Sun finally shines on cyclists

After a month of no racing and some abysmally bad weather riders were greeted with nearly perfect conditions for race one of the combine series on Sunday morning.

A field of 11 contested the A grade race. The pace was fast and furious on lap one as Brett Kennedy and Paul Collins broke away. They established a good break but Collins, an ex rower, found the navigation demands of road cycling a little too challenging. He missed the left turn onto Parkers Rd and headed for Yarragon. His race was done.

Frequent attacks from Tom McFarlane and guest international rider Stefan Michalicka had the more senior riders gasping for breath. McFarlane put in a dominant sprint to win easily from Stefan.

Chris Joustra was just too quick for Matt Parkinson in the sprint for third. Jousta, not a noted sprinter, went past Parkinson like he was glued to the road.

Parkinson looked like he enjoyed a lot of Italian pasta on his recent trip to Europe. Ollie McLean rode well to take fifth place.

Glenn Marriott dominated the B grade race spending more than half the race off the front. He had different riders for company each time.

The slight headwind along Parkers Rd each lap made it hard for his breakaways to stick but it did not stop him from trying. Each lap he broke away before the base of Mt Worth and was not caught until the end of Parkers Rd. Graeme Parker and Mark Mason were prominent in chasing him back. By the final lap Marriott was nearly spent and rested for one final effort.

Jayman Prestidge launched a series of short lived and ultimately pointless attacks in the run to the finish. Mason and Parker were again the main chasers.

Leigh Stott went with him on his final charge and when Prestidge was done Stott headed for home. He established a 100 metre gap and unless someone committed to the chase he would win.

Glenn Marriott was encouraged to take up the chase by the vocal Rob Monk. Marriott gave everything he had left and closed the gap with 300 metres to go. Monk went for home and was still in front 20 metres before the line.

George Tambassis timed his run perfectly and just went past Monk to take the win. Monk was second with Jason Fritzlaff a close third. Then followed Pete Whelan and Glenn Marriott.

A field of seven riders contested the C Grade race, with Jason Dastey being the surprise inclusion, citing a lack of form as the reason for his non-appearance in B Grade.

Bathed in glorious spring sunshine and only a wisp of wind, the first lap was benign, with Dastey, Col Brown and Ross Henry swapping turns throughout, the others content to sit on. Lap two saw Dastey attack coming out of Parkers Road, which saw Southern Masters rider Greg Bursill despatched to the rear.

With that, a flurry of attacks over the next two laps saw Dastey, Peter MacDonald and Leigh Jamieson try their luck, however Col Brown and Ross Henry nullified their efforts and it all came together for a bunch sprint.

Heading to the line, it was Dastey who broke first, followed by Henry, Brown, MacDonald and Jamieson and with 150 to go, you could throw a blanket over all five riders.

In the end, Jamieson proved too strong, taking out the win, with Peter MacDonald a strong second, followed by Dastey, Brown and Henry.

The D graders started with C Grade. Donna Innes Wardell rode well to stay with them for much of the first lap. Her lap times continue to benefit from racing. Pete McLean hung in there a bit longer and he took the win.

Thanks to Simon Forbes and Jim TimmerArends for running the race.

Next week Leongatha hosts race two of the series on Saturday at 2pm at Poowong. Register online via the Warragul Cycling Club website.