July is the month for racing. In Victoria over three weekends we have the Eildon Tour, the Club Teams and the Victorian Champs. In the meanwhile over in France there is a little race called the Tour de France. While the riders battling the races out will be completely different the motivation and determination to win will be identical. This Tour de France we have a record 11 Aussies competing in the 3,642km phenomenon that is a race.
The Eildon Tour is run by Blackburn CC and sponsored by the Bank of Queensland. It is battled out in multiple age groups from J13 to J19. The race consists of a Time Trial and two road stages. The race will ascend the famous Skyline Rd Climb multiple times during the race with it being an important factor in the race. I will be racing in the U15 B’s and go into the race with high aspirations for overall victory. The riders of Blackburn Cycling Club ( me included) will be confident of high results thanks to training on the local roads as part of the Blackburn Training Camp held in the Easter and September school holidays. For all those racing in the upcoming week make sure you check for notices and information on the Blackburn site and the event website for all relevant race information. On the event website you will find links to all the routes of the race as well as profiles. This makes it super easy to study the course before the race.
In France 11 Aussies are competing in the Tour de France the worlds largest annual sporting event. Even if you don’t have any interest in the European racing scene I think you would benefit watching the Tour. The grit determination of the riders is inspiring and you will learn a lot from the tactics the riders display. An important thing to remember is that all of the riders were one day Juniors racing the same racers that we are now, with the same ambitions of greatness that we have now. There is a reason why riders like Simon Gerrans went from Victorian races to the Tour de France, it was because of his determination. He knew where he wanted to be and how he could get there and now he has won a stage in every grand tour. If you watch the tour these lessons will rub off on you and as a result your race results will improve and who knows one day you could be on the podium of the Tour like Gerro.
How to follow the race
TV coverage
Live : The tour is broadcasted by SBS One from 10:00pm every night other than rest days.
Highlights : SBS runs two highlight packages one at 7:30 am and the other at 6:00pm both on SBS One
Web
Cycling Tips is a blog by Wade Wallace which is updated daily. He is currently over in France living the experience of the Tour. Cycling Tips is my favourite blog and is the first blog I visit every morning
SBS Tour de France The SBS Tour de France website is constantly updated and is the best place for up to the minute racing coverage
Cycling News Cycling news is a prominent cycling website and will have all the news however I don’t find it as interesting or informative as the SBS website
I hope you enjoy the Tour de France and any racing you will undertake in the month of July.
So Good Luck!
