30/08/2003
Shelter from the wind was the order of the day for the 26 spirited cyclists who attacked the 11 km Lillico circuit. The indispensable starter, Staf Duncan, was deserved of a medal for officiating in the unforgiving conditions on Saturday as cyclist and machine rode for the best part of one and a half hours.
Fresh from riding in China, Joel Pearson re-joined a strengthening A-Grade bunch, along with a leaner Paul Richards who added a new dimension to the race.
With three wins from three starts John Salton would need his race face on to maintain his perfect record.
And so it was that lap one of five would prove to be aggressive with the bunch posting a fast 16:30 for the conditions. For Murray Fenwick the hot first lap took its toll and forced his early retirement with him citing ‘no go’ in his legs as the contributing factor. Not renowned for his height, many were relieved that Murray had retired as it became a fight for a ‘good wheel’ to protect them from the driving wind.
With Thomas Sandner, Shane Stiles, John Salton, Paul and Joel working hard on front the remaining riders contributed when they could to survive laps two and three. On the penultimate lap, Paul Richards attacked before the home straight hills to stretch the bunch out. A flurry of activity followed in the hills with Joel seizing the moment to push hard out in front. By the time John and Shane decided to shut the gate the two thoroughbreds (Paul and Joel) had bolted.
There would be no catching the lead two and with the exception of a tired Paul Rowse, the bunch regrouped to race for third place. In the finish Joel rode away from Paul Richards to take first in a time of 1:24:33.
As the remaining bunch played cat and mouse before the final sprint Shane’s tyre exploded and he was left to carry his bike across the line. John Salton proved again the strongest of the rest in the sprint and took out third place in a time of 1:25:43. Geoff Thomson and Thomas Sandner crossed on the same time followed shortly after by Gerard Donnelly. Paul Rowse eventually crossed 3 minutes later.
A combination of illness and weather depleted the B-Grade field leaving just four hardy souls to contest the points. Preferring to get wet in the swimming pool, Brett Miller decided to have a swim and then watch from the sidelines. A race of attrition followed as Ross Henry in lap one attacked on Bloomfield Rd using the wind to force Peter Bailey off the back.
The three remaining riders crossed the first lap in a time just over 18 minutes.
A workmanlike lap two saw the three remaining riders, Ross Henry, Chris Beales and Dean McIntosh cross together 34 seconds slower than their first.
Ross had decided that three was a crowd on the third lap and another aggressive move resulted in the detachment of Dean from what was left of the lead group. In the end Chris Beales proved too strong and road away from Ross to claim victory in a time of 1:13:23. Dean finished some seven minutes later while Peter showed some resolve to complete a lonely ride in 1:23:04.
C-Grade was also down on numbers making it more difficult to duck for cover in the strong winds. For two laps they formed their echelons without any substantial moves from within.
On lap 3, Michael Pridmore decided to liven things up in the home straight hills as he rode away from the bunch. Only Josh Akarsu would bridge the gap and the two set about pulling a one-minute buffer for the final lap.
Michael used his power to weight advantage to pull away from Josh in the final hills eventually winning in a time of 1:23:57, thirteen seconds ahead of Josh. Steve Hall created a gap from Monique Hanley and Steve Evans to take out third place in a race that tested the minds and the clothing of the participants.
Having decided he preferred to ride in the company of others, Vic Spunner made a solid return to D-Grade with the bunch completing the first lap in a time of 22:48.
Vic, Kym Fisher and Kylie Richards found themselves pulling away from Brendan and Glenda Pridmore on lap two and at the end of this lap, Brendon demonstrated some intelligent tactical awareness as he abandoned the race for the front seat of a heated car.
Vic Attacked on the final lap in an aggressive move to pull nearly 2 minutes 30 seconds on the remaining riders. He crossed the line in 1:07:33 followed by Kym and Kylie together with Glenda finishing a short time later.
Three brave juniors enjoyed a solid hit out and gained some experience in drafting. Sian Williams, Zoe Atkinson and Sam Atkinson powered their way around the course in the difficult conditions.
Next weeks race should see some good numbers contest an exciting mixture of time trial and scratch racing at Cloverlea.
