Tom Chapman ready to kick up gravel at Wallaroo

SERIES leader Tom Chapman heads to the Yorke Peninsula for Cycling SA’s “Hell of the North” road race today hoping for some luck.

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SERIES leader Tom Chapman heads to the Yorke Peninsula for Cycling SA’s “Hell of the North” road race on Saturday hoping for some luck.

The 20-year-old has ridden the 77km race twice before and both times has been brought undone by the gravel section inside the final 10km.

The race is named after the famous Paris-Roubaix which is also dubbed the ‘Hell of the North’ because of the brutal cobblestone sections that greet riders in northern France.

“The first year I got four punctures and last time I crashed 1km into the dirt,” Chapman said.

“So third time lucky I hope.”

Riding for the Swiss Wellness Cycling Team, Chapman leads the CIC Cervelo Super Series after winning the opening round criterium at Victoria Park last week. But he knows speed alone won’t keep him in the leader’s jersey after the race at Wallaroo.

“It’s going to be very active before the dirt and a lot of people will be trying to get away,” Chapman said.

“If it’s anything like last time it will be really quick and you’ll need to hold position at the front of the bunch to have a good position coming in.

“I’ll try to save as much energy as I can so hopefully I can go with the move later in the race.”

Chapman only turned to cycling three years ago after initially using the sport to improve his fitness for motocross.

Now he leads Cycling SA’s elite teams series with some quality riders snapping at his heels.

Shaun O’Callaghan (Van D’am Butterfields), Tristan Jones (Lightsview), Tom Kaesler (SASI) and Harry Carpenter (CIC Cervelo) make up the top five on general classification.

“If you look at the two previous times we’ve raced here it’s been won by one of the strongest riders in the series, so it’s safe to say it’s one of those races that’s going to reveal who’s serious about taking out the overall,” Kaesler said.

“I think it’s pretty hard to go past Tom Chapman, he’ll be extra motivated now he’s in yellow and his cyclocross background is going to go a long way on the dirt sections.”

The weekend features two races with riders fronting up for round three of the series, a criterium at Kadina on Sunday.

Originally published as Tom Chapman ready to kick up gravel at Wallaroo