On completion of the Scott24 and placing fourth in solo for the second year running Shane traveled to North QLD for the stage race commonly referred to as the Croc. Months and months earlier Shane won the entry into the Croc through an online popularity poll run by Rocky Trail. I caught up with him a week after completing the Croc, this is his story.
Shane what were some of the highs & lows of this grueling event?
Actually to be honest the race start was a bit of a low. Crowding around at the start line I was feeling very isolated given that 90% of the competitors were conversing in foreign languages and that I had no idea about what to expect for the race. In hindsight I took that first day a little too easy and should have made up a whole lot more time but I just wanted to make sure I could get through the 10 days at that point. The stick in the derailleur incident was the other major low of the race as I was just starting to dream of top 10 finishes and good overall results when I was suddenly faced with a potentially race ending incident. A good example of how the Croc bashes you around mentally as much as physically.
Lots and lots of highs though, one of which I'll get to later, but from purely a riding perspective Bart Brentjens' ride in stage 5 was one of the most impressive displays of cycling I have been privileged to witness. The stage was a 100km road smash. 50kms out to the depot, turn around and the same 50kms back to the finish on a relatively flat road. I was in the second group motoring along at about 40-45kph when we passed Bart repairing a puncture on the side of the road 20kms in. I was taking my turn at the front at that point when one of the other Aussies in the group offered the following "Tails mate, just hold up a bit because he's going to come back and when he does he's going to be going supersonic". The media vehicle came past a minute or so later and John hung out the window and said "Bart's going to catch you guys in a minute.....and he's moving pretty quick". Sure enough, moments later a red flash came streaking past on our right as Bart, head down bum up, blew us all away. A few guys tried in vain to jump onto his wheel and nearly tore themselves in half in the process. Once he had disappeared in a cloud of dust we settled back down in a rhythm and by the time the lead group passed us coming back the other way just prior to the halfway turnaround Bart was back in front again pacing the group. He then won the stage in a sprint finish as if to prove a point. Simply Incredible.
I see there were teams entered in the event and bunch riding was fairly common - it sounds like a road race ?
Actually this race had far more in common with your average road race than any MTB race I've ever done. Partly this is because apparently that's how the Euro's do it and partly because it is required that there be vehicular access to all areas of the course in case of emergencies and for media access. Therefore all parts of the track were at least able to be driven by 4WD and a lot of it was literally road commuting (albeit on unsealed roads with corrugations as big as your head often for stretches of 20kms or more). Teamwork was not only encouraged but, I would say, necessary if you wanted to win the teams category. Even though I was not in an official Team I still found myself in situations where it was beneficial to work as one with other riders so as to share the workload into the headwind etc. I would think about 80% of the competitors were mainly roadies with only a passing interest in MTBing as we know it here is Aus.
Just think how you would be placed if there had a dedicated team ready to pace you back to the lead bunch after dramas on the roads. Has there been much interest from your supporters? The wheels are already in motion for an Australian Defence Cycling Club (ADCC) team at the Croc next year. The event organiser is keen for more Australian involvement and Martin from Rocky Trail Entertainment is keen to help out as much as he can as well. Still very preliminary at this stage and if anyone knows of a company who would want to lend some support then I'd be more than interested in talking to them. Word on the street is that Tom Boonen is keen to come out here and have a crack in the next few years and Adam Hansen is itching to come back and have another go too. I think this event is going to start getting some really extensive media coverage.
Shane you had a couple of mechanicals during the event, I heard you broke a derailleur hanger, were you carrying a spare?
Yes it was the hanger and yes I did. Unfortunately, it was not the correct hangar for the Marathon. Thankfully one of the passing riders, who just happened to have been a pro rider for Liquigas in a past life, had learnt some tricks of the trade and helped me out. The derailleur bolted onto the new hanger and then while I held the whole ensemble in place, he jammed it all together with the quick release. Not pretty but it lasted the remaining 30kms of the stage till the mechanics could work their magic. Ended up doing the rest of the race with a Cinelli road hanger that was more flexible than your average politician but unlike said polly, got the job done! The stick that smashed into my derailleur also bent the cage and damaged a couple of spokes. Could have been a lot worse really and compliments to Shimano for making tough as wheels that held up despite the damage. Only minor truing was required after each stage.
Something you must run on your bike? Bar ends, even my XC hardtail. Always have and always will. I prefer the shorter (lighter) ones personally rather than the massive cowhorn ones but I find that I use them a lot both for climbing assistance and simply to provide an alternate hand position when you're riding for 24hrs. I used those short PRO bar ends in conjunction with ESI chunky grips and didn't have a single hand complaint over the entire race. I am looking quite seriously at the Ergon grips with the integrated bar ends too. If they're good enough for Julien Absalon and Christophe Sauser (self confirmed obsessive weight weenie) then they are good enough for me.
Alot of stories have come out of the Croc Trophy, I read about the ultimate Croc battler of 2009, Australia’s Chris Neal, that he was awarded the race’s final accolade yesterday, crossing the finish line ahead of the peloton on the final stage. Care to share a few more? That was only one of the many fantastic stories to come out of this race. The stage from Laura to Cooktown included the brutal stretch of corrugations, the final 30kms, while on tarmac, were into a headwind that could peel the lips off your face and as a final kicker, the last 2kms were up a 30% gradient that finished with a stair climb. To top it off the temperature reached well above 40 degrees and by that stage most of us were just happy to make it to the end alive. A few of the Aussie guys at the back of the pack had been doing it pretty tough over the last few days but had been helping to patch up those who needed medical assistance during the first week. A Slovenian rider by the name of Matej Mugerli, the former Liquigas Pro who had helped me and whose race had been abandoned when he had a massive stack on day one that required a visit to hospital, finished the stage, turned his bike around and rode back to meet that group. He then paced them all the way back into town acting as their Domestique for the day. He spent about 4hrs more than he needed to out in the baking sun to help these guys out and for my mind is one of the true champions of the race.
This was certainly in stark contrast to one of the other riders who had seemingly made it his mission to piss off as many people as possible doing such things as letting someone else do all the work at the front of the group before stealing the line honors and grabbing other people's drink bottles at checkpoints. Pretty disappointing and although this particular gent is an extremely accomplished cyclist (as in has won the Race Across America Solo 5 times) it was the total opposite to Bart Brentjens who is not only an incredible rider but also an absolute gentleman. I hope he comes back next year and smashes it up.
The attached photo was also one of Shane’s race lows. At that point he had just been dropped by the lead bunch because the corrugations had just started, the temperature was starting to soar and he was facing 50kms of sandy rough riding on his own. Hitting a massive sandy patch the front wheel just washed out from under him. Nothing else to do but drag yourself up walk out the worst of the sand and then get back on.
