Troy pushes his bike to the limit CWD Nick McGrath
Troy pushes his bike to the limit
NICK MCGRATH
27 Oct, 2011 04:00 AM
IT’S billed as one of the toughest road races on the Australian cycling calendar but Orange Cycle Club star Mick Troy took it all in his stride.
Troy finished in an overall placing of 15th in the Grafton to Inverell Cycling Classic on Saturday, a race which saw overall winner Mark Jamieson shave 26 seconds off the race record of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paul Curran.
Troy also finished third in the King of the Mountain stakes for his efforts over the Gibraltar Range.
Troy was extremely satisfied with the result, finishing in a time of six hours, three minutes and 27 seconds.
Jamieson crossed the line first in 6:00.21.
“In A grade, I’m very happy with that,” Troy said.
Riding for the Racing Kangaroos team in the 230km event, it was on the Gibraltar Range Troy excelled.
The arduous task of trekking the demanding range was made to look easy by Troy, who led the peloton from sea level to an elevation of 1100m until two riders broke away near the top, leaving him in third.
Troy said he was initially worried about the climb, but settled in pretty quickly.
“I didn’t find it as tough as I thought I would,” Troy revealed.
“I was having a few nightmares before the race.
“The thing that helped the most was getting my eating and drinking strategy right early.
“It’s so crucial in long races. It was also quite warm, which made it tough, especially coming off an Orange winter. Anything seems hot then.”
Troy had the help of fellow Orange cycling star Angus Tobin in his Racing Kangaroos team.
Tobin finished in 43rd in a time of 6:18.21.
Troy said he was already looking forward to next year.
“Absolutely. It’s a race I believe I can continue to do well in and, if luck happens to be on my side, maybe even win one day,” he said. But he’ll no doubt have to contend with Jamieson for the title.
The Tasmanian set the course alight, beating Curran’s 1985 record of 6:00.47.
Troy said if there is one thing he has learnt from the 2011 race, it’s to seize the opportunity.
“I missed the race-winning break, which left me with a lot of what-ifs,” Troy said.
Orange riders Mick Cain and Dugald Parsons also conquered the tough race, competing in C grade. Cain finished in a time of 7:20.00, with Parsons a further 18 minutes back in 7:38.00.
“All in all it was a good result for the Orange boys,” Troy said.