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Illawarra CC Scratch
Wollongong, September 14 2002
The racing on the weekend was held in reasonably good conditions despite the slightly smoky atmosphere. The riders supported the event by turning up in good numbers spread over all three grades.
A Grade set off for the 41.5km race at a steady pace with not too many attacks in the initial stages. The pace was such that B Grade, who started 1 minute behind, started to catch them.
The field was a strong one so the small attacks that were made on the group had a small chance of success, non-the less, attacks did come throughout the race. Despite the attacks from various riders, the field did stay together for the final sprint, which was a blanket sprint with riders taking up all the room they had to pass each other.
Mark Wall managed to hold off the strong sprint from Peter Jones, Dylan Forbes and, Adrian Cooper.
B Grade too was a strong field of competitors with riders such Adam Hotchkis, Jason Johnson and Peter Evans. Although more known for their sprinting, Hotchkis and Johnson can still ride a good pace and make breaks along the road.
The pace was kept pretty consistent through the race with very little in the way of serious attacks, as the bunch was very attentive to the moves that were being made by various riders such as Evans and Garry Doughty.
The result came down to the finishing straight with Neil Midgley obtaining a small advantage on the bunch in the last 300 metres to cross the line clear of the pack. The sprint for 2nd was a fast and furious one between Doughty, Evans, Hotchkis, and Jordan Gover with the result in that order.
As a result of the inclusion of a few D Grade riders in the C Grade group, it was decided to set the course to 37.5km for C Grade, which meant they did not need to climb the steep side of Marshall Mount. The riders were always looking to make small breaks to get away from each other, but with Denis Fitzgerald back from a short break overseas. The chances of anyone getting away to far would be limited.
Other riders such as Dean Marcinkowski, Peter Vesel and, Phil Jones would also make life hard for any breaks or the bunch if they decided to make a break for the line. For most of the ride they stayed together, but Marcinkowski had other ideas as he climbed towards the railway bridge on Marshall Mount Rd for the last time. Putting in a good attack, he managed to give the slip to the group and gain a good advantage over the bunch.
Once the bunch crested the climb, Fitzgerald and Bethany McCarthy set to the task of chasing down the Marcinkowski. However, Marcinkowski has shown great strength in recent weeks and managed to hold off the chasing pack to the end claiming victory by 9 seconds from Vesel, Paul Kaye and, Jones.
Next week' s race is the Final round in the Interclub series is to be held at Suttons Forest. Adrian Cooper is currently equal 1st in the series with Nowra Rider Scott Johnson. Good luck, Adrian!
Results, 37.5km
C Grade, 37.5km 1 Dean Marcinkowski (Illawarra) 1.04.40 2 Peter Vesel (Illawarra) 0.09 3 Paul Kaye (Illawarra) 4 Phil Jones (Illawarra) 5 Dennis Fitzgerald (Illawarra) 6 Teegan Makowski (Illawarra) 7 Tony Stephenson (Illawarra) 8 Peter Kelly (Illawarra) 9 Bethany Mccarthy (Illawarra) 10 Lou Jonceski (Illawarra) 11 Warren Poole (Non-Member) 1.01 12 Lou Caruana (Non-Member) 3.11 13 Marco Ciccarelli (Non-Member) 5.58 14 Andrew Brooks (Illawarra) 9.58 A Grade, 41.5km 1 Mark Wall (Sutherland) 1.06.51 2 Peter Jones (Illawarra) 3 Dylan Forbes (Illawarra) 4 Adrian Cooper (Illawarra) 5 Mark Davis (Illawarra) 6 Jeff Gray (Illawarra) 7 Hardy Lohse (Illawarra) 8 Frank Tortorici (Illawarra) 9 Nathan A'Bell (Illawarra) 0.06 DNF Richie Lorenc (Illawarra) DNF Graham Rutter (Hinchinbrook) B Grade, 41.5km 1 Neil Midgley (Illawarra) 1.08.41 2 Garry Doughty (Illawarra) 3 Peter Evans (Illawarra) 4 Adam Hotchkis (Illawarra) 5 Jordan Gover (Illawarra) 6 Jose Periera (Illawarra) 7 Ben Lohse (Illawarra) 8 Alex Verdi (Illawarra) 9 Austin Pitman (Illawarra) 0.38 10 Jason Johnson (Illawarra) 11 Matt Duggan (Non-Member) 7.25 DNF Brian Joyce (Illawarra) DNF Tony Pulo (Illawarra)
