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Results and Reports for April 20-21, 2002

Australia

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Murwillumbah Cycle Club

April 20, 2002

A sunny afternoon with light winds greeted the 46 riders who turned out to contest the Murwillumbah Cycle Club's weekly road race over the tough Nobbys Creek course.

This route covers some 57 kilometres and is regarded as one of the hardest races on the Club's program. A total of 12 short but steep climbs are spread over the length of this course, and when combined with rough narrow roads make it hard work for all riders. As one competitor commented: "If you are not going up then you are going down!"

A small A Grade bunch of six riders set off at a steady pace, seemingly intent on enjoying the sunshine. Things didn't stay quiet for long though and a series of surges and attacks once into the serious climbs beyond Chillingham began to test the bunch. Further attacks some 20 kilometres later on the run into Nobbys Creek broke this group up with three riders going clear on the last few climbs. These riders kept together over the remaining kilometres to contest a small sprint finish which saw Dave Costanzo first with John Kane second and Brenden Egan in third place.

B Grade started out with a good field of 15 riders. The pace was initially steady but the attacks started after a few kilometres and the race was on from there. These constant changes in pace stretched this group out and it finally broke up once into the hills towards Numinbah. Despite the smaller numbers the attacks continued which kept the pressure up on the riders. Steve Gibbs was one who found himself off the back not once but three times during the rest of the race. He refused to give in though and chased back each time to eventually finish fourth! The winner in this race was Daniel Bennett ahead of Graham Harvey second with Ashley Goewie in third place.

C Grade also had a good field of 15 riders who settled into a sensibly steady race. This bunch remained relatively intact until Nobbys Creek where the stronger riders began to move forward over the first few climbs. The race exploded on the final climb with four riders going clear. A small gap of a few hundred metres was quickly opened which the chasing bunch just couldn't close down. These riders worked well together until the finish where Errol Ellis out sprinted Stan Brims for first place with Dennis Kane third and "Mr. Consistency" Stuart Ellick in fourth spot.

A smaller group of 10 riders set out in D Grade. This group included two new riders to Murwillumbah in Tim Beck and Sarah Rota. Again a steady pace ensued initially but once into the hills the group began to splinter with just five riders still in contention by Numinbah. However, Tim Beck was keen to stretch his legs and a sudden acceleration on the climb back up from Couchy Creek saw him break away from the other riders. Tim maintained his lead into Nobbys Creek where Sarah Rota and Phil Ruge also went clear on the first climb. Despite working well together Beck stayed away to take the win with Sarah Rota second and Phil Ruge in third place. Last week's winner Dennis Brown was a creditable fourth after being on his own for the last 10 kilometres of the race as no other riders from this group were able to finish!

Racing next week is over the Bald Mountain course with a 2.00 pm start from Pat Smith Park, Dulguigan. A Commissaires Course is being held at Nerang from 13 May to 14 June 2002. Any interested members should please see Lesley Larsen for further details.

Results - 57km

A Grade
 
1 Dave Costanzo (Murwillumbah)        1.35.00 (36km/h)
2 John Kane (Murwillumbah)
3 Brenden Egan (Murwillumbah)
 
B Grade
 
1 Daniel Bennett (Gold Coast)         1.39.00 (34.5km/h)
2 Graham Harvey (Murwillumbah)
3 Ashley Goewie (Gold Coast)
4 Steve Gibbs (Murwillumbah)
 
C Grade
 
1 Errol Ellis (CATS)                  1.41 (33.9 km/h)
2 Stan Brims (CATS)
3 Dennis Kane (CATS)
4 Stuart Ellick (Murwillumbah)
 
D Grade
 
1 Tim Beck (Murwillumbah)             1.47 (32km/h)
2 Sarah Rota (CATS)
3 Phil Ruge (Murwillumbah)
4 Dennis Brown (Murwillumbah)