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2006 Coburg Open Road Race Championships
Sunday, October 8, 2006, New Gisborne - Mt Macedon, 86km / 56km
The Jim Gleisner & Fred McNamara Perpetual Trophy
By Paul Logan
The Coburg Club Championships were held over a brand new and typical 'Logan'
torture circuit. The morning greeted the riders with strong and blustery south
westerly winds and temperatures as cold as seven degrees centigrade at the top
of Mt Macedon. Only the strongest and most persistent riders would win today.
The Masters 4+, Women and Juniors would race 55km, just avoiding the normal Newham-Lancefield loop. The riders were already reported being blown off the road even whilst the race was under control. However, the field was split apart once the race reached the very difficult Mt Eliza-Kerrie Valley Road, with eight significant climbs over the next 12km. (Brooke actually counted them all!). Only six remained after half the race was run, with still the 7km climb to Mt Macedon remaining. From then on, only the strong prevailed with Kevin Russell taking a strong victory at the summit. Brooke was the only remaining woman to finish, thus becoming Coburg Women's Club Champion. 14 year-old Josh Ferrie rode an impressive race becoming Junior Club Champion finishing only seven minutes behind Russell.
The Elite/Masters 2 & 3 race was always going to be a race of attrition
with a couple of top-class riders from other clubs coming out to race. The pace
at the beginning and on Mt Eliza road over the climbs was really on, and riders
we being dropped on every climb. Poor Ian McGinley in his first ever race was
dropped early but to his credit struggled on in the gale force winds finishing
at the top of the mountain in good shape. As the riders entered the Newham-Lancefield
circuit, Miller and Lovelock (both Hawthorn CC) attacked and with the Coburg
riders watching each other, took no interest in chasing. With only a handful
of riders remaining it looked like it was going to come down to a race up the
final climb. At the base of the mountain only Short, Logan, McDonough, Bertovic,
Laird and Wornes from Coburg, Bradshaw (St Kilda) and Denmead (Hawthorn) remained.
During the first half of the climb, a couple of attacks, especially a really
hard one from McDonough, reduced the field to only four. Bradshaw had done a
massive amount of work and could now no longer go with the pace. Laird and Denmead
also finally found the pace just a little too hot. In the final kilometre, Wornes
had the best legs opening a small lead which he would hold to the end. Meanwhile,
Lovelock exploded on the climb taking out the overall victory over Miller by
2:30min in an impressive climb to the summit.
Special thanks to Jamie Hanson (chief commissaire), the Condon and Logan families, Warren Smith and all the Coburg corner marshals (Steve P, Wayne D'Agostini, Anthony Somers and Andres Rojas) for standing out there in such atrocious conditions.
Open Results (86km)
1. Jono Lovelock (Haw) 2.21.59 2. Shane Miller (Haw) 2:21 3. Justin Wornes 6:25 - Club Champion 4. Tom McDonough 6:35 5. David Bertovic 6. Paul Logan 6:49 7. Jason Laird 8:10 8. James Bradshaw (StK) 8:26 9. Fraser Short 8:31 10. Stewart Denmead (Haw) 14:18 11. Tim Kirkham (Foo) 18:43 12. Wayne Gebert 21:28 13. Orazio Lo Castro (Ita) 21:32 13. Mick Skerritt 26:35 14. Ian McGinley 1.03.00 DNF Andrew Robinson
Masters 4+/Women/Juniors (56km) 1. Kevin Russell 1.47.19 2. Paul Davine 0.37 3. James Butler (Mac) 0.53 (Jnr) 4. Mel Humphreys-Grey 1.12 5. Laurie Lovelock (Haw) 1.47 6. Peter Ferrie 2.04 7. Josh Ferrie 7.01 (Jnr) 8. David Butler (Mac) 9. Brooke Condon 11.36 (Women) 10. Greg Gillard 26.41 11. Sam Lilley 1.04.27 (Jnr)
