Another great night at the Velodrome as racing produced some really close finishes to keep the judges watching closely and the good conditions allowing riders to post some new personal bests against the time clock. Riders who have been training regularly on Wednesday night can see their efforts rewarded as the season progresses.
First up for the night was an A grade scratch race over 6 laps for Fletcher, Ryder, Ethan and Oscar. These 4 are all very competitive so it was a tight bunch as they hit the final 200m to the line. In a close call at the line it was Fletcher winning from Oscar, Ethan and Ryder. In the 4 lap B grade scratch race Tom Geary looked to have skipped away with a winning lead just after the bell however, Hugh Livingstone chased hard to get up for the win, Tom second and Renee Hardacre at third. In the C grade 3 lap scratch race Stephen Spencer had to contend with Ryan and Trent Beggs having their first race night of the season. Ryan pushed away hard at the bell to go on to take the win from Trent and Stephen.
Next up for the riders was the 1 lap race against the clock. Oscar, Ethan, Ryder, Stephen and Tom all posted new personal bests. Quickest for the night was Oscar Davis in a slick 35.28 sec time. Fletcher Hill was next at 36.39sec, Ethan Davis at 37.30sec and Ryder at 38.66 secs. For the B graders, Tom Geary was smooth doing a 42.03 sec just ahead of Hugh Livingstone 43.63sec just pipping Renee at 43.89sec. In the C grade group it was close times – 48.83 sec for Ryan, 49.96 for Trent and Stephen at 50.41 sec.
The riders then fronted for some 1 lap handicaps. In the first for the A grade, Ethan (35m) flew around to win from Ryder(45) and Fletcher (scr) just making it home for 3rd. In the re-handicap, the brothers switched it round with Oscar(15) taking the win in a 3 way fin.ish from Fletcher(scr) and Ethan (20). In the B/C grade race, Stephen Spencer (90) was on fire as he streaked away to take the win from Renee(50) and Ryan (60). In the re-handicap, Stephen was cut to65m but the adrenalin was running as he also took out this race from Renee(25) and Tom Geary(scr).
The sprint heats were next up and the first heat saw Tom take the win over Renee. In the second heat it was Ryan winning from Trent and Stephen. The next heat saw Ryder up against Ethan and in need of some more tactics to get the win. In the final heat it was Oscar versus Fletcher and again it was Fletcher leading out who took the win.
With riders starting to tire and some having their first race night the final races were a 3 lap scratch race for B grade and an 8 lapper for A grade. In the B grade race, Ryan Begg powered away after the start whistle sounded and the others did not chase. This allowed him to take a 100m lead into the last lap and duly take the win ahead of Tom and Renee. In the A grade race, Fletcher and Ryder put the pace on with 4 laps to go and this saw Oscar dropped by several lengths. That was the break that counted as Fletcher went on to win from Ethan and Ryder.
Lindsay
updated 8am 2nd June
