Junior & Womens Canberra Tour 2010

On the 1st July six Lawson Homes riders headed off to Canberra for the annual DBR Australian Junior and Women's Canberra Tour. Three Open women riders Myra Moller, Emma Lawson and Emma Smith, Under 19 rider Belinda Mason and two Under 17 boys Taylah McLennan and Matthew Nicholson were each looking forward to the challenges ahead.

For the boys this was their first interstate tour. The experience of riding in large groups can be overwhelming but they were looking forward to gaining experience, learning and pacing themselves against other riders of a similar same age.

The tour consisted of four stages: a time trial, 2 road stages and a criterium.

Day one, Friday 2nd July : Womens Time Trial

In bleak, cold and drizzly conditions the girls started in alphabetical order from 58 starters on the 15.5km undulating out and back time trial course. Emma Lawson rode a personal best time trial finishing 5th, with the winner Amy Cure blitzing the field to finish .39sec ahead of her nearest rival. Taylah and Matt who did not race this day were a great help to the girls by assisting with their preparation.

Day two, Saturday 3rd July : Road race and Criterium

Being true to its reputation the Canberra weather was cold and foggy for the early starters in the road races.  Luckily as the day progressed the fog lifted to beautiful blue skies.  As the tour was for ages Under 11 to Open Women there were many different road races and courses occurring at the same time which proved to be a little confusing for the spectators, riders and some officials.

The Under 17 boys 53km race started at 9.45am and then women’s 38.1km started 5 minutes later.  After the two lead riders in the women’s race took a wrong turn the chasers suddenly realised their mistake and corrected themselves by turning and heading back onto course. The sprint finish came down to two Tasmanians with Sarah Cure winning over Emma Lawson by a split second.  Myra finished well in 13th position with the same bunch sprint time.  Emma Smith and Belinda rode very strongly finishing in 32nd and 37th positions respectively.
Matt and Taylah after finding their legs and getting into the atmosphere of the race both completed their first Under 17 road race strongly in 54th and 59th positions from 76 starters.

Saturday afternoon in fantastic weather all ages competed in their criterium event. The under 17 boys kept up with the pace with Matthew finishing 44th and Taylah 51st.

With two good rides in the time trial and road race Emma Lawson started the women’s criterium as the tour leader and owner of the yellow jersey.  The pressure was immense but with the help of her team mates Emma maintained her position by riding from the front and crossing the finish line in 7th position on bunch time. To make this race interesting and to the amazement of the riders a few kangaroos decided to stop on the middle of the course.  Fortunately the kangaroos moved just as the girls approached avoiding what could have been a nasty situation. Not sure who was more frightened - the girls or the kangaroos!  Myra and Belinda rode extremely well to also finish with the same bunch time as the leaders. The highlight of the tour was Belinda’s excitement on achieving a personal best by finishing her first national criterium race especially with bunch time.  Well done Belinda.

Day three, Sunday 4th July : Road race and Junior time trial

The last day of the tour was another cold start, minus 4 we are told. The road races started in thick fog but once again it cleared to be a great day. The women headed off first for their 71.8km road stage and the boys 49.3km stage. The girls were excited to be working together as a team with Emma L entering the last stage in the yellow jersey.  It was always going to be a difficult task to keep Emma ahead but the challenge was exciting and a huge amount of responsibility for the team having its first yellow jersey rider. The race was aggressive from the outset and there were several breakaway groups. Both Emmas had mechanical problems at different stages but Emma Smith and Myra worked together to help Emma L fix her mechanical and get back to the front bunch. This probably proved costly for Emma in the end as she ran out of legs and couldn't hold onto the front bunch in the latter stages of the race.  Myra continued to ride strongly to finish across the line in 8th position and improved her overall GC to 9th.  Emma Lawson finished the final road race in 23rd place giving her a final general classification of 13th.   Emma Smith 33rd and Belinda 35th on GC both finished all races with very satisfying personal results and setting benchmarks for the future.

The boys rode consistently throughout the tour and completed their road race in the morning and then headed out for their 15.5km time trial in the afternoon.  Matt was excited to have passed several riders in the time trial.
Each team member finished every stage and gained something of value from the tour which they will take into their future riding.

A trip to Canberra would not be complete without some sightseeing in our capital city.  Taylah and Matt had a quick tour around Canberra including a flying visit to Parliament House.  The team capped off a successful tour with a lovely dinner and a trip to the Telstra Tower to view Canberra under lights.