The last day of summer greeted another fantastic turnout of riders who were tuning their race form ahead of the next round of the regional InterClub Crit race series in Inverell next Saturday.
With the aim of building racing form, the grades were again run over the championship timings of 30 mins + 3 laps for C grade, 35 + 3 for B grade, and 40 + 3 for A grade. As usual riders self-selected into their grades, and the club welcomed junior rider Dempsey Burton in his first senior hit-out!
C grade was a strong pace for the grade with an average of 36kmh+, but with some smooth riding and strong legs the group largely stayed intact until the final lap. And in the final sprint it was Phil Tutt who took a clear win ahead of Paul Whitford, with Dempsey close behind for an outstanding 3rd place in just his first race – and undoubtedly not his last!
B grade was also kept at a solid pace of 38kmh+ for the duration, and the large peleton of close to 20 riders remained intact until the last lap. In a close sprint it was reversal of the previous weeks podium, with Archie Chick taking out the win after last weeks 3rd, with Clint Bourke in 2nd for the 2nd week in a row, and Toby Inglis in 3rd after last weeks win.
A grade was run at a red-hot pace of 42kmh+ as Ollie Marshall and Mick Harris kept the race at boiling point, and some awesome work from Houlty kept things tight until the pointy end of the race. As the lap counter came out Mick made his trademark surge at a pace that no-one else could follow, and took out a well deserved win. A close sprint for second saw Ollie just nudge out Jason Simmonds for 3rd, with the rest of A grade not far behind.
Well done to all riders for some strong racing, and thanks to Col for helping run the race.
Two important points for next week:
1. We have a club meeting tomorrow 6pm Monday 2nd March at Armidale Services Club to discuss the proposal from Cycling NSW for a junior Tour of Armidale
2. There is NO RACING in Armidale next Saturday so we can fully support the InterClub event in Inverell – please register and come along to support this