30/10/2004

In racing news, a strong turnout of women stole the scene in D grade and for a change, balanced the gender books of the field. The bunch completed their first lap of the undulating 16km course together but was spurred into action on their second and final round. The long, slow climb out from Buln allowed newcomer Paul Kennedy, Terry Kelly, Bruce Mason and Steve Jackson to ride clear of the bunch, with in-form rider Glenda Pridmore chasing hard. Loretta Mackay and Brendan Pridmore retired early for a better finish-line vantage point, as Danielle Bennett showed great determination by fighting to keep in touch with the riders ahead of her. By the finish, Paul Kennedy’s climbing form was too much for Terry Kelly’s long racing break, and he cruised to victory with a 5 second margin. Bruce Mason finished third ahead of Geoff Gatt, with Glenda Pridmore first female home. She was followed by Lawrence Maskill and Danielle Bennett.

C grade also featured a strong lineup of riders, which started on-track with a solid climb up to Bloomsfields Road . Disaster struck for youngster Daniel deBlauw with a tumble into the gravel, and the pack waited for his okay and return to the bunch. However, a cut hand from the fall meant an early withdrawal for the junior, and he was joined by Sean Porter and Simon Baxter at the completion of lap one. Michael Pridmore was straight on the offensive at lap two, charging up the climb from Buln Buln. The field reacted to the move and remained in touch for most of the lap, until Luke Hanley initiated an attack up the final climb on the circuit. The effort had the chase strung out along Brandy Creek Road , and by the turn into Old Sale Road he had a small margin to defend. With a downhill finish, it was a tough call for Michael Pridmore and Paul Yeatman to chase down, and Luke crossed just ahead of the pack, followed by Michael Pridmore, Paul Yeatman, Trent Brown and Steve Hall.

The A and B grade fields were shaken up by the absence of Thomas Sandner and John Salton, with a few B grade regulars happy to fill the spaces in the A grade field. This left a small trio to contest B grade, which was made even smaller after the first hill when Ross Henry lost touch. Not content to contest a two-man finish, Chris Beales attacked Shane Stiles on Brandy Creek Road and established a gap that could not be contained by Stiles. The threesome continued to time trial the course, keeping an eye on the spacings between all riders. Despite his best efforts, Stiles could not regain the lost ground on Beales, and Chris finished the final lap with a one minute gap on Shane. They were followed shortly afterwards by Ross.

The A grade field welcomed Geoff Thomson, Brett Rollinson and Pete Finlayson to their ranks and despite some testing attacks from Rollinson and Jason Kruger, the pack stayed together over the first lap. The efforts from Rollinson proved costly on the long Brandy Creek Road climb and he struggled for a wheel and contact with the group. Chris Hunt took control of the group’s pace on the front, as Scott Keeble appeared less than fresh, choosing to sit on the back. The final lap saw Jason Kruger make another attempt for a breakaway but his effort was contained by hawk-eye Hunt. A bunch finish was inevitable. With speeds on the downhill run to the line in the vicinity of 70km/h, the big slog fest had all muscles searching for every power source. Scott Keeble’s freshness was the deciding factor, and he overcame the odds and the bunch to take out the win. He was followed by Pete Finlayson and Geoff Thomson.

Next week’s race will be held at Jindivick from 2pm.

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Tags: buln buln, scratch

18/09/2004

Tough climbs, nagging cross winds and a super fast finish were the trademarks of the Buln Buln race circuit hosted for the first time by the Warragul Cycling Club on Saturday. Excitement over racing on new territory attracted a strong turnout despite the discouraging weather conditions and resident magpies out on course. Riders lined up for various laps of the circuit, committing themselves to the challenge despite no one being too sure on the exact distance of the lap – Staf saved the day as usual!

The Buln Buln circuit involves barely a flat stretch of pavement as the course steadily climbs out from Buln Buln towards Bloomfields Road, where three sharp hills are encountered before turning into Telegraph Road to cut across the hills. On joining Brandy Creek Road outside of Rokeby, a short pinch punishes riders, immediately followed by a long slow climb up to Old Sale Road and into the 2km downhill finish back to Buln Buln. A strong westerly wind means for much of the 16.5km circuit riders must battle largely unassisting crosswinds.

Each field completed their first lap of the course under control to help riders with their bearings and to protect themselves on-masse from the magpies. For D grade, this meant a cruise on par with a Sunday drive as they completed their lap in 38 minutes. Following the bell, new club member Sean Porter stirred proceedings by lifting the pace on the climb out from Buln Buln, taking Vic Spunner with him. However, a nasty mechanical problem left Porter with no option but to remain in the small ring at the front – perfect for climbing hills, but not so great on the descents. On each climb he found himself putting distance between himself and Spunner, but at the bottom of each downhill he would turn to find cagey Vic pumping on the pedals in the big ring and remaining at a dangerous distance. The mechanical limitations inspired Porter to surge up the Brandy Creek climb and he spun madly on the downhill finish to take the win, his first ever with the club. His quick cadence resulted in a 50 second gap to Spunner who finished second. Shortly behind Spunner, Lawrence Maskill broke free from Steve Jackson with a strong surge up Brandy Creek hill, backing herself to storm home for the final podium place.

The C grade field were happy to allow Paul Yeatman to steer the way along the first half of the course, with Trent Brown contributing to some strong turns at the front over the first lap. Brown continued to lead the way on the climb out from Buln Buln with some assistance from Rob Monk, but Monique Hanley surprised herself by riding clear of the pack by Bloomfields Road. Paul Yeatman soon joined her, and together they worked into the crosswind for 5km until a tiring Hanley sought comfort from the chase peloton, led by Brown. Yeatman remained at-large along Telegraph Road under the watchful gaze of the pack and he eventually returned to the bunch before the turn onto Brandy Creek Road. Some surges along the Road kept the heart rates high, but a surprising launch for the line by Brown with 2km remaining left the field slow to react. Yeatman eventually increased the pace to track down Brown, while hesitation cost the remaining field a chance for victory. In a classic example of why a race is never over until you cross the finish line, Brown rolled towards race director Staf thinking about his winning salute when from nowhere Yeatman stole the show and the win. Monique Hanley finished third ahead of Glenn Fisher, Rob Monk and Dave Axford.

B grade completed three laps of the course, but pace control over their first lap wasn’t evident as Chris Beales and Garry Wishart achieved a small gap on the field as Luke Hanley was punished from a lack of match fitness. Beales’ effort was costly, and his form blew away with the westerly along Old Sale Road. Wishart continued to stir up the pack with a handful of attacks that found him clear on a few occasions. By the end of lap two Justen O’Connor was another casualty of the pace as Beales retired. The remaining bunch stayed together over their final lap which meant great viewing of the finish for those watching on the sidelines. Steve Sandner just edged out Wishart for the win, with Geoff Thomson third. Pete Bailey finished off the bunch, followed by O’Connor and Hanley.

Racing wasn’t meant to be much fun for the A grade bunch, unless of course you were Thomas Sandner or John Mackenzie. The duo toyed with some attacking and counter-attacking on the second lap, gaining clearance of the field by Bloomfields Road. Behind them Wayne Chester teamed up with Latrobe Valley rider Charles Howlett, and they chase was on for the breakaway. Pete Finlayson opted to switch racing grades mid-race, while Steve Twining battled to keep in touch in the windy conditions. For Sandner and Mackenzie, the two focussed on pushing ahead of the field, keeping each other on their toes with tough turns at the front. Sandner took control of the pace up Brandy Creek Road by stirring the pace. As Mackenzie reached his limits, Sandner wound it up one more time to shake free on the turn into the finish. He sailed into the finish the claim the win with Mackenzie shortly behind. Wayne Chester hung on after a tight sprint finish to claim third over Howlett.

Next week’s racing will be held out at Shady Creek. Racing starts from 2pm at Shady Creek Primary School.

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Tags: buln buln, scratch