08/11/2003
While local rider Joel Pearson was winning the green sprinters jersey in the Tour of the South Island NZ, the rest of the Warragul cyclists were preparing to get their own piece of weekend glory in Saturday’s handicap race at Lillico.
The fine weather meant the numbers were up on previous weeks and the cobwebs were dusted from the bikes of Steve Jackson, Danny Dilger, Steve Twining and Sam Duncan who each made a welcome return to club racing.
During the Handicap, groups of riders are sent off on their three lap journey at various intervals according to their estimated pace. The aim of each group is to catch those in front, while holding off those chasing from behind. It is a race that in theory, should see the groups bunch up for an exciting finish.
It began when the mother and son combination of Brendan and Glenda Pridmore departed. The first chasing bunch of Daniel de Blauw, Kym Fisher, Brenton Jones and Steve Jackson had 3.5 minutes to wait before they could set about reeling them in.
The next four C-Grade cyclists comprising Vic Spunner, Michael Pridmore, Steve Hall and Dave Axford departed with an 8 minute buffer to overcome before hitting the front.
Sixty seconds later the remaining C-Graders made up of James Henry, Sam Duncan, Rob Monk, Ian Walk, Daniel Dilger and Steve Twinning would do everything to catch them, and looked on paper to be the bunch with the most potential.
Four minutes later the B-Grade group of Steve Sandner, Tim Lee, Chris Jones and Peter Finlayson set off at a hefty pace. Geoff Thomson, Thomas Sandner and Scott Keeble would keep them honest riding off scratch 2 minutes behind.
The two C-Grade bunches became one inside the first lap and they all worked together in the biggest group (10 riders). The large group meant greater rest periods and a faster overall speed and it wasn’t long before they picked off the D-Grade cyclists to now lead the race.
The B-Grade group rode strongly holding off the faster A-Grade cyclists until the final lap but neither group had sighted the C-Grade juggernaught. In its final lap Danny Dilger attempted to scatter the leading bunch by attacking on one of the rises. The mind was willing but the muscles were cramping and the attack fizzled.
A phone call to the Doc’s mobile as he was powering along with the leading pelleton effectively ended his race. He was on call for work and the person making the call must have wondered what was going on after hearing the heavy breathing on the other end of the line.
By now A and B grade had merged but still had no sight of C-Grade. D- Grade had been swallowed up and with the exception of Daniel de Blauw, was spat out by the big C-Grade bunch which was heading for a sprint finish.
As the group wound up the pace any one of the ten riders looked like they could take it. Steve Twining, who has been out of racing for a while but obviously keeping fit, took the initiative to out-gun Rob Monk and Ian Walk in the final sprint to the line in a time of 1:04:04. The race had been run and won as Michael, Sam, Vic, Brenton, James and the two Daniels crossed on the same time.
The winning bunch had time to complete their cool down before the next group of A & B-Grade riders arrived led by Steve Sandner and closely followed by Scott, Geoff, Thomas, Tim and Peter two minutes and thirty five seconds behind the winners. Chris Jones, Steve Jackson and Kym Fisher finished 12 seconds later and Brendan, David and Glenda trickled across the line to finish off a great race in perfect conditions.
Next weeks race moves to Bourke St for an attack on Slaughterhouse Hill. With a good weather outlook big numbers are expected as more cyclists begin to shed the winter weight and get ready to race.
