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Carnegie Caulfield CC

Bayles, Saturday June 7, 2003

By Mal Sawford

Winter arrived with an icy blast to southern Victoria for the first of Carnegie Caulfield's road races of the season. A strong and cold westerly wind promised to make things tough on the flat and open Bayles circuit, which, as luck would have it, has two long straights where riders battle the cross winds on narrow roads.

A smallish A Grade field started with the B Grade pack, but into the opening crosswind leg it was some of the wiser B Grade riders who set the pace, quickly causing chaos at the back of the bunch as a long line of riders hugged the edge of the road trying to find shelter. The pack began to thin out before the first turn, and as the first rain shower hit, the odds were on a very small number of finishers.

A heavy localized hail storm on the second lap of three reeked havoc on the survivors, and caused some major head scratching for organizers. Wind gusts blew riders sideways, and the hail storm saw the bunch seek shelter at the side of the road under overhanging trees! Only Bruce Will seemed immune to the deluge, and he slogged away resolutely, while the rest of the A and B Grade riders decided discretion was the better part of valour, and called it a day, rolling into the finish and abandoning on mass.

Chris Tassell (Pro-Motion Bicycles), better known as a hill climber, rode the C Grade pack off his wheel in the crosswind, and spent almost the entire first lap 20 seconds ahead of the chasers, who had split into echelons. With a promotion to B Grade beckoning after his solo win on the testing Gembrook circuit a fortnight earlier, the youngster wasn't able to hold off a steady chase, and the bunches regrouped early in the final lap.

Around a dozen survivors made it to the finish together, where visiting St Kilda rider Scott Arnold found a little extra to kick clear in the tailwind finish, taking the win by a length ahead of Bruce Trew, Matt Jensen (Kathy Watt Personal Training) and early leader Tassell. Rachel Rademaker (Cycle Link) narrowly missed an overall placing, but was a worthy winner of the Women's division.

The D Grade field handled the tough conditions well, and finished their two laps with the biggest finishing bunch of the day. The first lap was ridden under the control of experienced Vets Ivan Collins and John Groves, allowing newer riders and juniors to work on their pace line skills.

When the pace lifted for the second lap, all riders were up to the challenge, with only the final sprint separating the pack. Carl Brewer took the win over Alex Smyth and Sean Bourke, both juniors riding their restricted gears. Gemma Goyne sprinted into fourth outright, narrowly beating home a competitive Women's field, with Amy Phillips (Trak Cycles), Erin Downing (Le Tour Cycles) and Tess Downing (Le Tour Cycles) the next three finishers.

Next weekend, Carnegie Caulfield hosts South East regional racing over the hilly Modella circuit on Saturday June 14, with entries from 1.00pm for a 1.30pm start. Full details are available at www.carnegiecycling.com.au.

Results

A Grade, 90km, 13 starters
 
Race abandoned
 
B Grade, 90km, 18 starters
 
1 Bruce Will (Carnegie Caulfield)
 
C Grade, 60km, 22 starters
 
1 Scott Arnold (St Kilda)
2 Bruce Trew (Chelsea & Peninsula)
3 Matt Jensen (Carnegie Caulfield)
4 Chris Tassell (Carnegie Caulfield)
 
Women Rachel Rademaker (Blackburn)
 
D Grade, 60km, 23 starters
 
1 Carl Brewer (Blackburn)
2 Alex Smyth (Carnegie Caulfield)
3 Sean Bourke (Blackburn)
4 Gemma Goyne (Chelsea & Peninsula)
 
Women Gemma Goyne (Carnegie Caulfield)
 
E Grade, 30km
 
1 Pat Lane (Carnegie Caulfield)