Main Page Men Women Men B Grade Kristjan's Diary Race 2 - Barwon Heads, January 6, 2000Courtesy of Brian Farrell and Jenny Kisler The first sprint was fought out between Scott Sunderland, Baden Burke and Brett Aitken. Henk Vogels appeared eager to make up for missing the break yesterday and not only chased many of the breakaways but tried a few times to get clear himself. He spent most of the race in the first five, at one stage ahead for several laps with Jeremy Hunt. The second sprint came as Vogels and Hunt were brought back, again with Baden Burke and Brett Aitken in the action. A crash saw three riders down (including Hunt) and several others held up, but after their lap out they were all back in the race. Corey Sweet launched a major attack and looked like he might stay clear but chasing in particular by Vogels and Backstedt, brought him back. And just what was Stuart O'Grady doing yelling at Henk Vogels to go? Chris Carr and Simon Gerrans tried an escape with five to go but were caught with two to go, the strong southerly wind doing the job to keep the bunch intact. At two laps to go Tom Leaper was pushed into the barriers but he looked as though he was still intact with just minor loss of skin. The final sprint came down to Stephen Pate and Brett Aitken, and as Phil Liggett said "I don't think there has ever been a dead heat in this before. I don't know who has won. I think I will wait for the judges and the photo."
The sprint was led out by Pate, but Aitken came at him, although he couldn't quite overcome the former world professional sprint champion. As Phil Liggett said "I don't think there has ever been a dead heat in this before. I don't know who has won. I think I will wait for the judges and the photo." Third place was awarded to Greame Brown but half the field were not even at the finish as a result of the crash. The win means that Aitken retains the overall as well as the sprint king lead that he claimed yesterday.
Results: 1 Brett Aitken (SA) Jayco-VIS 10.5 pts 1 Stephen Pate (Vic) Peugot 10.5 3 Graeme Brown (NSW) Pura Milk 7 4 Rik McCaig (Vic) Limerick Arms Hotel 6 5 Stuart O'Grady (SA) Skilled 5 6 Brent Dawson (NSW) Pura Milk 4 7 Manuel Mori (Ita) Crown Casino 3 8 Andrew Stadler (WA) Bicycle Superstore 2 9 Henk Vogels (WA) Bicycle Superstore 1 10 Hilton Clarke (Vic) Mildara Blass 1 Sprints: Baden Burke (NSW) Peugeot 6 pts Brett Aitken (SA) Jayco-VIS 5 Scott Sunderland (NSW) Peugeot 3 Hilton Clarke (Vic) Mildara Blass 2 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Skilled 1 Henk Vogels (WA) Bicycle Superstore 1 Overall standings after 2 races: 1 Brett Aitken (SA) Jayco-VIS 22.5 pts 2 Rik McCaig (Vic) Limerick Arms Hotel 15 3 Graeme Brown (NSW) Pura Milk 14 4 Stephen Pate (Vic) Peugot 10.5 5 Stuart O'Grady (SA) Skilled 8 6 Corey Sweet (SA) Crash Bang Wallop 6 7 Hilton Clarke (Vic) Mildara Blass 5 7 Pelle Kil (Ned) Brumby's Bakeries 5 7 Brent Dawson (NSW) Pura Milk 5 10 Manuel Mori (Ita) Crown Casino 3 11 Andrew Stadler (WA) Bicycle S'store 2 12 Peter Milostic (NSW) Skilled 2 13 Henk Vogels (WA) Bicycle Superstore 1 14 Brad Davidson (Vic) Jayco-VIS 1 Sprint standings after 2 races: 1 Brett Aitken (SA) Jayco-VIS 13 pts 2 Baden Burke (NSW) Peugeot 6 3 Henk Vogels (WA) Bicycle Superstore 4 4 Scott Sunderland (NSW) Peugeot 3 4 Brad Davidson (Vic) Jayco-VIS 3 6 Hilton Clarke (Vic) Mildara Blass 2 6 Corey Sweet (SA) Crash Bang Wallop 2 8 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Skilled 1 9 Graeme Brown (NSW) Pura Milk 1 10 Ashley Sheard (Vic) Limerick Arms 1 WomenCourtesy of Jenny Kisler Several groups made attacks later in the race, including one containing Sandra Smith and Anna Wilson. These were all brought back by the main field. Yesterday's winner, Karen Barrow also attempted to get away several times in the closing laps. With 2 laps to go three rdiers were clear, however they were caught on the final lap and Rochelle Gilmore from NSW won the bunch sprint to decide the race. Anna Wilson was in second with a photo necessary to decide between Katherine Bates and Alison Wright for third, with the latter getting it. Her win means that Gilmore now holds the lead in the series after her fourth place yesterday. She is on equal points with Wilson, but she will have the lead by virtue of Wilson's lack of victories. Results: 1 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW) 12 pts 2 Anna Wilson (Vic) 9 3 Alison Wright (ACT) 7 4 Katherine Bates (NSW) 6 5 Elizabeth Tadich (Vic) 5 6 Sandra Smith (WA) 4 7 Emma James (NSW) 3 8 Bridget Evans (Qld) 2 9 Kristy Scrymgeour (NSW) 1 10 Margaret Hemsley (NSW) 1 Sprints: Katherine Bates (NSW) 3 pts Margaret Hemsley (NSW) 3 Elizabeth Tadich (Vic) 2 Karen Barrow (Vic) 2 Sandra Smith (WA) 1 Alanya Burns (SA) 1 Overall standings after 2 races: 1 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW) 18 pts 2 Anna Wilson (Vic) 18 3 Katherine Bates (NSW) 13 4 Karen Barrow (Vic) 12 5 Sandra Smith (WA) 9 6 Elizabeth Tadich (Vic) 8 7 Bridget Evans (Qld) 6 8 Emma James (NSW) 3 9 Kristy Scrymgeour (NSW) 2 10 Katie Mactier (Vic) 2 11 Margaret Hemsley (NSW) 1 12 Hayley Rutherford (WA) 1 Sprint standings after 2 races: 1 Katherine Bates (NSW) 9 pts 2 Anna Wilson (Vic) 4 3 Margaret Hemsley (NSW) 3 3 Karen Barrow (Vic) 3 5 Alanya Burns (SA) 2 5 Elizabeth Tadich (Vic) 2 7 Sandra Smith (WA) 1 Men - B GradeResults: 1 Mark Roach (Vic) 12 pts 2 Duncan Kidd (NSW) 9 3 Tim Bennett (Vic) 7 4 Jeff Hopkins (NSW) 6 5 Robert Wilson (Vic) 5 6 Brian Appelyard (NSW) 4 7 Franco Marvulli (Swi) 3 8 Nash Kent (NSW) 2 9 Kevin Poulton (NSW) 1 10 Bill Nickson (UK)` 1 Sprints: Tim Bennett (Vic) 4 pts Duncan Kidd (NSW) 3 Rory Sutherland (ACT) 3 John Madden (Vic) 2 Paul Kenny (Vic) 2 Tyson Lawrence (WA) 2 Adrian Sansonetti (Vic) 1 Douglas Hunt (NSW) 1 Overall standings after 2 races: 1 Tim Bennett (Vic) 19 pts 2 Mark Roach (Vic) 12 3 Duncan Kidd (NSW) 10 3 Bill Nickson (UK)` 10 5 Jeff Hopkins (NSW) 9 6 Paul Kenny (Vic) 7 7 Cameron Jennings (Qld) 6 8 Robert Wilson (Vic) 5 8 Damien Crange (Vic) 5 10 Brian Appelyard (NSW) 4 11 Franco Marvulli (Swi) 3 11 Tyson Lawrence (WA) 3 13 Nash Kent (NSW) 2 13 Adrian Laidler (SA) 2 15 Kevin Poulton (NSW) 1 16 Luke Stockwell (Qld) 1 17 Christian Rivette (Vic) 1 Kristjan's DiaryCourtesy of Kristjan Snorrason Well how close can a race get? Not much closer than a dead heat! Patey and Aitken went for it and even the camera couldn't tell who won. It came down to bunch sprint and with a couple of trains leading the sprinters into the last couple of corners, it was super fast and super edgy! I spent the majority of the race near the back of the bunch today (a lesson in not what to do!). The conditions today were mild but windy, very windy on the finishing straight (a block headwind!). Once again the pace was frenetic from the start. A couple of crashes marred the race, the most serious being the crash in the main straight which saw neo-pro Tom Leaper confront the barriers in the worst fashion. Tonight he was all smiles at dinner despite having his arm in a sling. I was lucky to narrowly miss the flying Tom, and I also missed the other crash on a very tight 2nd corner. I hope this trend continues! The Maddest Man award for the day is a tie: My own teammate Michael Gill bounced off more riders in one day then anyone I have ever seen anywhere! The other Maddest Man goes to one of the Italians on the Crown Casino team. I lost count of how many times the bunch sacrificed position and safety for this guy's sudden inside line through the tightest corners! I am pleased to say that I don't think he caused any of the crashes so his risks paid off - but as I heard someone in the bunch say "he wants to get round the corner no matter who or what is around him!" It was good to watch though... in hindsight! Back to the race, with 5 laps to go I was dead last wheel, with 3 laps to go it was time to get real and get up near front. I sprinted up the wrong side of the bunch and as we got the bell, Vogels decided to sprint and actually pulled out the bunch right in front of me, I couldn't believe my luck, a ticket to the front! Not bad, from last wheel to second wheel in one straight! But it was a case of "what good luck, what bad luck". The desperation was enormous, with the trains forming I had no time or room to move as we flew through the corners that had previously worried the bunch. The Peugeot train led their sprinter Stephen Pate out to perfection - well, within a centimetre of perfection... The Mildara Blass boys are all going well: Hilton managed a 2nd in a prime and is now lying in 4th in the points competition and also got 10th in the bunch gallop. Chris Carr drove off the front of the bunch several times today which was great for the sponsor and great for Chris, as it earned him the Most Aggressive Rider prize. After the judges decision to not award the MAR prize yesterday, that leaves the Most Aggressive Rider Jersey as something we will be defending tomorrow as well as Hilt's sprints points. So until tomorrow, with the superfast, supertight course in Torquay, I'll speak to you then... Ahh yeah, How did Girls go? None of the breaks managed to stay away today so it came down to a sprint finish with Rochelle Gilmore taking the honours. |