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Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
Sandown Twilight Series, Tuesday January 30, 2007
By Mal Sawford
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Dark clouds over Sandown, and a couple of spots of rain looked ominous as the 6.30 start time approached, but the weather gods were kind and the circuit stayed dry allowing 222 riders to tackle a tough and windy night at Sandown.
Most of the seventy odd riders in the A Grade field looked like they were out of contention after only the second lap, when a break by Peter Barnett and Brendan Rowbotham (SHM Cycles), Andrew Stalder and Anthony Smith (Promains) and Davd Kemp (Merida/QAS) opened a significant gap. Working smoothly, the leader's margin continued to grow and had reached forty seconds over a lacklustre bunch at the half way mark.
It was only in the final fifteen minutes of racing that the bunch finally began to make some ground, with Sean Finning (South Australia.com/AIS) and Vaughan Bowman (Le Tour Cycles) ripping out some monster turns, halving the deficit to the leaders. Once the lead group was back in sight, the race became much more animated, with more riders contributing to the chase. A chase group split off the main field at three to go containing Pat Shaw (VIS), Danny Kah, and Damon De Angelis (Promains), with Shaw and Kah briefly joining the leaders, but the full field reformed on the penultimate lap.
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Kemp followed the counter attack by Finning and two of the top ten finishers at the Australian National MTB Championships; Murray Spink (Giant) and Scott Liston, which kept the field strung out for the final 3.2 kilometre lap, refusing to let his hard work come to nothing. When the bunch rounded the final turn, Kemp was still at the head of affairs, and sprinted to an impressive win ahead of Michael Downing (Beasley Cycles), who made his first podium appearance at A Grade level.
The minor places went to Nick 'what a beautiful baby' Walker (VIS), who had caused much mirth at the entry table with his spread in the latest Ride magazine, Cam Lester, Robert Crowe (BikeNOW) and Rowbotham.
By contrast, the B Grade race was a relatively tame affair, with no one strong enough to escape the big field. Matt Collins (CBD Cycles) made a huge effort on the final lap, but a field sprint always seemed inevitable. Robert Koroknai took the win by two lengths, showing he has fully recovered from the training accident that saw him restricted to corner marshal duties for most of the past two months.
Chris Halley (Kennedy Cycle Fit) sprinted home in second ahead of a wall of riders. Review of the video showed the minor places taken by Colin Morris, Aaron Pitt and Doug Reynolds (Doherty's Sheet Metal), just ahead of the leading women. The biggest women's field for some time, thanks to the first appearance by the Univega squad for the season, saw local star Nicole Whitburn (Mainline Cycles) finish seventh overall and hold off Priska Doppmann by less than half a wheel to take the win, with Peta Mullens (VIS/Inexa Race Frames) just behind.
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Glen Janetzki saved his big effort for the final laps of the C Grade race, breaking clear with Daniel Lewis-Toakley in the final two laps, but the pair couldn't hold off the frantic chase. Continuing the bunch sprint theme, Leigh Schilling claimed his first win, hitting out early into the head wind and holding off the B Grade bound Paul Weymouth, Geoff Parker and Daniel Noy. Radelle Berriman was too strong for Debbie Hobbs (Fitzroy Cycles) and took the women's division.
Veteran power broker Bill Upston made a rare appearance on the podium with a great sprint to win the D Grade race ahead of Dean Fay, Duncan Wood and Matthew Ashton. Upston generally spends his time as a rolling marshal in the D Grade bunch, passing on his years of experience to new riders, but took the opportunity to race for the win for a change when Mike Goldie and Jason Gelsi pulled on the orange vests. Suzannah Molloy was the fastest of the girls in the dash to the line, out sprinting Beata Janetzki and Melissa Nicholls.
Carnegie Caulfield Criteriums continue next Tuesday evening at Sandown Raceway is held on at Sandown International Raceway. Entry is via the Sandown Road gate from 6pm (Melways map 80 B6), with racing starting at 6.30pm for all grades. Sunday morning races at Glenvale Crescent (Melways map 80B2) resume on February 4th, with B, D and E Grades starting at 9am, while A and C Grade ride at 10am. Please note there is no racing at Glenvale on January 28th (the Australia Day weekend).
All holders of current Cycling Australia licenses are welcome (don't forget to bring your license or receipt - there is a strict no licence no race policy in effect!) and non-members can have a go by taking out a day license for $20. 2007 licenses are now available at all CCCC events. Returning riders must resume in the grade in which they last raced, unless prior arrangements are made with the handicapper.
For first time competitors and the younger juniors, Tokyo Olympian Mick Hollingsworth conducts novice racing clinics within the E Grade race at Glenvale Crescent. For further details, go to www.carnegiecycling.com.au.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by CJ Farquharson/www.Velophoto.net
- David Kemp leads the early A Grade break.
- Mike Goldie helped look after the new riders in D Grade.
- Nick Walker races in the late evening sun.
- Nicole Whitburn in the B Grade bunch.
- Bill Upston smashes the D Grade sprint.
- Rob Crowe pulls a huge turn as the A Grade race comes back together.
- Leigh Schilling's winning C Grade sprint.
- A classy women's line up in B Grade included Tanya Slater, Priska Doppmann, Tess Downing and Peta Mullens.
- The B Grade sprint took the full width of the finishing straight.
- Whitburn takes the top women's prize.
Results
A Grade (1 hour, 73 starters) 1 David Kemp (Queensland) 2 Michael Downing (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Nick Walker (Brunswick) 4 Cam Lester (St Kilda) 5 Robert Crowe (St Kilda) 6 Brendan Rowbotham (Carnegie Caulfield) B Grade (55 minutes, 60 starters) 1 Robert Koroknai (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Chris Halley (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Colin Morris (Footscray) 4 Aaron Pitt (Mornington) 5 Doug Reynolds (Blackburn) Women 1 Nicole Whitburn (Blackburn) 2 Priska Doppmann (Switzerland) 3 Peta Mullens (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Sarah Duster (Germany) C Grade (50 minutes, 46 starters) 1 Leigh Schilling (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Paul Weymouth (Mornington) 3 Geoff Parker (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Daniel Noy (Casey Cardinia) Women 1 Radelle Berriman (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Debbie Hobbs (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Melissa Kah (Carnegie Caulfield) D Grade (45 minutes, 43 starters) 1 Bill Upston (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Dean Fay (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Duncan Wood (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Matthew Ashton (NSW) Women 1 Suzannah Molloy (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Beata Janetzki (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Melissa Nicholls (Carnegie Caulfield)
