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Both grades had smaller than usual fields last night which is likely to have been due to the observance of Valentines day. Clearly many riders had to rethink their priorities for the night. Those that did race were likely desperate and dateless or else will be doing a serious amount of groveling. To the racing though...
While the field might have been smaller, the quality was not diminished. Two of NZ's leading Women's cyclists, track star Sarah Ulmer and NZ Road and TT champion Melissa Holt, joined the bunch to get in some preparation prior to embarking on what promises to be a big year for both riders. Also getting in some hard training was Men's road legend Graeme Miller, freshly back from competing in the Tour of Langkawi.
The race got off to a slow start but this didn't last long before the first attack came. This set the tone for the evening which was one of frenetic action with constant attack after attack. Graeme Miller showed he had lost none of his sprint form by taking the first sprint and promptly found himself in a break with joint series leader going into the race, Karl Murray. The bunch reacted and brought them back but not without some effort.
The second sprint was taken by David Rae who has had a quiet series so far. With only ten minutes left to race the leading competitors overall began to become cagey as Kieran Turner sought to shut down any attacks by Karl Murray. This created opportunities in the bunch and numerous attackers went off the front. Each time though the bunch reacted and brought them back.
With two laps to go the sprinters began to look for position and the pace eased temporarily. Seeing what was happening Melissa Holt put in a blistering attack and looked like she could well have made the race winning move as the bunch was slow to react.
In the end thought the bunch wound up for the sprint and she was caught on the last lap. David Rae attacked with two corners to go and got the sprint under way. Graeme Miller was the first to jump in the finishing straight and looked to have it but was taken on the line by the fast finish of Ryan Hoogenberg who has been riding well on the track of late. Karl Murray held on for third to become outright series leader with Kieran Tuner just behind in 4th.
The big mover was Hoogenberg who has shown that he is probably the quickest in the bunch at the moment and is now only 9 points of the lead. The last three races will be nail-biters.
For the first time since I can remember B grade had less riders than A. This didn't dampen the enthusiasm any and made for a more attacking race than usual with less riders willing to chase. The first sprint was taken by Chris Tennant-Brown, back after a three week absence doing secret training in the South Island.
With the absence of some of the overall contenders in B grade there was plenty to race for in the final sprint for those who were allowed out. The reluctance to let anyone go and the good quality of the field again resulted in a bunch sprint.
The winner by a good length was Richard Speer who has been improving each race. In second was last week's winner Todd Hewlett making a late run at the overall title. Third was Dean Griffen who has also shown good consistent form over the last couple of weeks.
A grade 1 Ryan Hoogenberg 2 Graeme Miller 3 Karl Murray 4 Kieran Turner 5 Scott Wilder 6 Aaron Strong 7 Murray Spencer B grade 1 Richard Speer 2 Todd Hewlett 3 Dean Griffen 4 Chris Tennant-Brown 5 Richard Henry 6 Matt Biggs 7 Clint Patchett A grade points 1 Karl Murray 80 pts 2 Kieran Turner 77 3 Ryan Hoogenberg 71 4 Eric McKenzie 58 5 Gordon Bearman 41 6 Murray Spencer 34 7 Rusty Smith 28 8 Richard Bowker 26 9 Aaron Strong 23 10 Mike Metz 22 B grade points 1 Christian Pulley 73 pts 2 Richard Speer 71 3 Todd Hewlett 61 4 Dean Griffen 44 5 Matt Treanor 43 6 Chris Tennant Brown 40 7 Kim Struthers 30 8 Adam Gaskel 26 9 Gareth Summers 26 10 Peter Harding 22 Courtesy of Kieran Turner