrack with McAvoy and Hall closing fast but unable to catch the lead pair. Cull and Hart recorded a time 4:58:15 for the day. McAvoy and Hall were a further 59 seconds behind.
Cull described the closing stages.
“I was hurting real bad but we were in a singletrack section and we could hear Jason and Andrew closing. The final few kilometres were done with cramping legs and some serious suffering. It is great to have the stage win.”
McAvoy was not up for much conversation at the end of the stage but said “I hurt a lot today. The derailleur issue, the course, my body. It was a tough day.”
The general classification had a further shake up today with Rollin Thunder (Adrian Scott and Gavin Rumbles) continuing their horror run with another snapped derailleur sending them a further 24 minutes behind McAvoy and Hall.
The Torq pairing of Mark Fenner and Jo Wall increased their lead over Jess Douglas and Brad Davies in the mixed pairs. While most competitors were struggling to find the words to describe the day, Fenner said “It was awesome, loved it. It was epic and a massive challenge. Every day should be like it.”
Douglas on the other hand once again struggled with the high altitude start and did not find any rhythm until well beyond the 20km section and by this stage the damage had been done. Douglas said “I have been struggling with starts at altitude, it happened at Mt Buller and it happened on stage 2 as well as today. Now we are down in the valley hopefully we can get going a bit quicker”.
The event attracts a range of riders with a varying array of abilities. One of the mid pack riders, Rodney Sebire has just completed the T3 (three day version of Terra Australis) and found the stage tough. “I have done the Trans Rockies and this is every bit as tough. My language was pretty ordinary out their today and I was planning on giving the Chief Commissaire a stern dressing down when I completed. But I have had a rethink and now have a great sense of satisfaction about getting through this race” said Sebire.
Wednesday’s stage 4 is a team time trial around the singletrack in Bright. The 20km course will present a challenge for the teams for a number of reasons. The two riders in each team must stay together so the stronger riders will either have to hold back or the weaker singletrack riders will have to grit their teeth and hold on.
The team time trial will lead into the queen stage. An epic circumnavigation and ascent of Mount Buffalo awaits the riders for stage 5 before a grinding stage 6 from Bright to Beechworth.
For full results click here.