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Down Under Diary by Björn Schröder
23/01/2025
25. January 2010
So it was the last stage yesterday. What a fast race it was!
Too bad, but it was as we had feared: we weren't able to defend [Luke's] third place in the overall against the supersprinters. But fifth place is no mean feat either! And also Markus, who made it into the top ten, and Tommy, who got the mountains jersey in a ProTour event!
So today we went snorkeling with dolphins … at least those of us who got up early enough... That was really cool. And this evening we'll have a barbecue with Luke to celebrate his birthday.
My bags are packed, I've bought some souvenirs … so off into the cold...
Take care,
Björn
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23. January 2010
Today was the fifth stage.
Grey skies, gusts of wind – but what's that? Still no rain, but finally a mild 28 degrees. We were racing hard from the beginning. Two not completely flat starting rounds of about 40 km gave us a good average speed. We unneccessarily lost some strength when Frösi was involved in a small crash where he wasn't able to dodge two Lotto riders who were going down. Tommy managed to get some more mountains points in a very impressive manner, that really should be it now. But still we'll have to be alert, because tomorrow's mountains rather deserve to be called intermediate sprints. In the finale we had to do two rounds with a 3 km climb – that really felt like Alpe d'Huez!!!
Too bad that you can't see the race on TV in Europe (=> at least there are snippets from the stages can be found here). The finale was fantastic. There were four riders – Evans, Valverde, Sanchez and a young guy from Liquigas – who had a 20-second-gap. Even Andre Greipel tried to close tha gap himself … about one kilometer from the finish line, Markus closed the gap with Luke in tow, nobody could follow them. And Sanchez made it across the finish line only two seconds before Luke! So Luke was second today, and now he's third in the overall!!!
But tomorrow we'll have to be on full alert. It's going to be a tough battle against McEwen, he's breathing down Luke's neck with only a few seconds' gap. There's going to be a mass sprint tomorrow, so all sprinters are going to get the same time.
So wish us good luck!
Björn
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22. January 2010
The tour is slowly coming to an end, but the stages are really getting to you. Today's was a tough one again. A slight drizzle at the start promised a little cooling-down, but it kept us waiting. Our very own Tommy from Tyrol could hardly wait to get started, he wanted to reinforce his jersey lead, so he attacked right after the start where the Lenswood climb began. A group of five riders got away. He had no problems with getting the King Of The Mountain points, and the chase group had a hard time catching up with him. With a couple of bonus seconds from the intermediate sprints he was able to lie in fifth place overall. As we left the mountains, the wind was starting to get to us. About ten kilometers from the finish, the breakaway was history, and something happened that should never ever happen! Midway into the finale, the sidewind separated the field, and we lost each other. Tommy, who had given his all during the stage, lost some precious time. What a bummer!
Frösi showed an excellent sprint, but he simply got into the headwind too early. But I think he was satisfied with his performance, even he didn't get a "result". The last stages should be very much to our liking. Sadly enough, my roommate Wim had to quit today because he's ill, he really didn't look well this morning. I think the sun and the heat were too much for him yesterday. He battled through the first climb today, but then he had to admit to himself that it was no use.
All the best and bye for now!
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20. January 2010
So... same results again today. As I said before, Checker's Hill is a tough one! But it was simply too far away from the finish to bring about a decision. A three-rider strong group tried to derail the Columbia train. Dominik was almost able to get into the group, but the wind was too much for him. We had to make sure we had enough to drink today. That was my job, to take care of the GC riders. Things went a lot better today, after I was simply unable to get any air yesterday. Tommy proved his climbing abilities again and gathered a couple more mountain points on the steep ramp up to the top.
We had a lot of plans for the finale. Riding it in training with Luke we had carefully looked at the final kilometer. A small, unnecessary crash about 5 km before the finish line brought a couple of riders down. I couldn't avoid them and involuntarily left my bike. I was uninjured but my rear wheel was a goner, so I couldn't help in the closing sprint. Luke is really riding super right now and did quite well.
So now we have two riders lurking for their chance... have to see what happens on tomorrow's stage!? I think that it will be the hardest stage. I'll go to bed early tonight and dress coolly tomorrow. It is supposed to get up to 38° Celsius...
Greetings,
Björn
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19. January 2010
We have the first stage behind us now, and you can sure feel the weather! Just like in the old days, we all rode together in a small bus two hours to the start. We were received by thousands of fans, so that we really had a Tour de France feeling. Unfortunately there was a mass crash right at the start, although we were lucky.
The rough streets and the wind made the relatively short stage into a challenging one. We could bring our three strong climbers into good position before getting to Megler's Hill.
Tomorrow should be another sprint stage, but it will be marked by the very steep Checker Hill some 40 km before the finish. That's too early for it to play much of a role. But you never know! If Tommy shows his climbing abilities like he did today, then he could worry some top riders – like Alejandro Valverde today. (Tommy attacked today on the climb. Valverde had to go to a lot of trouble to close the gap. Great work!)
Many greetings from far away!
Björn
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January 18, 2025
So, we now have the first race of 2010 behind us.
I think we averaged 51km/h on the 1.7km long circuit course!
The weather was, fortunately, good and we were carried to the finish line by the excited mood of the thousands of fans there! We had planned a lot and were in a good position. But once again we were in the wind too early and the rest sprinted right on by us. But we are still going into the Tour Down Under on Tuesday with confidence. Our legs were super and you just have to have a bit of luck in a sprint. Of course we aren't satisfied with the results. But our morale is good, and we're ready to go!
Now we will have a short training ride of two to three hours to get ready for the early-starting first stage tomorrow.
Greeting from the soooooooooo warm Australia :))))
Björn
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January 17, 2025
Time to start!
We just trained for two hours, and unfortunately it started to rain. Should be dry when the race starts, though.
We had our pre-race meeting already, and slowly we are all getting excited. We have two aces up our sleeves, with Wim and Frösi, and Wim has something to prove from last year, when he finished second behind McEwen.
Until this evening!
Björn
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