‘B’ grade shortly after start at Pound Creek. (38 event images)
Club racing on Saturday saw the senior riders battle through very strong winds at Pound Creek for the McIndoe Cup. After cold conditions the previous Saturday the northerly winds brought temperatures of 20C for this week, however it was the wind that was the biggest impact. Riders had to be careful not to lap wheels for fear that a strong gust would cause them to crash into other riders.
“The A grade field had the pressure on right from the start…”
The A grade field had the pressure on right from the start and after the first lap there were just 4 riders in the bunch with the other three trailing well behind. The northerly wind meant that riders were hit with a battering over the ridge lines on the run up the hills from Pound Creek toward Koonwarra . The end result was there were just 3 riders left to contest the sprint to the line. In the dash to the line Will Lumby edged out Harrison McLean whilst Oliver McLean rolled in for third. Leigh Stott was 4th whilst Anthony Mitchell battled around for over a lap on his own to take 5th.
The B grade riders were more conservative that the A graders and kept the bunch together to share the work load with the wind. This resulted in the field being intact when the sprint arrived. Thomas Fitzgerald dashed to the front for a clear win. Peter McLean lead in the others for 2nd, Kerry Pritchard 3rd, Rod Cheyne 4th, Bernadette Fitzgerald 5th and Alex Welsh 6th.
Greg as he enters Pound Creek road.
The C grade riders had only the 1 lap to contend with. However, the field split up on the run over the hills and at the finish it was Kaleb Jans taking the win. In second place was Greg Bradshaw who has been picking up the placings over the past few weeks. Leanne McLean then edged out Kerry Fitzgerald for 3rd place.
Next Saturday, the Club will hold the Gippsland Hill Climb title with racing starting at the Velodrome at 10.00am. This race will see the riders race out to the hilltop at Mt Eccles so riders first need to do the climb over the hill saddle at Hannams bush before heading out for the push up to Mt Eccles. The riders will ride back in before having presentations and a coffee.
On Wednesday night the club will receive their defibrillator and have a handover and training session at 7.00pm at the Car Club rooms at the Reserve. All members should come along to learn how to operate this equipment.
Lindsay
results
event images
McIndoe trophy
updated 8am 2nd June
