Race reports from Gordon

A grade

Jay Bourke writes:

Sorry to everyone for the lateness of the A grade report from Gordon.  It has taken this long [5 days: ed] to thaw out my numb limbs.

It was a true winter day at Gordon on Saturday, so close to snowing, but somehow more depressing that it wouldn't snow. Regardless, 9 riders saddled up to start A grade. The distance of the race changed 4 times in several minutes as the group discussed the pros and cons of racing 2 or 3 laps in tough conditions. At the last minute, the group collectively hardened up and took off on the first of 3 laps.

James Mowatt, Team Cycle City's 1300 watt sprinter, leaped away from the bunch immediately - not to play a tactical card, but to merely warm his body up! (Welcome to Ballarat Jim!) The main group showed no interest in chasing, and soon Mowatt was out of sight. The only action in the group was as Scott Keating did a u-turn, calling it a day, barely as the race had begun, and Jonny Townsend who punctured soon after.  This was all before reaching Mt Egerton for the first time.

Bombing down from Mt. Egerton to Ballan, Rhys Gillett, who you would swear has been riding a bike before he could walk, skipped over every mud-filled pothole, looking around to question what was the concern, and tilted down the mossy descent faster than even passing cars were willing to go. With that Gillett rode off in search of his teammate, and the remainder of the peleton did what they could to limit their loses, but all knew that two strong riders were now clear.

Climbing up to Ballan, the peleton split under the pressure of Jay Bourke, and turning back to Gordon it was three (Bourke, joined by Doug Garley and Peter Kiel) chasing two (Gillett and Mowatt) into the headwind.  It just shows how tough this Club Championship loop can be, with the riders strung out all over the course in a matter of 25 km. The chasing trio worked well and just as Johnny Townsend rejoined the chase in Gordon, the gap had been closed considerably, 100 m at most.  It looked like it would all come back together, and riders started planning their next move....  But no, Mowatt and Gillett crested Mt Egerton still in front, and they bolted down the descent again, this time for good. With the attackers out of sight, the chase lost motivation, just as quickly as it looked like their work had been worth it.

With that, the race for first was sealed.  Bourke stepped off after 2 laps, put on his winter thermals and started a lone, soaked ride home. [Medical opinion is that Jay is still ill after his epic ride in the Fred Icke - ed.]  This course was really giving it to the riders! James and Rhys continued to put time into the others, and in the final uphill drag to the finish, Gillett took honours.  Hard man award goes to Doug Garley, who outlasted another tough nut, Kiel, to take 3rd place. Cold and frozen to his bike, totally spent, but happy to place, Garley was lifted off his bike and placed into his warm car - and reportedly was carried from the car to bath and then couch!  The Gordon Championship course strikes again.

A grade results:

1: Rhys Gillett

2: James Mowatt

3: Doug Garley

B grade

B grade club racing is a big success story for BSCC this year. Large fields of very evenly-matched riders produce hard, exciting racing. As a result of these races and structured training programs, the standard of riders' fitness and tactics has lifted noticeably. Rides that would have won a B grade race last year now result in a mid-pack finish. The Fourth of July race on the Gordon circuit was no exception. Over 20 riders started, despite persistent, cold rain. The pace was steady up Mt. Egerton, and the first real aggression came, surprisingly, not from a climber but from by far the fastest sprinter in the field, Damien Keirl, who shot off the front on a rise on the Ballan-Egerton Road. Ruse or genuine move? Nobody was willing to call the big man's bluff and leave him out in the wind, and a flurry of counter-moves resulted in a split as the field turned onto the Geelong-Ballan Road. Danger-men Mitch Brogden, Ben Clark, Harry Bade, Matt Albiston and Matt Smith, and the ever-cunning Les Bilney, were in the front group, and Keirl and others in the rear. A huge turn from strong man Neville Bilney closed the gap, and amazingly the field remained largely intact.

The pace was relentless on the drag up to Gordon, and as the road kicked up at the end of the first lap and around the corner, the elastic was stretched, and Mitch Brogden broke free. Jonathan Lacey went across to him, and for a few moments this looked like a Longs-Hill-esque decisive move, but the alarm bells rang in the bunch, and titanic pulls from Matt Smith and the super-strong Neville Bilney brought the field back together once more. As the tired riders dragged themselves up the rollers towards Ballan one more time, the attacks started again. This time the instigator was a surprising Tim Oliver, who produced several blasts of acceleration that left the field gasping. The legend of Oliver's days as a national-level rower and triathlete, and a Ballarat Vets scratch rider, are spreading.  We will see more of this rider at the sharp end of races this year.  Although the non-sprinters in the field were aware of Keirl's persistent presence at the back of the bunch, they had learnt from the previous lap that the only grades of the Old Melbourne Road decisive enough to cause a split came at the very end.   So it was that, once Oliver's last rocket was retrieved, a temporary truce was declared, and the pace slowed.  But as the outskirts of Gordon were reached for the last time, climbing specialist Ben Clark went to the front and drove the pace.  The elastic snapped for good, and shattered riders were ejected from the front one after another.   At the end of the steep section past the football ground, with 600m to go, the front group consisted of Clark, still driving, Brogden, Bade, and Albiston, with Oliver the last to be spat out.  The gap looked big enough that the winner would come from this group, but we heard this story five weeks ago at Mt. Emu.  And once again, Damien Keirl was winding up. As the front group hit the dip before the last rise, with 200m to go, they eased, and Keirl made contact after his trademark searing final kilometer. Was it to be Mt. Emu all over again? One difference was apparent: a steep uphill finish at Gordon, instead of Mt. Emu's flat last 2 km. Another difference was hidden. Keirl crashed heavily in training over the Queen's Birthday weekend and was off the bike for several weeks. The third decisive difference was simply that the front group was stronger. Keirl reached for the afterburners and found nothing, just as Brogden powered away from Bade for an impressive win. Matt Albiston, after many kilometers of hard attacking in every race this year, was a popular third. The championships on this unforgiving circuit in September will be races to remember.

B grade results:

1: Mitch Brodgen

2: Harry Bade

3: Matt Albiston
 

Here's a report on the C grade race, from Michael Veal:

Whackety-whack fest at Gordon. The C-grade bunch is being corrupted by weekly scratch racing into a bunch of b*#tards who given the chance will wallop one another repeatedly until they puke. This is not the gentlemanly "roll around 'til the bunch sprint" philosophy we are used too.  Stormin' Peter Norman is a relentless machine who won't let anyone fly the coop. Craig Lightfoot is tapping out a tempo to discourage all dreams of breakaways. Jason Haire is unable to help himself.  Mick Veal just loves to berate the gang.  Don Stewart was absent this week but is harder to drop than heroin.  Roger Bade is not a sneaky tactician, he is just plain cold.  But alas what can we do against the the terrible twosome?  Stebbing and Murphy attack just the once and crush our souls.  Any hill is a launch pad, and they just keep going like energiser bunnies.  Please, Phil, save us from ourselves.

Here's another perspective on C grade, from Jason Haire:

A cold, wet and windy day greeted a small C grade field, some looking concerned about the severity of the weather and the number of hills in the course. The race started off at a friendly pace with everyone happy to find their groove, check out the wet road and have a bit of a chat. It was not long until Michael Veal and Peter Kyatt took over the pace setting and lifted it through to Mt. Egerton.  The pace stepped up again through the undulating hills with a nice tail wind. Into the breeze everyone settled back into a steady pace with a fair share of turns on the front being taken by all.  Sam Edwards decided to sit on the front into the wind and everyone else was happy to sit and wait to see when the duo of Charlie Stebbing and Darryn Murphy would launch their attack, as in previous weeks. 

As we passed the 1 km to go sign on the first lap, it was Jason Haire who launched the first attack of the race.  It lasted until the railway lines on the way back to Mt. Egerton, where Michael Veal joined him, and Peter Norman not long after with the rest of the field.  This change in pace saw a few riders dropped, not to get back on.  While the attempted breakaway group caught their breath, it was Stebbing and Murphy’s turn to go again with everyone ready to bring them back.  A few small attempts followed, and Roger Bade was looking strong.  However, into the tail wind section, somehow the team of Stebbing and Murphy managed to get away again, and make a substantial gap to the rest of the field.  The remaining crew of Veal, White, Norman, Bade and Haire worked in time-trial formation to bring them back with about 2 km to the finish line. From there the order of Murphy, Haire (trying to get some kind of wind relief behind the jockey), Veal and Stebbing would take it down to the wire.  Murphy dropped away just before the finish line, leaving Charlie Stebbing to time his sprint perfectly, with Veal coming over the top of Haire for second place.  It was a hard, cold day's racing, but a great race, with everyone happy with their efforts.

C grade results:
1. Charlie Stebbing
2. Michael Veal
3. Jason Haire

D grade report is still to come.

D Grade results:

1st Aaron Blomeley

2nd Michael Colville

3rd Kylie Zelly

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