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Norwood Cycling Club Tuesday series #18
Regency Park, South Australia, March 16, 2004
A great turn out from cyclist this evening with well over one hundred riders taking part in the second last event at Regency Park.
Julian Trudringer again held the rest of E grade in control by showing his dominance with a few hard turns of pace when they started to get twitchy. Trudringer took the win but it was good to see the ladies filling the minor placings in Gemma Kernich, Rebecca Ormsby and Claire Stevens.
Over thirty riders rolled off in the D grade event with the bunch staying together for the whole race. Only rider not to finish was once again tom Baxter with mechanical problems after having his normal racing bike wrecked when he was hit by a car the week before. Everyone lined up for a big sprint with Scott Hudson taking the win in his long awaited comeback, with new rider Clive Page taking second over the foxy Greg Ford in third.
Age and experience overcame youth in C grade with the oldies filling the first four placings. This bunch too stayed together and the race came down to the final sprint with Darcy Bates easily taking the win over Bill Drodge and Mark Smith.
B grade was won by New Zealander Michael Lampp who is calling Australia home. Lampp has made a habit now of taking out a few placings while moving through the grades and by the way hes going will soon be in A grade. The bunch stayed together and continued their fast pace but it too came to the bunch sprint with second place going to Bradley Allen from the doc Stephen Sabine.
A grade rider and sponsor series points leader Stuart Cathcart had to put it all on the line in tonights race as Mat Rex was only a few points behind him on the leaders board and breathing down his neck. Rex knew this so did all he could to get away from Cathcart to take the lead. Cathcart followed him everywhere but for a few minutes missed him and the next thing Rex was up the road with Shane Gill and Ben Biggs. The bunch of 27 riders hesitated and could not work a chase group.
That was it and the race would be taken out by the break group. Rex was way too powerful and was not going to let the other two get in his way of taking the points so he rode them into the ground over the final two laps to take an easy win. Gill was second and an unusually tired Biggs was third. Peter Mueller tried a solo break with a few minutes left on the clock and managed to hold on to fourth while James Sampson attacked the bunch with one to go and holdout for fifth a bike length in front of the bunch.
Rex’s win enabled him to top the leaders board now four points ahead of Cathcart, with the final being at Whitmore Square next Sunday. Next Tuesday will be the final criterium race at Regency Park and there will be no certainty in the final fifteen placings until the races are completed. It will certainly make for some exciting fiery racing. See you there!
Results
A Grade 1 Mat Rex (SASI/Rio Coffee/Main North Nissan) 2 Shane Gill (Bianco Cycling Team) 3 Ben Biggs (Mittiga/Norwood Parade Cycles) 4 Peter Mueller (Rio Coffee/Main North Nissan) 5 James Sampson B Grade 1 Michael Lampp 2 Bradley Allen 3 Stephen Sabine (JT Cycles Salisbury) 4 James Ross (JT Cycles Brighton) 5 Jarrod Cross (Trak Cycles/Ciombola) C Grade 1 Darcy Bates 2 Bill Drodge (Key Home Loans) 3 Mark Smith 4 John Kah 5 Tim Cronk (JT Cycles Brighton) D Grade 1 Scott Hudson 2 Clive Page 3 Greg Ford 4 Keith Wong (Bicycle Express) 5 Thom Edwards E Grade 1 Julian Trudringer 2 Michael Karp 3 Gemma Kernich (Bicycle Express) 4 Rebecca Ormsby 5 Claire Stevens Juniors 1 Matt Sanders 2 Lee Chesson 3 Michael Davis 4 Tiffany Cromwell (Bicycle Express)
