Riders set to feel the heat
The Tour of the Tropics will be a tougher test than the Commonwealth Games cycling course, according to one of the Far North’s masters of the road. Gary Haydon (above) completed the Gold Coast course at the 2017 Cycling Australia Masters Road National Championships in October, where he finished eighth in the criterium and 12th in the road race.
THE Tour of the Tropics will be a tougher test than the Commonwealth Games cycling course, according to one of the Far North’s masters of the road.
Gary Haydon completed the Gold Coast course at the 2017 Cycling Australia Masters Road National Championships in October, where he finished eighth in the criterium and 12th in the road race.
But even after experiencing a huge test on the “lumpy” Games course, he expected five stages in the saddle on the rolling hills around Malanda and Yungaburra in August next year to be even tougher.
“It will be. The road races, I think it’s 100km-120km, plenty of climbing up there on the Tablelands,” Haydon said.
“You’re either going up or you’re coming down. I think there’s about 1500m of climbing in the road races, then you’ve got to go back up in the afternoon.”
The 51-year-old Cairns Cycling Club member said he would keep fresh coming into the Tour of the Tropics, running in August next year, after a challenging time in the shorter Tour of the Tablelands in 2017.
The 2018 stage race is a rebrand of the Tour of the Tablelands, which ran from 1997 to 2011 then returned this year.
Sarah Kaehler, who has excelled on the road and the cross-country circuit this year, said she was eager to take on the Tour of the Tropics and add another challenge to her competition schedule.
“You get to ride with friends and you’re constantly competing against them trying to better yourself and it’s kind of rewarding what you get out of that,” she said.
“I love it. The things you get to see on a bike you don’t necessarily get to see when you’re in a car, it’s great.”
Haydon and Kaehler are expected to be among 200 competitors in the inaugural Tour of the Tropics, a rebrand of the former event.
Having record-breaking pro tour rider Adam Hansen, who grew up in Cairns, as the event’s ambassador is expected to attracted riders from interstate.
Tour of the Tropics cofounder Damien Ingram said plans were afoot to make the event part of the national road racing series circuit from 2019.
“We’re looking to target locally and regional first, and beyond that we’ll see how it goes. It’s a bit of a litmus test for the following year,” he said.
“The way Cycling Australia is scheduling their calendar, they’re looking to move up to the north for the warmer weather in those colder times down south so we’re just giving an opportunity for CA to fit into what is a wonderful setting for cycling.”