Perfect conditions see fast paced event…..
Thirty four riders were blessed with a tail wind and lovely sunshine for the Blue Ribbon Mingenew to Bootenal 90km Individual Road Race. Once all were registered, event Coordinator Dom Micono assigned handicaps, and junior cyclist Mitchell Crabb was the first to set off, accompanied by mum Kylee Crabb, both of whom had never attempted the distance before. Matt Matiera, Mike Reymond, Reggie Richardson and Catherine Brosnan were next to leave and were accompanied by experienced Spokes cyclists Barb Glenister and Bec Swan. The group soon settled into an even pace with emphasis for Brosnan and Richardson being on the ride rather than the race. Reymond and Matiera pulled away from the group after the first couple of climbs with both then riding the remainder of the event as solo riders.
Alison Simkin, Ros Johnston, Donna Meneguzzo, Jennie Haste and Tim Glenister were joined by new riders to Spokes Andrew Outhwaite, Kate Watson, Peter Newman and John Byres with this large group combining well to quickly pull back the 5 minutes handicap assigned over the previous group.
The first half of the ride saw places within this group change frequently and it was the strength of Tim Glenister, Johnston and Watson which prevailed in the latter stages of the race. John Byres showed ingenuity when deciding he needed his granny ring for some of the climbs and in the absence of a front derailleur he found reaching down with his left hand and lifting the chain over was equally as effective!! Interesting…………………
Barb Glenister was quick to jump on with this group as they passed and rode with Andrew Outhwaite to the finish. Outhwaite actually completed a dual event as he and Johny Barber cycled over that morning for the ride - that’s a very long warm up!
Some 15 minutes after this group Simon Mulligan, Jonathan Tamm, Julie Firth, Reg Salmon, Duane Crabb, Johny Barber and Darryl Sheilds departed with Mulligan, Salmon, Firth and leading the charge. The trio dropped Crabb and Sheilds on some of the bigger climbs with Tamm and Barber next to go. Crabb and Sheilds kept each other company for the majority of the ride with Tamm and Barber leap frogging groups in front.
Richard Quinlan, Peter Johnson, Jarrod Bell, Paul Baldock, Paul Matthews, Dave Rakuscek and Eddie Muller were given just five minutes off scratch and powered away from the start line. This group was well organised and quickly settled into a fast paced ride which saw them reigning in the cyclists in front of them with ease. Dave Rakuscek and Eddie Muller struggled to sustain the pace, losing touch with the group by the halfway mark with Muller spending much of his ride alone. Rakuscek benefited from Reg Salmon having a puncture to team up and catch Barb Glenister, Andrew Outhwaite, John Byres and Donna Meneguzzo on the road to the finish line.
The remaining bunch of Quinlan, Johnson, Bell, Baldock and Matthews powered across the undulating terrain, joined only by Mulligan as they passed.
Paul Hearne, Jamie Rowe and Richard Correy were the last to leave Mingenew however these experienced cyclists were expected to maximise the optimum conditions and they didn’t disappoint. This was Correy's first ride with Spokes for the year after a busy tri calendar and his enjoyment of their wind up the night before took its toll with him being dropped at Depot Hill. Rowe and Hearne showed great teamwork in backing off the speed a couple of times to allow the three to regroup however Correy advised he was happy to enjoy the scenery leaving Rowe and Hearne to continue on, taking turns and constantly increasing in pace.
With all the riders on the road there was much shuffling within groups with some pushing too hard early and suffering in the later stages and others riding a constant and improving as the distance to the finish line reduced.
In amongst all of this Mitchell Crabb and Kylee Crabb rode on and were never caught by the groups behind them. They took line honours in a time of 3:00:39 with Mitchell outsprinting Kylee at the end. This is a fantastic achievement for a junior rider with Mitchell showing restricted gears won't hold him back.
Quite ironically it was the most Senior rider of the day, Mike Reymond, who was next across the line, closely followed by Richard Quinlan, Peter Johnson, Jarrod Bell, Paul Baldock, Paul Matthews and Simon Mulligan.
Corrected times show Paul Hearne taking handicap win and fastest time in a staggering 2:00:12 at an average of 44.9km/hr and finishing just one second faster than Jamie Rowe. This is an improvement of 13 minutes on his time from the previous year and despite the ever humble Hearne attributing it to the tail wind, he is riding exceptionally well and continues to be a force on the bike.
The group of Catherine Brosnan, Reggie Richardson and Bec Swan were joined by Darryl Sheilds with about 15km's to go with Swan and Sheilds using their experience to guide Brosnan and Richardson to the line. Eddie Muller was the final rider in and despite spending most of the ride on his own he still managed an impressive 37.1km/hr for the 90km.
Julie Firth was first female home, riding a blistering 40km/hr for the event. She was followed by Ros Johnston and Kate Watson for the top three placings amongst the ladies.
Many thanks to Paul Hearne and Paul Baldock for riding back out to accompany the last few cyclists on the road to the finish line.
Special thanks to Dom Micono, Paula Purcher and Megan Dunphy for their event management and to Barb and Tim's family for putting out and collecting the signs.
Thanks also to Johno and Richard Quinlan for towing bike trailers over and to the many support vehicles on the road for their encouragement and handing out of water bottles.
A full list of results is below and the Picasa photostream to the right has been updated with pictures from the event.
Spokes next event is a 20km Individual Time Trial on Monday 6 June 2011. Further details will be provided over the next week.
