MikeHall-IPWR-Blog

Mike Hall takes on IPWR.

Who wants to race bikes across Australia?

Ocean to ocean. Sealed roads. No support. Solo. 100 riders only.

Indian Pacific Wheel Race. Facebook

Progress Map: Live Tracker


VIDEO UPDATES

Day 13. Kristof Allegaert regained the lead and cemented it with a brutal night time attack into the Kosciuszko National Park. Going into the final night it looks like Kristof is going to attempt a non-stop 1,130km pull to the finish at the Sydney Opera House.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice




Day 13 - Mike Hall. Yesterday was all about climbing and today is all about twists and turns. This is what Mike Hall found out. Reflecting on the last 12 hours Mike prepares for the final major climb on the IPWR.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 12. We witnessed the most enthralling day in Survival Cycling ever. After 4,500 km Mike Hall took the lead which then began a 1,000km sprint finish towards the Sydney Opera House.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice







Day 11. The leaders prepare for their final battle in the mountains.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice




Day 10. The leaders of the IPWR got the perfect Melbourne welcome today.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice | Additional Filming: Dan Wilkins




Day 9. IPWR saw the leading trio of Kristof, Mike and Sarah head out of South Australia into Victoria along the great ocean road.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice




Day 8. The top three blast through the Coorong. The battle is far from over.

Film: Anthony Gordon | Aerial Cinematography: Troy Grice




Day 7. One week in and civilization has been reached! Kristof, Mike and Sarah through Adelaide.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 6. This is a mind game nothing else... Day 6 on the road.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 5. The winds shifted on day 5 making for brutal conditions on course.
Kristof Allegaert battled tough winds all day at the front of the race, while Mike Hall closed the gap despite a punishing sleep regime.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 4. Day 4 saw the lead riders face the formidable Nullarbor Plain..

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 3. The racers spread out towards the South Australian border yesterday, as the weather improved on Day 3.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 2. A day of four seasons as riders pushed beyond mental and physical barriers.

Film: Anthony Gordon




Day 1. At the conclusion of Day 1 - IPWR .... some highlights.

Film: Anthony Gordon




THE STORY

Yorkshireman and former round the world record holder Mike Hall heads to Australia for what is set to the most hotly contested self-supported endurance bicycle the world has seen to date. Hall who now lives in rural mid Wales and currently organises the Transcontinental Race is set to battle three titans of endurance cycling in a quest to win the title


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The “Indy Pac” route takes riders 5,300km through deserts, plush vineyards, rolling hills, winding coastal roads and tough alpine regions. The Indy Pac brings together experiences of the early Australian overland cyclists. Riders will travel through the heart of Australia's major cities and some of the most remote areas of this vast country.


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Mike faces his toughest ever competition, in particular from three of the stalwarts of long distance racing: Kristoff Allegaert three times winner of Transcontinental; Jesse Carlsson former winner of the Trans Am in 2015; Sarah Hammond won the Race 2 the Rock 2016, and came 6th overall 2016 transam.


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Mike extends his close working relationship with Kinesis UK to build a unique ultra-distance race machine to balance comfort and speed through aerodynamics. Through extensive research of the route with close attention paid to the predicted prevailing headwinds, Mike has chosen to optimise his bike and riding position for sustained aerodynamic advantage.


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We Spoke to Mike ahead of his race.

What are the tools of your long-distance trade?

For the Indy Pac I have a Grandfondo Ti V3 with conventional road calliper brakes from TRP and I’m rolling on Reynolds Aero 65 wheels. The front is built around the newly revised SP PD 8x dynamo hub. Shimano provide all the go with a Di2 Groupset. My favourite feature of Di2 are the bar extension shifters which are so flexible. Shimano also provide all my contact points with their PRO components. The Falcon saddle has been good to me in Trans Am and Tour Divide. For Luggage, I will have Apidura bags and to fix everything a small, light but very capable set of Lezyne tools.


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Why Indy Pac?

I’ve raced in the US the last few times, bikepacking has been strong there for a while with a few key events like Tour Divide and now Trans Am. There is a strong distance riding scene in Europe with a long history of Randonnuering and Audax and now Transcontinental is doing well. Australia has a good history of overland records but they have become a little forgotten. Jesse (Carlsson) had an aim to create a flag ship event and route for Australia in unsupported racing and I was excited by that and wanted to support it. He has also made great efforts to get certain riders there at the same time to provide a very strong field and an interesting race both to watch and be a part of - which couldn’t necessarily happen in other races at other times of the year. Really I saw this race had great potential to help the long distance self-supported scene as a whole.


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What does working with the kinesis mean to you and your racing?

It means some great bike options for the road and other adventures with a real opportunity to feed my ideas and experience into new projects in the future.


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