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Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club
50km Points Race Classic - Packer Park Velodrome, Melbourne, February 17, 2005
By Mal Sawford
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Carnegie Caulfield's annual open track enduro, held over 135 grueling laps of the Packer Park Velodrome, was taken out by 20-year-old Ararat cyclist Nic Sanderson (AIS-Mapei), after a race long three way battle with Simon Clarke (VIS) and Aaron Salisbury (HLP/Ridewiser).
20 riders took to the start line in perfect conditions; warm, cloudless skies and little wind. In the ultimate test of endurance, nineteen intermediate sprints are contested; every ten laps initially, with the final dozen held at five lap intervals. Traditionally, the second half of the race sees the hard men come to the fore as the early leaders tire, with the winner generally taking a lap on the field.
Pre-race favourites were track endurance specialists Clarke, reigning Junior World's Team's Pursuit Champion, and Sanderson, the Bronze medalist at the 2002 Junior Road World's. In the still conditions, sprinters Tommy Nankervis (Fitzroy Cycles) and Salisbury also had their share of backers, as did local strongman Justin Davis (O'Mara Cycles) who is renowned for never showing any signs of pain!
How it unfolded
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The bunch stayed intact for the first two sprints, with Salisbury dominating. After easing too early in the opening sprint and allowing Sanderson to snatch maximum points, he made no mistake the second time around, leaving him tied with Sanderson on eight points. Peter Trigar (Hillman Cycles) attacked to win the third sprint, while Sanderson led the bunch over the line to take the outright lead. Salisbury hit back with wins at 90 laps to go and the double points sprint at 70 laps from home, to open a ten-point lead. Davis dropped out of contention after winning the 80 lap sprint, losing a lap while trying to re-buckle his shoe on the fly, and incurring a twenty point deduction.
Clarke attacked strongly after the sprint, and quickly pulled 60 metres clear. Masters Pursuit specialist Dennis Bowen-Day bridged, and the pair stayed clear for Clarke to take the next two sprints. Sanderson picked up more points in the next two sprints, and with 45 laps remaining, moved back into a share of the lead with Salisbury on 23 points, with Clarke only one point adrift. Sanderson stamped his authority on the race in the losing laps, consistently outsprinting his two closest rivals, and winning the three sprints at 15, 10 and 5 laps to race to open an unbeatable lead over Clarke. Salisbury was spent, and was unable to add to his points tally as fresher riders started to gain points, and Davis set about building his tally back into the black with three sprint wins.
Sanderson's final total of 52 saw him 11 points clear of Clarke, with Salisbury another 11 points behind. Nankervis took the bonus final sprint, with the double points offered moving him ahead of team mate Hamish Taylor into fourth place.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mal Sawford
- Riders line up for the start of the 50km Classic
- Pat Shaw leads the big bunch
- Sanderson strings things out
- Salisbury takes an early sprint ahead of Sanderson and Clarke
- Davis made things tough, but was out of contention early
- Clarke and Bowen-Day had the longest break
Results
ResultsA Grade 135 laps 1 Nic Sanderson (Ararat) 52 pts 2 Simon Clarke (Carnegie Caulfield) 41 3 Aaron Salisbury (Carnegie Caulfield) 30 4 Tommy Nankervis (Carnegie Caulfield) 24 5 Hamish Taylor (Northcote) 20 6 Peter Trigar (Brunswick) 10 7 Pat Shaw (Ballarat) 7 8 Mark Howard (Carnegie Caulfield) 5 9 Tim Decker (Bendigo) 5 10 Justin Davis (Carnegie Caulfield) 4 B Grade 50 Laps 1 Peter Johnstone (Chelsea & Peninsula) 42 pts 2 Aiden McInernay (Carnegie Caulfield) 38 3 Tom Gallagher (Carnegie Caulfield) 20
