I should go well today, says Sweezus.
You could get King of the Mountain, says Arthur.
Yeah, says Sweezus, remembering how he rode up Mount Lofty pulling a beach wagon.
Bang! The teams ride out from Unley.
Jay Vine is in the ochre jersey.
He intends to keep it that way.
Simon Yates is determined to get it off him.
Now, says Gaius, to Team Philosophe. This is our last chance to do something courageous.
Is it? says Vello.
You should be saying this, says Gaius. Not me.
You're doing a great job, says Vello. Look how you and Pierre-Louis beat David and me yesterday.
The object is not to beat one's own team mates, says Gaius.
He's right, says David. Why don't we for once make a concerted effort?
All right, says Vello. There's Jay Vine. We'll stick behind him.
Great! Vello is showing some leadership.
The whole team is energised.
Jay Vine is astonished. He has noticed the mediocre team which is pedalling behind him.
How did they do it? On the way up Mount Lofty? It's hard.
He sees Sweezus from Team Condor up ahead. What's HE doing up there, his legs going like pistons?
Then he remembers. Oh yeah, the beach wagon!
Jay Vine goes full gas.
Team Philosophe remains close behind him.
But they're talking. Good. They'll soon run out of air.
Pierre-Louis wants to hear more of Lu Ban, and his Dragon bicycle.
Gaius obliges. After all, it's motivational.
The immortal Lu Ban.... begins Gaius.
Nonsense says David. He wasn't immortal.
I beg to differ, says Gaius. But no matter. Lu Ban was a carpenter, engineer, philosopher and inventor. He invented the Wooden Bird, and the Cloud Ladder.
But not the umbrella, says David.
The umbrella was his wife's idea, says Vello.
Irrelevant, says Gaius. Lu Ban designed his Dragon bicycle for the Tour Down Under. It featured a dragon frame with a special compartment for weapons.
Jay Vine would love to hear the rest of the story.
But he cannot afford to.
He powers ahead, in order to keep tabs on Yatesy and Bilbao.
Lu Ban's Dragon bicycle was so fast, says Gaius, he won every stage of that year's Tour Down Under. The only problem was he was so fast no one saw him, so his great win was never acknowleged.
At least that was his version, says David.
Inspiring! says Pierre-Louis.
We've lost Jay Vine, says Vello.
Never mind. We're almost at the top of Mount Lofty, says David. This whole thing's nearly over.
Only four more times to go, says Gaius.
Four? says David. I don't believe it! Have we peaked too early?
They have peaked too early.
Sweezus has peaked too early as well.
Jay Vine has not. He does the Mount Lofty loop four more times.
On the final climb to the finish it's between him, Yatesy and Ben O'Connor.
Yatesy beats Vine by three seconds.
But it isn't enough. Vine had fifteeen seconds up his sleeve.
Fifteen take three is twelve.
Vine wins the Tour Down Under 2023, and a big orange plate.
Looks like a fruit plate.
No comments:
Post a Comment