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Canberra CC - Summer Crit Series #8

Kingston Foreshore, December 18, 2002

Meadley takes the money

By Martin Mullin

Round 8 and the traditional Christmas Crit with over $1100 prize money was possibly the hardest, fastest A grade race of the summer so far, as indicated by the strung out peloton and high number of DNF's. It also produced a dramatic crash on the final corner that took out Baden Burke and Matt Hayman after Burke's wheels went out from under him on the 90-degree turn.

Earlier, the women's Open race saw the return of the dominant riders who had moved up to B grade in earlier rounds. All were permitted back into women-only race to contest the purse that matched the Open men's for the first time. An early break by Liz Hickey and Jesse Maclean looked promising as they held a 90 metre gap on the bunch for around 5 minutes, but this was gradually shut down, and Hickey and Maclean eventually conceded and allowed themselves to be reeled in.

Their effort caused a split in the bunch with a strong group of 12 dropping the rest of the peloton and staying away for the remainder. From there, the pace continued to be so high that attacks were virtually impossible and a bunch sprint became inevitable. No surprises in the end, as the dominant sprinters finished in much the same order as they have in most races where they have competed against each other this summer: Alison Wright first, Oenone Wood Second and Kim Palmer third.

Men's A grade was characterised by constant attacks. Marcus Hayman, James Meadley and Brent Miller were among those who attacked solo without success. Even when the composition of the attacks was strong (at one stage a group containing both Rabobank riders as well as Mick Rogers and consistent top 10 finishing A graders went away) the relentless pace was still enough to bring them back.

On the back straight of the final lap, riders were jostling for position with the first four - Matt Hayman, James Meadley, Baden Burke and Rory Sutherland slightly away from the chasing bunch. But as they rounded the final corner, Burke attempted to go wide around James Meadley, only to have his bike slide out from under him, sending him crashing into the trees. Hayman was following close behind and went down too, but controlled his fall and remounted later and rolled across the line to finish. The much-anticipated sprint never eventuated, with James Meadley rolling across the line in front of teammate Sutherland, with Paul Forrest third.

Fortunately, the corner Burke crashed on was being marshalled by a registered nurse, and he was being treated within a minute. It was a relief to all who 'seagulled' around him as his arm was put in a sling to hear him talking and joking, seemingly more annoyed at the missed opportunity than concerned for his health. Burke sustained deep grazes to his legs and arm and stitches in his elbow, but no major damage, whilst Hayman remained upright for the most part and ended up relatively unscathed.

Results

A Grade
 
1 James Meadley
2 Rory Sutherland
3 Paul Forrest
4 Dave Newton
5 Ian Downing
6 Paul Brosnan
7 Ross Blake
8 Dennis Mungoven
9 Kevin Poulton
10 Al Seiper
 
B Grade
 
1 Steve Hoskins
2 Shane Spicer
3 Jeff Dau
4 Dave Osmond
5 Joe Neeman
6 Fabio Calibria
7 Jared Rando
8 Ric Fitch
9 Adam Carmody
10 Dave Pinch
 
C Grade
 
1 Ashley Leggott
2 Steven Phelan
3 Justin Jervis
4 Richard Bourne
5 Peter Frew
6 Danny Ellis
7 Jim Davey
8 Mark Conners
9 Ben Yates
10 Andrew Mohr
 
Open Women
 
1 Alison Wright
2 Oenone Wood
3 Kim Palmer
4 Alesus Rhodes
5 Jessie Maclean
6 Terry Moore
7 Liz Hickey
8 Marg Hemsley
9 Bronwyn Wiseman
10 Erin Philp
 
Novice Women
 
1 Tania Churchil
2 Mirka Smith
3 Sian McDonald
4 Michelle Van der Voot
5 Victoria Smith
6 Dale Inabinet
 
Juniors
 
1 Mathew Meisel-Denis
2 Michael Phelan
3 Ashleigh Adamson
4 Chloe Hoskins
5 Alfred Cook