Peloton Cafe || 2015 Melbourne to Warrnambool – Jake Kauffman & Jack Bobridge (image copyright Con Chronis)
By Jamie Finch-Penninger – @FishysCP
Jacob Kauffmann had a ride that will go down in Melbourne to Warrnambool history, if not in the record books, then in the memories of those lucky enough to witness it. In one of the biggest races of the year, there are always going to be a lot of stories, and in a 280 kilometre race, those stories are longer and more fleshed out. So for one rider to stand out with the unquestionable ride of the day is rare. Peloton Cafe was lucky enough to catch up with him both before and after the race.
Before the start of the race, all the other riders and DS’s interviewed were talking about Budget Forklifts keeping it together for a sprint for eventual winner Scott Sunderland, but when I approached the team for an interview they pointed me towards Kauffmann as their main man. With the expectation being that Budget Forklifts would work to bring it in for a sprint, it was an interesting plan to mix things up that would catch other teams by surprise. Kauffman outlined how he thought the race might pan out.
“There’s a lot of factors that could come into play, if the rain comes, or the wind picks up, it could go a number of different ways. Hopefully, a select bunch goes into the line and we fight it out from there. The light headwind will probably lean towards the race being kept together for a bunch kick, the break will have to be the perfect mix for something to stick, but you never know your chances. We’ve all been training really hard and we’re good to go, we’ve got a few options up our sleeve. We’ve all got a chance, in our own way, of doing a good result today. A race this distance, there are a lot of different factors, the legs will decide on the day.”
When the initial breakaway went, there was very little impetus in the chasing pack, with CharterMason and Avanti heavily marking each other in the battle for the teams classification. With other teams not rushing to take on the burden of chasing, and the gap blowing out to six minutes very quickly, Budget Forklifts looked like they were faced with a day of leading the chase.
Kauffman again, this time just after the finish. “It was getting to the point where I had to try and get across or we would have to ride on the front all day to bring it back. So I thought that I’d go, rather than burning all the boys chasing.” With the break already six minutes up the road, it was a herculean effort of over 2 hours of riding solo for Kauffmann to bridge the gap. “It was a mammoth task, I regretted it there for a little while. I tried to settle myself into a rhythm, not push myself too hard and make sure I had the energy to keep going across. I felt really good when I got to the break and I felt that I was a really good shot at winning the race.”
By the time Kauffmann had joined the break, the gap had blown out to over 16 minutes, and it looked like there was every possibility of the race being decided by the six riders up the road. Search2retain decided to take up the chase finally, working for defending champion Oliver Kent-Spark (he finished 3rd), and that lead to a general increase in work from the other teams as well as the race got closer to coming back together. Meanwhile the break was steadily losing riders and with 60 kilometres remaining the 6 man move had been reduced to just 3. At that point Budget Forklifts teammate (and Trek Factory Racing bound) Jack Bobridge launched an attack with two other riders to bridge the gap. Hearing this, Kauffmann opted to attack his former companions and go solo. When Bobridge attacked his group and joined Kauffman on the front with 35 kilometres remaining, it was a 1-2 for Budget Forklifts on the road, and with Scott Sunderland sitting in the peloton in the event of a sprint, they were in a really strong position. In a classy show of mateship, the fresher Bobridge rode for Kauffmann once he made it across. “When Jack came over he said ‘You’ve ridden really hard today, I’ll ride for you, let’s try and get you home.” The move was doomed to fail, with the bunch making the catch at the 10 kilometre mark, and it was probably the headwind that was the only reason that the move didn’t stay away to the finish. Kauffmann and Bobridge rolled over the line together a few minutes down, and a tired Kauffmann was elated to hear that Sunderland had won. When asked to reflect on his race, he was more sombre. “I’ve been saying for a while that if I could win this race today I’d retire, but that’s the way sport works sometimes. I’d hoped to come away with a good result, so I’m a bit disappointed but at the same time really happy that the team got the win.”
“I didn’t want to die wondering, I knew there were certain circumstances that needed to be there for me to win, and I did everything I could to put myself there. Just came up a bit short unfortunately. “ Kauffmann can rightly be proud of his efforts, and win or lose, a lot of people will remember the race because of his ride.
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