LIMESTONE Coast cycling fans were treated to some local interest during the recent Tour of the Great South Coast.
Angus Maddern and Jack Patzel both competed in the National Road Series event, with varying degrees of success.
Unfortunately for Patzel – in his first tour – he crashed out of contention, but for Maddern it was a successful event.
Having competed in the previous two years as a solo entrant, Maddern was part of the South Australian Sports Institute team for 2017.
The extra assistance of team mates on the road and the support of a team vehicle saw Maddern finish in a credible 13th place in the overall General Classification.
Some bad luck in the final stage at Portland saw him lose an extra minute, but still remain in place at the end of the tour.
While it was a bit of a surprise to finish as high among a field of such talented riders, Maddern said he felt good throughout the five days of racing.
“I knew I was going to be consistent, but I suppose we were up against it, with other teams having seven or eight riders,” he said.
“To get into a good position is hard and I was really hoping to get a good result for the team.
“I am a bit hard on myself – I like to get a result when I race – but I’m happy with how I went.
“I think the team was happy with the overall result and the younger guys riding with us did well too.
“Overall I think we did well as a team.”
The SASI team consisted of just five riders for the first three days, before two headed to Melbourne to contest an international track event.
Despite the team finished in seventh place overall.
Maddern said he was pleased with his results in both the Port MacDonnell and Cape Bridgewater stages.
“I was in the right place at the right time in the Port MacDonnell race,” he said.
“I positioned myself well and was keeping in front so I could cover the moves, then it broke up.
“I got out with 15 to 20 other guys and we just rode away.
“No one would chase us because everyone had a representative in the breakaway.
“I got lucky again in Cape Bridgewater when I went with a move on the second lap and that ended up staying out for another two laps.
“We only got caught in the last 15 kays.”
Throughout the tour Maddern said one focus for him was a sprint win in one of the stages, but he could not manage to achieve that goal.
However, he did finish 11th in the category.
“I was looking to take a sprint, which would have been ideal, but we were just a bit outnumbered at times,” he said.
“You might have two teams at the front positioning themselves and leading one guy out each.
“You kind of get swamped in.”
The final criterium in Portland threw up some dramas, with the tour leader caught up in a crash, which ultimately included Maddern.
“The course in Portland was pretty tricky,” he said.
“You almost stop twice in one lap so you always have to be positioned well.
“As far as my GC was concerned, I was confident I could stay in the position I was.
“I was sitting to the right of Scott Sunderland – the guy who won the stage – when a couple of guys in front of him who were driving the bunch crashed.
“They came down and I was on the wrong side to keep going with the bunch.
“The bunch was half a lap ahead by the time I got going again.”
Despite the drama Maddern held on to finish 13th, which he said was his career-best performance to date.
“I wasn’t really going for the GC, but was consistent enough to be there,” he said.
“It was a big help being on the South Australian Institute team as well.”
