Cyclocross at Coal Creek – Korumburra
Sunday morning saw the Club stage its first-ever Cyclocross meeting around a 2km circuit at Coal Creek. The event saw local riders as well as Phillip Island and Melbourne. However, the early Sunday hail showers and cold conditions saw several entrants fail to show. Riders were split into 6 grades.
The men’s A&B grades raced for 50 minutes; the winner was David McFarlane just ahead of Lachie Matthews and Eden Shields.
In the C grade men’s race over 45min, the clear winner was Timothy Holmes. He would have been very competitive in the A-grade field. Steve Gallyot from Phillip Island was 2nd, and Wayne Foster, also from the Island just a short distance away, was in 3rd place. The rest of the field was spread out after the first 5 laps.
In the Men Open section, for riders not on Cyclocross bikes but mountain bikes or fat tyre machines, Brett Franklin took a well-earned win just ahead of Jarred Benham, whilst further adrift was Thomas Fitzgerald edging out Damien King for 3rd.
The Club ran a kid’s race over a modified circuit for just over 15 minutes. After a fast-paced early first lap by Tyler Scriven, Josh Gallyot settled into a rhythm eventually, catching Tyler and going on to a clear win. Olivia Eagle also rode good tempo, passing Tyler to take 2nd place. Tyler came home in 3rd with Thomas King just behind in 4th. Finn Shields the smallest rider, finished in 5th whilst, Blake Scriven was 6th.
In the Women’s section, Alix Watson had a narrow win over Lara Srivoski, Claire Chandler and Heather Curtis in their 36-minute race. In the women’s open section, Bernadette Fitzgerald showed no ill effects from the Saturday race as she had left all riders behind to score an easy win. Kerry Fitzgerald came home 2nd but rode the race in the company of Heather Curtis.
The Club would like to thank the Coal Creek staff for helping to make the event happen. The rider feedback was that it was a terrific event at a great venue. The Club will now plan for a bigger and better event next time. – Lindsay
Facebook photos from Peter McLean
Notes:
The videos from the event are no longer available.
Credit goes to Mark Bensley for his energetic work in organising and setting up the course at Coal Creek.
Cyclocross at Coal Creek 19th May 2019
a second event at Coal Creek
Lindsay’s report:
Coal Creek was the setting for the Cyclocross event promoted by the Leongatha Cycling Club on Sunday. On a perfect autumn day, the club had 65 entries for the day with riders racing over a great course of around 2.3km length at the southern lower end of the park. There were races for seniors on purpose-built cyclocross bikes and races for those just on mountain bikes. The cyclocross bike is designed for handling gravel, mud, grass and road work and is lighter that a mountain bike. It runs larger tyres than a road bike.
In a cyclocross event riders can expect to have to dismount to cross logs or run up steps. The Coal Creek course included all the elements including 3 bridge crossings, rail crossings, grass, single track work and hill climbs and descents. All who took part say it is a fantastic location. Perhaps that is a pointer for a new use the Council could further explore.
Local riders performing well were David McFarlane, Chris Baillie, Tom Fitzgerald, Brad Bouquet and Tom Bouquet. In the junior event, Campbell Jackson also rode well.
The club would like to thank the sponsors and Coal Creek management for helping the club continue to build the event.
https://www.facebook.com/leongathacycling/videos/2321239591483824
https://www.facebook.com/leongathacycling/videos/291122668434362
https://www.facebook.com/leongathacycling/videos/2148538808515282
