Club racing on Friday night again dodged the rain with a light shower wetting the track at 7pm prior to registration and again at 10.30 after racing was finished. This enabled the eager cyclists to have a solid session. The club welcomed first timers Cody Cox, Thomas Fitzgerald and Brielle Cox.
The first event for the night was the 1 lap time trial. The heavy conditions saw most riders struggle to improve on their times but Austin Timmins once again peeled 0.4 sec of his PB. In the A grade it was Tom McFarlane at 31.63 sec, from Chris Rowe 33.57, Liam McCall 35.15 and Kevin Feely at 36.40 sec. In the Junior riders it was Matt Minogue 36.75 sec, Austin Timmins 38.22, Alex Bennett 43.50 sec, Matt Winchester 45.73, Fleur Timmins 47.89, Brielle Cox 48.94, Cody cox 53.84 and Tom Fitzgerald at 55.55 sec. Both Cody and Tom are on small 24 inch wheel bikes.
“Cody and Tom were given a 2 lap scratch race and after much support from over the fence”
Cody and Tom were given a 2 lap scratch race and after much support from over the fence it was Tom taking the win from Cody. They were followed by a girls 3 lap race and in a tight finish this went to Brielle from Fleur. The other 4 juniors raced a 4 lap scratch race and Matt Minogue claimed the win from Autin and Alex Bennett.
The A grade riders raced over 6 laps and in a tight finish it was Tom McFarlane winning from Chris Rowe and Liam McCall.
The junior B graders raced a lap handicap and this time Cody Cox made the most of his 20m handicap to lead all the way from Tom Fitzgerald. The Junior A grade riders raced over 1 lap and Brielle racing from 100m just held on for the win from Fleur Timmins on 80m whilst the backmarker, Matt Minogue (5m) flashed down the outside to grab 3rd place.
The A grade riders raced a 2 lap handicap. With Kevin Feely on 50, Liam McCall on 40, Chris Rowe at 10, it was not long before scratch rider Tom McFarlane had them all covered and get a brief sit before sprinting home for the win from Chris and Liam.
The juniors fronted up for a second round of handicaps. This time it was Tom Fitzgerald getting the win from Cody. The other juniors fronted up for a 2 lap handicap. This time the backmarkers found the extra distance to their liking and the backmarker Matt Minogue (10) raced home the winner pipping Austin Timmins (25) right on the line. Fleur Timmins did a similar job for 3rd place edging out Brielle and Alex Bennet on the line. Sprints were the next event on the agenda. First heat it was Tom winning from Cody. The girls sprint produced a tight finish but it was Brielle with the win over Fleur. Alex Bennett and Matt Winchester produced another close race and this week it was Alex chalking up the win. In the other junior heat it was Austin Timmins leading out Matt Minogue who answered the challenge at the 100m to go mark and hold on for a classy win.
In the A grade riders the first round of sprints went to Tom McFarlane over Chris Rowe and Liam McCall winning from Kevin Feely. The next round saw Tom McFarlane come from behind to win from Liam McCall whilst Chris Rowe claimed the win over Kevin Feely.
“Matt Minogue had the race in control and go on and claim the win from Austin Timmins”
The Junior A graders raced an elimination race. Matt Minogue had the race in control but had a fright when it was heading into just 3 riders left. However, he was able to salvage the situation and go on and claim the win from Austin Timmins and Alex Bennett.
The A grade riders finished the night with a 10 lap scratch race. Tom McFarlane, who is training with the State Junior Under 17 pursuit squad of a weekend decided to gain some extra practice as he attacked with 3 laps to go, riding away from the bunch and cruising to a convincing win. Chris Rowe and Kevin Feely had a battle for the minor places but the excitement got the better of Kevin as he found himself racing to the finish on the grass up to the finish line hence having to settle for 3rd behind Chris.
Training is again scheduled for Wednesday night at 6.30pm. Any riders keen to try the racing need to come down for some instruction and if needed be set up for racing on a club bike. With 2 girls racing we need some more girls to have some more girl only racing. Saturday saw a fair number of the members take part in the Bass Coast Challenge event from Inverloch. Riders did the 120km and 80 km rides and whilst there was a little early drizzle it cleared and riders had a good outing. Well done to the organisers for a great event.
Lindsay
updated 9am 25th Sept.
