01/06/2013
By Rob Monk
Warragul Cycling Club members tuned up for next weekend’s three day tour with a 2 stage mini tour on Saturday.
The format was an 5.8 km individual time trial followed by a scratch race.
In A Grade Cy Monk won the time trial in the fastest time of the day. He took 8 minutes to ride 5.8k. Jayden Manintveld was only 5 seconds behind him. Graeme Parker was third.
The B grade time trial was a hotly contested affair. Prerace favorite Paul Yeatman won as expected but Jayman Prestidge surprised with a strong showing to take second. The downhill nature of the course clearly favoured plump Prestidge. Rob Monk and Stuart Battley tied for third with Neil Walker and Pete Whelan tied for fifth.
The C grade TT was won by John Davies in a time that would have been competitive in B grade. Col Manintveld was second with Pete Bailey in third.
In D grade Michelle Scurr was just quicker than Frank Bensted. Adele Whelan was third and Robyn Baker was fourth.
The road race included points for sprints and King of the Mountains. Cy Monk took out both sprints and shared the KOMS with Jayden Manintveld. He also won the stage to give him victory on the day.
Paul Yeatman continued his good form in the B Grade road race. He surprised all with some late attacks on the hill to take out both KOM’s . Paul also won the first sprint after Jayman Prestidge was disqualified for sprinting on the wrong side of the road. Prestidge then punctured and withdrew from the race. Rob Monk won the final sprint and the stage but Yeatman had an unbeatable points lead. Rob and Neil tied for second place with Stuart Battley in fourth.
Pete Bailey took out the KOM on lap 1 in C Grade and the final sprint to win the stage. This gave him enough points to take the win. Bruce Staben won the first intermediate sprint and the was second on the stage. This earned him second overall. Col Manintveld was third.
Michelle Scurr continued to dominate the D grade race. She was second in the sprint, won the KOM and won the stage. Frank Bensted was second overall and Adele Whelan was third.
Next weekend is the Gippsland 3 Day Tour. Over 20 Warragul riders have entered.
