NEWS

Taiwan: 2011 Volando Cup

Published: 12/01/11 10:16

Young 17 year old, Cheng Chung-min(Linyuan Middle School Team) took a convincing win at the Kaohsiung Volando 54km event over Tseng I-hao by a whopping margin of 58 seconds. Chen Shu-ting was a further 24 seconds back to claim the third spot.

/(c) CYCLINGTIME.com

How it unfolded

More than 300 riders took to the start line of the fun mass start event just outside of Kaohsiung, South Taiwan on an early drizzly Saturday morning. Led by a police escort, the 300 plus riders first rode a neutral section of 38kms, with the speed capped at 35km/h. It was an opportunity for riders to connect with one another before the actual racing began from the Fangliao Township on Highway 185, an undulating highway with stunning mountains as the backdrop to the action. Although, there was plenty of action along the highway, the true test awaited the riders on the feared 11km climb up to Majia Village, from sea level to 750meters with gradients between 6 to 12%.

Despite the absence of many Taiwanese elite level riders, it was still a competitive event with talented riders from the Linyuan Middle School dominating the proceedings; four of the rising stars finished in the top 10.

Before any actual racing began, all 300 riders had a convenient 7-11 stop to take care of last minute business and also purchase some energy supplies. Something that you would only see at Taiwan’s races…

/(c) Photo Courtesy of Che Wei

Once the racing actually began, it was like a mad-dash with many riders trying to assert their dominance over the field. A multitude of attacks went left and right with no-one breaking free. The first dangerous breakaway formed after several kilometers consisting of eight riders, but none of the riders were interested in committing to the move; always furtively checking over their shoulders for the chasing peloton and coasting when they should be pedaling. The initial break got a good gap, but due to lack of cohesion, the peloton brought them back after several minutes. Immediately a counter move went and four riders sailed clear. New Zealander Daniel Carruthers (Velocite Bikes) bridged across to the move but in the early stages of the break, riders were still not willing to operate like smooth oil pistons. Once Giant Kenda rider came across and swapped out turns with Daniel Carruthers, the breakaway move was firmly established and the gap was unassailable.

Once the young guns in the breakaway realized the gap was significant and increasing, they started rolling through and working together more efficiently. However, only lasted for 15-20kms before five riders decided to shut down and sit on the Giant Kenda rider and Daniel Carruthers. Carruthers and Giant Kenda rider did the lions share of the work; Giant Kenda literally pulled the break for long stretches of time and by the time the 7-man group reached the base of the climb, the average speed was 43km/h.

/(c) Photo Courtesy From Che Wei

Once the road pointed upwards, the first rider to eject was Giant Kenda. 4kms into the climb, the six riders were still together however it was at this point that the group exploded. A surge by eventual winner went clear with the others scrambling in pursuit. Daniel Carruthers could not handle the pace and was the next to drop back. It was a relentless climb with steep pitches and was the type of climb that favored the more skinny mountain goat type climbers.