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Sunny skies and a hot northerly wind were the order of the day, with the wind bound to make things tough. The tailwind coincides with the downhill leg of the circuit where it's of least help, making the other three sides of the square a tough slog. Just shy of 150 riders today, and in something of a first, the A Grade field was the days biggest as more and more of the guys who have been doing it easy in B Grade get 'shamed' into making the step up!
Chris Carr (SBR) obviously doesn't need any friends, as he launched flat out off the start line, closely followed by Robert Tighello (ACR). The entire bunch was on the rivet straight away, without the customary lap or two to roll the legs over and blowing a couple of unfortunates out the back! Carr attacked again after the regrouping, and resisted the efforts of the charging bunch to chase him down for the best part of 10 minutes; good training for his tilt at the National Pursuit Title in April.
At the 18 minute mark, mountain bikers Trent Lowe (Yeti) and Kian Blethyn were joined by Robert Boag (ACR) and Doug Garley (Terry Hammond Cycles) on the attack, but their effort was soon chased down by the now well and truly warmed up bunch. Jamie Drew (iteamNOVA) was next to escape, with Rob Young (SBR) in pursuit.
Tighello was quick to react, and bridged along with Brendan Rowbotham (Fitzroy Cycles), Carr and Rob Tidey (O'Mara Cycles) at the 31 minute mark. The momentum was lost from the largely exhausted peleton, and the front group began to pull away. By the 40 minute mark, the lead group was down to four: Tighello, Drew, Carr and Rowbotham, with Carr and Drew doing the lions share of the work to extend their advantage.
The bunch behind never got an organized chase together, and small groups tried to go clear to snatch the last two prizes on offer. Trent Lowe, Jonny Clarke (ProMotion Cycles) and Garley were prominent, but the chasing bunch had regrouped on the last lap, with the sprint for fifth going to Matt Jackson over young William Walker.
Out front, the four leaders were starting to test each other out. Carr attacked strongly twice in the closing laps, forcing Tighello to chase him down, and when Drew attacked a lap from home, 'Tigs' had no answer, and Drew rode on to record his first win for the iteamNova squad. Tighello lead Carr and Rowbotham home for the other placings.
B Grade also got off to an attacking start, with David Downing, Damien Power, Justin Foster, Michael Ford (Grand Prix Cycles) and Ian Johnstone riding clear 15 minutes in and not being reeled in until the half way mark. Tokyo Olympian Mick Hollingworth and Jamie Goddard spent a lot of energy caught in no mans land before the regrouping, only to see the danger rider Damien Power jump away again alone and lead the race for the next 10 minutes.
Ford, Boon Chia, Goddard and Japanese visitor Miyoko Karami bridged at the 43 minute mark, and it was all over for the main bunch. Chia was unloaded before the finish, when Michael Ford capped off his preparations for the Australian Junior Track Titles with a good win ahead of Goddard, Power and Karami (who also took out first woman).
C Grade always looked destined to finish together despite the best efforts of Paul Groves, Renee Heinreich and Rick Jones (beneficiary of one of the fastest flat tire repairs on record!) to go it alone in the early stages. By the 32 minute mark the attacks were over, and a bunch sprint was a virtual certainty. The consistent Jeremy Gough took the win ahead of Ben Willey, Daniel Young and Paul Groves in a clean sweep for the host club, with Heinreich again best of the women.
Visiting New South Welshman David Young rode away from the D grade bunch to record a good win. He attacked at the 13 minute mark, and battled the hot, windy conditions for the duration, eventually falling only 25 meters short of lapping the field. Mark Spataro earned promotion to C Grade with his second place today, after a run of placings over the past few weeks, with Young Alex Smyth and the veteran Phil Doran taking the minor placings. Tess Downing, another of the club's riders selected in the Victorian team for the junior track titles, rode her usual consistent race to lead the women home.
Remember, there is only one more race at AFL Park - 26th of March, before the circuit is gone for good, so don't miss your chance to try for one last win!
A Grade - 1 hour + 3 laps - 48 starters 1 Jamie Drew (iteamNOVA) 2 Robert Tighello (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 3 Chris Carr (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Brendan Rowbotham (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 5 Matt Jackson (Footscray CC) 6 William Walker (Brunswick CC) B Grade - 1 hour + 3 laps - 45 starters 1 Michael Ford (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Jamie Goddard (Blackburn CC) 3 Damien Power (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Miyoko Karami (Japan) C Grade - 45 mins + 3 laps - 30 starters 1 Jeremy Gough (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Ben Willey (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 3 Daniel Young (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Paul Groves (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) Women 1 Renee Heinreich (Norwood CC) D Grade - 45 mins + 3 laps - 19 starters 1 David Young (NSW) 2 Mark Spataro (Blackburn CC) 3 Alex Smyth (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 4 Phil Doran (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) Women 1 Tess Downing (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) E Grade - 45 mins + 3 laps 1 Mitch Peart (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC) 2 Melissa Nicholls (Balance Carnegie Caulfield CC)
Australian results from the past week |
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