02/08/2003
The Creek was not so shady on Saturday as the cyclists gathered in magnificent sunshine for the start of the days racing. Some prepared by rolling around the start finish area, others extended their warm up by riding out to the race. No matter what their preparation, in just over two hours they would either taste the joy of success, bathe in the satisfaction of a solid performance or contemplate the need for a little more time on the bike.
The sound of cleats snapping into pedals echoed through the trees as the A grade bunch began their 60km journey. A steady pace up the first climb saw Shane Stiles withdraw having realised that at 9.8meters per second, gravity can play havoc with the extra kilograms of weight (apparently his Russian coach had a thing for fatty foods and Stolichnaya).
Ross Henry made what turned out to be a crucial tactical mistake prior to the race, where he suffered a momentary inflated sense of ability and signed on with A grade. A solo ride for the next 1hour and 20 minutes ensued as the bunch disappeared across the start finish line in front.
Towards the end of lap two Thomas discovered a return to form and enjoyed some solitude for a considerable portion of the final lap, kicking again each time the bunch drew near. It was left to Murray Fenwick to bridge the gap and the two worked together to try and hold off a closing bunch.
Scott Keeble and Geoff Thomson chipped away at the lead to ensure a sprint finish while Paul Rowse, Gerard Donnelly and Peter Finlayson would eventually cross the line a minute behind.
In a hard fought sprint Thommo edged clear of Murray and Scott to take the victory in what was an exciting race (1:44:27). Thomas paid for his stint out front and crossed a little later.
A new look B-Grade rolled out for a race of attrition with Matty Malacarne putting in some testing attacks and Jason Cheers stretching the elastic on the climbs. The first lap saw Tim Lee retire attributing a lack of health to his demise.
On lap two the elastic broke as Danny Dilger, running low on reserves, dug deep into his extensive bag of tricks and exploited a well known, but rarely used deviation in the circuit to gain time. Despite removing several kilometres of racing by taking a dirt road, he was not able to finish the race and he retired.
As they crossed for lap two only Gavin Lane, Jason and Colin Brown maintained the rage. Matty was two minutes down and felt it best to save himself for another day.
The third and final lap saw some gutsy riding as Jason consistently attacked leaving Colin and Gavin to tirelessly reel him in. As Jason launched what was to become the decisive attack near Bonlac, the efforts proved too much for Gavin.
Colin was not about to give up however and he dug deep to once again attempt to find the wheel of Jason. In what was described as a gutsy ride, Colin finished less than a minute behind Jason (1:52:22). Gavin rolled across some three minutes later to complete the race.
C-Grade saw a late starter throw a spanner in the works. When Brett Miller turned up late for the race he was (some say generously) offered a birth in C-Grade providing he could catch the bunch that had left a few minutes earlier. He not only caught but passed an unsuspecting bunch and only two riders reacted. Monique Hanley and James Henry rode away with Brett to set up a one-minute lead at the end of lap 1.
Vic Spunner and David Axford were enjoying their Saturday ride a couple of minutes in arrears of the main bunch.
The final sprint to the line didn’t eventuate as Brett drew away for a victory and certain birth in B-Grade (1:17:19). Monique, who had recently picked up some tips from Ulrich at the Tour de France, finished strongly in second place13 seconds ahead of James.
The bunch sprint was one by the explosive Rob Monk in a time of (1:20:45) with Steve Hall, Steve Evans and Ian de Bruyne fighting for the crumbs. Vic and David finished a respectable 1:50 behind.
D Grade experienced an enjoyable hit out on the testing circuit remaining largely intact for the first lap with a time of 43:17. The bunch worked together with the apparent intent of fighting out a sprint finish.
An enjoyable ride in the fresh air and sunshine unfortunately had to be concluded with the rush to the line seeing Glenn Fisher pull clear to take an 11 second victory over Kym Fisher, Rod Atkinson and Helen Bowyer. Glenda de Blauw put in a grand effort to finish a short time later.
The juniors again experienced a fantastic ride with Zoe and Sam Atkinson, Sian Williams, David de Bruyne, Ruby Bowyer and Amelia de Blauw setting a cracking pace for their ride. They worked harder than most of the seniors and the accompanying adult riders spoke highly of their efforts. Well done.
The next race is a scratch race at Lillico
