Bank SA State Wide Team ChallengeAdelaide Superdrome Sunday December 15 1996In an omnium style format similar to the Grand Prix des Nations, the South Australian Cycling Federation ran an experimental teams track competition. Each team had a manager and a coach assigned. All race categories were covered.Teams
Red Rockets Manager Charlie Walsh Coach Jeff Robinson Green Machine Manager Ian McKenzie Coach Graham Fowler (the source of the news! - self promotion gone mad!) Blue Bloods Manager Shayne Bannon Coach Graeme Zucker White Knights Manager Gary West Coach John Murray Article in Advertiser by Tanyas LewisAustralian Olympic rider Brett Aitken continued his success in elimination races yesterday with a Super-Drome win in the Bank SA statewide teams challenge.Aitken (Red Rockets) held off Luke Roberts(Green Machine) in the final two laps. Australia's former world junior championship rider Nigel Grigg (Blue Bloods) was third with Darcy Bates (White Knights) fourth. The win gave first blood to the Charlie Walsh - Jeff Robinson coached Red Rockets in the team styled racing at the Superdrome. Roberts, riding for the Ian McKenzie / Graham Fowler Green Machine replied with a first in the men's 200m pursuit in 2min23.90sec. Grigg followed second in 2:26.92 with the White Knights Keith Felix third in 2:28.25. Olympian Tim Lyons - at 18 still eligible for Junior racing - won the under 19 men's pursuit in 2:22.84 from Cameron Spears in 2:31.67. Kerry Guley picked up another victory for the Red Rockets in the Senior women's 1k pursuit with a narrow 1:12.01 win over the Green Machine's Sonya Simpson in 1:12.04. Senior men's sprint went to the red rockets again with Paul Lonergan finishing ahead of the Green Machine's John Katakasi and the White Knight's Theo Chappel. Kane Selin continued the White Knights sprint success under AIS sprint coach Gary West, winning the under 19 men's sprint. Chelsey Zucker Zucker's first place in the Sprint ride over Jacinta Ormston and confident first place in the Women's point score scratch race pulled the Green Machine from certain defeat to win narrowly from the white Knights and Red Rockets followed by the Blue Bloods. The race meeting was marred when promising young rider Simon Lukeman fell awkwardly after pulling his foot on the steep banking. Simon was taken to hospital by ambulance with facial injuries. Results1. Green Machine 80 points 2. White Knights 78 points 3. Red Rockets 76 points 4. Blue Bloods 74 points |