Easter Sunday Track Races

The later start time was appreciated by all riders and with the sun continuing to shine there was a good turn out in both races. The shorter 25 mins plus two laps race was a lesson in how not to handle a break. With two CCC riders away clear after two laps the remaining CCC riders (apart from Bob Banks) were not going to chase down their own men, which meant that VSJ had to do the work. The fact that we all failed miserably apart from heroic efforts on the part of Paul Lipscombe and yours truly (for about a quarter of a lap and then got blown out of the back) to combine our efforts and chase them down is a good lesson in bike racing tactics. You simply have to watch the pro’s in action when a team comes to the front to chase down the break near the end of a race to see how its done. But don’t panic, there’s a long way to go this season and plenty of time to learn and put the lessons into practice. Pats on the back to Craig Meredith giving it a go on the front and Dave Whitt also doing his bit early on. 

The longer (and faster race) was pretty hectic for the first few laps with a number of riders going clear, but quickly reigned in by the pack, led by Richard Tanguy, Chris Spence, Jamie Barker and the rest. The rapid accelaration as various riders put in digs took its toll as a trickle of riders fell out the back but great to see Mike Keighrey, Andy Munns, & Mike Mitch staying with the pace alongside Jim Garrett and the other seniors. After two thirds of the race with Jim Garrett and Vince Peron away up the road Richard and Chris decided it was time to take control and quickly jumped across, briefly creating a leading group of four riders before the two of them pulled away. They were then joined by Ali Cann and these three gradually built up a commanding lead taking them all the way to he finish, Ali just outsprinting Richard with Chris half a wheel back in third, exciting stuff. For Jim as the only lady it was tough going in this fast group but she stuck with it, good training.

Thanks to Dave Mayman, Torty Hubert and Gordon Wright for organising this event.