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Trek Bikes summer series final
Heffron Park, Maroubra, March 23, 2004
C Grade stay away to win
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After twelve weeks of trying, C grade finally got their act together to stay away and take line honours in the final round of the 2004 Trek Bikes Summer Series at Heffron Park. Randwick Botany rider, Andy Mathews showed an impressive kick in the last 100 metres to easily outsprint the 25 strong C grade field.
The last round had no bearing on the overall placings in the Series and Jose Rodriguez (FRF Couriers/Easts) is the 2004 Trek Bike Series Champion. His unbeatable thirteen point lead going into the last round meant he didn't even have to raise a sweat to collect the first prize of a Trek 5500 Carbon OCLV , choosing instead to sit out the last race.
Mathew Lucas (Randwick Botany) held onto his comfortable margin in the Sprint King competition and was the winner of a smart new Shimano Dura Ace Wheelset. No change in the C grade competition lead either, where 16 year old Keegan Atchinson (Southern Cross) capped off a fine season of racing and has proven he is now ready, along with clubmate Chris Guillan, to race at a higher level.
With the main prizes already determined, the last round lacked some of the usual intensity. The smaller numbers in B and C grades meant the large C grade bunch were always going to have their best chance of the season to stay away for the win. This didn't diminish the speed of the last few laps for the combined B and C grades, as with only one place for each grade available, there was plenty of enthusiasm in the sprint which mountain biker Paul Rowney won in commanding style ahead of Anthony Spurgeon. Jerzy Sowa showed once again he is the master of saving everything for the last 200m when he easily outsprinted the B grade field to claim the money for first B grade.
The presentation (a dry one because Frank forgot the beers) got underway as the autumn sun set on another season of outstanding racing. Next summer will be the 20th year of Tuesday night racing at Heffron Park and the high calibre of racing, camaraderie and fun is still an important part of the whole experience. A special thanks go to sponsorship support from Trek Bikes Australia and Shimano Australia who contributed the main prizes.
On behalf of all riders, big thanks again to the Eastern Suburns Club, especially Jenny Spurgeon and Pat Johnston who were there every week to manage the racing. Thanks also to the Randwick Botany team of Frank and Helen Vella, John and Joanne Buckton, Richard Jenkins and Tony Horneman for their support and the use of their club facilities each week.
The end of season awards aren't official, but it's worth mentioning some fine
performances.......
The most improved was Peter McDonald who started the summer in C grade and finished
in A grade and didn't miss one turn along the way. The most consistent in the
Series was Jose Rodriguez who placed in all six overall finishes and won two
along the way. Consistent performances also from Mat Lucas and Jerzy Sowa who
must have now booked their starts in A grade for next season.
Encouragement awards to junior riders Peter Guillan and Keegan Atchinson who can look forward to bigger and brighter performances in the future. The handicap award goes to the handicapper - enough said. Thank you awards to all the riders who turned up to compete each week and although they may never have reached the podium, they added to the competition and flavour of Tuesday night racing.
Ride safely over winter, train hard, race hard and see you on the start line next summer.
Results
1 Andy Mathews (Randwick Botany)
2 Patrick Grant (Sutherland)
3 Chris Guillan (Southern Cross)
4 Tim Rice (Sydney)
5 Keegan Atchinson (Southern Cross)
A Grade
1 Paul Rrowney (Easts)
B Grade
1 Jerzy Sowa (Randwick Botany)
Trek Bikes Final Pointscore
1 Jose Rodriguez 27 pts
2 Dave Whyman 14
3 Matthew Lucas 13
4 Jerzy Sowa 9
5 Rodney McGee 8
6 Steve Wooldridge 7
6 Brian Appleyard 7
6 Steve Fitzpatrick 7
6 Stuart Dangerfield 7
6 Roland Lang 7
6 Andy Mathews 7
12 Robert Cater 6
12 Trent Iliffe 6
12 Chris Guillan 6
15 Peter McDonald 5
16 David Tanner 4
16 Chris Gruber 4
16 Peter Hatton 4
16 Patrick Jones 4
16 Liam Kelly 4
16 Patrick Grant 4
22 Jason Ockerby 3
22 Luke Cridland 3
22 Andrew Kilday 3
22 Keiran Cameron 3
26 Jeff Jones 2
26 Danny Iannazzo 2
26 John Kenny 2
26 Stewart Campbell 2
26 Keegan Aitchinson 2
26 Tim Rice 2
32 John Tzinberg 1
32 Anthony Spurgeon 1
32 Gavin Bates 1
A/B Grade Final Sprint King
1 Matthew Lucas 61 pts
2 Jerzy Sowa 50
3 David Green 38
4 Peter McDonald 25
5 Jose Rodriguez 20
6 Liam Kelly 14
7 Dave Whyman 13
7 Scott Callum 13
9 Patrick McNaughton 12
10 John Sunde 10
10 Alan Bozunovic 10
10 Stephen Pearson 10
13 Stuart Dangerfield 9
13 Patrick Jones 9
13 Roland Lang 9
16 Chris Jenkins 8
17 Craig Dempsey 7
17 Rodney McGee 7
19 Stewart Campbell 6
19 Paul Rowney 6
21 Trent Iliffe 5
21 Steve Wooldridge 5
21 Brian Appleyard 5
21 Steve Fitzpatrick 5
25 Anthony Challinor 3
25 John Kenny 3
25 Chris Gruber 3
25 Peter Hatton 3
25 Dave Evans 3
25 David Tanner 3
25 Andrew Kilday 3
25 Anthony Spurgeon 3
25 Sean Vale 3
34 Roger Sully 2
34 Luke Cridland 2
34 Robert Cater 2
37 Keiran Cameron 1
37 David Stewart 1
37 Warwick Edwards 1
37 Tony Iannicito 1
37 Michael Murdoch 1
37 Brett Townsend 1
C Grade Final Pointscore
1 Keegan Aitchinson 24 pts
2 Chris Guillan 17
3 Duncan Markham 16
4 Danny Iannazzo 9
4 Mark Robertson 9
6 Andy Mathews 8
7 Kevin Black 6
8 Jason Ockerby 5
9 Shane Howley 3
9 Patrick Grant 3
11 Chris Dowd 1
11 Steve Corfanis 1
Past winners
Series Sprint King C Grade
2003 Craig Dempsey Robert Cater Craig Dempsey
2002 Anthony Spurgeon Todd Sinclair Clive Hammerson
2001 Stewart Campbell John Sunde David Johanson
2000 Stewart Campbell Tony Iannacito Victor Pires
