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By Andrei Zaitzev
A fantastic day for racing and the perfect way to welcome St Kilda Cycling Club's newest member, Scott McGrory! Blue skies and a (welcome) warm spell greeted riders at the Port Melbourne criterium circuit which played host to some close racing, a scrumptious BBQ lunch and a MAPEI-clad McGrory. While most spectators seemed more interested in catching up on all the latest from the European road and track scene with Scott, there was also considerable interest in the racing. The day's feature event was a team criterium for all A grade competitors, with riders picked at random to form three-man teams. B, C and D grade were all raced as per usual.
Fears that the somewhat blustery conditions would make for very little attacking were quickly dispelled as racing got underway. The A grade race was characterised by a number of closely marked breaks before Cameron Lester and Alex James managed to successfully draw clear of the chasing bunch with approximately 15 minutes left to race. In an impressive display of front running, this duo managed to hold off the bunch to the finish, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Lester's two team-mates, Zeth Romanis and Chris Tymms to slow the bunch at every opportunity. At the finish, Lester proved to be too strong and too savvy for the gutsy Alex James and took out the prize for his team. Romanis dented the pride of what was left of the chasers even more by taking out the sprint for the academic third place. The winning team of Cameron Lester, Zeth Romanis and Chris Tymms were presented with their awards by a very proud Scott McGrory who, while disappointed with the lack of MAPEI presence at the pointy end of the peloton, had to admit that the winning team's tactics had worked extremely well. Although there were some teething problems, most agreed that the team concept has merit and it will certainly be experimented with again the future.
The large B grade bunch (which raced concurrently with A grade) managed to stay as one until, with 10 minutes and three laps to go, a trio of highly fancied riders (Matt Colston, Mitch Docker and Chris Newman) escaped shortly after the A grade bunch was allowed past for the last time. This followed a couple of hard surges by Dave Coulthas (still recovering from injury - a return to A grade is imminent) which had many of the main bunch suffering badly. In fact, many riders appeared not to have noticed the escapees dancing their way out of sight and a number of solemn faces at the finish told an all too familiar story - the ones that got away. In the end it Paul Barber ahead of Mitch Docker in a close finish, with Chris Newman rounding out the top three.
C Grade was taken out Paul Barber ahead of Kevin Ford and Scott Woodward, while the D grade race was won by Ben Hawley. Alex Reinehr and Robert Gallota rounded out the top three places.
St Kilda CC will rest up for the next couple of weeks with racing due to recommence on January 13th. In the meantime, the club would like to wish it's new number 1 member and sash holder the very best for the upcoming Bay Series Criteriums which promise to showcase some outstanding athletes and great racing. Good luck, Scott!
A Grade - 60 minutes + 3 laps 1 Cameron Lester/Zeth Romanis/Chris Tymms No other places awarded B Grade - 50 minutes + 3 laps 1 Matt Colston 2 Mitch Docker 3 Chris Newman C Grade - 40 minutes + 3 laps 1 Paul Barber 2 Kevin Ford 3 Scott Woodward D Grade - 30 minutes + 3 laps 1 Ben Hawley 2 Alex Reinehr 3 Robert Gallot