The weather held out and the 2014 New England Mutual 10th Autumn Festival Criterium took place in dry conditions today with 71 riders putting on an exciting spectacle of racing across 4 grades. The tourists cleaned up in A-Grade which was conducted at high pace from the start with victory going to Mitch Carrington from Tamworth with Dillon Sunderland (Inverell) grabbing second and Dane Crawford (Newcastle) third – and also the third intermediate sprint. Carsten Chapman (Newcastle) rode a gutsy ride and led for almost two thirds of the race, at times with a lead extending one quarter of the tight CBD circuit and picked up 2 intermediate sprints for his work. Harrison Munday (Armidale) tried to bridge the gap twice with some lengthy solo efforts but ultimately it was the bunch that bridged the gap in the closing stages.
B-Grade stayed together as a bunch throughout and ultimately the honours went to Darren Trail (Tamworth) followed by Troy Hardaker (Coffs Harbour) and Ben Harris (Armidale) grabbed third to send the home crowd wild.
The winner in C-Grade it was Dobel Crieghton (Inverell) who also grabbed the first intermediate sprint. Second overall was Douglas Pianta (Tamworth) also taking the second sprint, and a great ride from Dene Burke (Armidale) saw him claim third place. Peter Hoskings (Armidale) took out the third intermediate sprint.
Ryan Harris (Armidale) rode well to win the Junior event followed by Hugh Munday (Armidale), Bill Ensby and David Cook (Armidale).
Photos from all 4 grades are up on this website now – if any riders would like hi-res originals emailed to them then just email us with the details and we’ll get them over to you. Well done to all winners and congratulations to all riders on a well raced event. A huge thank you to all our organisers, race officials, the administration team, the spectators and to our fantastic sponsors without which this event would not be possible.
A full list of riders from all 4 grades will be provided later, in the meantime results for the 4 grades are as follows:
A Grade
| Place | Rider | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | CARRINGTON Mitchell | Tamworth |
| 2nd | SUNDERLAND Dillon | Inverell |
| 3rd | CRAWFORD Dane | Newcastle |
| Sprint 1 | CHAPMAN Carsten | Newcastle |
| Sprint 2 | CHAPMAN Carsten | Newcastle |
| Sprint 3 | CRAWFORD Dane | Newcastle |
B Grade
| Place | Rider | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | TRAIL Darren | Tamworth |
| 2nd | HARDAKER Troy | Coffs Harbour |
| 3rd | HARRIS Ben | Armidale |
| 4th | SUNDERLAND Zac | Inverell |
| Sprint 1 | HALFORD Brendon | |
| Sprint 2 | CAMERON Shaun | Coffs Harbour |
| Sprint 3 | McPHIE Lauchie | Armidale |
C Grade
| Place | Rider | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | DOBEL Crieghton | Inverell |
| 2nd | PIANTA Douglas | Tamworth |
| 3rd | BOURKE Dene | Armidale |
| 4th | KREIS Justin | Inverell |
| Sprint 1 | DOBEL Crieghton | Inverell |
| Sprint 2 | PIANTA Justin | Tamworth |
| Sprint 3 | HOSKINGS Peter | Armidale |
Juniors
| Place | Rider | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | HARRIS Ryan | Armidale |
| 2nd | MUNDAY Hugh | Armidale |
| 3rd | ENSBY Bill | |
| 4th | COOK David | Armidale |