Cy Monk Wins Race 5 of 6 In The BikeLand Handicap Series

A gentle breeze and mild temperature always favours the outmarkers. The hard men on scratch and close to it need the harsh conditions to slow the limit bunches down. Last week’s wind and wintery chill was ideal for the scratch men, whereas Saturday the limit groups had their day.

First away were Renee Patrick, Jayden Manintveld. Jayden sent a scare though the field when he completed the first of four laps before the B+, A and Scratch bunches had even started. He rode  largely on his own but this did not seem to worry him.

Greg Horbowicz riding with 21 minutes on scratch rode a strong race.

The D+ trio of Colin Manintveld, Tammy Patrick and Cy Monk would be hard to catch with 17 minutes head start. Colin was strong but often gapped his group by surging through.

The 13 minute bunch had numbers on their side. Michael Blackwood, Grant Neilson, John Devine, Zvonko Maric and Graeme Patrick stayed together for the first three laps. They shared the workload well and by halfway through lap three they had passed Renee and picked up Cy, Tammy and Colin.

Also with numbers but not time on their side were the 10 minute group comprising Matt Kennelly, Dave Baillie, Paul Kennedy, James Lalor, Joe Patrick and series leader Matt Williamson. Matt and Paul were promoted from the 13 minute bunch this week and they found the going pretty tough. Kennedy hung with his group for two laps, while Matt dropped off the back at the beginning of the final lap. Joe dropped his chain on lap 2 but worked in strongly with the chasing B+ group for a lap before being dropped off the back of them as well.

The B+ group with Simon Baxter, Colin Brown, Pete Finlayson, Rob Monk and Brett Rollinson worked well for the whole race. They set a pace that meant they would not be caught from behind but the groups in front were too quick. Rollinson was in strong form.

The A grade group with 3 minutes on scratch lost a rider before the start when Tristan Marut missed his start time. This left Paul Yeatman and Geoff Thomson to work away at catching the groups in front.

The scratch men Thomas Sandner and Shane Stiles were the first to pick up Tristan on the road. They also caught Yeatman and Thomson but that was all they would catch.

By halfway through Lap 3 when C grade caught D+ and a working group of 10 riders formed the race was effectively over for the chasers. Michael Blackwood, Grant Neilson, John Devine, Zvonko Maric and Graeme Patrick drove the group hard and Cy Monk, Colin Manintveld and Tammy Patrick joined on for the ride.

The rolling hills past the start finish line saw some of the weaker riders dropped and turning into the home straight for the final time the lead bunch was down to five. Grant Neilson, John Devine, and Graeme Patrick had survived from C grade and Cy Monk and Colin Manintveld were the only D graders left. The uphill sprint is tricky to judge and the older riders took off a little too early. Manintveld, Patrick and Devine all looked like they were a chance of winning but junior rider Cy Monk had other ideas. Using this power to weight advantage he flew past the others to take the win. Second was Grant Neilson, third Graeme Patrick.

Report from Second Scratch:

Another bad day for second scratch.  Tristan Marut missed the start leaving Thommo and Paul Yeatman to go it along.
They cruised along on what felt like dead roads and were caught by scratch around 100m before the turn into the home straight on lap towards the end of lap three. No sight on the B or B+ groups ahead but they did manage to catch some D riders.

Once caught by scratch, Thommo and Paul did not have the legs to pull any turns until about half way into the final lap.

The B+ group took time out of scratch it is rumoured.

Final Results Race 5

RACE 5 HANDICAPPERS REPORT

03 Oct 3009 – BikeLand Handicap Series Race 5

Thanks to Angela Coles and Dania Manintveld for photos (above) and Rob Monk (below).