03/03/2012
Warragul Cycling Club’s team’s race again proved a hit at the weekend.
Green team captain Pete Finlayson had been re reading his copy of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” all week.
His pre-race quote to the green team.
“Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy’s unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.”
Captain Finlayson must also have been studying Churchill’s work. “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. He only released the race plan to his troops two minutes before race start. There would be no leaks.
The plan was simple. The green team were “going from the gun”. As soon as race director Thomas Sandner said go, the green team had 4 riders rolling though on the front. It was flat out to the first corner with the idea that others would not have warmed up and would be dropped.
As a good teams should, the green team followed their leader’s plan to the letter. By the start of Parker’s Road they were the only team with all 6 riders left. The red team was decimated. Their captain Brenton Jones had a mouth full of fruit cake on the start line. By the time he clicked into the pedals and finished chewing it, he and half his team was already off the back.
From then on it was all about discipline for the green team. They just had to use their numerical advantage to manufacture a break with more Green in it than the other teams.
Blue team captain Shane Stiles attacked along Parker Road but the green team let him go. It was about points not winning the race. Stiles would win but as long as the Green team had 3 or 4 in the top 8 placings they would win the race.
Charlie Davine was given the role of Green’s designated sprinter. He just had to sit on and did it well despite being yapped at by Keeble (Blue), Dastey (Orange) and Walker (Red). Those boys can really yap.
After a series of short lived breaks on lap 2 and 3 Andy Nicolls (Green) initiated a move on Parkers Rd that would prove to be crucial. He attacked and in the flurry of counter attacks after this Brett Rollinson, Ross Henry and Pete Whelan broke away. This meant one rider from each team was represented with the exception of the Red team who were like a rudderless ship by this stage. They had given up.
Rob Monk bridged to the break and the Green team had what it needed; two men in a break. Now Pete Finlayson and Graeme Parker, the strongest riders in the green team, could sit on and make the others chase. They chased in vain.
Rollinson, Henry and Monk drove the break hard for a lap and opened up a sizable gap on the disorganised chasers. Whelan did some work on the bell lap after some gentle encouragement from Monk and Rollinson. Stiles, Whelan’s team-mate, was up the road so Whelan was not going to work too hard.
Stiles (Blue) went on to take the win easily. Rollinson (Orange) was too quick for Monk (Green) in the sprint for second. Then followed Whelan (Blue) and Ross Henry (Green). At this stage the Blue team held the advantage having first and fourth riders across the line. But it was always going to be a numbers game. The green teams sprinters Davine and Parker were well rested and took out 7th and 8th position overall meaning green had taken 4 of the top 8 spots and with Finlayson taking 11th and Nicolls 12th the win was assured. 1st Green Team 50 Points, second Blue Team 37, third Orange 30 and the Brenton Jones led Red team finished with only one rider. Well done Neil Walker.
The D and E grade points race was a tamer affair. The wet weather had decimated the Red team. Their captain, 86 year old Terry Kelly, does not ride in the rain. This left Xavier Prescott and Colin Mantiveld on their own. The Velo Fille team of Cazz Clarke, Louse Clark, Adele Whelan, Annie Pryjmak and Kate Prestidge looked strong. John Davine was missing teammate Frank Bensted and when Geoff Gatt lost contact early with the bunch Davine was left to fend for himself also. The orange team of Tom Heard, Harley Bondini, Andrew Gordon and Mathieson Jenkin teamed well. They chased down Davine when he tried to take off. They waited patiently for the Velo Fille girls to try and use their numbers against them but that never eventuated.
Kate Prestidge rides like a runner and rolled along at constant tempo never trying to break up the bunch. This meant the race came down to a sprint. Harley Bondini took it out from Xavier Prescott with John Davine in third; so much for the Fille’s numerical advantage.
The girls need to talk tactics before the next team’s race.
In the final points score it was the Orange team 19 points just in front of Velo Fille with 17 points and the red team in third with 11 points.
There is a break from racing next week for the Long Weekend.
