The organisers of A Day on the Green were no doubt kicking themselves this afternoon when the scale of their outrageous scheduling clash became apparent. There were no revenue issues for Armidale Cycling Club however as 20 riders rolled up the road to Long Swamp and ripped into Round 3 of Road Racer of the Year under dark skies and the threat of some welcome rain.  The handicapping was tough to call with start times spanning 14m30s but the results showed it was just about perfect with a closely contested finish where 4 different starting groups were represented in the top 5.

Dave Jenner went off Go and still had a healthy lead of almost 4 minutes from the 6-minute group of Jo Wauch, Clint Bourke and Bob Murison at the half-way mark.  Luke Milan and Billy Mara were looking dangerous having left their mates a minute back and were honing in on Jo’s group at the turn having chewed up all but 18 seconds of their initial 2 minute advantage. It was a good job that the lone figure of Lachie McPhie didn’t look back as he crested the hill before the turn, as the Swanny train was approaching with all 7 carriages rattling along at speed. The 11m:30s group and the 13m block group had come aboard and judging by their faces, it wasn’t much of a joy ride. They’d successfully kept the scratch group of Harrison Munday and Mick Harris at bay and they turned just over a minute ahead of them.  Phil Thomas came over the hill in between these groups and then went AWOL but hopefully he had spotted the ominous dark clouds and made a run for home.

As the rain started to fall, Luke Milan and Billy Mara came over the crest to claim 1st and 2nd places having shaken off the 4 riders ahead of them at the turn. Clint Bourke grabbed 3rd and Dave Jenner hung on for 4th with a final surge holding off Ben Harris who claimed the last RROTY bonus point courtesy of the fastest second leg time. Despite clocking the fastest time of 47m:33s with an average of nearly 38kph, Dave Munday finished just outside the points in 6th. Fastest laps of the day were recorded by Mick Harris and H on their first leg but in the end they were no match for the 7-rider group ahead of them.

And it’s hotting up at the top of the RROTY league. Luke Milan has gone from 3rd to 1st and Billy Mara has come from 7th to steal 2nd spot, 1 point ahead of the Bourke boys. Next week it’s Round 4 at Dangarsleigh.

Thanks to all the riders for a well raced event and to Mick Hoult for putting the signs out and running the race with Col’s assistance. The heavens opened 5 minutes after the race ended, sadly not quite sufficient time for everyone to get to the Bowling Club but at least they were headed home, unlike a few thousand people on a hill across the way…  There were some good photos of the racing which should find their way onto the Gallery Pages later in the weekend so keep any eye out for those.

We seemed to lose Dene Bourke on the 2nd lap so apologies if we’ve lost you in the thick of things Dene – let us know where you ended up.