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Riverland Cycling Club
Track racing, Victoria - Sunday, February 25, 2007
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Weekend racing resumed on Sunday after last week's scheduled Coast-to-Coast ride was cancelled due to the forecast of extreme weather. It was one lone road rider pitted against seven track riders in Renmark this week.
How better else to start the days proceedings than a race known only as Heart Starter. Not only does it get the blood pumping but also gets the competitive spirit flying high.
The first official race of the day was the 1500m handicap with Hamish MacKirdy riding off scratch. Although Lara MacKirdy charged down the finishing straight it wasn't enough to rein in Gordon Lawton who kept the remaining field chasing his tail. Hamish MacKirdy claimed third after powering past his fellow cyclists; leaving Peter Evans and Lee Stevens to Battle for minor placing's.
Rather than holding a "miss 'n' out" race the group decided to have an Italian Pursuit.
Starting with two team captains, each choose three other members. Each member leads the team for 1 sprint lap before dropping off and leaving the remaining riders to do their turn. The strongest rider takes their sprint lap last determining the winner.
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Team A consisted of Lee Stevens, Mick Gray, Lara MacKirdy and Glen O'Brien whilst Team B was made up Hamish MacKirdy, Peter Evans, Angelo Ylia and Gordon Lawton. After much deliberation Team B decided to send their opposition to the 250m start line; hoping any wind advantage would be theirs. Lawton and O'Brien took the first flying 500m, both within metres of each other at the change over where Lara and Angelo took their places to try and gain some important advantage over their rivals.
There was still little in it with Team 'A' managing to hang on to their slender lead. Gray and Evans lead out strong for the second to last sprint with a neck and neck battle before Gray took off with 150m to go. Stevens had the upper hand going in to the last lap but could he hold off the MacKirdy slingshot. Stevens pushed it hard for the final 100m; crossing 20m ahead of MacKirdy, winning the Italian Pursuit for Team 'A'. Although the race ends with two riders on the track, it relies on the entire team performance. What an exciting race to watch, four flying 500m races wound up a in two Team event.
There will be more action at Monash on Tuesday night with our regular Criterium series starting from 6:15 followed by road racing on Sunday 26th at Winkie.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Janelle Stevens
- Archie MacKirdy counts down the laps.
- Lee Stevens takes the lead.
- Mick Gray crooses the line for the A Grade 5000m Scratch.
- Peter Evans and Gordon Lawton.
Results
Heart Starter 1 Hamish MacKirdy 2 Mick Gray 3 Peter Evans 4 Lara MacKirdy 5 Angelo Ylia 6 Gordon Lawton 7 Glen O'Brien DNF Lee Stevens 1500m Handicap (Track) 1 Gordon Lawton 2 Lara MacKirdy 3 Hamish MacKirdy 4 Peter Evans 5 Lee Stevens 6 Angelo Ylia 7 Glen O'Brien 8 Mick Gray 5000m Graded Scratch A Grade 1 Hamish MacKirdy 2 Lee Stevens 3 Mick Gray B Grade 1 Peter Evans 2 Lara MacKirdy 3 Angelo Ylia 4 Gordon Lawton 5 Glen O'Brien 5000m Scratch 1 Hamish MacKirdy 2 Lee Stevens 3 Mick Gray 4 Angelo Ylia 5 Peter Evans 6 Lara MacKirdy 7 Glen O'Brien DNF Gordon Lawton Italian Pursuit 1 Lee Stevens Mick Gray Lara MacKirdy Glen O'Brien 2 Hamish MacKirdy Peter Evans Angelo Ylia Gordon Lawton
