2011 Road Team
 Bikebug 2011 TeamAll details coming soon
Racing ImagesBathurst weekend crit and road race images 
Macarthur Crit Images 
Oceania pics 
Luke Collyer and Macauley Mulhall riding at Dunc Gray Velodrome. 
Macauley Mulhall racing at the Regatta Centre 
Bay Crits, 2nd - 5th Jan, 2011 
Cyclenation Series - Final Round 
NSW Crit GP Series, DEC 2010 
Team Management
Race ReportsPhil Grenfell Bathurst Weekend Report On saturday the bikebug.com team headed out to bathurst for a weekend of racing with a crit on saturday afternoon and the 110 km balney to bathurst road race on sunday. In the crit we were pretty confident of a result as we had a strong team and where keen to show what we could do. With all the guys being aggressive from the gun julian lunched a good move to go solo but was brought back by the waki merida team. Adam phelan then launch a move and went solo, alex, caleb and two other riders went in pursuit but after a few laps werent making an impact on adams move. With the number of laps left ticking down willo made the descion for alex to drop back and caleb to sit on to try and bring the break back for a bunch kick. With 10 laps to go the whole team was on the front swapping off and bringing adam back. With one lap too go it all came back together and i managed to win the bunch kick after some awsome work by the team. On sunday morning we lined up at 8:30 for the start of the road race, again we where looking to be aggressive with fast attacks form all the guys. Afer about 20km I managed to get away with alex wong from the frf team, we worked together well but got brought back after 45km, with everthing back together racing picked up again and its was constant attacking with everyone trying to get up the road. At the 60km mark a move of 10 went off the front with andrew crawley in the move with no team mates and the danger man adam phelan in the move i bridged across. The group then worked together and managed to gain a lead hading into the climb. Right at the bottom of the climb adam lunched with crawley responed, however I didnt quite managed to get on his wheel. Over the top of the climb everthing came back together with all team mates present and crawley still trying to chase down adam i made the desicion to put the team on the front to bring adam back once again and set things up for a bunch kick. After a huge effort from all the guys the race came back together with a couple of kms to go, after dodging a crash and a slight mishap in the direction we were supposed to go, everthing was looking good for the bunch kick. After an awsome lead out by crawley i managed to cross the line first to end a very successful weekend. I would just like to say thankyou to julian hamil, sam rutherford, caleb jones, alex malone, micheal phelan and andrew crawley for the work they did for us, i couldnt have done it with out them, cheers guys. Also thanks to willo and murph for organising the weekend and sorting everthing thing out from the bikes to a cheeky back rub. Oh and thanks the Julian & Sam for the gramma & spell check, thanks boys could has written this with out you. Cheers phil. Luke Collyer race report We headed down to Shepparton leaving Willo's at 7:30am on Friday morning, stopping at Goulburn for breakie and to pick up jake. We arrived at 4pm just in time for a 1.5 hour tap to stretch the legs. That night the team headed out for dinner at Thai orchard then headed back to the motel for an early night. Saturday allowed for a bit of a sleep in and then a 2 hour spin to activate the legs for the next days race. For the rest of the day the team kicked back and relaxed, getting ready for the next days race.Dinner that night was enjoyed at the local bistro, with pasta seeming to be the most popular choice on the menu. Sunday, The morning of the race dawned bright and sunny, a perfect day for a race. Seeing as Macaulay and my race was 3 hours before the U/23 and elite's, we left with Trent at 7:30 am for Dookie, ready for a 9am start. Our U/19 race consisted of 4 laps of a course coming to a total of 92.8km. The race started off with an early attack's from many riders, although none succeeded until around the 20km mark. During this time, my main goal was to follow wheels and to conserve as much energy as possible. The break of 4 riders managed to stay away until the end of the second lap. From here on once the group was back together, there were countless attempts by everyone to try and split the group. One of these attacks finally managed to split the group on the third lap on the last hill. Unfortunately a gap opened up in front of me and I didn't have the power to close it. The gap ended up being further opened once we reached the top of the hill, and by this stage the the front bunch was 100m ahead of me and were already on the decent back into town. From this point on in the race I started to feel my legs cramp up and found it hard to breathe although the group was still only 150m ahead of me so I continued to try an time trial back onto the group. Unfortunately for the last lap I kept the group at a constant 250m ahead of me, although I couldn't quite manage to bridge the gap. I ended up finishing the race a couple of minutes behind the Main bunch. For a better result in my next race, I think I have to address power climbing more in training, as I didn't have the power today to finish the climb up the front. Luke Collyer Oceania's Road Race - Elite and U23 combined Oceania's Road Race - Elite and U23 combined. 160km in distance, covered over 7 laps of a 20km loop. Travel day. Team Bikebug.com arrived in Shepparton, Victoria at four o'clock on Friday afternoon. After checking in at the clock tower motor inn, the team took to a 2 hour tap around some familiar Sun tour routes that Trent could remember from his glory days. After a quick refresher back at the cozy motor inn we were off to the local Thai restaurant to refuel for dinner. Rest day. The Saturday morning ride took us on a ride similar yet somewhat cooler cruise around the flat roads of Shepparton. Parking up for a brew at the butter factory cafe on the main drag was a nice way to end the fresh morning ride. While the rest of the team was resting, Trent and Brendan (Murf) were hard at work, making sure everything was running smoothly on the mechanical side of things. A quick drive around the road race course that afternoon revealed that the 'flat' course could be quite difficult if the very common Victorian winds were to make an appearance come race day. A big meal on a budget was required for the night and so the Shepparton RSL was an obvious chocie with $12 pastas and friendly local service. Race day. Team bikebug.com were awoken with the news that Matt Goss had taken victory of the longest classic of them all. La Classicissima Milan San Remo. With this in mind the team fueled up at nine o'clock and packed the van ready to head out to the course. As we discussed the plan for the race the wind began to pick up and continued to increase to the start at 12. The first few laps of the race could be described as nervous and hectic, after a crash in the first 4 kilometers and attacks coming frequent and fast. There were numerous break away attempts with none being allowed more than 100m of the front of the bunch before being brought back into the fold. Andrew Crawley (Bikebug.com) had a solid dig off the front of the bunch with Will Dickeson (Jelly Belly) however it was considered too dangerous to stay away and was reeled in after 15 kilometers. As the bunch passed the feed zone heading back out for the second lap a big move went of the front with all teams represented, it looked like a good one to be in. Caleb Jones (Bikebug.com) was one of the last riders to jump across for the moment. The break started to work together briefly and opened up a 40sec gap on the bunch. The break started to ride a little inconsistently with more and more riders not wanting to pull any turns. After half a lap riders from the bunch slowly started trickle across in groups of two or three including Alex Malone (Bikebug.com). The size of the break blew out to more than 20 riders. The bunch grew restless and the riders in the break weren't happy working with each other and at the beginning of the 4th lap the break was caught. The attacks came hard again and by the end of the 5th lap there was another break featuring Sam Rutherford (Bikebug.com) and many Jayco and Genisis riders. Phil Grenfell (Bikebug.com) put in a phenomenal turn of speed to catch up with the breakaway riders in very little time. The riders in the break refused to work with the Bikebug.com riders as they were aware that Phil was now with them and could smoke them all in a sprint finish. The break was considered too dangerous and was brought back on the same lap, however a group of 6 riders had ridden off the front of the break before the catch including our rider Sam. That turned out to be the final selection for the race and the laps slowly clicked down into the bell lap. Sam was looking comfortable considering the amount of effort he had spent to get in the position he was in. The final break split over the slight incline of the course where Sam battled to hold his position. He found himself just off the back of the first three riders over the crest and tried his hardest to close, by the time he rolled in town he found himself and two others 30 seconds behind. Luckily Sam had enough left in the tank to give a little kick before the line and claim the silver medal for the elites category as the riders in front took out first and second place in under 23s and first in elites. After the medal ceremony the van was packed up and the eight hour drive back to Sydney started. A great weekend for the team and a fantastic result on a tough course with an experienced field of riders. For most it is back to work on Monday, for some it is off to start a six week intensive training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Caleb Jones Trust House Cycle Classic, NZ 2011
Alex Malone reports for Ride Magazine on the Trust House Cycle ClassicStage 5 Wellington Criterium Stage 4 Upper Hutt Circuit Stage 3 Masterton-Pahiatua-Masterton Stage 2 Masterton to Admiral Hill Stage 1 Upper Hutt to Masterton Recce Rides Jayco Bay Crits 2011, By Geoff Straub In 2011 I lined up for my 6th Bay Crits and second year in the "Pro" category with the bikebug.com team which is also the team I will ride for in 2011 in the National Road Series The team for the Series was as follows: Alan Davis, Dale Scarfe, Chris Jory, Phill Greenfel and my self Geoff Straub. 2011 Would be slightly different to the previous 5 years however for a number of reasons with the biggest change being able to line up on the start line in the same jersey as a superstar of the sport, that rider recently placed 3rd in the Road World Champs and won the Commonwealth games gold. So it was certainly an honour to line up beside Alan Davis in the same jersey! For the second year the bay crits had been shortened from a 5 day event to just four which has its positives and negatives particularly with the many races such as the national titles following on after the concluding day of the series. The First stage was held on a challenging course in the Geelong Botanical Gardens, It was a circuit that many of us were confident of doing okay with Dale Scarfe placing 2nd on it during the 2010 edition of the Tour of Geelong. As always it was a race to grab that front spot on the start line with 100 riders in the field its by far the safest spot to be. From the gun the pace was on with attacks going with every opportunity. It was a shock to the system for me trying to find my "race" legs after nearly 3 months of no racing due to the inclement weather in QLD causing every club race to be cancelled but it was also the best feeling at the same time to be racing again. The race finished in a bunch sprint with Alby Davis taking a 3rd and 3rd in the series. Day two was to be held at the notorious Port Arlington course a course with a challenging climb each lap and apparently a slight course change to previous editions, at dinner it was confirmed there was a course change and the discussions at the table went like wild fire trying to work out where the "new" course would go, one comment was "up on the footpath" well we thought it was a joke anyway. So when we arrived out at the course and seen the normal course had been altered and a widened version of a footpath had been layed down we were in disbelief it looked very similar to a climb in one of the "classics" If the course wasn't hard enough before it certainly would be as a result of this! Yet again 100 riders were crammed onto the start line and away without a hassle, the pace was on big time and with the footpath section it was only 2 a Brest at the most which meant it was hard yards any further then 20back. It was only a matter of a few laps before the first crash of the day. This caused mayhem for many fighting to get to the front who were now at the back again. The attacks and pace was continually lifted until finally a break was finally established containing Michael Matthews and Simon Gerrans and as a result the peloton snapped into two and more then half the peloton was out before 20mins. Michael Matthews took the stage from Gerrans and a splinted group of about 20 riders followed on what I would say hands down the toughest crit I have lined up in. Day 3 would bring us to Ritchie Boulevard a tough and unforgiving hot dog circuit notorious for crashes and a breakaway lapping the field. Again the pace was on straight from the gun forcing the riders any further then 20 back to work hard to hold the wheel in front of them. After 20 minutes of racing it was clear again a select few would only finish the stage again with most of these guys protour riders. Again the stage would be decided by a break away with Bernie Sulzburger taking the win on the line from Greg Henderson. The final Day of the bay crits was held at Williamstown, Melbourne. This circuit is a slightly less technical course to those of which we had previously raced on but had a tricky roundabout to negotiate on each lap. Again bang straight from the gun the pace was on and a number of unsuccessful attacks that made the peloton chase hard were bought back and again a small group would only finish with the furious pace set down. Today was decided by a bunch sprint won by Matt Goss which in turn gave him the winners jersey of the series with Allan Davis finishing 3rd overall it was a great result for the bikebug.com team. That just about wraps up the bay crits for another year and giving us all the much needed race fitness to be ready to tackle the national titles in Ballarat in the coming days! G Straub U23 Australian Road Championships By Geoff Straub After a week of racing now in the legs I was looking forward to lining up in the U23 national road race. It was time to really test the legs and see if we had done the right things over the festive season. For the day of the race the weather could not have been any kinder, we were greeted with nice warm weather and clear sky's and a slight northerly breeze. Everyone seemed quietly confident in the team to be able to do there respective jobs, which certainly helps calm the nerves. There was more the 100 riders on the start line, so our main goal as a team was to put at least one in the break away. The first attack came at the 2km mark halfway up the climb, my positioning in the bunch allowed me to follow the wheels in front across to it. By the top of the climb the break was beginning to be established with a group of 12 riders. Bikebug.com was well represented with my self and Phill Greenfell making the move however it wasn't going to be easy with Genesys having two riders, Jayco AIS three, Drapac and Virgin with one each. This meant most the the teams organising a chase were well represented. With the break well established by the second lap of the 12 the KOM points were up for grabs so I decided to challenge for them, my legs felt great on the climb so each lap from here on in I went for them and successfully took every point on offer. By the halfway mark the our break had a gap of almost 6minutes, shortly after the co-operation between the breakaway riders began to stop and the pace dropped allowing the time gap to fall. We were lucky enough to be able to hear the race commentary on parts of the track to let us know what was going on behind us and we knew the chase was on with a number of bridging attempts on the way, with the gap around 1:30 and 3laps to go I decided to attack the breakaway group at the KOM where I felt strongest. I had a gap for the next two laps with the chasing peloton really narrowing the gap so I had to work hard, touching speeds of 100km plus on the decent. With just over 8km to go I was caught by the peloton well what was left of It, from here the attacks came one by one causing the riders with tired legs to drop away. I payed the price for my earlier move struggled to match the surges. The winning move was made halfway up the final climb with Ben Dyball taking the win from Nathan Haas and Joe Lewis. I won the KOM jersey which capped off a solid race from the whole bikebug.com team Under 23 National Criterium Race Report By Philip Grenfell The national under 23 criterium was held in Ballarat and it was a simple 1km hot dog course up and down the main street with a slight rise towards the finish. From the gun we had Straub and Al being aggressive and trying to force a move off the front of the peleton, while Josh and Scotty where back in the group looking after me and closing down any dangerous moves. About half way through the race Luke Durbridge from Jayco AIS set off on a solo mission to try and win the race. I was pretty happy to just have one rider off the front, so the boys controlled the race from there. Towards the end it looked like we may have left it a little late but with other teams wanting the race to finish in a sprint, it all came back together with 2 laps to go. On the last lap Josh dropped me off in the top 5 at the top corner and it was a fight to the bottom corner, I came around in 3rd wheel but skipped out on the exit which cost me a lot of speed. I crossed the line in 4th with Ben Grenda from Genesys getting the win. I was pretty disappointed as the boys had worked hard all race and getting a green and gold jersey would have been a nice way to start the year. Race RosterTeam for the B2B is now confirmed as. HAMILL RUTHERFORD CRAWLEY MALONE PHELAN JONES GRENFELL The next majour race we are targeting will be the Oceania's Road Race on March 20th the line up will be: CRAWLEY JONES MALONE RUTHERFORD GRENFELL SCARFE TAYLOR HAMILL Riders Blog09/04/2011 Jake Magee Hi Everyone, Just a quick update from the AIS Camp, almost 3weeks in and JT (Josh Taylor) and myself have completed all the rides and testing and most importantly we haven't caught any illness unlike some of other the other riders. The first week was all about the Lab staff getting an idea of everyones base fitness level through a series of step tests, 2x4min efforts and a combo test. Combo test is basically 1hr 15mins on a wattbike doing a series of short sprints and then finishing off with a 10min TT. Later that week it was out on the road for some much needed road miles, nothing was over 4hrs but it was really fast, everyone wanted to show how strong they were so it was a race everywhere we went. Good fun! 2nd week we started to see a routine... Monday-Supplement testing for 2hrs in the lab on wattbikes then 4.5hr road ride in the afternoon. Tuesday- Road ride 4hrs. Wednesday- Road ride 5hrs with the last 60k a mini handicap race. Thursday- Road ride 6hrs. Then ice bath. Sleep testing. Friday- Combo test in the morning then 2.5 hr ride later that day. Ice bath. Saturday- 2x4min efforts then a 2.5 hr ride with sleep testing. Sunday- 2.5hr ride then ice bath. The 3rd week has been a same the previous week as far as testing goes, but the road rides are usually an hour longer each day, really starting to get fatigued at this stage. Mondays is by far the hardest day with the nutrition department supply a uniformed breakfast (everyone eats the same thing according to your weight) at 8am, then 2hrs doing blood pressures, lactate levels and blood tests all whilst pushing out 4mins full gas! We haven't really had to much time to ourselves, its always pretty full on with meetings most nights at 7.30 to discuss the following days events. My favourite ride so far has to be the 7hr/205km ride to Yass via Wee Jasper, this ride has 3 sections of dirt that were by far the worst i have ever ridden on. 18 punchers really strung out the bunch with some riders doing 80k solo... My other obsession in this place in the dining hall! The menu is always different and you never have to wash up... Hope that gives you all an idea of whats happen here, until the next update... Stay tuned. Jake Magee. 30/03/2011 Sam Rutherford The team finished of the other week in Dookie competing in the oceanic road champs, it was good to see everyone having a dig in all the early breaks, especially Caleb who ended up in a dangerous break for the majority of the race. When the race came back together 3 laps from the finish, I somehow managed to find my self in a good size break, only to watched 7 riders break off the front a short time later. In the mean time Phil bridged across to our break sole with Alex, Julian & Josh riding back on with what remained of the peloton shortly after.
15/03/2011 Jake Magee Hi Everyone, Over the warmer months i've been putting in some solid weeks together in preparation for a big 2011 with the Bikebug.com road team, and also to get the all important tan lines!! I'm really excited about the year ahead as we have a great bunch of riders and we all get on well, it's going to be a great learning year for me and i'm sure towards the middle of the season I find some good form and can heavily contribute to an NRS stage win for Bikebug.com. Since the Nationals in January where I suffered a puncture on the 2nd lap and was unable to chase back on which I was really disappointed with i have mostly worked on my base fitness, lately i have introduced some Crit racing in Canberra (i live in Goulburn) and the odd Heffron Park. Hmmm so i've been riding my bike lots! I've just finished a 3 week block consisting of 630km, 690km and 750km respectively. I have dropped a few kilos and now enjoying a recovery week in preparation for the Oceania's this weekend in Shepparton VIC. Monday night I traveled to penrith regatta centre and used the race as a motorpacing session and tuesday morning a light roll around centennial park with a good friend David. I missed the start of Heffron park tonight due to my lack of knowledge of Sydney's peak hour! Phil once again got up which was great to see. The monday after Oceania's I am attending a 6 week training camp at the AIS in canberra, so i'll be missing B2B but it's an opportunity I could not say no too. Stay tuned... Jake. 14/03/2011 Josh Taylor Hi all, Have been going hard on the training in preparation for a big year. Lots of k's combined with gym work and moto pacing with Coach Rossco. Looking forward to achieving a few goals this year with the team and meeting up with the guys next week for the Oceania's in Victoria. I am missing Bathurst and the Mersey Valley Tour, which is disappointing but I have been invited to a 6 week training camp at the AIS, certainly can't turn down the opportunity. Till next time Josh 08/03/2011 Julian Hamill
The 2011 season is going to be an eye opener for me I can safely assume, it’s my third year of cycling and my first as an under 23. I’ve started at the bottom rung again but I’m here to prove myself. Everything needs to be stepped up especially my training, previously my biggest week on a bike was about 650ks I thought I was a pretty big deal after that... not really.`` I’m not living the dream full time, studying Property Valuation and working Part time get mixed in with my training but everything works well together. Study is a good way of getting my head out of training and all bike related stresses and when it’s done I always find myself motivated to train. At the moment I have just finished a very solid 3 week block of training and I am enjoying my first day off the bike in that time. The 900ks I did last week are a bit of a step of my 650k big weeks of last year. Oceania’s are my next race coming up and it’s going to be a good place to see how I’m going and how much I need to work, Heffron Park Tuesday Racing is telling me I’m creeping but this year I’ve learnt that there’s more to cycling than Heffron... Julian Sponsored ClubsBike Bug currently sponsors a national registered road squad that is competing in select events in the National Road Series as well as a few select individual riders and clubs.
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