Dozens of Rider's 'Lit Up' by 32km Road Race
Many riders lifted their performance in an individual road race on Sunday morning with strong competition amongst 30 riders with prizes from Revolutions Geraldton awarded for the winners of 4 grades racing. Andre Eastough won the overall event, storming back into the south easterly breeze just ahead of Jarrod Bell and averaged over 35km/h.
Setting off before the main bunch were the social riders. Jenny, Catherine and Fleur They all put in strong efforts over a hilly course and were welcomed home after an hour and a half in the saddle.
Older veterans, talented young riders and some fast-improving women made up the 8 E-grade competitors. Young Jonty Calder crossed the line 1 minute in front of Sharon Bell and Barb Glenister with experienced riders Vicki Shields and Peter Burchell not far behind and all around 28km/h.
Regina Richardson notched up her first win just ahead of a chasing group in the C-grade. At nearly 32km/h this was a really strong and closely contested ride with Julie Firth, Garry Porter, Gus, Tom and others separated by only a few wheels at the finish. Regina's win was really well-deserved as she has trained, raced and consistently improved over the past few years. Over the season we can expect to see further improvement in this bunch as more and more cyclists like Regina join in regular training rides and improve their fitness and times.
Tom Davis lead home a small B-grade bunch and tested his new HED wheels - an impressive effort given his training schedule also includes lots of running and swimming in anticipation of the Busselton Triathlon in May. Reg Salmon was just a minute behind with Spokes El Presidente Andrew Toovey proving to himself and others that he probably needs to put in a few more kilometres in training to hang in with the rest of the B-grade riders!
Training more would not be hard to do at the moment with group rides heading out every morning from around town at various speeds and distances. Several riders are training for the 5 Dams Race in April, regularly clocking up 80km on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 180km+ on a Saturday morning.
The A-graders speed reflects the step up in training happening, but also the increasing numbers of riders and depth of talent in the Geraldton. Andre Eastough and Jarrod Bell flew across the course at more than 35km/h and catching more than half the field. Daryl Shields was 30 seconds behind the leaders and Paul Matthews 4th was still 2 minutes faster than the B-grade riders.
These sorts of results and racing are very inspiring, and Spokes races are sure to be the scene for more fast, fun and exciting races over the rest of the season.
