St Helens Track Carnival - IM

Australia, January 20, 2001

Ben Elliott wins St Helens Wheel

By Rod Morris

After a summer of near misses, Devonport (Tasmania) rider Ben Elliott finally tasted victory in a major handicap wheelrace. Ben, son of former rider Edgar Elliott, broke away from a strong pack of riders to win the $1200 St Helens 2000 m Wheelrace. Ranked 59th on the Tasmanian Order of Merit prior to the St Helens Carnival, Elliott jumped to 21st after his strong victory.

Riding from a handicap of 160 m, Elliott was surrounded by a talented group of middle markers, including in-form Hobart cyclist Andrew Loft, who eventually took second. Swiss rider Franco Marvulli snatched third place to cap off a reasonably successful Tasmanian summer carnival series.

The St Helens Carnival is largely treated as an end-of-season trip by many competitors, although the racing is still taken seriously. No more so than Nathan Hingston and Adrian Morrisby, who both earned the wrath of Tasmanian Cycling Federation commissaires and were ultimately fined. Hingston was fined $75 for undue rough riding in the final of the St Helens Wheel and Morrisby, fined $50 for using abusive language in his heat.

Hobart rider John Kingston won the 1000 m Lightning Handicap, while scratch race winners included Gareth Atkins (A), Nathan Hodskiss (B), Nathan Hingston (C) and Andrew Dougan (D). In junior racing, wheelrace winners were Jason Bellchambers (J1), Ben Laskey (J2) and Sarah Eaves (J3). The next major carnival for Tasmanian cyclists will be in Devonport on Australia Day (January 26).

Results

St Helens 2000 m Wheelrace

1 Ben Elliott (160 m) 		2.18.93
2 Andrew Loft (170 m) 
3 Franco Marvulli (30 m) 

1000 m Lightning Handicap

1 John Kingston (85 m) 		1.02.95
2 Abram Manion (50 m) 
3 Brendon Geale (55 m) 

Invitation A Grade Elimination

1 Franco Marvulli 
2 Gareth Atkins 
3 Bernard Sulzberger

Tasmanian U19 Women's Points Score Championship

1 Belinda Goss 			26 pts
2 Olivia Piscioneri	 	20 
3 Emily Williams 		11  

Tasmanian U19 Men's Points Score Championship

1 Bernard Sulzberger 		42 pts 
2 Abram Manion 			30 
3 Mark Jamieson 		26 

A Grade 5000 m Scratch

1 Gareth Atkins 
2 Brendon Geale 
3 Bernard Sulzberger 

B Grade 4000 m Scratch

1 Nathan Hodskiss 
2 David Dennis 
3 David Oliver 

Lap prizes
David Oliver (x2)

C Grade 4000 m Scratch

1 Nathan Hingston 
2 Simon Elliott 
3 Les Davison 

Lap prizes
Laylon Smith (x2)

D Grade 4000 m Scratch

1 Andrew Dougan 
2 Jeffrey Gibbs 
3 Dwayne Smith 

Lap prizes
Andrew Dougan & Dwayne Smith

Under 17 2000 m Wheelrace

1 Jason Bellchambers (240 m) 
2 Matthew Goss (60 m) 
3 Andrew Cox (100 m) 

Under 15 2000 m Wheelrace

1 Ben Laskey (160 m) 
2 Aaron Jones (240 m) 
3 Natasha Mapley (240 m) 

Under 13 1000 m Wheelrace

1 Sarah Eaves (160 m) 
2 Ben Grenda (100 m) 
3 Melissa Barnes (120 m) 

Under 17 1000 m Handicap

1 Jason Bellchambers (120 m) 
2 Andrew Cox (50 m) 
3 Matthew Goss (30 m) 

Under 15 1000 m Handicap

1 Ben Fielding (40 m) 
2 Ebony Manion (80 m) 
3 Grace Sulzberger (80 m) 

Under 13 1000 m Handicap

1 Sarah Eaves (160 m) 
2 Simon Smith (180 m) 
3 Ben Grenda (100 m) 

Under 17 Scratch Race

1 David Klyne 
2 Matthew Goss 
3 Ty Winduss 

Under 15 Scratch Race

1 Ben Fielding 
2 John Rayner 
3 Ebony Manion 

Under 13 Scratch Race

1 Alex Holden 
2 Hugh Williams 
3 Daniel Jamieson 

Courtesy of Rod Morris/Morris Media