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Results and Reports for July 20-26, 2002

Australia

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Murwillumbah Cycle Club

Nobbys Creek, NSW, July 20, 2002

Racing this week for the Murwillumbah Cycle Club was held over the Nobbys Creek course on Saturday 20 July 2002.

A total of 67 riders turned out to compete in the 5 graded scratch races. The Nobbys Creek course covers 55 kilometres taking riders firstly to Bald Mountain before coming back to Nobbys Creek and then home to finish as usual at Dulguigan. Plenty of short and steep hills are a feature of this course with the Nobbys Creek section often decisive in the outcome of these races.

There were 11 starters in A Grade who set out at a steady pace given the windy conditions on the afternoon. The race remained this way until the first hills after Chillingham where the attacks started in earnest. Despite these efforts the bunch stayed together even through Nobbys Creek with a sprint finish looking to be the likely outcome of the race. However with just a few kilometres to go Craig Reston broke clear of the bunch and rode strongly over the remaining distance to take the win. Chris Seldon led in the rest of the bunch to take second place with Jon Guy, Greg Pooley and Brendan Egan finishing in that order.

B Grade had 9 starters who also set about their race at a reasonable pace. This group kept together until Nobbys Creek where a stinging attack by Jeff Collier on the first hill split the bunch completely. Collier went clear at this point and was joined by Graeme Harvey in what looked like the decisive break of the race. Sensing the danger the bunch rallied and caught the 2 escapees by Boat Harbour to bring the race together again. Not to be outdone Collier broke away again just before the finish and stayed clear to take a good win. Second home after a strong ride was Tony Sunderland (the new Club Captain) with Graeme Harvey third and Peter Spencer fourth.

A big group of 23 riders contested C Grade. This race was on from the start with constant attacks and surges the order of the day. The fast pace took its toll with riders being dropped from the bunch from Bald Mountain onwards. Once into Nobbys Creek Jason Shortis broke away and was quickly joined by John Anderson in the move of the race. These 2 riders worked well together to stay clear of the chasing bunch with Anderson taking the sprint over Shortis. Third home was Lindsay Smith with Walter Perron fourth and Tim Beck in fifth place after another good ride.

D Grade had 16 starters who rolled along at a steady pace for much of the race. Sensing some complacency in the bunch Dennis Burger rode away at Crystal Creek on the way back and built up a lead of 500 metres going into Nobbys Creek. His lead was short lived when the bunch lifted the pace on the first hill and caught him by the top of the climb. This acceleration split the bunch with a group of 5 riders going clear until the finish. First home was Fred Mason with Dennis Brown, Mike McCall, Rolli Tombilis and Chris Bonner taking out the other places for the race.

The 8 riders in E Grade competed over 45 kilometres to Bald Mountain and return. This group worked well to keep together despite the troublesome winds and several attacks as riders tried to break away. At the end it was a sprint for the finish where Stan James showed his class and experience to take first with Eric Hall second and the seemingly unstoppable Melanie King third.

Racing next week is over the Bald Mountain course with a start time of 2.00 pm from Pat Smith Park, Dulguigan. Further information is available on 0412 823 103 if required.

Results

A Grade 55 kilometres in 1:28 (37.5 km/hr)

1 Craig Reston (Murwillumbah) 
2 Chris Seldon (GoldStars)
3 Jon Guy (LifeCycle)
4 Greg Pooley (Gold Coast)
5 Brendan Egan (Murwillumbah)

B Grade 55 kilometres in 1:29 (37 km/hr)

1 Jeff Collier (Murwillumbah)
2 Tony Sunderland (Murwillumbah)
3 Graeme Harvey (Murwillumbah)
4 Peter Spencer (Gold Coast)

C Grade 55 kilometres in 1:33 (35.5 km/hr)

1 John Anderson (Murwillumbah)
2 Jason Shortis (Gold Coast)
3 Lindsay Smith (Murwillumbah)
4 Walter Perron (Gold Coast)
5 Tim Beck (Murwillumbah)

D Grade 55 kilometres in 1:41 (32.6 km/hr)

1 Fred Mason (CATS)
2 Dennis Brown (Murwillumbah)
3 Mike McCall (Murwillumbah)
4 Rolli Tombilis (Murwillumbah)
5 Chris Bonner (Gold Coast)

E Grade 45 kilometres in 1:35 (28.5 km/hr)

1 Stan James (CATS)
2 Eric Hall (Murwillumbah)
3 Melanie King (Murwillumbah)