Garmin 24 Preview

The Garmin 24 or one of its many previous name holds a special place in the race calendar for many Victorians due to its history as well as been the only 24 we have down here. This year promises to be good as ever with it being round 3 of the Ross Wilkinson vs Ben Vlass showdown as well as a move back to Reidsdale and hopefully away from bad weather.

IRide is fielding a 6 person mixed team so we thought would we provide a preview/form guide.

Ross Wilkinson

Experience plays a big part in these events and the big dog is an experienced 24 hour campaigner. Knowing what gear and food to pack will pay dividends during the 24 hours. With Ross having started packing the van a week out from the event he looks set to not leave a thing at home.  Ross is even going as far as to bring a female companion to take care of rub downs, cooking, cleaning and generally keeping the well oiled athlete running.

Fitness wise Ross is coming in under a cloud of suspension, Legs may be the one thing he does leave at home. Having pulled the pin at the Mt Major enduro early and a few flat tyres in race’s since then combined with a lot of solo rides meant he hasn’t shown his cards to anyone. This looks to be all part of his plan to keep things on the low down from Ben Vlass but he isn’t the only person Ross is out to lap quicker than.

Luke Garside

Being fresh back from a 6 month high altitude training camp in Canada where they have relaxed views regarding performance enhancing drugs we can only expect Luke to be in tip top form. Combine that with an intimate knowledge of the track having spent the last month and a half building it and you’ve got yourself a bit of a weapon.  If its slippery out there expect Luke to be sliding around the course taking any man, woman or child with him.

Luke biggest issue for the weekend will be avoiding getting distracted by the many ladies spectating at the event.  The last thing we want is Luke to miss his start time because he is practicing the fine art of seduction. A word of warning ladies the last woman who looked deep into Luke’s eye got instantly pregnant

Lew Thomas

It has been the case for most of the season that most bike time Lew has had between races is when he is rebuilding his hub the morning of the race. Despite his approach of spitting in the face of 50 plus years of exercise physiology Lew has had a very solid season.

Recently Lew has taken time away from his main passion of video games amd is getting out on the bike quite a bit; mid week crits, and big weekends on the mountain and road bike.  Such a drastic change could be disastrous , chances are Lew is going to turn with a body this is bordering on chronic fatigue and only put himself in a deeper hole over the weekend.

Simon Ross

Simon is the dark horse of the team. No one is quite sure what to expect. After handing a few team members their ass on a plater during a road ride in the Dandenongs he has been in hiding.

Details are a little sketchy but the rumour is that he has spent the last 6 weeks having a few of Luke’s special milkshakes and destroying climbs in the big ring. Keep an eye out for a bloke on a rocky mountain pushing a huge gear with ease.

Aleisha Bald

Being the only female member on an otherwise all male team is no easy task, which is why we have someone who brings their A game.  As shocking as Will found it Aleisha is not there to cook and clean but to lay down fast laps. Having completed more races then the average male racers this season and found her way onto a few podiums Aleisha is looking good to lay down some fast laps the whole 24 hours.

Aleisha is a school teacher so no doubt she will be used to the immature humour and will be able to keep Will in line.

Will Geor

As always with Will his biggest issue will be organization or lack of it.  No doubt he will be the last team member to arrive having bought a shitload of gear and food yet somehow forgot to bring essential items.  Attempts have been made by Ross to have Will’s Mum attend all races with him to make sure he is organized and looked after but at 24 she feel’s it time he learnt to do a few things for himself.

Will is also not the most outdoorsy person so spending a weekend camping may cause serious issues for a guy who cant understand how anyone can get a good nights sleep while camping without drinking till they pass out.  He is also sharing a tent with Lew after he was advised he couldn’t put a mattress in the pack of his Ute, park it trackside and sleep there.

Will would ideally like to only have to race the last hour of the race where he can lay down every but of power onto the track. As there is no chance of that happening Will is going to have to be very careful not to fall into old habits of blowing himself up at the beginning of the event.

Due to Will ever patchy form we were not sure whether he will be on or off this weekend. Having just won D grade in the Ballarat’s weekly road criterium should see will come in mentally strong. One thing we can expect is him to sit around eating most of the weekend and talking a lot of shit.