ProVelo Super League Round 3: Melbourne to Warrnambool

We received an update from Racing Program Director, Brad Hall below:

Much of the final moments of this year’s ‘Warny’ were viewable during the live broadcast, however the successes of our team were evident through processes that occurred throughout the event. It is these processes I would like to speak to.

The CDF program has been designed to support and nurture athletes toward higher levels of the sport and into paid positions as professional athletes. To this end, it is important to have many younger developing riders within the team who, at present, may not yet be capable of achieving results, but who will learn from high-level racing experiences in a dedicated and supportive environment. The CDF program provides this opportunity for aspirational cyclists to learn alongside experienced senior riders, to instill necessary high-quality attributes early in their careers. This design philosophy was evident at this year’s ‘Warny’ events.

MENS TEAM

The men’s race was raced from the front, literally.
A 240km breakaway won the day, which was impressive to witness. Our own Brenton Ryan was in the break and worked tirelessly to keep it at a distance from the peloton. In speaking with another rider in the break (WA athlete Oliver Stenning, 2nd on the day), they commented on how committed everyone in the move was to seeing it ride out. And ride out it did – 13 minutes ahead of the peloton.

What ensued was a game of cat and mouse in the peloton, with teams not represented in the break forced to chase late in the final stages of the race. By this point, fatigue was evident, and the capacity to bring the break back diminished. The breakaway succeeded through strength, courage, and determination, outplaying some of Australia’s major teams.

Our men’s team (Brendon Green, Brenton Ryan, Cameron Fraser, Jaco Nel [U23], Connor Fraser [U23], Matt May) rode well in service of the race and were well-positioned coming into the critical phase along the Great Ocean Road. Cameron, Connor, and Matt May were all in the forward split and looking strong approaching this point. Unfortunately, Matt suffered a puncture at a critical moment where no support vehicles were present (the peloton had broken into many smaller groups, meaning service vehicles could not remain close to their riders). As a result, Matt was relegated to the back group once his wheel was changed by a neutral spares vehicle.

Cameron and Connor were left to fight from the peloton at this stage, with Brenton finally falling away from what remained of the breakaway, reduced from seven riders to four. Brenton’s ride was impressive. He works full-time, has a mortgage, and continues to commit 17 hours per week to training with coach Paul Merkes. This is by no means average and is a testament to his commitment and determination.

To regress briefly, following the Tour of Tasmania, the team needed to work on key processes through this race, such as positioning and riding cohesively as a team. To this extent, they executed well throughout the race. The great Gordon Hindley, who coached and developed many of WA’s best athletes, once said of developing athletes toward high-performance standards: “Brad, cycling is just a process.” To this end, the boys executed a key element in their development by working and learning to ride as one. This was a success gleaned from the event and a product of racing exposure and learnings since Adelaide, Tasmania, and now into the Warny event. Results aside, if high-performance development is simply a process, the team executed well and is better off for it.

In the final phase of the race, both Connor and Cameron came home with the main field, with Connor one of the youngest athletes in the race. This is no mean feat. Connor works with coach Paul Merkes, and together they have developed a fantastic fitness base through Connor’s hard work, determination, and consistency in training. Connor lives in the regional city of Bunbury and is somewhat more isolated from his cycling peers; he benefits from strong social support structures, including his dedicated family and others (including Eugene Lambert) who help support his development as a rising talent in WA cycling. Led by one of our senior athletes, Cameron, the two worked well together in the closing stages to represent the CDF program strongly.

Whilst the results might not reflect the magnitude of effort from this event, the application of key processes represented a 50% improvement on previous rounds of the Hertz ProVelo Super League, with the team leaving more confident and determined as a result. The process of racing and learning has improved through this event, and the team is better off for it.

WOMEN’S TEAM

Again, the women’s team (Carly Coventry, Isabella Newell [U23], Miriam Sinnerbrink [U23], Talia Chambers, Ash Watts [U23]) had clear process goals they wished to execute on race day, and this is precisely what they achieved. Both Miriam and Carly were eager to create a breakaway early in the race. This was something they had discussed internally at length with team leader Juliette. Their early attempts were covered by the peloton, however, all our riders contributed toward the team goal of establishing a breakaway.

To regress again, after the Tasmania event, the team identified key competencies they wished to work on, including positioning forward in the bunch and riding together as a cohesive unit within the peloton. They executed this well, with both Carly and Miriam establishing breakaway moves during the race. Carly soloed across to a lone rider to form the main breakaway of the day, with Miriam almost bridging to this group of two. Eventually, Miriam was absorbed by the peloton on one of the climbs, while Carly claimed both Queen of the Mountains points to secure the polka dot jersey. Carly then pushed on solo for a period along the Great Ocean Road before being absorbed by the peloton with around 40km remaining.

Several of our younger athletes were distanced during the hilly middle section of the race, leaving Talia, Miriam, and Carly to race toward Warrnambool. Miriam’s hard effort attempting to bridge to the break, alongside a high work rate covering moves through the middle phase of the race, eventually saw her distanced from the peloton. At a similar time, Talia experienced gastric upset, leaving her to ride home solo through the pastoral fields east of Warrnambool. This left Carly fighting for position in the group, which was being battered by strong northerly crosswinds in the final phases. Carly did well to finish with what remained of a reduced peloton.

Again, the results alone do little to reflect the efforts of the team. What inspired us most was the team’s ability to plan with foresight what they wished to achieve (getting into a breakaway) and then claim a prize for doing so (the Queen of the Mountains classification victory). The final individual results, therefore, do little to reflect the excellent application of team processes, the courage to predict this outcome at the team meeting the night before, and the commitment required to execute it.

These processes are critical for human learning, which occurs best within context, or simply by racing the race. At CDF Racing, we believe that by focusing on good processes and tailoring ways to achieve them to individual needs and attributes, athletes in our care can better learn how to overcome challenging environments with skill sets not acquired otherwise. Sport acts as a catalyst for resilience learning that can be applied throughout life across many domains; work, family, and beyond.

Road racing as a sport is becoming harder to facilitate, meaning learning opportunities are becoming fewer and more expensive. This is especially true in Australia, but it is being felt worldwide. It was announced before the start of this year’s ‘Warny’ events that Karin Jones, the long-time race organiser and director of the Melbourne to Warrnambool, is stepping down from this role. We would like to formally thank Karin for her decades of commitment and support in facilitating road racing.

These events are now supported within a collaborative structure known as the Hertz ProVelo Super League, which is also in need of financial support to continue. An opportunity to support this series financially has been made possible through a share-raising initiative that will directly support the development of elite-level athletes here in Australia. I would recommend that anyone with an interest in road cycling review this opportunity and support it where possible to help ensure the continued existence of our sport.
https://provelosuperleague.com/about/become-a-shareholder

We now turn our focus to the next event in this series in Sydney the third event in a five-race block. Given the successes outlined above, the team moves forward confident in continuing to learn and refine their processes, which are inevitably causal to the results and outcomes we seek in sport.

Thank you again for your support of our program. These racing opportunities would not exist without it.

Thanks to Beardy McBeard for the photos used in this update.