Tour of NZ - Day 1 : Bluff to Queenstown
Today is the first day of the race.
We started off in Bluff for recreational ride to Invercargill. It was an early alarm call since we had to pack our bags and be ready in Bluff for the 8:00am start. On the way to Bluff we can see sun raising but there drops of rain falling down the window which is a bit of a worry.
We arrive and have only 20 min to prepare ourselves.
Did you know that the township of Bluff is called for no reason. It looks like this is the southernmost part of South Island, but it is not :)
I believe Sterling's point haven't seen so many riders before!
The ride was recreational so we were not going hard. It started with sun first, then it was rain and tempertures dropping off to 6 degrees. Everybody was feeling a bit miserable. But the next thing the rain stopped and life started becoming better.
We arrive at Invercargill's beautiful Velodrome - this is where we receive the time chips and get opportunity to get warm.
There are only covered velodromes in NZ : Hamilton and Invercargill. NZ is doing very well at cycling with multiple medals at the Olympics and Commonswealth.
We don't get too much to spend becasue we need to transport ourselves and the bikes to the official start of Day at Athels. Short stop at lovely cafe Zoo Keepers.
Bulk coffee order.
Our shuttle is a Toyota Previa with 7 passengers, hence the number of coffee's
Gloves and socks are drying on the sun on the dashboard. It is only 100km ride on the car.
We arrive to Athol where the scenery is absolutely lovely. Autumn colours!
All ready for the race begin. We start in groups: individual advanced, individuals intermediates, individuals easy adn then the teams in the same order. I was lucky to get into the first group.
Girls from our team car: Claire (dutch girl who lives on Stewart Island and works for DOC) and Katie (the american celebrity mentioned in previous posts) show the acrobatics yoga stretching.
The weather improved dramatically and we were anxious to start racing.
Our leaders group keeps together. I beleive the rotation and changes could be a bit more structured.
The problem with a fast bike that you just have to go fast - can't resist the temptation. It feels good riding in the leading peloton!
Just a tiny trailer of the footage I've been filming.
Out group has been caught by advanced teams just at the last turn to the finish line. The gnarly curly downhill to the finish line was a bit dangerous.
It is good to be in the leaders group!
After the race I decided to use the opportunity and have a easy recovery ride to Queenstown and then to our hotel.
Can't beat Queenstown's views
Well deserved Fergburger for dinner!
Looking forward the next stages. Tomorrow Crown range climb to 1000m awaits!
We started off in Bluff for recreational ride to Invercargill. It was an early alarm call since we had to pack our bags and be ready in Bluff for the 8:00am start. On the way to Bluff we can see sun raising but there drops of rain falling down the window which is a bit of a worry.
We arrive and have only 20 min to prepare ourselves.
Did you know that the township of Bluff is called for no reason. It looks like this is the southernmost part of South Island, but it is not :)
I believe Sterling's point haven't seen so many riders before!
The ride was recreational so we were not going hard. It started with sun first, then it was rain and tempertures dropping off to 6 degrees. Everybody was feeling a bit miserable. But the next thing the rain stopped and life started becoming better.
We arrive at Invercargill's beautiful Velodrome - this is where we receive the time chips and get opportunity to get warm.
There are only covered velodromes in NZ : Hamilton and Invercargill. NZ is doing very well at cycling with multiple medals at the Olympics and Commonswealth.
We don't get too much to spend becasue we need to transport ourselves and the bikes to the official start of Day at Athels. Short stop at lovely cafe Zoo Keepers.
Bulk coffee order.
Our shuttle is a Toyota Previa with 7 passengers, hence the number of coffee's
Gloves and socks are drying on the sun on the dashboard. It is only 100km ride on the car.
We arrive to Athol where the scenery is absolutely lovely. Autumn colours!
All ready for the race begin. We start in groups: individual advanced, individuals intermediates, individuals easy adn then the teams in the same order. I was lucky to get into the first group.
Girls from our team car: Claire (dutch girl who lives on Stewart Island and works for DOC) and Katie (the american celebrity mentioned in previous posts) show the acrobatics yoga stretching.
The weather improved dramatically and we were anxious to start racing.
Our leaders group keeps together. I beleive the rotation and changes could be a bit more structured.
The problem with a fast bike that you just have to go fast - can't resist the temptation. It feels good riding in the leading peloton!
Just a tiny trailer of the footage I've been filming.
Click to viewOut group has been caught by advanced teams just at the last turn to the finish line. The gnarly curly downhill to the finish line was a bit dangerous.
It is good to be in the leaders group!
After the race I decided to use the opportunity and have a easy recovery ride to Queenstown and then to our hotel.
Can't beat Queenstown's views
Well deserved Fergburger for dinner!
Looking forward the next stages. Tomorrow Crown range climb to 1000m awaits!