Tour Down Under Update, from TrainingPeaks member Mark Dawson

As the Tour Down Under winds down tomorrow, TrainingPeaks member Mark Dawson sends a report of his experience riding with Australian cycling legend Phil Anderson on the TDU Mutual Community Challenge, 155 kilometers on Stage 4 of the TDU before the pro peloton rode the same course later in the day. Mark got the chance to speak with Phil during the ride, and you can find an excerpt from the interview below. You can also view Mark's ride on TrainingPeaks, to get a better idea of the distances that these pro riders are covering every day for the entire duration of the Tour Down Under. Also, view videos of Phil Anderson chatting with riders and the finish of Stage 4. Finally, read more about the results of Stage 5 on Velonews, and stayed tuned for the final results on Sunday!

Challenging Skippy. Mark Dawson reports from Adelaide on the TDU Stage 4

Decades before Hoges, Kylie, and the Crocodile Hunter achieved global success, Australia had its first home-grown international superstar - Skippy, the bush Kangaroo. Not only could Skippy alert her friends when anyone was in trouble, but she could tie knots, undo locks, post letters, attack snakes and play the piano and drums.

Skippy now surfs cars and appears with Aussies watching bike races around the world.

Skippy is also the nickname of Aussie cycling legend Phil Anderson – the first Australian (and first non-European) to win the TDF’s yellow jersey. His daring 1981 challenge of the French favourite, Bernard Hinault and his exploits on the road are stories full of pain, fierce determination and excitement.

Skippy raced from 1980 to 1994, winning the yellow jersey 11 times and rising to number one in the world. Near the end of his career he raced with Lance on Team Motorola (1992-1994). He saw a lot of himself in Lance, especially in the 1993 TDF when Lance upset French hopes by winning his first TDF stage.

So, I was thrilled to win a place on Team Skoda to ride with Skippy in the TDU Mutual Community Challenge, joining 15 everyday riders on the 155 km TDU Stage 4 before the pro peloton (the pros did 143 km – they had a 12 km “rolling start”).

Five years ago when the Challenge was introduced in the TDU program only 600 riders took part. At 6 am this morning over 7,000 cycling enthusiasts poured onto the road. We waited for latecomers and were nearly last to leave. In theory that meant we’d have 7,000 wheels to choose. In practise it meant just rolling our legs over, moving very slowly through the endless peloton pushing into a steady head wind. In a way that suited me, since I’d been sidelined with a broken thumb for 6 weeks and had been told to expect another 8 for the soft tissue to heal after the cast came off.

Phil did a great job, chatting with everyone in the team, stopping at the refreshment stations with anyone who stopped. His presence inspired everyone to finish, even those who’d never ridden that far before.

I enjoyed chatting, seeking insights from the man I’d admired from afar before TDF television coverage and the Internet, discussing training, racing and nutrition:

Mark Dawson: With 5 top-ten placings in the TDF and 85 professional wins you did pretty well for a bloke who didn’t get a bike until age 12.

Phil Anderson: Yeah, and I didn’t start racing ‘til 16. It’s different these days. My 8 year-old son is onto his 4^th bike.

MD: How did you feel winning that first yellow jersey?

PA: The French media were in a frenzy. They gave me a map of Australia to point out where Melbourne was. I didn’t sleep too well because of the jersey. It was a dream, a dream come true. I never thought I’d be riding in Europe let alone the TDF.

MD: What are your most-treasured racing moments?

PA: Winning TDF stages was pretty special.

MD: What was your racing nutrition like? Did you live on baguettes, cheese and red wine?

PA: (laughing). Not quite. Teams had nutritionists and there were GUs available.

MD: And, what about training before heart rate monitors and power meters?

PA: That’s where the real skills lay and still do, but the riders have great technology now.

After nearly 6 hours in the saddle we rolled with the traffic and riders over the Angaston finish line. Phil stayed to chat with our team (see the videos).

Meanwhile, out on the road Team UniSA teenager Travis Meyer had broken away just 8 km into the pro race, taking Vladmir Efimkin (AG2R) and Andoni Lafuente (Euskatel-Euskadi) with him. Lafuente took both intermediate sprints and struggled to hold third in the KOM before being caught by the chase group then the peloton. His eight points kept him in the KOM jersey.

With 13 km to go there were three short-lived breakaways that were soon closed down by race leader Allan Davis’s Quick Step team-mates and yesterday’s stage winner Graeme Brown’s Rabobank.

Rabobank sprinted early to shut down a move from Silence Lotto but Davis surged, pipping Brown and Jose Rojas (Caisse d’Esprgne), with Stuey O’Grady (Saxo Bank) fourth.

In the GC Davis has 4 seconds on Brown, with Stuey at 15 seconds.

Stage 5’s two climbs of Willunga Hill will make it harder for the sprinters and is expected to determine the TDU winner before Sunday’s last street circuit stage. Read more about the results of Stage 5 on Velonews!