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By Phil Ruge
A very warm afternoon with a fickle wind greeted riders for the weekly road race conducted by the Murwillumbah Amateur Cycle Club.
Racing this week was over the demanding Bald Mountain course, a distance of some 45 kilometres that takes riders out to the foot of Bald Mountain before returning to Dulguigan via Chillingham. A number of short climbs and stretches of rough road added to the prevailing weather conditions to make a challenging afternoon for the 37 competitors.
With smaller numbers A and B Grades combined this week for their race. The group of 11 riders set a brisk but steady pace for much of the race with most of them enjoying the afternoon's outing. There were no significant moves in this event until a number of riders increased the speed with only a few kilometres left to race.
This immediately splintered the field and after much scrambling to get back together the real racing started within the last 500 metres. A fast sprint to the line saw Ian 'Crash' Walker first ahead of Brendan Egan with Jon Guy in third place. First B Grader home was Chris Seldon with Brian Richards taking out second place.
In C Grade the large group of 16 riders again set out at fast pace this week driven along by Lindsay Smith and Stuart Ellick. A few riders succumbed to this early pressure whilst the remaining riders settled in for the rest of the race. Further attacks stretched the bunch out at times especially around Bald Mountain but some often desperate chasing saw the group come back together on each occasion. With no successful escapes the field was together over the last few kilometres and lined up for a group finish. In the home straight Lindsay Smith was too fast for the other riders to take first place with Alan Devine second and Frank Schirmer in third place. Sandra Bury was the only female competitor in this race and put in a great ride to finish with the bunch.
A good bunch of 10 riders set off for the D Grade race. This group set a steady pace throughout the race with several riders including Ros Powley and Mike McCall doing most of the work. Despite the steady pace the course and weather took their toll with several riders dropping off during the race.
Things got a bit more serious after Kynnunboom when Ros Powley attacked and was quickly joined by Mike McCall. This pair opened up a reasonable gap and worked well together to stay clear until the finish. Jim Higgins tried to bridge the gap to Powley and McCall but was run down by the other riders. On the line it was Mike McCall first with Ros Powley taking out a well deserved second place. Phil Ruge was the first of the remaining riders to cross the line for third place in this event.
Racing next week will be over approximately 45 kilometres of the pretty Upper Crystal Creek course. Start time is 3.00 pm (DST) from Pat Smith Park, Dulguigan.
A Grade 1 Ian Walker (Murwillumbah) 1.11.00 (37.9 km/hr) 2 Brendan Egan (Murwillumbah) 3 Jon Guy (Murwillumbah) B Grade 1 Chris Seldon (Murwillumbah) 1.11.00 (37.9 km/hr) 2 Brian Richards (Murwillumbah) C Grade 1 Lindsay Smith (Murwillumbah) 1.17.00 (35 km/hr) 2 Alan Devine (CATS) 3 Frank Schirmer (Murwillumbah) First Female Rider: Sandra Bury (Murwillumbah) D Grade 1 Mike McCall (Murwillumbah) 1.25.00 (31.9 km/hr) 2 Ros Powley (Goldstars) 3 Phil Ruge (Murwillumbah)