Depot Hill helps to decide....
Sunday morning dawned and the slight chill in the air didn't deter twenty three keen cyclists from making their way to Mingenew to race the 90km ride to Bootenal. Johnny Barber emerged from the Mingenew pub having ridden across the day before so after adding him to the list, handicaps were assigned and twenty four starters lined up.
Barb Glenister and Eddie Muller were first off the rank and the duo combined to maintain good speed across the unforgiving first 55kms that is the start to this fantastic event. Some fifteen minutes later a group of eight experienced riders set off - Andrew Toovey, Paul Wilson, Jonathan Tamm, Julie Firth, Deborah Wake, Scott Cox, visiting cyclist Clayton Gunning and Duane Crabb burst from the start line and immediately established turns to keep the pace high. There were murmurs of disbelief amongst those waiting to start at Crabb being set off so early but Duane ignored these and enjoyed the support of the handicapper.
The group of Roger Swan, Paul Dodson, Gavin Keyser, Paul Matthews, Reg Salmon, Peter Burchell, Andrew Elliott and Dave Rakuscek set off at twenty five minutes with Keyser completing the event on his mountain bike as preparation for the upcoming Gibb River race. Elliott raced his mountain bike as well and the strength in this group emerged at the first hill climb with Swan, Keyser and Elliot working to ensure that the group remained together for as long as possible.
At the thirty minute mark Peter Johnson, Richard Quinlan, Mike Paxman and Johnny Barber set off and quickly settled into a fast cadence in order to catch the groups in front. Johnny Barber was a little bemused to have been placed with the trio that had successfully raced together previously but the handicapper felt his overnight rest gave him a slight advantage and decided to challenge the man with the 'best legs' in Geraldton.
Paul Hearne and Damon Angelatos were the last to leave, having been given the imposing handicap of forty minutes to make up. This strong and fast pair were expected to set a cracking pace and that is exactly what happened.
Many riders suffered on the early hills and allowed those riders who enjoy the climbs to complete the majority of the work. It appeared that the larger groups had agreed to keep together for as long as possible as the usual splinters didn't materialise until Depot Hill.
Unfortunately for Paul Matthews he flatted, as it appears did Jonathan Tamm, with this causing both riders to lose valuable time crossing the line some time after the others. Scott Cox and Duane Crabb rode off the front of their group working well together until the final stages of the event. Crabb was able to out sprint Cox to take line honours.
Peter Johnson, Richard Quinlan and Mike Paxman once again worked incredibly well together pulling away from Johnny Barber and managing to overtake the group immediately in front of them without picking up riders. The trio then descended on the group of Toovey, Firth, Wake, Gunning and Wilson however the experience of Toovey and tenacity of Firth saw them jump onto the back of this fast paced group and enjoy some support to the line. Julie Firth was first female across the line and also fastest female for the race.
Eddie Muller pulled away from Barb Glenister and completed the event as a solo rider, crossing the line not long after the group of Johnson, Paxman, Quinlan, Toovey and Firth. This was a particularly good result for Eddie considering he had ridden most of the way to the event that morning.
Roger Swan, Gavin Keyser and Dave Rakuscek's pace over the Depot Hill climb was too much for the rest of their group with the trio leaving Matthews, Dodson, Burchell, Salmon and Elliott to fend for themselves. Keyser didn't seem to notice that he was on a mountain bike instead of a roadie and worked well with Swan and Rakuscek at keeping a good pace. Barb Glenister was happy to be picked up by this group on the road into Walkaway and the four crossed the line together.
Hearne and Angelatos demonstrated good strength across the hills with Hearne emerging the stronger of the two, pulling away from Angelatos and crossing the line just after Swan, Keyser, Rakescek and Glenister. What was outstanding about Hearne's place across the line was that he had made up some fifteen minutes on Swan, Keyser and Rakuscek and even more impressive thirty minutes on Glenister.
Dodson, Salmon, Burchell and Elliott were next to finish with Angelatos closing in all the way to the line with Wilson, Wake and Gunning crossing some ten minutes later.
Corrected times show Paul Hearne as fastest time with a superb pace of 40km/hr. Full results have been emailed out to all and show the excellent speeds of all that participated, especially when matched to the terrain covered.
Special thanks to Tim and Barb for putting out the signs, Domenic Micono and Jennie Haste for coordinating, time keeping and marshaling the event and to all of the support crews who drove the cyclists out to Mingenew so that they could race. From speaking to competitors it was agreed that this race is tough and challenging, but also a most enjoyable ride. Thanks also to Fiona Della-Sale for the pictures.
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