Post date: May 27, 2013 9:46:18 PM
Hello Vets,
In the Bleat this week;
· Racing this Week
· Race Reports
Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc
Ian Morton.
Where: Uriarra Homestead.
When: Starting 1:30 pm
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
Uriarra Homestead - Short turn - top of Uriarra Crossing - Condor Creek - top of Uriarra Crossing - finish
Race Director: Roger Northcote
Contact: Email roger.northcote@customs.gov.au Ph 0467 736 580
Help Needed on Sunday: Roger will need 3 turn marshals and a couple of finish line helpers. Anyone who is prepared to assist, please contact him before the weekend.
Early in the day Mother Nature threatened to give us all a taste of what it must be like to ride in the Giro, with a thick fog ensuring that the temperatures remained low. Fortunately though the fog lifted in time to reveal a beautiful blue sky and sunshine that warmed the course up.
This resulted in a rather large pile of discarded windvests at the start the line. So, the race started on time in what was just about perfect weather.
On their return from Shingle Hill way it became clear that most grades ignored my advice about staying together as a bunch. I do not recall ever seeing so many fragmented groups on this course. Angelika Mauch was way out front of the G grade riders. The rest of G grade was closely followed by members of F and then E grade. It was some time before we saw the front of D grade. B and A grades were the only ones that still showed some signs of staying together as a bunch.
My hopes of seeing a G grade winner were lost when I saw that Craig Kentwell and Ian Shaw had managed to overtake Angelika on the first loop out to Lake George. What followed was essentially a long stream of riders. I have no idea where one grade finished and another started, I suspect by that stage they were all well and truly mixed together.
Craig and Ian managed to stay out front to win the race by a considerable margin. After watching the grades split up during the race it was surprising to see many of the riders finish in big bunches. Graham Albon managed to sprint off the front of the big bunch that followed Craig and Ian to get third place. Graham's time was the fastest time, it took him about 1:05 to complete the course. Brendan Byatt and Greg Burghardt completed the top five riders.
I would like to sincerely thank all of the people who helped to put the race together. Firstly, I would like to thank the 'behind the scenes people; Ian Morton, Pat Rooke and Graham Hendrie. I would also like to thank the marshals; Malcolm Tew, Kevin Hennessy, Neil Burton, Sue Frost, Jim Cruden and Geoff Strang. I would doubly like to thank the marshals for contacting me before race day. The first time I directed a race I had 0 marshals at the day of the race, it is a world of difference showing up to direct a race already knowing who your marshals are. And of course, as usual, special thanks to Henry Beaverstock and James Meredith who just simply step up to the plate and take on the hardest job of all.
Thanks to Linda Stals for Race Refereeing.
Follow up note: Henry has a couple of jackets that were left in the van on Saturday. They are both yellow. One is a rain jacket and the other is a gilet.
They will be in the van next Saturday for the owners to collect.