01/04/2017
by Jason Tubnor
Warragul Cycling Club members contested the first championship of the year on Saturday. The Club Criterium championships were help on the Burke St circuit.
In the elite race a small field joined in the the masters 123 race. Connor Baggot was the winner. He rode strongly and took the win from Leigh Jamieson.
The M123 race was the most closely contested race of the day. Brett Kennedy was his usual aggressive self. He was not allowed to get too far away though. Late in the race the unlikely pair of Adam Blancards and Jason Tubnor managed to get away. Brett Kennedy and Josh Arkarsu worked hard to get them back but couldn’t quite get there. Matt Parkinson waited till they were spent then attacked. He picked up Tubnor and accelerated away from the chasers. He did the majority of pacemaking on the final lap before asking Tubnor for a turn at the top of the home straight. The always obliging Jason took to the front while Parkinson rested up. Matt then rode away from him in the sprint. Parkinson took the championship with Tubnor in second. Kennedy won the sprint for third.
Shane Stiles is now in the M4+ group. Stiles didn’t seem to want to ride with them though. He attacked at the start of lap one and rode solo for the remainder of the race. By the end he had a half a lap lead. There was no organisation in the chase group. Rob Monk tried to encourage some organisation but soon grew tired of the lack of collaboration and started to attack the group. He managed to drop Ross Henry, Col Brown and Pete Whelan but Paul Yeatman and Graeme Parker would not be shaken. Parker was too quick for Yeatman and Monk in the sprint for second place.
Robyn Baker won the women’s club championship.
