18 Nov 2009
Another big roll up of riders to the Manning Valley Cycle Club Summer Criterium series at the Arkwright Circuit course last Wednesday, ensured good quality racing in all grades. Warm conditions prevailed, & plenty of late afternoon light allowed for a bit of extended racing. Race Secretary Rob Alley sent the 10 rider strong A Grade on their way, bolstered by 2 extra riders with Troy Croker & Grant Webster requesting promotions. Josh Blick attacked immediately as is becoming his trademark move & taking Dan "Chopper" Aldridge with him.Dan Crossingham & Rhett Pattison were having none of this & with the help of Glen Mathiske, brought them back in after a couple of laps. Several more attacks came to nothing & a bunch sprint was fought out with Glen Mathiske pipped by the width of a tyre by Dan Aldridge. Dan Crossingham was rewarded for a great ride with third place, relegating the consistent Josh Blick for fourth. Unluckiest rider of the day was Jack Steedman, puncturing on the bell lap & walking his bike across the line for a last place finish. Grant Webster finished fifth & Troy Croker in eigth.
It was another big bunch of B Graders with 15 riders making the start. Local Triathlon coach,Tony Kiehne made a return to cycle racing, having been enthused by the chance for some big bunch racing. Justin Woolard is regaining his form & went on an early raid but was chased down by Paul Nixon with the bunch not far behind. Silas Sutherland put pressure on at every opportunity, but it was going to be hard for anybody to escape the pack. In the sprint, Daniel Clinch who has also been racking up a few training kilometres, showed a clean pair of heels to win from Brett Provost in second & Justin Woolard in third. The sole lady in the field, Tanya Cross, raced well to finish ninth.
Russell Davis blew everybody away in the sprint to take a comfortable victory in the C Grade sprint. 13 riders sarted including new rider Michael Godwin. Welcome Michael. The usual aggressors in this grade were evident with Bill Harris, Troy Unicomb & Don "Yo Yo" Worger putting on plenty of pressure. Mal Weiley went on the attack early but failed to make an impression. Ian Budden was second with Don Worger in third. Clint Squires & John Hawkins are still coming to terms with the pace & both struggled to stay in contact.
D Grade was dominated by David Cowley, Kelle Nicholson, Tyler Nicholson & Judy Corbett, with a successful breakaway which was never headed. The chase bunch tried hard & despite big efforts from Alicia Norris, Phil Mitchell & Wilf Alley, had to sprint for the final pointscoring position of fifth place. Phil Mitchell took the final placing with Wilf Alley in sixth. The handicapper caught up with Brian Louden, after four race wins in E grade, & gave him a D Grade start. He rode well for seventh, but was. unable to unleash the famous Louden sprint. The leading group fought out the finish with David Cowley again dominant in the sprint. He won from Judy Corbett in second & Kelle Nicholson on this occasion getting the better of brother Tyler for third.
E Grade was the battle of the young up & comers with Ben Hayward, Jahl Nicholson, Oscar Watson-Sutherland & Jack Renneberg, breaking away early. These guys were never going to be caught & only Jahl Nicholson was unable to hold the pace, dropping off with only a couple of laps to go. Ben Hayward won the three up sprint from Oscar Watson-Sutherland & Jack Renneberg in third. Jahl Nicholson hung on to finish alone in fourth. Caroline Pattison was best of the rest in fifth. James Sewell had his first ride up from the junior ranks & managed tenth place. it is also a big welcome to Toni McInerney, having a crack at Crit racing.
Twelve juniors raced the usual three lap handicap & this time Adrian Green took the flag for a much deseved win, riding with 1 1/2 minutes advantage over the scratch mark. Second place rider, Jordon Blick had 2 1/2 minutes & third place Lachlan Cross, riding from the scratch mark & giving a total of seven minutes to the limit rider, Fraser Crossingham, also rode the fastest time. Zane Dawson was fourth & Cale Dawson was fifth.