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A sunny afternoon saw the biggest Tuesday night field assemble this season, with over 150 riders competing across the five grades. As usual B Grade had the biggest start list, but the C and D Grade numbers were up a little, suggesting a few riders had managed to slip away from work a little earlier to make the 6pm start!
A Grade saw the return of Robert Tighello (ACR), fresh from his impressive ride at the Tour Down Under. On the attack early, he seemed out to end Hilton Clarke's dominance of the local racing scene. Along with young track endurance stars Nick Sanderson and David Tanner, he slipped the peleton at the 14 minute mark and held an advantage for three laps until the bunch reeled them in.
Immediately after the regrouping, Tighello attacked again with Hilton Clarke (SBR) and younger brother Jonny, riding in his Australian Under 19 team jersey. Russell Newnham lead a chase group behind with speed skater Simon Walker and Matt Chessum, but a puncture to Walker saw the trio lose momentum and get swept up by the remnants of the bunch.
Out front, the leading trio continued to extend their advantage, and were clear by a little over a minute at the call of '3 to go', going on to the finish were Tighello rolled over the line ahead of Hilton and Jonny. Lee Godfrey (VIS), Chris Carr (SBR) and Ralph Zimmerman (Switzerland) all tried late attacks to pinch the fourth place prize money, but in the end it came down to an extremely close fought sprint. Judges could not separate the desperate bike throws of Leigh De Luca and Brad Edmonds and declared a dead heat for fourth.
Dennis Bowen-Day jumped the B Grade bunch at the start line, and rode alone around the tough circuit for 15 minutes before the bunch finally reeled him in. The frantic pace for the next 20 minutes prevented any attacks but saw a number of riders blown off the back before a lull allowed strongman Bruce Will away in the company of Boon Chia and Roger Byrnes.
Former Sun Tour regular David Sturt started the next escape after the regrouping, but ran out of legs after a few laps and withdrew from the race. Next to try were Will, Glenn Hutchinson and Gary Trowell, but again, the ever vigilant bunch did not allow them much distance.
An attack from former World's Silver Medallist Liz Taddich along with Mark Howard (O'Mara Cycles) and Steve Martin (Le Tour Cycles) looked to have the best chance of succeeding, but the mammoth turns from the Bricky saw things back together just in time for an all in sprint. Footscray duo Adrian Salter and Hutchinson took the first two places, ahead of Andrew Steele and Gary Trowell, with the consistent Chia just out of the places.
C Grade saw a fairly uneventful race in comparison, with a steady pace discouraging breakaways. As is the norm, the race always appeared destined for a sprint finish, and Marcel Musco, determined to disprove the 'Masters' label convincingly lead the bunch home, and earned his way to B Grade next week. The minor places went to Cam Winn, Marcus Prentice and showman Justin 'Jackie' Dovaston.
D Grade featured a rare successful breakaway, with Rachel Rademacher escaping the pack at the halfway mark, with Under 13 star Peter Johnstone. The pair held the field at bay until the 40 minute mark when first year rider Lachlan Hay burst from the pack to join the leading pair. Hay would go on to take out the 3 up sprint form young Pete and Rachel. Gerard Hurley lead the bunch in for fourth, with many of the field unaware they weren't sprinting for the win!
The women's contingent in B Grade found the fast pace tough going, with only Swiss star Priska Doppmann and Liz Taddich able to last the distance with the men. Doppmann comfortably took the win ahead of Taddich who had given everything in her unsuccessful breakaway attempt. Louise Gomes took the honors in C Grade, while Under 15 star Tess Downing picked up the unplaced women's award in D Grade.
A Grade - 1 hour + 3 laps 1 Robert Tighello (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Hilton Clarke (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 3 Jonny Clarke (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Leigh De Luca (Noble Park-Dandenong) 4 Brad Edmonds (Echuca-Moama) B Grade - 55 minutes + 3 laps 1 Adrian Salter (Footscray CC) 2 Glenn Hutchinson (Footscray CC) 3 Andrew Steele (Blackburn CC) 4 Gary Trowell (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) Unplaced Women: 1 Priska Doppmann (Switzerland) 2 Liz Taddich (Shepparton) C Grade - 50 minutes + 3 laps 1 Marcel Musco (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Cam Winn (Dirt Riders CC) 3 Marcus Prentice (Blackburn CC) 4 Justin Dovaston (Noble Park-Dandenong CC) Unplaced Women: 1 Louise Gomes (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) D Grade - 50 minutes + 3 laps 1 Lachlan Hay (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Peter Johnstone (Chelsea & Peninsula CC) 3 Rachel Rademacher (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Gerard Hurley (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) Unplaced Women: 1 Tess Downing (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) E Grade - 45 minutes + 3 laps 1 Mitch Peart (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Dale Reith (Blackburn CC)