Pacific Power-Commonwealth Bank Cycling Classic
New South Wales - Australia
Route Outline - a Riders View
I know most of the stages very well and have raced on the circuits myself. Here is my own version of how riders will see the course.
Stage 1 - 36 km Criterium at Manly
The Classic starts in the beachside Sydney suburb of Manly, famous for the surf and the beach crowd. The Classic last raced in Manly five years ago. Manly was featured twice as the Sydney stage back in 1989 and 1990. The logic of the return is to attract massive numbers to the beachside resort and cement the public followin of the race.
The course is 1 km long and has a couple of tight corners. The sprint along the foreshore is open and winds up for 300 metres out of the last corner. There is an advantage in being at the front.
The promoter:
"Manly has been a spectacular venue for the race and we will be utilising the same course as before--with the race finish in South Steyne and the cyclists racing through The Corso," Bates said.
Stage 2 - Hornsby To The Entrance, 127.5 km
From the northern suburbs of Sydney out to a main resort on the coast in the Central Coast region. It is only 127.5 kilometres in length, but faces some tough little hills. The riders climb from the Hawkesbury River Bridge at Mooney Mooney before racing one circuit of Peats Ridge and two more climbs. The climb on the Peat's Ridge circuit from the bottom of Mooney Creek is 5.3 kms long (done twice) and averages 7-9 per cent. I can tell you it is tough. Many major races are held on this 42 kms looped circuit each season. Another hill on the loop, is the aptly named Blood Hill. Short (400 metres) but steep. The race then heads for Ourimbah and then to the coast before finishing in the heart of the Central Coast and Wyong Shire at The Entrance.
Stage 3 - The Entrance Criterium, 30 km
This is a classic tight criterium race at The Entrance and always gets strong crowd support. Bike racing is strong on the Central Coast and the local bike racing team (my own team) is sponsored by the local government council, Wyong Shire. They have done a lot to promote bike racing in the area. It is a beachside criterium
Stage 4 - The Entrance to Newcastle, 66.6 km
Monday's stage heads along the coast north to the iron and coal steel of Newcastle (where I work). It will follow the Pacific Highway through Swansea, Belmont and Charlestown before moving off the plateau and down into the Newcastle business area. The route is undulating rather than steep but the climbs along the east side of Lake Macquarie are not easy and there are several of them in succession. The riders encounter a KOM climb up past Merewether Beach, then a very tricky descent through King Edward Park before finishing next to the pilot station in Wharf Road. Newcastle is a port city.
Stage 5 - Newcastle Tlme Trial, 3.6 km
The ITT is held in the centre of Newcastle. The cyclists face a very tough 3.6 kilometre circuit. Starting from the finish location of the previous stage, the riders leave at I minute intervals around Nobbys Head, past Newcastle Beach before heading up through King Edward Park. King Edward Park is a very tough climb with twist and turns offering steep cambers. The circuit around the coast is also likely to be open to the strong spring time winds that blow. The ocean views are beautiful but will be lost on the riders!
Stage 6 - Newcastle to Bayswater Power Station, 146.3 km
This is a new course, and replaces the easier Nelson Bay to Singleton stage which was part of the Classic for many years as it came through this region from the north. The stage climbs for the final 30 kilometres on really dead, slow road surfaces and also faces the prevailing and strong October westerlies. Usually this is where big time gaps occur as the race heads inland into the winds.
Stage 7 - Bayswater Criterlum, 30 km
This stage is on a figure eight, 1.4 kilometre criterium course around Bayswater Power Station. It is usually held in the evening under the lights and the shadows have given an eerie feel. However, this year the stage is in the daylight. Dead flat and not very tight.
Stage 8 - Bayswater to Eraring Power Station, 142.8 km
This stage follows the same route as previous years and is one of the really tough days. The course winds toward the coast throught the Upper Hunter Valley (Singleton) then down through the wineries at Cessnock. The riders have to go over the Great Dividing Range which separates the inland from the coastal plain. They go over at the Gap which is pretty tough. They do it from the easy side though with a huge descent to follow. They then head due east to Toronto (my local shops!), up the steep (13 per cent) but short hill past the hospital, down along Lake Road (on the west side of Lake Macquarie - Australia's largest coastal lake and 194 kms around). Lake Road has several steep hills before they get to Eraring (near my home). The finish goes off the main road, right down a hill and under the main road, then up a very tough 300 metre climb to a slightly downhill finish at Eraring Power Station.
Stage 9 - Terrigal Criterium, 30 km
Another beachside resort on the Central Coast about 70 kms from Eraring. The twilight crit had huge crowds last year and is flat and easy.
Stage 10 - Vales Point Power Station to Munmorah Power Station, 100 km
Well, the power stations are only a few kilometres away but the race has to go inland along Hue Hue Road, down along the Yarramalong Valley (undulating) then left at Yarramalong up the very sheer Bumble Hill which is 3.8 kms long. It is one of my training hills and it never gets easy. In races that take in this hill, riders always lose big time if they are off the back.
The course has emotional significance because the first time the Classic went up Bumble, Darren Smith split the field in pieces and won the stage. Darren died the year later in a road accident. He was one of the top hopes in OZ road racing. Wyong Shire (the council that is in this region) have built a memorial to him on the top of the KOM at Bumble. I look at it each week as i grind up it.
Last year, Max Van Heeswijk won this KOM and also the stage. After the hill, the race does the Kulnura triangle with some steep little pinches, then down Bumble which is a pretty dangerous descent because the corners of the hill are bumpy, turn right and follow the valley again and finish near the coast at the Munmorah Power Station. Fast day, but tough hill.
Stage 11 - Darling Harbour Criterium, 36 km
This criterium always attracts huge crowds and is in the centre of Sydney. It is a fast circuit, dead flat with one hairpin corner. It is always better to be up the front at this corner.
Stage 12 - Wollongong to Kiama, 118 km
This is a new course and is able to be included because the race has been focused around Sydney. It is one of the toughest stages given the terrain. The riders go up the Macquarie Pass (11 km climb around 7 to 9 per cent), then over to Fitzroy Falls and down a very steep descent through the Kangaroo Valley. The climb out of the Valley towards the coast is classified as a category one climb. Over the hill, the race heads to Berry, Seven Mile Beach, Gerrigong and finishes in the seaside town of Kiama. The last 15 kms follows the undulating Pacific Coast Road, with some short pinches.
Stage 13 - Kiama to Goulburn, 156.8 kms
The longest and toughest stage especially after the day before over the hills around Kangaroo Valley. Ther are two climbs classified as category one. The first is Saddleback Mountain and then Jamberoo Pass. There is also an exposure to high winds. Last year, this stage saw the AIS team destroyed by the attack over the hills of the Swede Michael Andersen, and the relentless team riding of the German National Team.
After the steep climb back over the Dividing Range from the coast, the riders roll along the undulating Southern Highlands through Exeter, Bundanoon and down into Goulburn. The stage has chosen some of the back roads this year and allows breakaways the benefits of many corners to make space from the field.
Stage 14 - Goulburn to Canberra, 116.4 km
This stage is the same used for an early season open race in NSW. It is flat on narrow roads out of Goulburn. I have seen a pack of 40 riders fall along these roads. I lost my bike in the fall as it went off into the bushes with me going in another direction. I found it soon though and finished the race! The stage turns right inland and heads up the very steep Smith's Gap, which is the final climb of the race. It is tough enough to split the field. The roads into Canberra are wide and fast.
Stage 15 - Canberra Criterium, 36 km
In the centre of the National Capital, it is a flat and easy circuit. The race is just after the morning shopping and attracts large crowds.