11 Nov 2009

                   73 riders contested graded Criterium racing on the Kolodong circuit last Wednesday afternoon. Conditions were perfect for racing with mild sunny conditions, just right for some fast racing. A grade provided the action & with the return of Dan Aldridge after a bout of whooping cough, the pace was guaranteed to be high. Daniel Crossingham went on the attack early, trying for a solo win but he really needed an accomplice to carry out such a move to share the work. He was reeled in the race continued with Josh Blick trying the usual tricks to make a break, but Aldridge & Glen Mathiske would have none of this & covered every move. Eventually it settled down to be a bunch sprint with "Big Dan" Aldridge taking the win with Josh Blick in second & Glen Mathiske in third.
                   B Grade was the biggest bunch of riders with 22 starters. It was welcome back to Paul Nixon after a twelve month break from racing to concentrate on Triathlon. Wayne Callaghan was having his first ride in B grade after being graded up from C grade by handicapper Lloyd Ninham. Wayne showed he is strong enough, doing plenty of work on the front. With such a strong bunch it was unlikely anybody would make a break, but this did not stop riders like Sam Alley, Justin Woollard, Troy Croker & John Corbett from having a go. Regular C Grader, Mal Saad, gave himself a promotion for the day due to having to leave early, but rode well to survive to the end with the bunch. New club member Grant Webster showed the way to the finish in the sprint, getting to the line ahead of Nathan Loreton with Paul Nixon third. Webster is a class rider & surely will make an impression in the A Grade ranks.
                    C Grade was a little quieter with a couple of the big hitters gone to B Grade. Bill Harris, Troy Unicomb & Kurt Sadler did their share of stirring things up along with a couple of hits up the hill from Don "Yo Yo" Worger. Clint Squires found the pace not to his liking & was dropped at mid race. Shane Dowsett took his second win of the season by sprinting clear from Russell Davis in second & Ian Budden in third. Stephen McInerney rode well for fourth.
                    D Grade featured the return of Phil "the hat" Mitchell. Threatening Thunder & Brimstone, his effort fell just slightly short. More training Phil. David Cowley continued his domination of this grade by continually going out on the attack with Tyler Nicholson on several occasions. Kelle Nicholson was the first to be dropped, still recovering from her recent fall. Darren "Duck" Harvey was next to go out the back, still very much on the comeback trail. Alicia Norris, Vanessa Croker & Alister Currie also faltered but continued to work together to regain the bunch.  Cowley was too fast in the sprint & beat Tyler Nicholson to the line with Robert Alley in third. Judy Corbett is on the improve & managed fourth place.
                    E Grade was again taken out be the "Old Fox" Brian Louden. Louden featured in a breakaway move with Harold Greenhalgh, & Jahl Nicholson. Louden was to fast in the sprint & took the win from Greenhalgh in second & JahlNicholson in third. Caroline Pattison was the best of the rest to finish fourth. New rider Jack Rennaberg rode well in his initiation ride to finish 7th. Well done & welcome to Jack.
                    Our Junior contingent rode a 3 lap handicap under the guidance of Dan Aldridge. Riding with 41/2 minutes start, Emma Sewell powered the course for the win. Jordan Blick was second from a 3 1/2 minute start & riding from the scratch mark & recording fastest time was James Sewell in third place. There were 11 starters in the juniors; great to see & these little riders with big hearts deserve all the encouragement we can give them.
                    Thanks to Therese Steedman for the great job on Traffic Control & to Sue Hart for assisting to run the event.
                    It seems that the new directives for warming down seemed to work well & will be tried again next week as we return to Kolodong for another round in the BOURKES BICYCLES pointscore series.
                    Chief comissaire for the day will be Graham Budden.
                   The Lewis brothers have been representing the club with distinction at the NSW country track titles with Stephen taking first place & Peter second place in the under 17 division. Both these boys ride A Grade at club level & once again have done us proud. Well done lads.

MANNING VALLEY CYCLE CLUB