28 Oct 2009

all,
             Kolodong circuit was again the venue for graded Criteriums last Wednesday. Numbers were again high with more new members signing up. It's a big welcome to Dennis Fitzgerald, Ben Stricker, Ben Haywood, Paula Callaghan & welcome back to Nigel Ferguson having not ridden since last Crit season.
12 riders lined up for the A Grade derby which was run over a 20 minute period + 2 laps. It was a fast paced race & finished with an aggressive last lap with riders competing for the best positions for the sprint finish. Peter Lewis even had a spoke broken in his front wheel. Very close racing indeed. Veteran rider Bruce Anderson again rode in the premier grade & again went the distance. Stephen Lewis was the class act, taking the sprint finish from the experienced Glen Mathiske in second & Josh Blick in third. Mick Cross continues his recovery from knee surgery & finished his first A Grade race since his injury & finished in the pack. Another landmark for the Lewis family with Peter following in big brothers' footsteps & making his A Grade debut at just 14 years of age. Well done Peter- another future star of the sport.
            B Grade also raced for 20 minutes + 2 laps & with 13 riders making the start, it was always going to be a close run event. An early attack by Daniel Clinch saw him go clear by a large margin, but as fitness started to ebb, the chasers closed the gap & left him struggling to stay in touch. Further attacks from Justin Woolard, Anthony Cross & Sam Alley all failed & a sprint finish is all that new member Grant Webster needed to take the victory. Sam Alley finished in second & Silas Sutherland in third place. Roger Dixon had his first ride since last season & stepped straight up to B Grade & finished in 9th place. Tanya Cross was the only rose amongst the thorns & is currently our top female rider & managed 10th place in a pretty hot field.
           C Grade was dominated by new rider Ben Stricker & Wayne Callaghan sharing most of the work up front between them with Mal Saad doing a few turns as well. Such was the pace that Bill Harris, Don Worger, Kurt Sadler & Nigel Ferguson were all dropped during the race. Ben Stricker took advantage of a little "loose" riding at the kick & went around the outside to take the win from Ian Budden in second just pipping Wayne Callaghan at the line. Russell Davis made a successful progression to C Grade with a 5th place finish. Troy Unicomb was unlucky to have a flat tyre & failed to finish.
           David Cowley is really starting to make D grade his own after dominating the sprint to take victory from Robert Alley in second & Kellie Nicholson finally getting the better of little brother Tyler, to take the final podium position. Tyler had raced aggressively & perhaps had spent too much energy but still took the points for fourth place. Alicia Norris again raced well for 5th place in only her second race.
           E Grade was fought out by two veterans in Brian "Bin" Louden & Stephen "Doc" Nicholson. This encounter went in the favour of Louden with the good Doctor in second. Max Eden was best of the rest for third place & surely will be challenging in the next couple of weeks. New riders Ben Haywood finished in 5th & Paula Callaghan in 8th. Well done. Belinda Crossingham continues with her determined efforts & for the first time finished on the same lap as the leaders. "Bellisimo" Belinda. Greater things to come!
           Junior Development officer Dan Aldridge had 13 juniors to handicap. Great to see this many kids on their bikes & having fun. Best of all, nobody fell off. Bayden Macintosh-Clinch was this week's winner with a healthy gap to the second place rider Marcus Worth who showed no ill effect from his fall last week. Third place went to Zane Dawson in a bunch finish that could have gone to several other riders in Adrian Green 4th, or Kobe Pattison, 5th, or Emma Sewell 6th. Fastest time went to Daniel Sewell riding from the scratch mark of 5 minutes with Ben Cross, Baxter Pattison & Lachlan Cross.
           Thanks to Sue Hart for doing the sign ons, Harold Greenhalgh for Traffic Control & Michael Cross for Trailer duties.
                    Next Wednesday the venue is Oxley Bend, with Shane Dowsett on Marshalling duties & Justin Woolard on Trailer duty. Phil Knowles is Chief Commissaire. Start time is 6.00pm. The November monthly business meeting is Thursday night at the Chatham Tennis club. Start time is at 7.30pm. Come and have a say in the running of your club.

MANNING VALLEY CYCLE CLUB