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A good field of 60 plus riders turned out under threatening skies on Saturday, March 23, 2002 to contest the weekly road race conducted by the Murwillumbah Cycle Club.
This week's course was Bald Mountain, a demanding 55 kilometre trek that takes riders out through Chillingham to Bald Mountain and then across to Numinbah before returning back to Dulguigan. Hills are a feature of this course, and with the Easter Carnival just a week away plenty of riders were willing to test their legs!
A Grade set out at a fast pace despite a strong headwind and showers of rain. This group was together until Crystal Creek when the wet and slippery road saw several riders fall on the Nursery corner. Fortunately there were no serious injuries and the remaining riders continued the race.
The temporary reduction in speed didn't last long as the road quickly dried out and the attacks came thick and fast. These efforts finally paid off with Brendan Egan getting clear at Boat Harbour. He established a workable lead; a tailwind over the last few kilometres saw him stay clear to take first place. Second home in a sprint finish was Ashley Bryant, with Craig Reston third, Jon Guy fourth and Jon Eather in fifth place.
In B Grade, the pace was nearly as fast but the group managed to avoid any falls. Once again there were constant attacks, especially in the hills, but none were successful and the bunch lined up to fight out a fast sprint finish. First on the line was Karl Rameau with Mark Weightman, Graham Harvey, Tony Sunderland and Gary Parkham finishing in that order.
C Grade boasted the largest group of the afternoon which included several women riders. This race remained relatively intact until the bunch began to splinter on the run up into Bald Mountain. The stronger riders quickly asserted themselves and a race of attrition began with further riders being dropped over the remainder of the course. With just a few kilometres left to race only five riders were left to contest the finish. Once again Lindsay Smith used his strength to good advantage to win the sprint followed by Shane Conlon, Brad O'Rourke, John Anderson and Stuart Ellick. Sandra Bury had a great race to be the first woman to finish in this grade.
The smaller D Grade bunch also set out at a reasonable pace. This group worked well together with the three women competitors being prominent at the business end of the race. The bunch began to split up with several attacks on the way into Bald Mountain and continued to lose riders either to the hills or mechanical misfortune on the way to Numinbah and back. The remaining riders shared the hard work on the homeward run and despite several late surges were still together coming into the final straight. This played out well for Freddie Mason who used his well developed sprint to take out the race. Second home was Lindsay Crisp with Phil Ruge, Dave Toyer and Corey Barnes close behind. Both Gail Zinn and Ros Powley picked up respective placings as well which were justly deserved after all of their hard work throughout the race.
Racing next week is the annual Easter Masters Road Carnival. Entries for this three day event close on Wednesday, March 27, 2002. Normal racing will resume on Saturday 6 April 2002.
(Riders from Murwillumbah Cycling Club unless stated otherwise) A Grade 1 Brendan Egan 1.27 (38 km/h) 2 Ashley Bryant 3 Craig Reston 4 Jon Guy 5 Jon Eather B Grade 1 Karl Rameau 1.29 (37.1km/h) 2 Mark Weightman 3 Graham Harvey 4 Tony Sunderland 5 Gary Parkham C Grade 1 Lindsay Smith 1.33 (35.5km/h) 2 Shane Conlon (Gold Coast) 3 Brad O'Rourke 4 John Anderson 5 Stuart Ellick Women 1 Sandra Bury D Grade 1 Fred Mason (CATS) 1.41 (32.8km/h) 2 Lindsay Crisp 3 Phillip Ruge 4 Dave Toyer 5 Corey Barnes (Novice) Women 1 Gail Zinn 2 Ros Powley (Goldstars) Results prepared by Phil Ruge, Murwillumbah Cycling Club
Australian results from the past week |
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