30/05/2009
Cold, wet and windy conditions greeted Warragul Cycling Club members on Saturday as they assembled for a scratch race around the Darnum Circuit. Conditions kept all but the keenest rider away so numbers were well down.
All fifteen riders started together with A and B grade doing 6 laps of the 8km circuit while D grade would do 4 laps.
In the spirit of club solidarity and probably for warmth, the bunch of 15 riders stayed together for all of lap one. Passing the start finish line though Callan Barker and Simon Baxter decided the pace needed to increase and quickly the field spread out and split, never to reform. Baxter, Darryl Anderson and Geoff Thomson were keen to keep the pace high and this caused the major split.
In the lead bunch were A graders Geoff Thomson, Callan Barker and Darryl Anderson while Rob Monk, Simon Baxter and Matt Kennelly were the only B graders to make the selection. Matt only lasted until the beginning of lap four where he found the pace too much. Darryl Anderson was keen to attack at every opportunity but Thommo and Callan with some help from Rob and Simon reeled him in each time. Just past the finish line for the bell lap Thommo punctured meaning the lead group was down to four. Darryl did all the work along the back straight and Rob hoped he may have tired enough so he could not chase down an attack. Rob went for home turning into Sturs Road but Simon Baxter was able to ride over the gap bringing Callan and Darryl with him. In the uphill sprint Darryl proved too strong for Callan with Simon in third and Rob in forth. Then followed more than four minutes back, Matt Kennelly, then another minute to Steve Muggeridge, Jason Dasty, Trevor Rollinson and Jarryd Jones. James Lalor and Neil Walker finished a lap early.
In the D Grade bunch Cy Monk, Joe Patrick and Tammy Patrick started with the main field but all dropped off around the start of lap two. Cy held on the longest which put him about 100 metres up the road from Joe who was 50 metres ahead of Tammy. All three came back together by the start of the third lap. There were some attacks between then and the finish but none opened sizable gaps. Tammy went for home at the corner into the home straight but Joe and Cy stayed right on her wheel and sprinted past her up the hill to the finish. Cy was too strong for Joe who got second and Tammy, a few metres back, finished third.
