10/05/2008
Many regular Warragul Cyclists ventured to the Grand Prix circuit on Saturday.
For the elite A grade rides a 110km teams event was contested in the morning. A record 30 teams took to the technical 4.45km motor racing circuit for the 25 lap journey. The Warragul team consisted of Shane Stiles, James Henry, Kane Walker, Brenton Jones and Tim Lee. The teams time would be counted on the first 3 riders home. The race was fast and furious from the start. With 147 riders in the bunch it was a long way from the front of the field to the back.
This did not stop Shane Stiles and James Henry from trying to get in every break that was going up the road. Eventually Stiles made it into the winning move of the day. He was the only B Grade rider to make the split and comfortably held onto the more seasoned semi professional riders in the bunch. He even decided to have a crack at one of the intermediate sprints and took the prize. In the final of the race Shane finished in 8th place completing the 111km at an average of 42.59kmh. Kane Walker was in the middle of the main bunch but unfortunately James, Tim and Brenton did not finish so the team was unable to figure in the finish.
In the afternoon Graded scratch races were held. You would think that 110km in the morning would have been enough for Shane Stiles, but no, he fronted up again for another 80km race in the afternoon. A Grade numbers were low with most of the regular A Grade field earning places in the Team’s Classic – although special mention must be made to Nathan Wise (CCCC/SHM Elite), Roy Clark (CCCC/SHM Masters) and Shane Stiles (Warragul CC) who competed 111km in the team’s race before tackling another 80 in the club race. Stiles was a member of the team’s race winning early break too so had a pretty intense day in the saddle!
B Grade started with a mammoth 75 rider field, which made for a fast paced race but also made it very difficult for small groups to get away. Virtually the entire field were in contention for the final lap, which unfortunately led to some kamikaze moves through the final turn that saw six riders loose skin as the poorly positioned fastmen tried to make up some late ground. Geoff Thomson from Warragul came down heavily in the snarl up. He was in better shape than his bike though which ended up as smashed heap of expensive carbon fibre. He managed to break the forks, both front and rear wheels and the frame. An expensive collision indeed. On the regular training ride the next day Thommo was philosophical though. “That’s racing” he said. “What can you do?”
In C grade Warragul riders Rob Monk, Neil Walker, Steve Muggeridge and Matt Kennely joined 52 others in a hotly contested race over 70 km. Warragul riders were prominent in the attempted breaks for the majority of the race. Rob and Steve desperately tried to reach a bunch of 4 riders who got away with 2 laps to go. They battled for a few kilometres 200 meters in front of the peloton but 100 meters behind the break. Being in no-mans land is no fun. The field all came back together at the bell. Rob tried a final attack on the way up to Lukey Heights the last time but could not get away. He led out the sprint but was swamped by other riders in sight of the finish. In the confusion that is created by a bunch sprint involving 50 riders Neil Walker had 4 spokes ripped from his front wheel as another rider put his rear derailleur in the wrong place. He was extremely luck to stay upright.
In a 47 strong D grade field Karen Munroe was the most successful of the Warragul riders in the afternoon. She took out second place in the Women’s section. D grade raced over 60km and Karen was happy to stay in the bunch for most of the race.
