Friday night provided good conditions for racing but with the holiday weekend and school still to resume the number of starters followed previous years. However, the 4 riders present provided 2 pairs evenly matched and the racing produced some close results. With junior members going through growth spurts it was time to find some larger frames for both Matt Minogue and Alex Bennett. The change of bike for Matt saw him turn in some great rides on the night.
First event was the 1 lap time trial and Matt Minogue produced a personal best of 35.58 sec. Next was Hamish Bissett 38.13 sec, Matt Winchester 40.81 and Alex Bennett 42.74. Matt Winchester’s time was also a personal best and done after 4 weeks of Christmas holidays and no training.
"The 5 lap scratch race started out at a sedate pace."
The 5 lap scratch race started out at a sedate pace but the riders warmed to the task. The 3 riders were watching Matt Minogue and trying to guess his moves but were unable to stop him being a clear winner. Hamish picked up second and Alex 3rd.
The 1 lap handicap saw Matt Minogue give starts of 20, 40 and 60m. Matt Winchester rode strongly from the limit mark but was caught just metres from the finish line by Matt Minogue whilst Hamish finished well for 3rd. The following 2 lap handicap saw the handicaps extended with Alex on 120 and Matt Winchester on 100m. With a wall of riders racing to the finish it was Alex holding on for the win ahead of Matt Winchester and Matt Minogue.
"Alex managed to claim a narrow win in this one."
To keep some speed in the legs the riders were given some sprint races. The first heat saw Matt Minogue up against Hamish and Matt Minogue had it under control all the way to score another win for the night. In the second heat it was a very close battle between Alex and Matt Winchester. Alex managed to claim a narrow win in this one.
The riders were still keen to race and cousins Alex and Hamish issued the challenge to the Matts for an Olympic Sprint over the 1 lap. After a close change over of riders at the halfway mark it was the strong finish of Matt Minogue that secured them the win.
To finish the night the riders had a secret distance scratch race. Riders were swapping turns and whilst the bell rang for the last lap just after Matt Minogue had completed a turn at the front and had rotated to the rear of the field, he was up to the challenge of finding a way to win. He held of a determined Hamish whilst Alex also finished well for 3rd place.
Training will be on again for Wednesday night and Club titles are scheduled to run on Friday 8 Feb. All riders, club supporters and interested sportspeople are reminded that the Club has a sports night on Tuesday night with the guest speaker being Simon Clarke, from the Orica-Greenedge team and the winner of the King of the Mountain jersey at last year’s Tour of Spain. The evening is at the Leongatha Golf Club rooms from 7.30pm.
updated 8am 2nd June
