Tour de Darnum / Southern Vets 2 Day Tour / Hamilton "Cecil Shore" 120 & Victorian 100km Championships On a chilly and damp day, eleven die hard cyclists fronted up for some laps around our Darnum course, preferring a wet ride to a cosy day at home in front of the fire. It was decided that D grade would race three laps, B grade four and A grade five. D grade's fours riders of Tammy Patrick, Renee Patrick, Mick Watson and Joe Patrick began about minutes in front of the A/B mix. The three A graders, Shane Stiles, Callan Barker and Paul Yeatman were all set to start the race with the four B Graders comprising Simon Baxter, James Lalor, Dave Ballie and Darren Williams. Minutes before the start, race director Stiles rear wheel fell apart rendering him a non starter. An agreement was made by the A graders to take it easy on the B graders. This saw Barker and Yeatman taking it easy at the front of the bunch with the B graders in tow. Towards the end of Stuhrs Road on lap one, D grade was caught. Baxter, Williams and Yeatman eased the pace for lap two, to allow D grade some bunch riding experience. Barker pulled out with a puncture at the end of lap one. The easing of the pace saw Ballie and Lalor (and another two riders?) pull away and eventually disappear from sight. Yeatman sat at the front of the chase group with Tammy holding his wheel as best she could. Former club president, Williams provided tips on how to hold a wheel. Lap three saw , Williams and Yeatman practice their team time trialling technique in preparation for next week's state titles. They caught the break away about 1km along the Darnum Shady Creek Road. After the catch, the bunch reformed with Williams, Baxter and Yeatman leading the way doing regular turns. Joe Patrick proved too strong in D grade taking out first from Watson and Tammy Patrick. About one third of the way along Stuhrs Road on lap four, Ballie attacked and was closely followed by Lalor. Williams urged Baxter and Yeatman to keep it tight. Ballie soon tired and the three time trialers, lead by Yeatman who cruised along at an easy 47kph, caught the break by the turn into Darnum Park Road. To simulate a team time trial finish, Williams, Baxter and Yeatman stayed in close formation up the final climb. Lalor sprinted past them to claim first. Baxter and Williams could not be separated for second and Ballie came across the line for third. The final lap was ridden solo by Yeatman who found the going on his own a little tough, mainly thanks to taking off at 40kph after crossing the start/finish line as he stuffed himself and did not recover until he was about half way along the Darnum Shady Creek Road. He rode the final lap in 13:34 (35.9kph) Fastest lap of the day was lap three which was ridden in 13:23 (36.5kph). D grade rode at a respectable average speed of 29kph (at least for lap two). The B grade race time was 0:58:43 for 32.52km The A grade race time was 1:12:18 for 40.64km. In A grade Daryl Anderson was strong in stage 3 taking the win. In stage two he was in front for 1950meters of the last 2km but was swamped on the line. Thommo also raced strongly in A grade taking top 5 placings in both the road races. Steve Muggeridge showed his strength in the C grade race of truth finishing second. In the road race in the afternoon Steve and Rob initiated many failed break away attempts and in the end had to be satisfied with Robs second place in the sprint. Karen Munro finished 3rd in the time trial and the road race in D grade. On Sunday Steve and Rob raced strongly but unfortunately didnt make the final turn of the race at Cora Lyn. After a quick U turn Rob did manage to catch most of the field to finish forth which gave him third place overall. Steve rode strongly establishing a solo break that lasted 10 km before being reeled in by the bunch. Results: Stage 1 - 22km Time Trial at Lang Lang A grade 1st John Cain, 2nd Glen Robinson, 3rd Martin Lama B grade 1st Brian Smith, 2nd Bryan Walsh, 3rd Phil Purdam C grade 1st Fred Boland, 2nd Steve Muggeridge, 3rd Jodie Batchelor D grade 1st Liz Randall, 2nd Karl Padoms, 3rd Karen Munro E grade 1st Martyn Hughes, 2nd equal Simone Koch & Ian Debar F grade 1st Rob Lewis, 2nd Bob Binding, 3rd Pat Ruys G grade 1st Alan Radford, 2nd Gerry Egbers, 3rd Leanne Hamlyn Stage 2 - Road Race at Lang Lang A grade 1st Boyd Friis, 2nd Tom Crebbin, 3rd Gareth Knight B grade 1st Brian Smith, 2nd Marcel Geelen, 3rd David Heatley C grade 1st Russell Poole, 2nd Rob Monk, 3rd Scott Farthing D grade 1st Daryl Thompson, 2nd Karl Padoms, 3rd Karen Munro E grade 1st Martyn Hughes, 2nd Rob Feigan, 3rd Ray Smith F grade 1st Bob Binding, 2nd Rob Lewis, 3rd Pat Ruys G grade 1st Gerry Egbers, 2nd Alan Radford, 3rd Leanne Hamlyn Stage 3 - Road Race at Cora Lynn A grade 1st Daryl Anderson, 2nd Rod Thomas, 3rd Ron Jacobson B grade 1st Bryan Walsh, 2nd Marcel Geelen, 3rd Mark Withers C grade 1st Russell Poole, 2nd Scott Farthing, 3rd Trevor Rust D grade 1st Daryl Thompson, 2nd Phil Godburg, 3rd Karl Padoms E grade 1st Simone Koch, 2nd Martyn Hughes, 3rd Rob Feigan F grade 1st Pat Ruys, 2nd Rob Lewis, 3rd Bob Binding G grade 1st Leanne Hamlyn, 2nd Gerry Egbers, 3rd Alan Radford Overall Classification A grade 1st Tom Crebbin, 2nd Boyd Friis, 3rd John Cain B grade 1st Bryan Walsh, 2nd Marcel Geelen, 3rd David Heatley C grade 1st Russell Poole, 2nd Scott Farthing, 3rd Rob Monk D grade 1st Karl Padoms, 2nd Daryl Thompson, Karen Munro E grade 1st Martyn Hughes, 2nd Simone Koch, 3rd Rob Feigan F grade 1st Rob Lewis, 2nd Bob Binding, 3rd Pat Ruys G grade 1st Gerry Egbers, 2nd Alan Radford, 3rd Leanne Hamlyn Hamilton "Cecil Shore" 120 & Victorian 100km Championships James Henry competed in the Hamilton "Cecil Shore" 120 handicap & Victorian 100km Championships races held over the weekend. James began the handicap event off 10 minutes in a group of 21 riders. The limit bunch of 19 riders began 23 minutes ahead of scratch. |