Reports

Glenvale Crescent March 15
Mulgrave
Mar 15 2009
Mal Sawford

Cold, grey,and windy but good enough for racing!

Heavy overnight rain cleared much to everyone's surprise and racing was able to kick off as planned. A brief burst of rain during the Novice Clinic wet the track, but the riders under the expert guidance of Mick Hollingworth had no trouble adapting to the conditions, and the track was dry again before the main races started.

Although it was dry, it was quite cold, and very windy, so unsurprisingly numbers were down, particularly in the junior ranks with most of the trackies contesting the state club team's championships in the comfort of the indoor velodrome.

Small fields tend to promote attacking racing in A Grade - there are less fresh legs to chase; but equally the riders who miss the moves know they can't rely on anyone else to chase. As usual, Andrew Stalder (2XU/ARC) was in just about every move, joined at various stages by Warren Knevitt (O'Mara Cycles), Matt Chessum (CCCC Elite), Adrian Jackson (Merida), Dale Woonton (O'Mara), Danny Kah (CCCC Elite) and his team mate Nick Aitken among others.

40 Minutes in, another of Stalder's attacks snapped the elastic, and he rode clear with team sprinter Troy Clarke, Tom Leaper (Brightstar), Woonton and Stuart Morgan (Ventou). Despite solid chasing the break rode strongly to finish 20 seconds clear of the bunch.

In the closing laps, Stalder attacked the break, but was chased down leaving Clarke fresh for the final sprint, which he took comfortably from Woonton, Leaper and Morgan. Knevitt won the bunch sprint to claim the final place, overhauling a strong bid by mountain biker James Mowatt (Cycle City Ballarat).

Helmet mounted video footage from the A Grade bunch can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhfhjCzoF8 courtesy of Mr Cyclingtips, Wade Wallace - his blog is worth keeping an eye on at www.cyclingtipsblog.com too.

B Grade may have ended with a bunch sprint, but for most of the race that seemed a pretty feint possibility. Big sprinter Alex Durrant (Cycling Obsession) smashed away from the largest bunch of the day 10 minutes in, and after two laps alone was joined by Nick Bensley and Gavin Sittampalan (Giramondo), with time trial superstar Bridie O'Donnell in hot pursuit.

Once the four combined, they put 20 seconds into the bunch, but the initial effort took it's toll on Durrant and left the remaining trio to try to maintain their lead. It took the chasing bunch until the final 15 minutes to make the catch, which prompted an immediate counter attack from a rested Durrant, and a lap later from Jamie Blaker (CBD/Degani).

Rick Jones (Burnley Finance) was the final rider to break free, but was caught at two to go, with O'Donnell taking on lead out duties for some of her training partners.

Durrant looked the likely winner as the sprint unfolded, but newcomer Lee Turner finished too strongly and relegated the much improved Durrant to second.

Turner has earned an A Grade ride, as has third placed finisher Leigh Smith (Inexa). Fourth and fifth were Shayne Kirby and Matt Fortunato (Degani), and the quickest of the women were Vic Luxton (Burnley) and CBD/Degani team mates (and new track stars) Bec Domange and Clare Vlahopoulos.

Two juniors made light work of the gusty winds and rode away from the C Grade bunch early on and were never seen again. While Trevor Spencer and Jake Klajnblat got down to business in pairs TT mode, the bunch splintered under the pressure of trying to catch the two young tearaways.

At the finish, Spencer was too good and took an impressive win and will move to B Grade, while Klajnblat is one good result away from joining him. Peter Vlahos, a gold medallist in the Under 19 team's pursuit at the State champs the day before, unleashed a great sprint to lead the bunch home in third place, just holding off Con Fotiniotis.

Bev Thomas (Hillman) rode well to finish with the main bunch and took the women's win ahead of Amber Saunders (Burnley).

Adrian Todesco was very prominent for the first half of the D Grade race; either off the front or setting a strong tempo at the head of the bunch. He missed a promising move by David Prior, Theo Topshalidis and last week's winner Craig Ferdinands, but was instrumental in preventing the trio gain too much ground.

The full field was together at the bell, but Jared Otto (Monash Uni Rowing) launched a massive attack that saw him fly through Jack's corner well clear. In the back straight, Ian Gosling closed in on the leader, and made contact out of the final corner.

The two drag raced to the line, with Gosling's final surge giving him the win by an unnecessarily narrow margin, and a much anticapated promotion to C Grade. Balckburn junior Cameron Parlevliet took third from Marco Nardo, with the women's win going to another of the competitors from the Track Team's Champs, Sue Cox.

Carnegie Caulfield Criteriums continue at the penultimate Tuesday evening race at Sandown Park raceway. Entry is via the Princes Highway (Melways map 80 D7). Gates open at 5.15pm, with racing from 6.30pm. Sundays are at Glenvale Crescent (Melways map 80 B2) resume on January 11. B and D Grades start at 9am, while A and C Grade ride at 10.15am.

For first time competitors and the younger juniors, Tokyo Olympian Mick Hollingsworth conducts novice racing clinics every week at Glenvale Crescent at 8.30am. For further details, go to http://www.carnegiecycling.com.au/.

All holders of 2009 Cycling Australia licenses are welcome (don't forget to bring your license or receipt!) and non-members can have a go by taking out a day license for $30. Licenses are now available at all CCCC events. All returning riders must resume in the grade they last raced in, unless prior arrangement has been made.

Results