The 2009 road season kicked off on Saturday with racing from Outtrim. There was a steady south west wind blowing and by halfway through the racing there was alight drizzle. The Club was pleased to see 5 new riders front up and test themselves around the circuit riding from Outtrim to the Korumburra –Inverloch Rd, turning right up to the T intersection before racing through Kongwak and Korrine toward Wonthaggi. The circuit then turned left racing back through Wattle Bank before returning to Outtrim. It is a circuit with 3 climbs early in the race followed by some flat runs and the final small uphill section at the Reserve just before the sprint.
The Club handicapper had a battle trying to sort out new riders and early season form plus the absence of the young stars who were racing the Open Classic up Mt Baw Baw. Going on last years handicap marks seemed to be a reasonable process however it turned out that there was little to separate the performance of probably 15 of the 18 starters.
First away were Malcolm Gin, Darren Thompson and Lindsay Love on 13 min. They were followed by a 5 rider bunch on 8 min, 4 riders on 6 min, 4 riders on 3min and two riders on scratch. Over the hills there were a few who lost contact with their bunches. By Wattle Bank it was Malcolm and Darren, just ahead of the Damian Crowe, Kerry Pritchard, Rod Cheyne, Peter Hollins and Richard Cawlley bunch. This 5 rider bunch had kept themselves intact over the hills and were making the most of the tail wind. At about a minute behind were Jason Scott, Tom Debenham and Phil Camenzuli and also going well. However it was three against five and they were struggling to bridge the gap. The backmarkers were split up and out of contention.
The run up the Inverloch Rd and back to Outtrim saw the 2 leaders caught and it was a bunch of 6 ready to contest the sprint. A powerful finish saw Richard Cawlley claim a first up win, followed closely by Malcom Gin and then Kerry Pritchard. Next home was Rod Cheyne (still recovering from a broken collarbone), Peter Hollins, Damian Crowe. A small break saw 7th taken by Darren Thompson just ahead of Jason Scott, Phil Camenzuli and rounding out the top 10 was Tom Debenham.
The junior riders had a 2 km time trial. This was won by the tenacious Will Lumby (3.58.76) just ahead of Mitch Gin (3.58.93) and Thomas McFarlane (4.05.54). After a few minutes recovery they were racing again in a scratch race over 5.6km. The sprint to the line saw Will just edge ahead of Mitch and Thomas.
Nick Aitken, just back from racing in Thailand before Easter managed a 15 place in the ride up Mt Baw Baw whilst Stuart Smith had some troubles and failed to finish.
Link to Baw Baw Classic Results and Reports
Next weeks racing is at Pound Creek whilst Tuesday night there is a club meeting at S. Wilson’s residence. With the end of the school holidays there is likely to be a few extra faces for the handicapper next weekend.
Race report by Lindsay Love
Senior Race Results