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Riverland Cycling Club
Road race, Winkie - March 4 & Criterium, Monash - March 7
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Tuesday night's criterium ended in a balancing act between Nigel Willoughby and Lee Stevens after being dropped by the leading riders. Willoughby's wheel was the first to cross the line, forced to claim third place ahead of Stevens.
Averaging 39.5km/h during their 45-minute race, A Grade riders Hamish MacKirdy and Matthew Benson still had the legs to charge down the home straight. Although it was a well-fought sprint, MacKirdy was too strong on the night, winning a bike length ahead of Benson.
Mick Gray, Chris Stevens, Angus Boase, Greg Hatcher and Marcus Whitting rode in B Grade this week pushing it hard for the entire race. Boase made a strong charge during the race forcing his rivals to keep pace; Whitting's tow cable snapped which saw him drop off the back. The four remaining in the bunch re-grouped and counted down the minutes until the final lap where there was yet another sprint.
Line honours went to Chris Stevens followed by Greg Hatcher and Mick Gray. Angus Boase crossed in fourth ahead of Marcus Whitting riding the full 40+ minutes.
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C Grade rode in a tight bunch for the entire race, each taking their turn at the front. All four riders found their energy reserve and made a mad dash for the line with Peter Weston leading the charge. Ruth Strout followed closely behind taking second place ahead of Janine Webb and Angelo Ylia.
John Eshman won D Grade's competition ahead of Megan Taylor and Ralph Anderson. Gordon Lawton rounded out the placing's after their grade averaged 29.5km/h for the night's race.
Scratch races were held at Winkie on Sunday. Although it was a relatively small turnout, those that nominated still remained competitive. Unfortunately John Eshman and Angelo Ylia; riding in B Grade, only managed prickle patrol.
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Peter Weston, Lara MacKirdy, Ruth Strout and Amanda Steele may have looked like they were out on a leisurely ride but they proved their was still a race to be won. In a tight sprint battle for the line, Weston claimed line honours ahead of second place MacKirdy. Strout and Steele followed in a battle of their own, giving 110% to determine the minor placing's. Steele was forced to settle for fourth place after a determined Strout gritted her teeth and pushed it home to take out third.
A Grade's Hamish MacKirdy, Lee Stevens, Matthew Benson and Chris Stevens fought hard during their 47km race. There was no freewheeling on Sunday with riders prepared to test their strength, endurance and sheer determination. After reaching their maximum speed of 50km/h the A Graders dug deep to sprint down the finishing straight. Chris fought hard in an attempt to claim victory over Club Champion MacKirdy but was caught metres before the line. Lee followed claiming third with Matthew Benson rounding out the A Grade competition.
The start of the RCC's Track Championships begins in Renmark on Sunday followed by Tuesday night's Criterium Series. Further information is available from www.riverlandcyclingclub.com our website is under ‘construction' and archived photos taken prior to September 2006 are now available through the Snapfish website. An invitation to view these can be obtained by posting a comment on our new site.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Janelle Stevens
- A Grade top two, Matthew Benson and Hamish MacKirdy.
- Balancing act: Lee Stevens and Nigel Willoughby.
- C Grade top three, Peter Weston, Ruth Strout and Janine Webb.
- D Grade winner, John Eshman.
- Winkie: Amanda Steele, Lara MacKirdy, Peter Weston and Ruth Strout.
Results
Scratch race: Winkie A Grade (Av 36km/h) 1 Hamish MacKirdy 2 Chris Stevens 3 Lee Stevens 4 Matthew Benson B Grade (Av 32.2km/h) 1 Peter Weston 2 Lara MacKirdy 3 Ruth Strout 4 Amanda Steele 5 John Eshman 6 Angelo Ylia Criterium: Monash A Grade (Av 39.5km/h) 1 Hamish MacKirdy 2 Matthew Benson 3 Nigel Willoughby 4 Lee Stevens B Grade (Av 36.5km/h) 1 Chris Stevens 2 Greg Hatcher 3 Mick Gray 4 Angus Boase 5 Marcus Whitting C Grade (Av 34km/h) 1 Peter Weston 2 Ruth Strout 3 Janine Webb 4 Angelo Ylia D Grade (Av 29.5km/h) 1 John Eshman 2 Megan Taylor 3 Ralph Anderson 4 Gordon Lawton
