28.03.07 - Oceana Games in Thredbo Chill:

Heading into the Alpine resort of Thredbo, the weather was always going to be unpredictable. We were loving the warm and still day on Thursday, but it just made the following days seem even worse in comparison. Freezing, windy and pouring rain all day. We spent most of our days kicking back in the cosy riverside lodges while it bucketed outside. Waiting for rain to stop to squeeze in a ride is painful!

In the end we got in a few practice laps over the 2 days before the race. The old-school Thredbo course is always cool to ride. Maybe it's also the novety factor, knowing they rarely use it. The last race there was the NSW Champs and apparently they used the lamest course ever. But they came up with the goods for this one, with all the climbing and all the cool rocky walking trails/singletracks.

There were some big UCI points up for grabs here, which would be handy for overseas racing this year. It was an imporant race. It's one course you don't want to 'bonk' on, so I was thankful the legs felt good. Jongewaard smashed the course, a fair way ahead, while Sid had a puncture early on, lost a couple of minutes, and couldn't make the time back up. Meanwhile the Kiwis weren't on pace in Elite, although their main man Clint Avery won the u23 class. We were all glad the conditions were good, with the rain holding off and the temps being on the chillier side but great for racing. Everyone's keen for another race here, so it's cool that one of the national rounds is here next year.

Results and photos on www.nationalseries.com.au and www.cyclingnews.com