Archive for the Race Results Category

Kevin Lee made a bold bid off the front a long way out and “died it in the hole” to win the Mt Misery handicap, Peter Livitsanis and Malcolm Rock charging home for second and third only a bike length or two between the three of them.

A large field of 29 riders enjoyed fine conditions, and those softies that pulled out late on Sunday morning may feel aggrieved at missing a great days racing with little more than a minute covering the whole field at the end.

First away were Ray Hodgson and Steve Akinson, both rode well and it wasn’t unitl very late in the race that the field swept them up, Ray having plenty left and jumped on the back.

Graeme Parker, his dodgey knee, Mandy Rhook and Gary Blood made big inroads on limit, with Gary making a bold showing, he was the last rider to get caught by the field only 5kms from the finish, but by then the lights were out and he was pedalling in squares.

But the race was on behind them. From the gun the 10 minute bunch of Bob Morley, Kevin Lee , Brenton Keats and Peter Livitsanis attacked, determined to catch the bunch in front before being caught themselves. The start was so aggressive they dropped the eventual winner on the first hill and sat up to wait for him to rejoin. Up the Avenue they had the 13 minute bunch of Brett Caddy, Terry Constable, Matt Ritchie and Malcolm Rock in the gun sights, the catch coming after 16kms.

This large group was quickly organised by Bob and started working turns. Keats and Livitsanis working hard up Mt Misery, about half way up they rolled up the 15 minute bunch of Terry Collie, Ron Larkin, Alan Bennet, Jacinta Welch. This increased the bunch to peleton dimensions, all riders contributing where they could to get off Mt Misery as quickly as possible. Brett, Malcolm and Bob all putting in big turns to keep the pace high.

At the bottom there was still no sign of the backmarkers and a cross tailwind, but there were some tired legs and some idle minds (some members of the group turning to composing limericks and weather forecasts). Livitsanis attacked off the front to try to reduce the bunch, Keats working hard to bring the bunch back to him. After rounding up the Parker and Hodgson groups near Ercildoune, the field expected to be leading the race, but were surprised to see a lone rider a kilometre up the road – Gary Blood. Chasing down Gary kept things rolling along and kept the backmarkers at bay.

The 7 minute bunch of Alby Govan, Ken Heres and Darren Terry had a “difference of opinion”. Darren decided to go it alone up Mt Misery, Ken and Alby taking the wiser course and jumped on the back of the powerful second scratch bunch. Peter Kiel had second scratch humming, Richard Taylor, Dean Wells, Rob Phillips and Bob Braszell all working smoothly and despite only a 2.5minute gap they managed to keep scratch away all day. They managed to roll up an exhausted Terry but didn’t have quite enough to bridge to the winning bunch, but there was only about 30 seconds in it.

Rounding the final corner into Weatherboard Road it was Livitsanis, Keats and Lee on the front. Keats was keen not to see a sprint finish and went early on the rise up to Weatherboard, Lee worked hard to bring him back. Then with a km to go Lee dug in and got a 30m gap, which he held to 500m. Graeme Parker put in a viscous spurt in an attempt to get across, with Livitsanis and Rock grabbing his wheel. Parker couldn’t continue, Livitsanis and Rock went full tilt to chase down Lee, but Lee had just enough to hold off Livitsanis by half a bike length. Malcolm holding out fast finishing Bob Morley and Alan Bennet.

Scratch rode with intent, John Rhook and Tony Mirrabella both riding well putting in some big turns. John Rhook in particular was intent on the chase, exhausting himself, and sacrificed his chances in the sprint Phil Cartledge and Shane Cody both insisting that they were struggling and missed a fair few turns. They managed to stay together to just before the turn and were little more than 100m off the large group in front. Tony attacked nearing the top of Weatherboard & only Shane was able to go with him. Tony’s attack took the edge off his sprint and Shane managing to come around him to take fastest time.

 

Results

1^st                  Kevin Lee

2^nd                  Peter Livitsanis

3^rd                  Malcolm Rock

4^th                  Bob Morley

5^th                  Alan Bennet

Fastest Time:                  Shane Cody

Cody Crushes Crit

Shane Cody rode away from the rest of the A grade field to record a commanding victory on the super fast Production Drive criterium circuit.
Another first for the Eureka Vets was staging a criterium around the new circuit. Twenty seven riders competed in 3 grades, for many this was their first criterium, for most it was indeed a “learning experience”.

A Grade

From the gun it was clear that Shane Cody meant business, launching frequent attacks, and along with Tony Mirrabella, Adam Smith, Andrew Rushton and Phil Cartledge, they soon had the 10 man field strung out all around the circuit. Dave Peters, Bob Braszell and Richard Taylor continued to chase like mad things but made no impression on the steamtrain up front.
The relentless pressure then put paid to Rushton and then Cartledge as the trio of Smith, Mirrabella and Cody went clear. With a lap and a half to go Jedi Cody stamped on the accelerator and rocketed to a 40m lead, then held that lead for the entire last lap to claim a stunning win.

Results

1^st                  Shane Cody

2^nd                  Tony Mirrabella

3^rd                  Adam Smith

 

B Grade

Juggernaut John Creek managed to find the right path through the throng of B and C grade riders to sprint home for an impressive win, edging out new rider Brad Slade and Peter Livitsanis. An eight man mix of seasoned crit vets and first timers were soon testing each-other out to see who had the legs, nearly everyone having a crack at some stage.
Darren Terry, recuperating in B Grade, repeatedly attacked into the wind, more often than not it was policeman Bob Morley who chased hard to close Flat-top Terry down. Rob Kinna and Rob Parker, both in solid form, glided around the circuit and looked to be contenders.  Kevin Lee, graduating to B grade, started strongly but struggled late.
The final sprint became confused as B grade sprinted into the back of C grade around the final corner, many riders deciding that sitting up was wiser than contesting the sprint. Creek, however, ploughed straight through and was surprised by the checked flag.

Results

1^st                  John Creek

2^nd                  Brad Slade

3^rd                  Peter Livitsanis

 

C Grade

A return to form for Brett Caddy saw him easily account for the C grade field in a tactical race.C grade all enjoyed their race with the intensity being lifted right from the start of the event.

After a few messy corners the more experienced riders quickly pulled the bunch into order and the pace went up early. Unfortunately, Ross Waddington and the injured Greg Curnow fell victim soon after and the bunch settled down for a solid ride. Gary Blood continues to show his sheer strength controlling the pace over several laps only to pull out on the last lap.
Graeme Parker and Malcolm Rock were also out in front often with Sue Parker displaying her improving form in chasing them down and bringing the bunch back up. Brett Caddy looked smooth as silk, whilst Ron Larkin rode within the bunch as did the legendary Gail Oliver. The group went around for the last few laps warily, no-one willing to launch the suicide attack and it came down to the final sprinter.  Brett Caddy sensed his opportunity and jumped, his explosive effort saw him first over the line.
Sue Parker cheered on by her training partner in Gail Oliver, was second, with the gallant Malcolm Rock finishing third.

 

Results

1^st                  Brett Caddy

2^nd                  Sue Parker

3^rd                  Malcolm Rock

Jacinta Welch was a popular winner of the Eureka Veterans first handicap race of the year, held on the challenging Weatherboard circuit. She rode to victory with the support of a hard working bunch, a new set of wheels, and a well-timed sprint.

Ross Waddington, Ray Hodgson and Shirley Hetherington got proceedings started and stayed clear of the chasing bunches for a considerable time, Shirley riding very well to finish in the top ten.

Chasing them was the winning bunch of Greg Curnow, Ron Larkin, Sue Parker , Graeme Parker, Gary Blood and Jacinta Welch. Graeme was in commanding form and along with Ron, they had the group rollicking along, so much so that no other bunch came anywhere near them. Gary enjoyed more come-backs than Lazarus, being dropped several times only to grind his way back to the group. Sue lead the bunch around the final corner into Hendersons Road and took a flier at the hill, the bunch only rounding her up at the very top. With everything back together it was down to the final sprint, and with a sizeable crowd of retired riders at the finish cheering her on, Jacinta found an extra gear to hold off a fast finishing Ron, with Graeme and Sue picking up the minor placings.

The middle markers were never in the race but there was plenty of action and heroics. The pairing of Matt Ritchie and Terry Constable needed to find the bunch in front or the bunch behind quickly to have a chance, unfortunately neither happened and they were left to soldier on in no-man’s land for much of the race. Chasing them, Rob Kinna and Kevin Lee duked it out in scratch racing style, this tactic put Malcolm Rock off the back and left Brett Caddy mystified. The last lap saw Popeye make a break on the Avenue corner and ride away.

Behind these antics returnee to racing Brenton Keats, ill-fated Peter Livitsanis, the mercurial Bob Morley and silky smooth Rob Parker kept things tidy and kept the chasing groups off their backs, but only made small impressions on the leaders. When Peter punctured on the third lap the group was always going to struggle.

Albie “Hefty Smurf” Govan, Murray Bardwell, Craig Lightfoot and David Perry worked tirelessly trying to peg back the groups in front. Albie continuing to display his rapid improvement, riding away from his bunch on the last lap to nearly catch the Morley bunch on the line.

The very strong second scratch bunch looked imposing on the start line. Ken Heres, Rob Phillips and Richard Taylor all riding well in their last appearance. They were joined by big Rod Hetherington, surely they would steamroll the field. They had a one minute advantage over the scratch pairing of John Rhook and Tony Mirrabella which evapourated during the first 7kms just like the morning mist on Lake Learmonth. This new super group rattled along gaining rapidly on the rest of the field. On the last lap, with Tony and John were content to mark each other for the fastest time honours, it was Richard Taylor who lit the blue touch paper at the bottom of the Hendersons Hill and exploded off the front crossing the line well in front of everyone else. John and Tony took off side-by- side for the fastest time sprint, John cramped and had to sprint “from the chair”, Tony sailing home in impressive style.

 

Results

1^st                   Jacinta Welch

2^nd                   Ron Larkin

3^rd                   Sue Parker

4^th                   Graeme Parker

5^th                   Garry Blood

Fastest time: Tony Mirrabella

John Rhook showed the advantages of his special South Australian summer hill training regime to power away from a large A grade field and score an impressive first up win.

A successful start to the new racing season saw over 30 brave souls brave a wind that would blow a brown dog of its chain. Most were concerned they may not be able to finish let alone be competitive, however most underestimated their form and a competitive days racing was had, congratulations to all.

Rhook Rules the Roost

A Grade

Nine riders lined up in very blustery conditions. As the riders left the starter, all eyes were on Adam Smith the noted rider in the group. Someone spoke of the rumour that Black Caviar had a photo of Adam Smith’s legs on her stable wall when she was growing up.

Rob Phillips was looking the goods and was also tagged as a contender. The effervecent Phil Cartledge was going to one to watch on the back straight, he would be sure to launch an attack down the edge of the road. John Rhook was showing his usual early season form after a great summer on the bike.

The first lap saw everyone in the group toil away diligently and  it wasn’t until the group turned into Donovan’s rd that Cartledge cranked it up and split the field. Two riders tailed off and as the group crossed the line for bell lap only 7 remained. The quarry road was uneventful until Phllips tested the legs on the climb with Dave Peters contributing to the pain as they turned onto Coghills crk road, A-Grade new recruit Richard Taylor finding enough to hold on.  There were a few more test attacks down the back straight with strong man Darren Terry getting off the front for a short stint and returnee Andrew Rushton misjudging the distance to the Coghill Ck corner. As the group turned left off Coghills crk road Rhook played his cards in an all out effort to get away.He opened a small gap and settled in for a time trial to the finish line. With the aid of a big Northerly and a 300 metre gap as he turned into Donovan’s road the writing was on the wall. The bunch, chased hard, swapping turns to no avail. Rhook crossed the line for the win. Phillips lead the sprint out for second place but cashed his chips to early and Smith at full tilt on his 13 cog came by for second with Ken Heres hot on his tail in third.

 

Dean Wells Outclasses Field

B Grade

Ten riders greeted the starter, however the wind and a sharp start by Peter Livitsanis and Bob Morley put paid to three who were dropped in the sidewind rounding the first corner. However it was Dean Wells that was the dominant force in the race, clearly riding well above the level of the rest, he spent most of the race on the front. So effortless did he find progress that at one stage he was heard to ask Bob when would we start racing. Ably Govan and Brian Lee tried to keep the racing honest by making strong appearances at the front, with Murray Bardwell carrying the lantern rouge. With 6 riders left to contest the finish, the wind proved to be a factor again by putting Livitsanis into the gravel just before the Donovan Road corner. Up the rise with the tailwind encouraging him, Dean took off with Alby barely hanging onto his wheel. They soon gapped Bob, Brian and Murray. Dean found yet another gear and rode Alby off his wheel to win emphatically. The sprint for third saw Murray poke his head to the front for the first time all race.

 

Rock Keeps Getting Better

C Grade

An evenly matched group of nine riders contested C Grade.  The extremely windy and tough conditions made their presence felt early, with both Jacinta Welch and Mandy Rhook wondering if they would last half a lap.  The bunch started working turns, and worked well together for most of the race.  Mal Rock made a brave move on the Quarry hill on the last lap, and opened an unbeatable gap, despite the tough ride into the head wind alone on the Coghills Creek road. Debutant Matt Ritchie, the latest Morley recruit ( the Morley dynasty now includes Bob, Maz, Nick and Matt), took over command of the rest, and on the last turn he took advantage of the tail wind and rode away from the bunch. The ever improving Mandy Rhook chased hard and it was full speed to the finish line.  Rock-solid Mal sailed home to take the honours, with Matt Ritchie second and Mandy Rhook third.

 

Hodgson Wins Again

D Grade

Ray Hodgson continued on from where he left off last year in commanding style. He and new recruit Alby Chapman (yes Eureka Vet has 2 Alby s!) persevered into the wind, with Ross Waddington and Maz Morley sharing the work. Ray and Alby had to work hard to drop the determined Maz in the wind and then managed to drop Ross Waddington on the Quarry hill. Fortune was to smile on Ross as a mob of sheep slowed Ray and Alby sufficiently for him to rejoin. However this reprieve was only short lived as Ray and Alby continued their relentless grind up the hill into the wind, again dropping Ross. Left to slug out the downwind sprint, it was Ray with the largest spinnaker, easily taking the win and destined for C Grade in the near future.

 

Results

A Grade   1. John Rhook. 2. Adam Smith. 3. Ken Heres.

B Grade   1. Dean Wells 2. Albie Govan   3. Murray Bardwell

C Grade   1. Mel Rock    2. Matt Ritchie 3. Mandy Rhook

D Grade   1. Ray Hodgson 2. Alby Chapman 3. Ross Waddington.