PAT Shaw says attrition and nutrition will be key factors in deciding who comes out on top in one of Australia's premier one-day cycling events, the Melbourne to Ballarat, on Saturday.
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The Ballarat professional rider knows exactly what is required in the testing assignment.
He took out the event last year in a day in which he said everything fell into place.
"I had a day out.
"Ï was so relaxed.
"The determination was there, but I didn't going into it with a specific ambition," he reflected on Wednesday.
Shaw said when the opportunity arose to ride off the front and go solo in the closing 20km he took it to achieve a long-time ambition and a highlight of road racing career.
Shaw is taking a similar approach in this year's 104th edition of the classic, which has attracted 215 riders - as is Ballarat youngster Liam White, who is coming off an eighth in the race last year.
Shaw will be part of a powerful scratch bunch, which features an impressive line-up of National Road Series competitors and Ararat's Lucas Hamilton, who has been selected to represent Australia in the world junior road championships.
White will not be far down the road in the six-minute bunch.
Shaw says his chances and those of the rest of the scratch riders in the 98km event, which begins at Rockbank and finishes at Kryal Castle on the eastern fringe of Ballarat, will depend on how well they work and stay together.
For many competitors, including himself and the likes of White, this is a key lead-up event to the six-day Tour of the Murray, which begins on Tuesday.
Shaw went into the 2013 Melbourne to Ballarat as part of Australia's leading domestic professional team, then known as Genesys.
Now known as Avanti, it will again unleash a powerful assault on the event, lead up by Anthony Giacoppo, Scott Law, Mitchell Lovelock-Fay, Aaron Donnelly, Jack Beckinsale, Brenton Jones and Tom Robinson.
All will be in the scratch bunch, making almost certain they control the group.
Shaw now rides for Satalyst Giant and is likely to have no choice but to follow the fortunes of his former teammates as the race takes shape.
White goes in the event fresh from his first open handicap victory in the Cecil Shore memorial road race at Hamilton.
He has no special plans.
White (Pat's Veg-Thereabouts Racing Team) said he was expecting the scratch bunch to catch his six-minute group by the Pentlands.
"I'd say that's the mostly outcome."
He said if this eventuated, his aim would be stick with them and see where it took him.
"I'm hoping to be thereabouts at the end.
You don't want to be dropped off.
"That wouldn't be a good preparation (for the Tour of the Murray)," White said.
The outmarkers off 34 minutes begin the Melbourne to Ballarat at Rockbank at 11am and will ride along the Western Freeway to Ballan, tackle an out-and-back loop between Ballan and Gordon, and then return to the freeway for the run home to Kryal Castle.
HANDICAPS
SCRATCH
Patrick SHAW (Ball-Sebas)
Jose ARETA (Coburg)
Jack BECKINSALE (Southern Cross)
Vaughan BOWMAN (Carnegie Caul)
Sam CROME (Bendigo)
Aaron DONNELLY (St George)
Nathan ELLIOTT (Blackburn)
Anthony GIACOPPO (WA)
Lucas HAMILTON (Ararat)
Zane HUNTER (Carnegie Caul)
Brenton JONES (Warragul)
Guy KALMA (225 Racing)
Oliver KENT-SPARK (Geelong)
Sean LAKE (St Kilda)
Scott LAW (Marconi)
Mitchell LOVELOCK-FAY (Vikings)
Jason LOWNDES (Bendigo)
Conor MURTAGH (Blackburn)
Tom ROBINSON (Launceston City)
Stuart SMITH (Leongatha)
Oscar STEVENSON (Hawthorn)
Neil VAN DER PLOEG (Mt Beauty)
David MCLEAN (Bairnsdale)
Alex SMYTH (Carnegie Caul)
Patrick LANE (Carnegie Caul)
SIX MINUTES
Matt BOYS (Blackburn)
Liam WHITE (Ball-Sebas)
Luke AGGETT (Port Fairy)
Aidan BOWE (Bendigo)
Todd BUSCHKUEHL (Mornington)
Mitchell DEDMAN (Coburg)
Sam GIFFORD (St Kilda)
David KELLY (St Kilda)
Matthew LEONARD (Mornington)
Ross MUELLER (Blackburn)
Julian PAYNTER (St Kilda)
Allan SATCHELL (Stawell-GW)
Todd SATCHELL (Stawell-GW)
Joel STRACHAN (Hawthorn)
Daniel STRAUSS (St Kilda)
Camden BUSH (Carnegie Caul)
Jordan STANNUS (Carnegie Caul)
Angus LYONS (Ball-Sebas)
10 MINUTES
Tasman NANKERVIS (Bendigo)
James PANE (Blackburn)
Adam VERSTEEGE (Carnegie Caul)
Samuel LANE (Warrnambool)
Benjamin ANDREWS (Carnegie Caul)
Matthew BENNETT (Carnegie Caul)
Cameron BRINDLEY (Carnegie Caul)
Tyson CHAMBERS (Hawthorn)
Lachlan HOLLIDAY (Blackburn)
Jason LEA (Bendigo)
Dylan LINDSEY (Portland)
David RANDALL (Carnegie Caul)
Clive SILCOCK (Hamilton)
Michael TAFFE (St Kilda)
Troy THOMSON (Carnegie Caul)
Andrew WARD (Bendigo)
Ashley HAWKER (Horsham)
15 MINUTES
Christopher HARNEY (St Kilda)
Shaun KRAWITZ (St Kilda)
Christopher LEE (St Kilda)
Nicholas WHITE (Ball-Sebas)
David WOOLSEY (Carnegie Caul)
Benjamin PASCALL (Coburg)
Samuel BARNDEN Mildura-Coomealla
Jack BELL (Camperdown)
Lee BURCHELL (Geelong)
Leigh CLIFFORD (Geelong)
Ryan COTTRELL (Northcote)
Joel FAHY (Bendigo)
Haydn KAVANAGH (Warrnambool)
Damien KEIRL (Ball-Sebas)
Oliver LE GRICE (Brunswick)
Keith LEONARD (St Kilda)
Ricky SMEDTS (Warrnambool)
Riley TERRENS (Blackburn)
David WILLIAMS (Carnegie Caul)
Mitchell GOURLEY (Blackburn)
Andrew KILLINGSWORTH (Carnegie Caul)
Ben ABELS (Blackburn)
Damien DEVEREUX (St Kilda)
William KEY (Ball-Sebas)
Nathan MCLAREN (Port Fairy)
Bruno RABL (St Kilda)
Jack CARECOS (St Kilda)
Cameron LESTER (St Kilda)
20 MINUTES
Kris GILL (Bendigo)
Todd BAXTER (Camperdown)
Rick HORVAT (St Kilda)
Simon BURCHELL (Port Fairy)
Tim CANNY (Ball-Sebas)
Robert FORSYTH (Ball-Sebas)
Christopher FULLER (St Kilda)
Shannon GRATION (Ball-Sebas)
Gregory HOGAN (Ararat)
Ryan KIMBERLEY (MTBA)
Todd LAMB (Warrnambool)
Tim MCGRATH (St Kilda)
Ashley PEAT (St Kilda)
David ROSS (Carnegie Caul)
Ryan VECHT (St Kilda)
Anthony WALLACE (Carnegie Caul)
Jesse WINDEBANK (St Kilda)
Nathan WOOD (Blackburn)
Chris AITCHISON (Coburg)
Bruce TREW (Mornington) i
Benjamin CRAVEN (St Kilda)
Simon HASTINGS (Hawthorn)
Mick MILLAR (Southern Masters)
Michael DUNN (Hawthorn)
24 MINUTES
Ashleigh KEY (Ball-Sebas)
Ottis FRANCIS (Stawell-GW)
Murray BUDIN (Carnegie Caul)
Lindsay BURGOYNE (Ball-Sebas)
Rhys BUZZA (Mornington)
Stephen DAMM (Lavington)
Elizabeth DOUEAL (St Kilda)
Tessa FABRY (Blackburn)
Guy FALLA (Ball-Sebas)
Chris HELLMAN (St Kilda)
Timshel KNOLL-MILLER (Port Fairy)
Cameron MCKIMM (St Kilda)
Tony MIRABELLA (Ball-Sebas)
Shane PARKER (Southern Masters)
Chris ROSS (Southern Masters)
Matt SPENCER (St Kilda)
Kristy GLOVER Wellington
Kendelle HODGES (Blackburn)
Serene LEE (Singapore)
Harriet SMITH (St Kilda)
Crystal WEMYSS (Stawell-GW)
Per Christian MOERK (St Kilda)
Drew NEAL (St Kilda)
Shannon MALSEED (Portland)
Craig PEACOCK (MTBA)
Christopher KENNETT (Hamilton)
Felicity WARDLAW (Wangaratta)
Benjamin WARNER (St Kilda)
28 MINUTES
Rachel WARD (Bendigo)
Michael ALLAN (Geelong)
Chris ALSOP (Port Fairy)
Tavis BAKER (Ball-Sebas)
Georgina BEECH (St Kilda)
Marco BRAMUCCI (Sunbury)
John CLARKSON (Southern Masters)
Anthony CORP (Melbourne)
Brett CREASEY (Portland)
Craig EASTWOOD (Blackburn)
Noel EASTWOOD (Blackburn)
Barry HOWDEN (Footscray)
Davy HUANG (St Kilda)
Mitchell LAWRENCE (Carnegie Caul)
Richard LYLE (Geelong0
Tim NUTTALL (Southern Masters)
David OGILVIE (Ball-Sebas)
Rhys ORWIN (Carnegie Caul)
Michael PHAN (Geelong)
Grace PHANG (Malaysia)
Marco RANDO (Hawthorn)
Jason SHIPCOTT (Ararat)
James STEINHAUSER (Preston)
Allan STOTT (Ararat)
Alex WALSH (Ball-Sebas)
Harrison WEISINGER (Geelong)
Peter WEMYSS (Stawell-GW)
Chris WOOD (St Kilda)
Lynton ZAWADZKI (St Kilda)
Emma SCOTT (Geelong)
Kelly BARTLETT (St Kilda)
Nicole WHITBURN (Carnegie Caul)
Nick ZANDES (Southern Masters)
Kate PERRY (Blackburn)
34 MINUTES
Emma PANE (Coburg)
Justine BARROW (Coburg)
Robert BEATTIE (Carnegie Caul)
Tony BYRNE (Castlemaine)
Nonie CARR (Brunswick)
Ewyn CARTER (St Kilda)
Michael DAVIES (St Kilda)
Graham NICOLSON (Carnegie Caul)
Paul RETTKE (Footscray)
Joe SPANO (Hawthorn)
Lincoln STOLZ (Geelong)
Paul BAST (Hamilton)
Quentin COOK (Bendigo)
Russ EDEN (St Kilda)
Kip GABRIEL (Melbourne Uni)
Cameron JAMES (St Kilda)
Jonathan LACEY (Ball-Sebas)
Jessica LANE (Carnegie Caul)
Jade MADDERN Castlemaine
Tony MAUGHAN (Blackburn)
Grace MAYNE (Ball-Sebas)
James MCARDLE (Dirt Riders)
Nadine O'CONNOR (Geelong)
Victoria SNIBSON (Ball-Sebas)
Martyn TAYLOR (St Kilda)