Road: Matt Smith wins the 2010 Brookman

September 02 2010

Updated 5 September with Chris's junior report (below). 

2 September: we're still not sure that we got places 6-8 right.  Chris wrote the official results on a piece of paper - you'll see him doing it in one of the photos below - and then the piece of paper went missing ...  But we're pretty sure that we had them wrong in an earlier version of this report, which unfortunately was sent to the Courier and, we hear, published (though it's not in the on-line version).  This version also had a number of people in the wrong bunches, and some of the marks wrong.  Apologies to those who might have been demoted!  If the results below are still not right, please 108,101,116,32,117,115,32,107,110,111,119. 

Matt Smith won the 2010 Les Brookman Memorial senior handicap on the Mt. Emu circuit at Snake Valley today.  It's still August, but the race was conducted in true spring classic conditions: temperatures easing into double figures, patches of sunshine, a few early swooping magpies, and the smell of freshly-mown grass at the start, combined with freezing rain squalls at various points during the race.  Due to the unique orientation of the Australian road cycling calendar, the season of new beginnings signals the impending end of road racing for the year, but that's another story. 

Thanks to more stellar handicapping by Phil Orr, the whole field finished within a minute of one another.  Matt Smith's 10-minute bunch, the eventual winners, started with Ben Clark, in his return from injury, Scott Bilney, returning from a break, form rider Craig Lightfoot, the consistent Matt Albiston, and Simon Wallis and John Carmody.  . 

16-minute (limit) riders Scott Denno, last week's runner-up, and Gail Oliver, the eventual 9th-placed rider, on the Carngham-Streatham road.

Smith's group stayed together, and maintained their pace well enough over the second lap to sweep up the 12-minute group - MTB maestro Matt Turner (in his first road handicap), last week's winner Gerard White, and Ben Lohse - and the limit riders, Gail Oliver and Scott Denno - and just hold off the charging 6-minute (third scratch) group, led by Doug Garley. 

Part of the winning 10-minute bunch.  Craig Lightfoot (left) and Matt Albiston are making it look way too easy.  Scott Bilney comes from generations of dealing with handicappers, so none of that from him. 

Garley's six-minute group, consisting of Peter Kiel, first-year dads Stuart Grigg and Warren Faneco, rising star Thayne Turley, and Jonathan Lacey, started hard.  Their goal was to quickly collar the 7:30 bunch of Neville Bilney, Charlie Stebbing, Sam Turley, Tavis Baker and Liam White.  Liam White's mechanical misfortune near the start was a gift to Garley's group: they picked White up before Carngham, and he made an immediate contribution before the mechanical gremlins struck him again on the Streatham-Carngham road.  By this time the 7:30 bunch was in striking distance, but just before the groups combined, Neville Bilney punctured and was out of the race.  This was probably decisive.  The catch was made on the Mortchup - Mt. Emu road corner on the first lap, resulting in a bunch of nine riders.  The numbers looked promising, but the fast start had taken its toll on Garley's troops, and without Neville Bilney's engine, the increase in numbers did not lead to a major increase in pace. 

Garley's group chased hard on the second lap, and caught dropped front-markers one by one, but Smith's group in front persisted, and on the Streatham-Carngham leg on the second lap, the chasers were losing rhythm.  Hard men Garley and Kiel were very motivated - Garley in particular after his misfortune at the Melbourne to Ballarat - and they along with Thayne Turley put in some huge turns of pace. 

Behind them, the scratch riders, Jay Bourke, Phil Orr, Damien Keirl and Andrew Weightman, were closing on the 3-minute group of Scotts Keating and Townsend, James Crafter, John Polkinghorne, Adam Smith, Shane "Jedi" Cody, and Grant Gilbert, in a welcome return to racing after a health scare at the Melbourne to Ballarat.  The groups combined on the Mortchup - Mt. Emu road corner.  At the start of the climb into Snake Valley for the last time, the scratch-second scratch group had both Garley's group and the leaders in sight. 

In Garley's group, Thayne Turley drove hard on the climb, and Kiel lifted the pace even higher at the top, cracking Grigg, Baker, Stebbing and Lacey.  Scott Bilney and then Gail Oliver dropped back from the lead group, leaving four riders in front - Matt Smith, Clark, Albiston and Lightfoot - chased by Garley, Thayne Turley, Warren Faneco, Peter Kiel and Gail Oliver.  From the back, Jay Bourke set sail at a ferocious pace and mowed down the stragglers.  But Smith's group was too strong, and took the first four placings, with Smith's decades of sprint experience guaranteeing the win for him. 

Ben Clark crosses the line in second place.

 

Close ...  A few tens of seconds back, Phil Anderson's former lead-out man Doug Garley wallops his fellow six-minute riders for 5th place.  Peter Kiel (left) battles Warren Faneco, with Thayne Turley behind Peter, and Gail Oliver (in red) 9th.  That blur in the background is the Jay Bourke express. 

A few interesting historical snippets from Chris: this was the 40th running of the Les Brookman Memorial; and Matt Smith is now one of few riders who have won all of BSCC's "feature" races - the Brookman, the Collier and the Christmas race - perhaps the only one. 

Many thanks to the Brookman family for over thirty years of support of this race.  Club members were very pleased to welcome the Brookman family to the presentation at the Snake Valley hall after the event. 

 

2010 Brookman winner Matt Smith accepts the perpetual trophy and thanks the Brookman family.  With Matt are (L to R) Doug Garley (5th), Craig Lightfoot (4th), Matt Albiston (3rd) and Ben Clark (2nd).

Thanks to chief marshal Roger Bade (who also doubled as photographer), and all the marshals, including Peter Kyatt, Wendy Ross, Ian Nunn (who rode this race in 1982!) and Rob Doyle. 

2010 Les Brookman Memorial Road Race - Senior 60 km Handicap: unofficial results

1.  Matt Smith, 10:00

2.  Ben Clark, 10:00, s.t.

3.  Matt Albiston, 10:00, s.t.

4.  Craig Lightfoot, 10:00, s.t.

5.  Doug Garley, 6:00, about 20 seconds back

6. Peter Kiel, 6:00, s.t.

7. Warren Faneco, 6:00, s.t.

8.  Thayne Turley, 6:00, s.t.

9. Gail Oliver, 16:00, s.t.

10.  Jonathan Lacey, 6:00, about another 10 seconds back

11. Tavis Baker, 7:30, s.t.

12. Jay Bourke, scratch, s.t. - fastest time. 

 

Chris Liston writes:

Junior report and results

Bailey Cody took a strong win in the sub-junior 6 km Les Brookman Memorial Handicap. Baily improved his time on the relatively flat out and back course by four minutes compared to the previous week.  Daisy Pickersgill held onto a twenty-second gap from Rochelle Liston to claim second, and Harriet Pickersgill took fourth and fastest time after a few week off the bike.

Nicholas White was unlucky again, and just missed securing a win after his near-miss at Miners Rest last week.  White, from third scratch, caught Patrick Cosgrave, and the pair worked together along the Streatham Road on the Mt. Emu circuit.  Backmarkers Josh Liston and Angus Lyons were chasing hard in their last race before the national junior road titles in Canberra this coming week.  Lyons closed a three-minute gap to Liston, and then the pair chased down White and Cosgrave on the Mortchup - Mt. Emu Road.  Lyons kicked hard at the top of the hill and shattered the group. On the slightly downhill run to the finish, all riders were practically in the same straight.  Lyons ended up the clear victor, in the fastest time, with Liston second, then a slight gap to White who jumped away from Cosgrave.

The sub-junior podium

 

The junior podium

Official Results:
Brookman Memorial Sub Junior 6 km handicap
1st Bailey Cody
2nd Daisy Pickersgill
3rd Rochelle Liston
F/T Harriet Pickersgill 13:57

Brookman Memorial Junior 32 km handicap
1st Angus Lyons (fastest time)
2nd Joshua Liston
3rd Nicholas White
 

 

*************

The 2010 Les Brookman Memorial senior handicap, and junior races, will be held this Saturday, starting at 2 PM at Snake Valley (not Miners Rest as we said earlier! - editorial brain malfunction ...).  The Brookman, along with the John Collier road race, is one of BSCC's two annual feature races.  Both have been running as handicap races since at least the early 1980s.  Last year's Brookman, won in fine style by Chloe McIntosh, was the last to be run on the Carngham - Hopes Lane - Hillcrest - Haddon - Sago Hill circuit, because of increasing traffic on the Glenelg Highway.  This year the race will be run for the first time on the tough Mt Emu circuit at Snake Valley.  The circuit was used earlier this season for a club handicap, and last year for scratch races. 

Entries close with 80,104,105,108,32,79,114,114 at 5 PM Friday.  The presentation will be hald after the race in the Snake Valley hall.  The club has organized soup and sandwiches.  Riders, please bring a plate of fruit or dessert.  And we need one more marshal.  If you're available, please contact 87,101,110,100,121,32,82,111,115,115 on 0408 170 410. 

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