Stage 5: Pinchy Little Brutes, Sprint Loot & a One-Man Detonation Cust, Canterbury ⛅

{"raceId":18259651300,"athleteId":2188545,"name":"Stage 5: Pinchy Little Brutes, Sprint Loot \u0026 a One-Man Detonation Cust, Canterbury ⛅","description":"Stage five of the Epoch Tour was a classic out-and-back 60 km serving of Canterbury’s finest pinchy little climbs — climb after climb after climb, like someone had emptied a box of corrugated iron onto the course.\n\nI’d already given it a fair old nudge in the morning stage, so the legs were starting to send through a few strongly worded emails. Still, I rolled to the start feeling mostly okay. A few riders had pulled the pin and weren’t lining up for the final stage, but those of us left were pretty sharp and ready to empty the tank one last time.\n\nWe rolled out on time, up over Summerhill, onto German Road, and then Martin lit it up trying to grab more points in the Pringle Homes sprint competition. I thought, “Righto, I’ll give that a tickle,” and somehow ended up rolling over the top and taking maximum points for the stage. Very tidy. Very satisfying. Very much worth a small internal fist pump.\n\nFrom there we swung right through Ashley Gorge, and honestly, I was feeling pretty damn comfortable on most of the climbs. The legs were still behaving, the head was in the game, and I was thinking maybe, just maybe, I’d survive this thing with a bit of dignity intact.\n\nThen we dropped down to the Garry Bridge, hit the U-turn, and started heading back.\n\nAnd that’s when the wheels got a bit wobbly — metaphorically, thankfully.\n\nOn the second little climb on the return, before the proper stingy stuff even arrived, I went absolutely red. Full nuclear kettle. The bunch slipped away and I lost the peloton. I chased like mad and got so bloody close — maybe 20 or 30 metres off the back — but at that point, in my cranky little blown-to-bits brain, it may as well have been 20 kilometres.\n\nThen came the best and most brutal support car moment of the tour: Mckenzie Mann, my favourite training partner and biggest fan, absolutely giving it death from the car.\n\n“COME ON DAD! GET ON THAT WHEEL!”\n\nShe was screaming so hard she nearly lost her voice. Beautiful support. Slightly terrifying. Highly effective, just not quite effective enough to stop the explosion.\n\nSo I did what any dignified cyclist does after detonating spectacularly: I recovered, gathered up the pieces, and settled into a solo TT all the way back to the finish. Not glamorous, but honest. Head down, legs turning, pride slightly dented but still pedalling.\n\nAnd honestly, once it was all done, I was stoked.\n\nThe tour had been a massive success. Great weather, 180-plus riders, supporters everywhere, brilliant racing, and a proper buzz around the whole event. Everyone seemed to love it — riders, families, supporters, the lot.\n\nA massive congrats too to Jonty moore , who took out C Grade. He pulled on that red chequered jersey after the TT and carried it all the way to the final podium, which is no small feat. We gave him plenty to think about with counter-attacks across several stages and definitely didn’t make life easy for him — but he absorbed the lot and held firm. Fair play, Jonty. Properly earned.\n\nAfter the finish we rolled back to the local pub, where 100 to 150 people packed into the Space Ale House for a quiet beer and a sensational presentation. John, McKenzie and Mark did a stellar job with the jerseys, sprint points, prizes and spot prizes. World-class stuff. Properly polished.\n\nThen it was one beer, some packing down, sorting gear, into the car, and home by 6:30 pm.\n\nNow I’m sitting in the spa pool with a beer and some snacks, feeling cooked but happy. Coach has given me the whole week off.\n\nApparently it’s called an end-of-season break.\n\nSounds suspiciously like bliss.\n\n😨 Overtraining warning\n🐶 Free Training (moderate intensity)\n🚵 Hillclimb Ride\n🧀 Fat 50%, 🍞 Carb 50%\n🕯️ Matches 12.1\n🔋 Maximum discharge 55.7%\n\n\n🔗https://www.strava.com/clubs/riduck\n🔗https://riduck.com\n\n---\nWeather Report: Partly cloudy, 18°C, and the wind was blowing 5km/h from ENE\r\n-- myWindsock Report --\r\nAerodynamics: 0.222 CdA\r\nFeels Like Elev™: +12m\r\nWeather Impact™: 2.8%\r\nHeadwind: 62% @ 3.2 - 16.6 km/h\r\nLongest Headwind: 38m 40s\r\nAir Speed: 33 km/h\r\nTemp: 18-18.5 °C\r\nPrecip: 0% @ 0 Inch/hr\r\n-- END --","primaryImageUrl":"https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/pmPXiPdiNhdAjEu9mgxmBmht_2qqd9UmRs7yaOkAF3k-576x768.jpg","distance":60849.4,"elapsedTime":6881,"totalElevationGain":478.0,"type":"Ride","sportType":"Ride","workoutType":11,"startDate":"Apr 26, 2026, 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