06/12/2003
Scott Keeble tore the A grade cycling field apart during Saturday’s criterium race at Burke Street, Warragul, winning comfortably after attacking mid-race and staying away to finish with a three-lap solo breakaway.
With a large field of cyclists including plenty of new faces Saturday afternoon provided near-perfect conditions for the short-circuit style racing along Burke, King and Wills Streets. Thirty-five cyclists had clear, dry roads with only a small headwind down the ‘back straight’ to contend with which encouraged a fast pace across all grades and no sign of fear on the tight corners.
A grade welcomed new rider Chris Hunt, Danny Dilger from B grade and ‘Son of Sandner’, Stevie, also fresh from some top results in B grade into the nine-man field.
The field remained together for the first six laps until John McKenzie capitalised on a slow climb along King Street to establish a small break. He was soon joined by Scott Keeble, who was keen to test out his brand new bike he had only picked up from BikeLand hours earlier. Together they quickly established a twenty second buffer from the remaining riders and were building on this gap three laps later when McKenzie couldn’t hold onto the pace. He left Keeble to power away on his own for the remaining three laps to finish in a time of 53.52. The main bunch, led by Gerrard Donnelly, Thomas Sandner and Steve Sandner, worked hard to reduce the gap but ran out of time after collecting McKenzie on their final lap. They crossed the line some forty seconds behind Keeble.
The extra mid-week training by Thomas and Stevie paid off in the bunch sprint for minor placings which was won by Stevie who was too quick for his old man. The Sandners were followed by Geoff Thomson, Chris Hunt, Gerard Donnelly, John McKenzie and Danny Dilger.
By comparison, the B grade race was a rather subdued affair described by some that it was as interesting as desiccated guano. The bunch consisted of seven riders, including some fresh faces and Chris Jones up from C grade. There were few attacks and the peloton remained together almost the entire race with only Darren Chubb establishing a small break mid-way through the race before he was rejoined by the pack a short time later. The bunch sprint was won by Chris Jones ahead of Chris Beales, Gavin Lane, Darren Chubb, Steve Twining, Pete Bailey and Garry Wishart.
The C grade field welcomed new riders Andrew Lyon from Melbourne and Luke Whitmore from Warragul triathlon. Consistent attacks by Rob Monk on the King Street climb were accompanied by some unsuccessful breakaway attempts with James Henry. Attacks by almost everyone in the field were usually reeled in as the remainder of the pack would work together into the headwind along Wills Street. After receiving some tips from roaming coach Phil Gallagher out on the course, Luke Whitmore attacked early on the final lap leaving the pack to work together. With too many riders already with images of themselves crossing the line first with their hands in the air and not on working to reduce the breakaway gap, Luke was able to remain clear of the bunch to cross first. Rob Monk was able to out-sprint the remaining riders for second, following by Glenn Fisher, Ross Henry, Monique Hanley, James Henry, Vic Spunner, Andrew Lyon and Alan Beveridge.
D grade included some junior riders in the 7-cyclist field, and as a result rode under a controlled pace for the first three laps. Once the control was lifted, however, there seemed little incentive to increase the pace and the field rode at a steady average. An attempt to reduce the number of laps needed to be ridden by slowing the pace even further was unsuccessful by fifteen seconds, and the group was forced to ride an additional lap. The final lap began with an attack headed by Bill Frew and Daniel deBlauw but was caught at the Wills/Spring Street corner, leaving another bunch finish. Leader on the overall points classification, Kym Fisher, eventually proved too strong for Daniel deBlauw, Rod Atkinson, Ian deBruyne, Emma Beveridge and Bill Frew. Brenton Jones finished a short time later.
Next week’s racing (the second last for the season) is a handicap at Cloverlea, and a great introduction to cycle racing for those interested in having a go.
