Our guys were set to fly out to the UK on sunday night. Unfortunately their itinerary meant they would have to miss the National Marathon Champs but they were all packed an ready to go.. Then on Saturday with the breaking news that the volcano had erupted in Iceland, closing a lot of the european airports, the guys had to sit tight and wait. Something athletes are not that good at... There was a lot of phone time to Emirates, especially by Ray who put his team management cap on early and really laid a lot of ground work to get us off the ground, literally. On wednesday at 5pm we got the call we all wanted! The airports had opened and we could secure flights. Jo was first to go with only 2.5 hours to get herself to the airport. Dan, Katherine and Ray were next. They were all landing at different airports. And so the adventure begins....



Dan Mc Connell - 11th hour dash for WC #1

The Volcanic ash from Iceland grouded all planes in Europe the week we were set to leave for the first round of the World Cup season in Dalby Forest, UK.  After not thinking we would make this round we got a last minute flight and arrived the Friday morning before the race.

Friday and Saturday I spent time on the track, It was very similar to last year besides a few technical sections which they has made more challenging but after a few laps I found myself having fun and feeling confident.

I had a starting Number of 54 and was hoping to improve on that over the 6 lap race.  The start went smooth and after the fast and scary start loop I had already moved up inside the top 50. For the next few laps I tried to ride the race smoothly and keep a bit in the tank for the last few laps but still trying to move up as much as I could.  I was riding the technical sections well and using them to recover.

A the end of the fourth lap I was in a bunch from 35th-40th and was still feeling comfortable. How quickly that did change, the last two laps were a full grovel fest as I started to feel the effects of jet lag, stess and no sleep.

I limped though the line in 56th possition, not where I was hoping to be but not totally dissapointed.  I can deffinatley take some positives out of the race and use them to focus on getting a great result next weekend when the world cup series continues at the prestigious Houffalize in Belgium. 

Cheers, Dan




Jo Wall

Well it has been an amazing build up to the first World Cup, and at one stage I was certain that I was not going to make it.
I was scheduled to fly out on Sunday night but due to the volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano all European and Uk flights were cancelled. A couple of us were trying to get into some of the southern European airports that were still open and then contemplating the massive overland journey to the UK. I’m so glad this option did not eventuate as carting a bike box and heavy luggage around train stations is HARD work and it would have been hugely expensive as the cost of land transport had tripled and was jam packed with all the drama of the volcano!
So eventually, after multiple bookings and changes and also a practice trip to the Melbourne airport on Monday night, (only to be told that Venice airport had since closed after we made the booking), I got onto a flight that left on Wednesday night arriving in Gatwick (London) which was extremely exciting and a huge relief.
All 5 of us in the TORQ team were originally scheduled to travel together but with all the flight upsets we were separated, all coming in at different times and into different airports, I landed in Gatwick, Kath and Ray came into Manchester, and Dan and Bec flew into Heathrow!
I have never been to the UK, let alone London, so the train trip to London and up to York was quite an experience! As it happened I was headed to the middle of London to Kings Cross Station in peak hour, this was full on and I didn’t make myself many friends by taking up 4 seats with my bike box and luggage while the rest of the train was packed like sardines! From Kings Cross I got on a train that took me 2 hrs north to Yorkshire, the trains go really fast over here, the 400+ km journey was over in no time!
The English countryside is beautiful, although it is cold and quite bleak, there is still something very pretty about it. Spring has just started, there are lots of baby lambs in the paddocks, daffodils growing on the side of the roads and trees starting to become green and leafy. The villages have heaps of character, they are very quaint and the buildings very old and generally made out of stone.

Since arriving we have spent a couple of days out on the course practicing and preparing for the race. It is a really fun course with a few tricky bits that keep you on your toes but it is by no means a technical track that requires a lot of skill, It has been beautiful dry sunny weather and it is forecast to be the same for tomorrows’ race day!

Cheers, Jo
  

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