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National Road Cycling Championships - NE
Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, QLD, September 9-15, 2002
Results Event program and results
Criterium - Elite Men
Carr vroooms away from the Hot Rod
By Anthony Tan, Cyclingnews correspondent in Mooloolaba
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The field for the concluding and main event of the day, the elite men's criterium, lined up on shores of the Mooloolaba beachfront for their mid-morning hitout. With seven riders from the Carnegie Caufield Cycling Club, the Victorians had the clear upper-hand, and were sure to play the numbers game when it mattered most.
The race started off at blistering speed, and it was obvious that at least half the peloton had not fully recovered after yesterday's gruelling road race. In circumstances such as these, it becomes crucial to stay up the front - a dropped wheel early on more often than not signals curtains for those behind.
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Less than fifteen minutes into the one hour and three laps crit, two distinct groups had formed: one containing those that had the legs and the other containing those that didn't. The contrast in speed between the two packs was so different it was almost as if there were two races being held simultaneously.
No sooner had the lead group cemented their lead before James Taylor (Carnegie Caulfield CC) launched off the front. The boys from one of Victoria's most elite cycling clubs were here to do business, and the deal was to win.
Carnegie clubmate Kristjan Snorrason appeared to bridge across to his fellow rider effortlessly, and the two went into team time trial mode, opening up a lead on the front pack that would surely be unattainable.
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However Rod McGee (Paramatta CC) had other ideas. Macca came here to race, and race hard. So with just over twenty minutes remaining, the Hot Rod lit it up, bursting off the front group. Chris Carr, yet another from the Carnegie clan, saw the move, and McGee was soon joined by this lanky looking Victorian.
With the lead duo almost half a lap ahead, it appeared a formality for a 1-2 Carnegie win - however tragedy struck when James Taylor hit the deck on the bottom hairpin turn - and McGee and Carr now had "Snozza" in sight.
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Although Taylor could take a lap out, he was visibly shaken and badly hurt, unable to maintain the pace being set by NSWIS-FDJeux.com manager Rod McGee. Snorrason and Carr tried to rid themselves of their spanner in the works, but McGee couldn't be cracked, and with five minutes to go, it turned out to be Snorrason who tailed off.
In the closing stages, it was evident that Rod McGee had done a mountain of work as his body rocked from side to side in an effort to maintain the gap to Snorrason. But the majority of the crowd was right behind the underdog, and cheered him on as the three laps to go signal was announced.
McGee tried to shake off Carr in the final bend, but Chris Carr was too fresh and vrooomed past the Hot Rod who simply ran out of fuel. Veteran hardman Eddie Sales (Hinchinbrook CC) was the best of the rest, winning the sprint home for a spot on the podium.
Post race comments
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Chris Carr (Carnegie Caulfield), 1st:
"We didn't really have much of a chat before the race - we all know how to race and we knew there were five of us - and that we were the strongest team on the road. Something happened to my lever yesterday, and I had to choose one gear: I decided on a 53x15, and I was revvin' it at about 150 [RPM] down the back straight.
"I was pretty disappointed with a mechanical in yesterday's road race because I thought I was a pretty hot favourite, but coming away with the win today more than makes up for it.
"He [Rod McGee] was definitely tiring, but he was super strong and my job was just to sit on him when Kristjan [Snorrason] kept chasing - he was certainly the best sprinter out of the three of us, so I just had to sit on Rod and wait for Snozza to try and get back.
"If he [McGee] got back on, I would've attacked and Rod would have been isolated, which means it would have been a bit easier because it wouldn't have given him the chance of winning the sprint. But it all worked out well, so no complaints at all! I'm no sprinter, but when you're as fresh as I was, there's nothing you can do about it."
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Rod McGee (Paramatta CC), 2nd:
"I wasn't concentrating too much on them [Taylor and Snorrason]; I was just concentrating on keeping a good even pace.
"I just tried to keep a good tempo, but it was a bit hard knowing I had a bloke sitting on me, but I knew I just had to get there, but just not too quick - fortunately I still had a little bit of time up my sleeve.
"The first plan [when James Taylor crashed] was to make sure he didn't get back on; however I knew that I was still open to being attacked with two [Carnegie Caulfield riders] still there - so I figured the best plan of attack was to go on the attack after they attacked me a couple of times.
"It was very hard because I knew Snorrason was right there and I couldn't ease up for even half a lap - I had to keep the pressure.
"I would have preferred to him [Chris Carr] to lead out the sprint, but I couldn't afford to play cat and mouse because he had the upper hand - if I tried to get him to come to the front, Snorrason would have caught us - so basically I had to come out of that corner as hard as I could.
"I still thought I had to legs to do it and I started to come round him again, but I just ran out of legs in the end."
Photography
Photos by Tom Balks
- In the early stages of the race, the peloton was all strung out as the men with fresh legs quickly weeded out the deadwood
- Kristjan Snorrason (Carnegie Caulfield) didn't waste too much time in the main pack before launching off the front on his own, bridging across to teammate James Taylor
- Rod McGee (Paramatta CC) became frustrated at the main field's motivation to bring back the break of Taylor and Snorrason (Carnegie Caulfield), so he went off on his own - but not before sliding out on the dangerous bottom corner
- Rod McGee (Paramatta CC) gets a helping hand after taking a slide on the sketchy off-camber bottom corner
- The Carnegie Caulfield duo of James Taylor (front) and Kristjan Snorrason were all set for a Vic 1-2, but Taylor crashed out badly enough not to rejoin the race
- James Taylor (Carnegie Caulfield) ponders what might have been
- Chris Carr (Carnegie Caufield) comfortably rolls workhorse Rod McGee (Paramatta CC) in the sprint to the line
Results
1 Chris Carr (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield 1.03.20 2 Rod McGee (NSW) Parramatta Cycling Club 3 Kristjan Snorrason (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club 4 Edward Salas (NSW) Hinchinbrook Cycling Club 5 Russell Van Hout (SA) Adelaide Cycling Club 6 Paul Redenbach (Vic) Footscray CC 7 Warren Doyle (NSW) Hinchinbrook Cycling Club 8 Hilton McMurdo (WA) Northen Districts CC 9 Christopher Tymms (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club 10 Craig Cahill (Qld) CATS 11 Jaaron Poad (WA) Northen Districts CC DNF Chris Marassovich (ACT) Canberra Cycling Club DNF Martin Mullin (ACT) Canberra Cycling Club DNF Sam Nelson (ACT) Canberra Cycling Club DNF Adrian Booth (Qld) FFAST DNF Andrew Curro (NSW) Bicisport DNF Brad Glennan (NSW) St George Cycling Club DNF Liam Kelly (NSW) Eastern Suburbs DNF Campbell Kerr (NSW) Sutherland Shire CC DNF Brian King (NSW) St George Cycling Club DNF Brendan Shipp (NSW) St George Cycling Club DNF Brent Skippen (NSW) Parramatta Cycling Club DNF Chris Thomas (NSW) St George Cycling Club DNF Nicholas Wood (NSW) St George Cycling Club DNF Alistair Hartley (NT) Darwin Cycling Club DNF Troy Bunney (Qld) Caboolture CC DNF Stuart Cowin (Qld) Astra CC DNF Grant Gaston (Qld) Sunshine Coast Cycling Club DNF Dean Heathcote (Qld) Gold Coast Goldstars CC DNF Chris Klem (Qld) Townsville CC DNF Kane Oakley (Qld) Gold Coast Goldstars CC DNF Tony Sunderland (Qld) Townsville CC DNF Des Trindall (Qld) Sunshine Coast Cycling Club DNF Trent Goatley (Vic) St Kilda Cycling Club DNF Stephen Storer (Qld) Gold Coast Goldstars CC DNF Liam Clarey (Qld) Sunshine Coast Cycling Club DNF Chris Wilson (Qld) Kangaroo Point DNF Martin Pearce (Qld) FFast DNF Hilton Clarke (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club DNS Wayne Bower (NSW) Hunter District Cycling Club DNS Daniel Di Stefano (NSW) Kooragang Open Cycling Club DNS Peter Milostic (NSW) Penrith Panthers CC DNS Jose Rodriguez (NSW) Eastern Suburbs DNS Todd Sinclair (NSW) Northern Sydney DNS Phillip Thuaux (NSW) Central Coast DNS Martin Pearce (Qld) FFAST DNS Robert Tidey (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club DNS Justin Davis (Vic) Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
