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NSW Elite road Championships
Bathurst, NSW, August 20, 2005
By Mark Windsor
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Mount Panorama in Bathurst, NSW, is famous as the ultimate test of endurance and toughness, so when Bicycling NSW took it's State Road Championships to the Mount, it was always going to be a difficult event. However, most agreed the new course was the hardest Championship Road Course ever raced in Australia, with the introduction of the 20%+ climb known as 'The Dump' to the elite cyclists of NSW.
Few could argue that the medals didn't go to deserving winners as riders tested their endurance to the limits. Clarence St Cyclery brought a very strong team to Bathurst and took the medals in the both the Open Elite Category and U23 division with defending champion Klayton Smith making it back-to-back titles, while last start winner (at the Centennial Park Ride for Life) Peter Hutton gave Clarence Street the double. The pair crossed the line together after attacking Sutherland's Joe McDonnell in the closing stages of the 150km event, McDonnell finishing around 30 seconds down in third overall and runner up in the Elite division.
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The race featured an early break away by Parramatta riders Brendan Jones and Brent Skippen, however Skippen fell on the descent in the middle stages, leaving Jones alone in front. After being caught and then dropped by the three leaders, the gutsy Parramatta rider finished with Luis Trueba to finish take fourth and fifth overall. Tamworth's Aaron Little was also strong, coming in sixth, while local Bathurst rider Hamish Elliot finished in seventh in front of Byron Bay cyclist Morgan Pilley.
Another local, Mitch Chapman of Orange, was outstanding in the U19 championship; only back in Australia four days after representing Australia in the Junior Would Championships in Austria, Chapman went on the attack early and sprinted up the hill every lap to ride away for a big win. Taking the silver was Canberra's promising junior Fabio Calabria and Port Macquarie's Chris Jory finished strongly to take the bronze medal off St George's Luke Barrett.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Windsor
- Klayten Smith and Peter Hutton cross the finish line to win the Elite and U23 titles
- Brent Skippen was the leader early before a fall
- Mitch Chapmen just back from the worlds in Austria, was too good in the U19 division
- Joe McDonnell was glad to finish, taking silver in the Elite division
- Fabio Calabria fights it out with "the Dump" hill
- Bathurst rider Hamish Elliot was third in the U23 NSW championship for the second year in a row
Results
Elite 1 Klayten Smith (Clarence St Cyclery) 2 Joe McDonnell (Sutherland) 3 Luis Trueba (Hillbrick Frames) 4 Aaron Little (Tamworth) U23 1 Peter Hutton (Clarence St Cyclery) 2 Brendan Jones (Parramatta) 3 Hamish Elliot (Bathurst) 4 Morgan Pilley (Byron Bay) U19 1 Mitch Chapman (Merida/Orange) 2 Fabio Calabria (Canberra) 3 Chris Jory (Port Macquarie) 4 Luke Barrett (St George)
