Racing Re-treats Shady Creek

28/08/2004

Warragul Cycling Club resumed racing on Saturday after a three week break in terrific conditions and with a great turnout of riders eager to expend built up inspiration from two weeks of watching some standout cycling performance at the Olympics. The racing break enabled the Club to review all existing race circuits for risk management compliance, and to investigate new courses. The result of this work now means the Club can host weekly racing on courses that will be challenging for racing enthusiasts and which comply with club guidelines and state racing guidelines. Unfortunately, the three-week hiatus has allowed the local magpie population a huge boost in confidence to assume all roads in the region are theirs to aggressively defend.

Thirty-two riders were welcomed by sunny and still conditions for various laps of the Stuhrs Rd circuit from Shady Creek primary school. D grade featured the largest field of the day with ten riders including juniors Brendan Pridmore and Sam Atkinson, new club members and first time racer Sean Porter from Morwell, and a female contingent of Danielle Bennett from Berwick and Glenda Pridmore from Neerim South. They group stayed together for their first lap, although nerves were tested when the front wheel of Helmut Korab rubbed shoulders with Chris Jones’ rear wheel, causing some panic reactions before the pack calmed down by the start of the final lap. The 1.6km Nilma-Shady Creek climb robbed all strategic endeavour from the field, as a much lighter Alan Hauxwell led the field up the rise at a steady tempo and effectively tearing the pack to pieces. Unaware of the power of his newfound climbing prowess, Alan turned by the top to find himself in the company of one. Deciding not to gamble on waiting, he backed himself on the descent and rode solo for the remaining kilometres. Following Hauxwell up the climb was Simon Baxter on his racing comeback, joined by Helmut Korab. Sean Porter was riding well in his first race to catch the two on the descent. He attacked them immediately in an attempt to reel in the gap on Hauxwell, the effort resulting in a solo finish as he watched Hauxwell maintain his distance in front. Hauxwell’s form was too strong in the end and he claimed the win by one a half minutes to Porter, followed by Baxter for third.

The C grade field also completed two laps of Stuhrs Rd. Their first lap was casual enough to allow Glenn Fisher enough breathing space to keep a running commentary of his companions form. He quickly shut up when Rob Monk upped the tempo on the second climb, keeping the field honest. By the top Monk was happy to sit up and wait for the stretched-out company. Trent Brown, Michael Pridmore and Monique Hanley drove the pace hard on the descent but the majority of the pack regathered by the Nilma North flats. Only Vic Spunner was unable to keep in touch, and he remained frustrated by his attempts to bridge across for the remainder of the race. Without any strong attacking, a bunch sprint seemed inevitable, led out very early by Rob Monk. Trent Brown stayed close to Monk’s wheel, timing his run for the line as Monk faded only metres from the finish. Brown took the well-deserved win ahead of Monk, with a late run home by Glenn Fisher to claim third.

For regular A grade riders, a run in the B grade bunch usually indicates some sluggish racing form and the reward of a slower race pace. Yet the eight riders featuring in B grade completed their first lap almost 50 seconds faster than their A grade counterparts. Their pace, a result of equally shared turns at the front of the bunch, continued into the second lap with only Shane Stiles an early casualty on the climb. By the turn into Stuhrs Road the field had caught and passed A grade as their roared through their second lap thanks to some steady driving from Scott Keeble and almost two minutes faster than A grade. The bunch kept it together for a sprint finish, which began early in the gully thanks to a toey Keeble. Pete Bailey responded to the charge and levelled with Keeble before Scott dug deeper again to drive for the finish. Pete had just enough left in the tank to dive for the line leaving a tough decision for the line judges. A draw was declared, with Pete Finlayson finishing the podium in third place.

Despite A grade having the same number of riders as B grade, the spirit to equally share the workload was far from evident in this bunch. Negative racing tactics meant for far more than their fair share Thomas Sandner and Jason Kruger were left out in front to instigate any decent pace. Charles Howlett was very effective in countering any attacking move by sitting on the back and encouraging the attacker to return to the bunch. Being passed by B grade did little to motivate the peloton and the field neared the end of their third lap altogether. Another bunch sprint finish resulted, with Charles Howlett emerging fresh legged from the bunch to steal the win ahead of Dave Salton and Thomas Sandner.

The Club was host to a BBQ and dual season presentation night on Saturday night, which was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. More social events are planned in the future as the weather gets warmer and more riders dust off their bikes. Next week’s racing will be held at the climber’s paradise of Jindivick a change to the start/finish for the normal race route around Jindivick.

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