The Peloton departed Oakey this morning at 7am for the 166km ride to Chinchilla, with punishing 30km headwinds confronting them all day. The bunch did an amazing job of breaking through the mental challenges and physical pain barriers.
The first 70km on the open roads were bordered by cotton fields and proved to be tough. However, as if that wasn’t hard enough, the next 12km stretch of gravel – or should we say the ”strade bianche” of Queensland – really broke up the Peloton. Super corrugated and jaw jittering, the riders had mixed reactions to this very unexpected experience – some loved it but many were very happy to have got through it in one piece. With only 2 punctures on the whole stretch, the damage was minimal.
After a much needed lunch stop and rest, the Peloton tackled the last 50-60km stretch of the day in punishing winds and over rolling hills. All in all, a tough but very rewarding day for the group who were well and truly “done and dusted” on arriving into Chinchilla.