Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mont Ventoux Photo ©: Sirotti |
Results and Reports for June 22-28, 2002
Australia
Promoters wishing to submit results should send them to cyclingnews
Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
Modella, VIC, June 29, 2002
Two out of two for Snozza
Report courtesy Malcolm Sawford
Surprisingly good weather today after a dismal forecast and morning. 113 riders ignored the prospects of wet bums and fronted for the Club's Hilly course, and were rewarded with mainly clear skies! A few light showers dotted the afternoon, enough to stop the roads drying but pretty good for the depths of winter.
 |
The A Grade race promised to be a battle of the shop teams, with the SBR machine supporting inform rider Kristjan 'Snozza' Snorrason, while ProMotion had Cam Lester and Daniel Nelms leading their squad and the Le Tour boys also had strength in numbers. Sure enough, from the start the pace was on, and on the windy first leg towards Bayles the pressure at the front saw a number of riders hanging on for dear life at the back. The left turn towards the hills brought narrow roads with even less room to find shelter and 10km into the race riders were starting to slip gracefully off the back. Snozza forced a small gap before the base of the climb, and in the company of 4 others including Chris Tymms (ProMotion) and Trent Lowe (Yeti) was able to cruise over the first part of the climb, while the bunch had to go flat out to reel them in. After the regrouping, around 20 riders survived and rode tempo for the rest of the first lap, saving their strength for the crosswinds at the start of the second lap.
Second time round, Snozza was happy to stay with the bunch until the start of the hills, where he set a pace none could follow and settled into his now familiar time trial mode, with most of the SBR team left to police the bunch. He stayed clear to record his second win on the trot, with the bunch following 20 seconds later. Daniel Nelms looked set to take 2nd with an early jump catching the rest by surprise, before the big motor of Robert Crowe (BikeNOW) pegged him back on the line, with Tymms leapfrogging both riders to take 2nd in a very tight finish.
 |
No one succeeded in getting clear of the watchful B Grade bunch, but the big bunch was fairly quickly reduced in size by first the crosswinds and then the hills. Jamie Goddard (Le Tour Cycles) lead out too far from home at the finish, and the cagey Geoff Whiter took full advantage crossing 2 lengths clear of the bunch, with Hayden Mead (O'Mara Cycles) second. Under 17 rider Simon Clarke (BikeNOW) and Jeremy Dunning rounding out the podium, while Mountain Bike star Claire Baxter (Fitzroy Cycles) finished strongly in the first chase group to take the women's prize.
A fall involving 3 riders during the bunch sprint of the C Grade race saw Ron Chapman and Gavin Bourke off for X-rays of injured shoulders, while ahead of the tangle Martin Peeters sprinted to a good win ahead of Rick Jones and Debra Hobbs. Phil Grant avoided the fall and recovered to take the final spot on the winners list.
In D Grade, Lee Robinson earned promotion to C Grade with a good win, leaving the bunch behind and crossing the line alone, after catching and passing some of the C Grade stragglers before the end of their first lap! Alex Smyth lead the chase group home, ahead of father and son duo Kurt and Matt Jensen. New Victorian Institute of Sport member, Under 19 rider Apryl Eppinger took out the hotly contested Women's race in her first road outing of the season.
Commissaire Daryl Perkins deserves special mention for finally getting riders to assemble off the main road prior to the race start; while corner marshals Mike Goldie, Peter Homann, Otto Eppinger, Mick Hollingworth and lead car drivers Frank Murphy, Doug Moody, Mike Clarke, Peter Cayley, and Tina Downing ensured no one got lost, unlike the last race on this circuit. There were even enough helpers today for me to pin a number on, although with a puncture 10km in it was hardly worth the effort!
Next weekend's racing is the hill climb Time Trial up Mt Dandenong starting at the Basin, before a few weeks of Crits as riders sharpen up for the Melbourne to Ballarat Classic and the State Teams Time Trial Championships.
Photography
Images courtesy Malcolm Sawford
- In A Grade, Snozza" stayed clear to record his second win on the trot - with the bunch following 20 seconds later
- Daniel Nelms looked set to take 2nd with an early jump catching the rest by surprise - before the big motor of Robert Crowe (BikeNOW) pegged him back on the line, with Tymms leapfrogging both riders to take 2nd in a very tight finish
- In B Grade, Jamie Goddard (Le Tour Cycles) lead out too far from home at the finish - and the cagey Geoff Whiter took full advantage - crossing 2 lengths clear of the bunch, with Hayden Mead (O'Mara Cycles) second.
- Ahead of the tangle in the C grade race, Martin Peeters sprinted to a good win - ahead of Rick Jones and Debra Hobbs
- In D Grade, Lee Robinson earned promotion to C Grade with a good win - leaving the bunch behind and crossing the line alone, after catching and passing some of the C Grade stragglers before the end of their first lap
Results
Riders from Carnegie Caulfield CC unless noted otherwise A Grade, 80km - 28 starters 1 Kristjan Snorrason 2 Chris Tymms 3 Robert Crowe 4 Daniel Nelms B Grade, 80km - 37 starters 1 Geoff Whiter 2 Hayden Mead (Chelsea & Peninsula CC) 3 Simon Clarke 4 Jeremy Dunning (Coburg CC) Women - Claire Baxter (Hawthorn CC) C Grade, 80km - 32 starters 1 Martin Peeters 2 Rick Jones 3 Debra Hobbs 4 Phil Grant Women - Debra Hobbs D Grade, 40km - 16 starters 1 Lee Robinson 2 Alex Smyth 3 Kurt Jensen 4 Matt Jensen (Chelsea & Peninsula CC) Women - Apryl Eppinger
