C Grade Holds On!

Road Race, Etiwanda Av/Nineteenth St, Sunday 30 November 2008

C Grade Holds On!

Mildura-Coomealla Cycling Club staged two handicap road races at its Etiwanda Avenue/Nineteenth Street circuit on Sunday 30 November 2008. Twenty eight seniors fought out a 38 km graded handicap race, whilst 12 juniors contested a 27 km handicap race. Riders welcomed back former Club Champion Michael Murdoch, after a two year layoff from racing. The weather conditions were perfect for racing on this course, with a cool 16 degrees Celsius and a light wind from the west.

The handicapper split the senior field into its four grades, with Ken Dean, Ian Drayton, Gary Simpson and Alison Curry leading the charge. Curry was an early casualty, losing touch with the three men on the first lap. With Drayton on the front, the remaining D Grade riders finished their first lap just as the next group were starting. The C Grade bunch, which included Dave Digby, Brendan Liddle, Jess Butler, Arthur Anderson, Greg Scott, Andrew Ryan, Peter Winton, Adrian Lloyd, Michael Murdoch and Peter Doody, was the biggest starting group at 9:30 minutes. Whilst Butler elected to call it a day after one lap, the remaining nine C Grade riders stuck together, with Murdoch providing some encouragement to the group.

The eight B Grade riders started at 13:30 minutes and many thought they would be the bunch to watch if they could get themselves organised. With the group made up of Ian Beruldsen, Rob Akkermans, Tom Athorn, Nathan Langley, Jeff Mitchell, Mark Phillips, Garry Pitt and Chris Westwood they were able to lap consistently at about 8 minutes per lap. The three remaining D Grade riders managed to cross the line to finish their second lap before the six strong scratch bunch of Richard Hale, Gary Henderson, Ben Nicholson, Chris Parrott, Kevin Tankard and Simon Wilkinson started.

With the unenviable task of having to make up two laps on the leaders, the A Grade bunch set about the chase with a vengeance. Nicholson was unlucky to roll off the front of the bunch early on lap two only to see the pace pickup as Tankard drove the bunch down Dow Avenue. He couldn’t close the gap to get back on and ended up riding solo for the rest of the race. Wilkinson, recovering from a recent cold, had trouble with his breathing after another Tankard surge on lap five saw him off the back and out of the race.

By this stage the leading group had been reduced to just Simpson and Drayton as Dean fell by the wayside. Behind the two leaders the C Grade bunch continued to reduce their deficit by a steady 1:30 minutes per lap. Starting the bell lap the leading pair still had a 40 seconds lead over the C Grade chasers, with B Grade a further 56 seconds back and the remaining scratch riders another 18 seconds in arrears. The catch was made on the Nineteenth Street rise and was marked with Anderson bursting off the front to quickly gain a 100 metres lead as he turned into Etiwanda Avenue for the last time. The B Grade bunch also split apart on the final rise as the scratch riders, led by Parrott and Tankard, charged through.

As Anderson started to fade, Lloyd, Ryan, Scott and Murdoch jumped across and then passed him as the four sprinted to the line. Ryan proved to have the fastest finish, taking the race from Lloyd, Murdoch and Scott, with Simpson and Winton filling out the top six. Parrott led the chasers home 20 seconds later to claim 12th place and fastest time, with a race time of 53:09 minutes. One of the closest races of the season and a credit to the handicapper!

The juniors were also split into four starting groups for their handicap race around the same circuit. Lachlan Ryan, Martin Ryan and Tate Simpson led the field off the line, 5:30 minutes in front of Bridget Hale, James Burge and Toby Simpson. Next away, at 7:30 minutes, were Brodie Athorn, Megan Hale and Tyler Beruldsen, the latter finding himself promoted to chopping block after winning last weekend. The regular scratch duo of Ben Athorn and Alana Hale were joined by Thomas Henderson after he also found himself promoted this week. The scratch trio started at 10:00 minutes but Thomas found the pace too fast and was left behind on the first lap.

As Tate Simpson rode off his fellow limit riders to become the sole leader on the road by lap two, Tyler lost contact with his fellow chopping block riders. Whilst Megan and Brodie had moved into second place on the road by the end of lap two, Brodie was unlucky to puncture on the next lap. By the time Brodie got going again, the rest of the field had gone past her. Tate held onto a slender lead by the end of the third lap, with Megan only nine seconds behind and Ben and Alana a further 40 seconds back.

The catch was made on lap four as Ben and Alana moved into the lead. Megan tried to get on the back of them but was caught behind some senior’s traffic. Tate had slipped to fourth and was being chased by Tyler, Bridget, James and Toby. The two leaders curiously rode to a tame finish, with Ben taking the win from Alana. Megan held off the chasers to take third, whilst James led the rest home to claim fourth spot.

Thanks to Julie Simpson, Penny Hale, Gary Henderson, Adrian Lloyd and Julieanne Ryan for helping out. Thanks also to Bob Murdoch for coming to Brodie Athorn’s rescue on lap three by fixing her puncture! The next event is a twilight criterium, to be held at the Airport circuit on Tuesday 2 December 2008. No racing next weekend due to the Coomealla Triathlon being held.

Results:

Juniors (27 km):
1. Ben Athorn (JM15) 0:49:40 minutes (Fastest time)
2. Alana Hale (JW15) 0:49:44
3. Megan Hale (JW15) 0:52:46
4. James Burge (JM15) 0:56:42
5. Tyler Beruldsen (JM13) 0:54:48
6. Toby Simpson (JM15) 0:56:49
7. Bridget Hale (JW17) 0:57:02
8. Tate Simpson (J11) 1:03:47 hours
9. Thomas Henderson (JM15) 0:55:41
10. Brodie Athorn (JW17) 0:59:55
DNF Martin Ryan (JM15) Withdrew
DNF Lachlan Ryan (JM13) Withdrew

Seniors (38 km):
1. Andrew Ryan 0:59:19 minutes
2. Adrian Lloyd 0:59:19
3. Michael Murdoch 0:59:19 (No chip)
4. Greg Scott 0:59:19
5. Gary Simpson 1:08:53 hours
6. Peter Winton 0:59:23
7. Peter Doody 0:59:24
8. Arthur Anderson 0:59:25
9. Brendan Liddle 0:59:26
10. Dave Digby 0:59:29
11. Ian Drayton 1:09:01
12. Chris Parrott 0:53:09 (Fastest time)
13. Nathan Langley 0:55:41
14. Mark Phillips 0:55:42
15. Kevin Tankard 0:53:12
16. Garry Pitt 0:55:44
17. Ian Beruldsen 0:55:46
18. Jeff Mitchell 0:55:46
19. Chris Westwood 0:55:47
20. Gary Henderson 0:53:24
21. Richard Hale 0:53:24
22. Tom Athorn 0:55:58
23. Rob Akkermans 0:56:05
24. Ken Dean 1:11:21 (No chip)
25. Alison Curry 1:21:33
26. Ben Nicholson 1:05:34
DNF Simon Wilkinson Withdrew
DNF Jess Butler Withdrew