Having been part of the original 2014/15 series the Envirosport – Mike Turtur Cycles – Oakford Homes team decided that for the 2015/16 series it would enter teams in the Masters Series and the Women’s elite series for 2015/16.
The goal of the Women’s team is to promote women’s cycling to the widestrange of women cyclists and the general public and to this aim Team Captain Leanne Davies put together a team consisting of riders from all age groups, under 23 through to Masters 7 (60 yrs +). The team intends to be competitive but to have lots of fun racing, supporting each other and learning lots about team racing throughout the series.
Team Members
Leanne Davies – Team Captain: Australian Masters 1 Champion of Champions and ITT Champion 2012 , Australian Masters Games Masters 1 ITT Champion
Meriel Custance: World Champion Masters 6 Points Race 2015, Australian Masters 6 Champion of Champions and ITT Champion 2012, Australian Masters 6 2000mtrs Individual Pursuit Champion 2014 & 2015, South Australian Masters 6 Champion ITT & Pursuit.
Chelsea Parbs: Australian Masters Games 2015 Masters 1 Criterium Champion 2015
Phillipa Read: Australian Masters 7 Champion of Champions & ITT, RR Champion 2014
Sam Farrell: Member Australian Para Commonwealth Games Team (Pilot) and South Australian Women’s Track Rider of the Year.
Hayley Teal: Has joined the Road Racing team from a successful Marathon and Triathlon career.
Tracey Green: Qualified for World Masters Road Championships in Perth 2016, and a Bronze Medalist at the 2015 Australian Masters Games
Alison Double: Came up from Juniors to under 23 this year.
Round One – Victoria Park Long Course Criterium Circuit
The Focus Women’s Series opened with a 35 minute criterium around the long course at Victoria Park. And a good crowd enjoyed the barmy evening and some very hot racing with the hospitality supplied from Stuart O’Grady’s Velo Precinct.
International rider Carlee Taylor and her USG team set the pace, but the bunch hung together for the first 15 minutes with Leanne Davies and Chelsea Parbs from Envirosport/Oakford Homes having a few turns on the front before the all out attacks started. With about 10 minutes to go Carlee Taylor attacked taking two of the SASI girls Jess Mundy and Dani McKinerery together with 2015 Masters 1 Road Champion Victoria Veitch along with her. These girls stayed away with Dani winning from Jess and Victoria and Carlee the non-sprinter taking four place.
In the chasing bunch Hayley Teal of Envirosport in her first race at this level hit the front with one lap to go, but was overwhelmed in the final sprint for the line. Chelsea Parbs made her way through the field to take the last point on offer and open the Envirosport account for the series.
Meriel Custance having her first race since taking the Gold Medal in the Points Race at the World Championships on the Manchester Track in September, commented that she lost the wheel at the halfway mark, but time trialled her way to the finish with Australian Women’s Masters 7 Road Champion Phillipa Read for company along the way. A strong ride from these girls finishing on the same lap as the European riders. Young Alison Double who has just joined the under 23 ranks learnt a lot about racing at this level and will put that knowledge into practice in the coming rounds.
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Round 2 Hell of the North Road Race Walleroo Alford Walleroo
This is not your usual road race, two sections of dirt road totally 17.5 kilometres bring lots of other dynamics into play and they all played out on Hell of the North Saturday. Sam Farrell summed up the early part of the race like this.
“I must say, that when the girls in the bunch started popping gels just prior to the end of race neutral – that was a sign. As soon as we were out of neutral the barrage of attacks started”.
The lead bunch was intent of splitting the bunch by the time they hit the first dirt section from Alford and their got their way. They powered over the dirt and consolidated on the next section of bitumen and then Carlee Taylor, putting some of her experience over Belgium and Dutch classic roads into action, dropped the rest of the lead bunch and soloed into Walleroo for a convincing win. Hayley Teal was fighting her way back to the lead bunch over the first dirt section in style and powered on to the second section dirt section in 8th place before puncturing and dropping to the back of the field with a very slow wheel change from a delayed team car. That’s bike racing! Leanne Davies survived to dirt to finish in the points, Meriel powered on catching lots of riders in the latter stages of the race and Sam was also a victim of the second section dirt stage with a flat tyre and joined Hayley for the run into Walleroo with a replacement wheel. And so ended 2015’s Women’s Hell of the North.
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Round 3 Hell of the North Sunday Kadina’s Victoria Park Criterium
The pressure continues. Meriel Custance summed it up in the following terms:
“We stayed upright and gave our all! Tracey Green had a “baptism of fire!” as the world class riders made it “game on” from the gun! Hayley (HardCore) Teale did best for Team Envirosport- Oakford Homes and clung on to the “chasing the chase” bunch for around 30min and scored some points for her tenacity. Leanne was inspirational, fighting back on after a little lapse in which I overtook her!! (WT??). Anyway, she smashed back into contention and hung onto the chase the chase bunch for a while and also scored points! Once the International Ladies caught people, we had to pull out. So …we pretty much DNFed. BUT not for want of heart and fight. Check strava for our averages. It was a short sharp shiny course which made being lapped more likely than Vic Park. You would have loved it Chelsea! Danni McKinnery (SASI) won, Jess Mundy (SASI), 2nd & Carly (superstar) Taylor 3rd. Big Congrats to them! Amazing we have this special opportunity to race against them! Bring on Stage 4″
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