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Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
Glenvale Crescent Criteriums - Sunday, March 25, 2007
By Mal Sawford
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The clocks went back an hour as daylight savings ended, and the sun was out early at Glenvale Crescent. It lacked warmth however, and a strong cool breeze blew making for a tough day at the office for the 200 riders who pinned numbers on.
Matt Sherwin (SHM/CCCC) featured in the early A Grade suicide break, which gained thirty seconds before being pegged back. Once the field was back together, the pace remained high enough that few riders were prepared to risk wasting their energy battling the strong winds alone or in a small group.
The brave few included David Sturt (Giant/Pro-Motion), Pat Shaw (VIS), Danny Kah (SHM/CCCC) and Peter Trigar, but although the 70 rider field spent much of the hour strung out in single file, the elastic never snapped and the entire field charged around the final three laps heading towards the inevitable bunch sprint.
The outnumbered Promains squad roped 'gun-for hire' Warren Knevitt (O'Mara Cycles) into their lead out train, which paid dividends when Andrew Stalder sprinted to his third successive win, with Inexa Race Frames series leader Brendan Rowbotham (SHM/CCCC) once again having to settle for second ahead of team mate Nathan Wise, Nick Walker (CBD Cycles), Dale Woonton (Hillman) and Jason Theobald (O'Mara).
Visiting Queenslander Dean Heathcote tested the waters early on in B Grade, opening a big lead before returning to the shelter of the bunch. Nigel Kimber (O'Mara) was also aggressive all day long and featured in a number of breaks before bridging to a late effort by Matt Edsall, Gareth Martyn and Brian Nguyen. The bunch chased down the quartet with three laps remaining, only to see Gary Chamberlain (Bicycle Superstore) counter attack and open a ten second lead.
Chamberlain was still clear next time round, but was picked up at the bell with Rowan Dever (BikeNOW) powering away to open what looked like a race winning lead. Disaster struck Devers two corners from glory when a blow out sent him crashing to the ground. Heathcote, in town for the Australian Masters Championships, shot clear in the back straight to turn into the home straight with an unbeatable lead, and cruised to the line ahead of Steve Martin, Kimber, Chamberlain and Sean Carruthers.
Jason Swackhammer threw the gauntlet down early in C Grade, working with Peter Quibell to build a handy lead, but the well co-ordinated bunch eventually chased them down. The race came down to a bunch sprint, with Adrian Grech surprising himself with a good win ahead of Neale Adams, Swackhammer and Troy Baker.
David Kefaloukos led the D Grade bunch into the home straight, and sprinted strongly to the line, but couldn't quite hold off Haydn Paynter. Richard Carnibella came closer to joining his brother in C Grade with his third place finish ahead of the consistent Daniel Petrovic.
In women's racing, Nicole Whitburn looked comfortable in the A Grade field, and had little trouble staying near the front of the big field. Clare Vlahopolous sprinted to her first win in B Grade ahead of Michelle Murrell and Kerryn Charman (Inexa race Frames, while Kerry Howard (Fitzroy Cycles) took the C Grade race with a good sprint after attacking the bunch early in the race. Melissa Kah beat Radelle Berriman (Terry Hammond Cycles) home for second.
Leesa McDonell (Melbourne Bicycle Centre) sprinted to her first D Grade win, just ahead of Rebecca Domange, a new graduate of the Mick Hollingworth Cycling Academy, and Andrea Bishop.
Carnegie Caulfield crits continue every Sunday morning except Easter Sunday until the end of April at Glenvale Crescent (Melways map 80 B2). B, D and E Grades start at 9am, while A and C Grade ride at 10am.
All holders of 2007 Cycling Australia licenses are welcome (don't forget to bring your license or receipt!) and non-members can have a go by taking out a day license for $20. Licenses are now available at all CCCC events. All returning riders must resume in the grade they last raced in, unless prior arrangement has been made.
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
Results
A Grade (1 hour + 3 laps, 67 Starters) 1 Andrew Stalder (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Brendan Rowbotham (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Nathan Wise (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Nick Walker (Brunswick) 5 Dale Woonton (Carnegie Caulfield) 6 Jason Theobald (Carnegie Caulfield) Women 1 Nicole Whitburn (Carnegie Caulfield) B Grade (1 hour + 3 laps, 54 Starters) 1 Dean Heathcote (Queensland) 2 Steve Martin (MTBA) 3 Nigel Kimber (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Gary Chamberlain (Blackburn) 5 Sean Carruthers (Carnegie Caulfield) Women 1 Clare Vlahopolous (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Michelle Murrell (Mornington) 3 Kerryn Charman (Geelong) C Grade (50 minutes + 3 laps, 32 Starters) 1 Adrian Grech (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Neale Adams (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Jason Swackhamer (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Troy Baker (St Kilda) Women 1 Kerry Howard (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Melissa Kah (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Radelle Berriman (Carnegie Caulfield) D Grade (45 minutes + 3 laps, 39 Starters) 1 Haydn Paynter (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 David Kefaloukos (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Richard Carnibella (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Daniel Petrovic (Carnegie Caulfield) Women 1 Leesa McDonell (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Rebecca Domange (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Andrea Bishop (Carnegie Caulfield) E Grade (45 minutes + 3 laps, 8 Starters) 1 Chris Beckett (Carnegie Caulfield) 2 Lloyd Dowling (Carnegie Caulfield) 3 Charlie Sturt (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 Jack Quibell (Carnegie Caulfield)
