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Road: Melbourne to Ballarat, Saturday July 17July 22 201022 July: one more update, now that the final official CSV results are up. We've straightened out a few facts, so that now at least they agree with CSV. Thanks to Kate Grigg behind the lens for the Graeme Watson-quality photos included here, and Stuart Grigg with the captions. The beast is slain. The 100th Melbourne to Ballarat Classic has been fought and won. There were some top performances from BSCC riders, and, as usual, some misfortune. The basic shape of the race was this. Second limit (24 minutes), featuring Bob Braszell and Melbourne to Ballarat first-timers Clive Silcock, Jarrod Boyd, Vince Mader and Charlie Stebbing, started fast enough to catch limit (27 minutes - Tavis Baker, Shane Butler, Melissa Keirl and Chloe McIntosh).
Leaders of the race
First three echelons, from the Cartons Road overpass, 2 km east of the Gordon exit.
The leaders - 24 and 27 minutes.
Clive Silcock leading the race, at 1:05 PM, from Cartons Road.
Bob Braszell, Shane Butler and Chloe McIntosh in the lead group
Charlie Stebbing and Jarroyd Boyd in the lead group
Melissa Keirl in the lead group.
As a result, it took until after Gordon for this group to be caught by 21 minutes (in which Sam Edwards, Warren Faneco, Thayne Turley and Jonathan Lacey started).
The second group, 21 minutes, at 1:06 PM: Sam Edwards, Warren Faneco and Jonathan Lacey.
Warren Faneco and Sam Edwards in the second group.
Jonathan Lacey in the second group.
The third group, 15 and 18 minutes, at Gordon, 1:07 PM: James Crafter, Tony Mirabella (fresh enough to look up at the photographer!) and Doug Garley.
Scott Townsend (red helmet and blue long sleeves), Charles Martin (left), Damien Keirl (right), John Polkinghorne (black helmet) and Shane Cody in the third group.
Shane Cody, Guy Falla (blue arm-warmers) and Peter Kiel (on Guy's wheel) in the third group.
The Victoria Police made it all possible.
Grant Gilbert, in familiar TT position, seconds behind the third group.
The first three echelons grind their way up to Gordon. The first two are about to unite. Soon thereafter, the combined 15- and 18-minute group joined the leaders, bringing Tony Mirabella and Damien Keirl (15 minutes), Shane "Jedi" Cody, James Crafter, Guy Falla, Peter Kiel, Charles Martin, John Polkinghorne, Scott Townsend and Doug Garley into contention. More than 150 riders started in these groups. When the catch was made, a little over half of these were left. This group was large and powerful enough to hold off the rest of the field, and it was a subset of these riders who fought out the finish.
The 12-minute group (containing no BSCC riders), the 4th bunch on the road at Cartons Road, drafting a B-double ... Behind them, Ciaran's 6-minute group caught Brad Clark's 9-minute group; and Rhys and Damien Turner's scratch bunch caught Jay Bourke's second scratch bunch, and that was that. The 30-40 km/hr northerly wind was enough to make the day tough, and the edge of the road very crowded, but, unlike last year, not strong enough to give the scratch bunch a big advantage.
The 9-minute bunch, the 5th bunch at Cartons Road, at 1:11 PM. Brad Clark is in Cycle City kit, on the fluoro green Merida.
Here's Brad in the 5th group, in his first big race back after a long break.
The 6-minute bunch, the 6th echelon at Cartons Road, at 1:13 PM. Ciaran is driving, and spitting riders out.
Ciaran rolling back to assess the damage in the 6-minute group.
Thayne Turley feels the breath of the beast in his first Melbourne to Ballarat. Cartons Road, 1:14 PM.
The last two echelons - scratch and 3 minutes - about to unite.
The big boys, including Rhys Gillett and Jay Bourke: 1:16 PM.
A closer view of Rhys and Jay.
Now we're at the Bungaree exit, 1:31PM. Here's the front group, with Warren, Clive (behind the first yellow helmet) and Jarrod (blue helmet).
Shane Cody drives, and Tony is in there. Bungaree, 1:31 PM.
Close-up of Shane Cody at Bungaree. It was not easy.
Bungaree exit: Shane and Tony's group is about to catch the leaders.
Sam Edwards, the Man in Black, toughing it out at the Bungaree exit, 1:32 PM.
Bob Braszell towing the young bloke home, Bungaree, 1:32 PM.
Bungaree: lights out for Lacey too. 1:33 PM.
Bungaree: Shane Butler, 1:33 PM.
Bungaree: Grant is still in TT position, 1:35PM.
Bungaree, 1:36: Ciaran is still smashing them, including multiple Australian road champion Stephen Fairless (on the back)
More of Ciaran at Bungaree. As the front group of around 40 riders hurtled into town towards the new finish line outside Piper's on Wendouree Parade, the following Ballarat riders were up there: Tony Mirabella, Damien Keirl, Charles Martin, Peter Kiel, John Polkinghorne, Chloe McIntosh, Clive Silcock, Shane Cody, Jarrod Boyd, Guy Falla, James Crafter and Doug Garley. Also Tavis Baker (whom we missed earlier - apologies - ed.). Pretty good effort, team! Sprinters Damien, Tony, Charles, Chloe and Doug were licking their lips in anticipation. The first major misfortune was a puncture for Doug Garley. Doug has probably won more big bunch sprints than anyone in the bunch, and not many of us have sprinted against Sean Kelly! - and he was on major form. This puncture almost certainly changed the podium. The second misfortune came as the bunch rounded the Loreto roundabout. A rider clipped a warning sign and a witch's hat and went down. Almost half the bunch were caught behind the crash, a gap opened, and their fate was sealed. This ended the chances of all our riders except Tony, Damien, Charles and John P. Up front, the bunch was a scary combination of exhausted and nervous. Despite a number of close calls, there were no further crashes. Charles snuck up the inside, with Damien on his wheel, squeezed through the Forest Street roundabout onto second wheel, and hit the gas with 400m to go. Unfortunately the long slog up the highway took its toll, and Charles cramped in both legs and came to an almost complete standstill. Damien blasted around him and suffered the same fate, though not as severely. Tony, smartly positioned on Damien's wheel, reacted quickly and took off himself. Only three riders got past him, giving Tony a richly-deserved 4th place, and the coveted first Ballarat rider jersey and award. Damien managed the cramps well so that only one more rider got past him, giving him 6th place. John Polkinghorne negotiated the chaos and finished strongly, as always, to be well into the top 20.
2:06PM, Lake Wendouree: Lacey doesn't know what his name is.
2:11 PM, at the finish: and the winner is ... Travers Nutall from Carnegie-Caulfield (15 min), from St. Kilda's Tom Walker (15 min). Cycle Sport Vic now have a version of the placings that we agree with (though we might quibble with some of the details further down the list). Damien is on the barriers, Tony on his right. That's Joanne Hogan 2nd from the left in the VIS kit, and Jenny MacPherson in the white Prime Estate strip on the far left, both from 21 minutes. John Polkinghorne is just out of the shot, on Jenny's right.
2:11 PM: Charles crosses the line just behind the winners, with both legs cramped up solid.
2:12 PM: Chloe leads home a group of riders caught behind the crash.
Chloe's glad to be home.
2:12 PM: Shane Cody and James cross the line just behind Chloe.
2:12 PM: see this tyre? It's flat on the bottom! But it's a single so I just rode it home.
2:12 - Clive crosses the finish line, just behind Doug.
2:12 - Jarrod is relieved to be home. Doug is telling Volker about his flat.
James and Doug after the finish. Doug gives us another lesson in character, this time on dealing with disappointment.
2:16: Scott Townsend pushes through the cramps.
Back with the big guns, Jay and Rhys both had top rides, despite Rhys' spectacular crash two weeks ago. Rhys was working for his team-mate, sprinter and former Cycle City rider James Mowatt. Rhys hit the front a long way out, and blew away almost all the scratch riders. Unfortunately James did not hold his wheel, so Rhys took on sprinting duties himself, and was only pipped by two riders for fastest time. Jay, from second scratch, didn't miss a beat all day and finished strongly. Both are on course for a big win this season.
2:16 PM, about 200m behind Scott, Rhys crosses the line 3rd after leading out the sprint from miles away. Jay is a few seconds behind him.
2:21: Bob Braszell finishes the job.
2:22 PM: Grant comes home strongly. That was a long TT for a roadie, but pretty short compared to an Ironman. They are warmer, though. 19 July update: Grant went to the hospital after the race with dangerously low glucose levels. He's OK now, but he's having a few weeks off the bike.
2:24: Brad looks like he's been down to the shop to get the newspaper. CSV think so: he is listed as DNF.
Ballarat's own Phil Liggett! Thanks Matt.
The junior Ballan to Ballarat race will be described in a separate report. Nice trophy!
The junior podium. Well done, champs!
A delighted Tony Mirabella takes the coveted First Ballarat Rider award. The man who made the whole race happen, BSCC life member Doug "Bronco" Armstrong, looks satisfied.
This says it all. Thanks for turning on the weather, Mr. President! Updated: click HERE for a few more finish line photos from Phillip Timpano. Photo 6 shows John Polkinghorne in the sprint for the win, finishing just outside the top 10. As you'll see, John was on Jenny MacPherson's right, so he was cut out of Kate's finish photo above. Thanks Phillip! We'd love to hear from the many BSCC riders mentioned at the start whose stories are missing. Please 60,115,116,114,111,110,103,62,108,101,116,32,117,115,32,107,110,111,119 how your race went, and we'll put the story up here for all to read. Any open race is a massive logistical undertaking, and this one even more so. Huge thanks and congratulations to the race organizer, BSCC life member Doug Armstrong. Doug's vision in bringing the finish of the race onto Wendouree Parade resulted in a huge thrill for all the riders who took part. Major thanks are due also to the Victoria Police, who made the race very safe, and to the biggest supporters by far of our club and our sport, Ballarat City Council, who made the finish happen and kept it safe - no small challenge. Finally, thanks to the many club members and friends who volunteered today. Racing on a day like this is cold, but volunteering is colder, and longer. Thank you all! *************** Updated July 13: handicaps are now up: click HERE. Observations: Pat has been replaced by Rhys. Jay has the same mark from which he finished top ten last year. Ciaran has the same mark from which he finished top ten at the Fred Icke last month - and some hard and successful racing under his belt since then. The handicapper hasn't been as hard on Brad Clark as we feared. Tony Mirabella got the move-out he asked for after the Fred Icke. Doug and Damien K have not. The 18-minute bunch is looking very good for BSCC. Warren Faneco looks very good off 21 minutes - 2nd limit Jarroyd Boyd and Charlie Stebbing look solid off limit. And Clive Silcock looks very good indeed off the same mark. See you out there! Updated July 10: Please click HERE for the official Cycle Sport Victoria entry list. The handicaps are not yet listed. There are about 250 entries, including 26 BSCC riders - strangely, exactly the same number as last year. They are: Jay Bourke Jarroyd Boyd Brad Clark Sam Edwards Warren Faneco Stuart Grigg Damien Keirl Patrick Shaw Damien Turner Melissa Keirl Charles Martin Clive Silcock Shane "Jedi" Cody Scott Townsend Tavis Baker Grant Gilbert Vince Mader John Polkinghorne Shane Butler Jonathan Lacey Tony Mirabella Charlie Stebbing Peter Kiel Guy Falla Doug Garley Bob Braszell ******** Attention masochists: entries for the 100th Melbourne to Ballarat closed on Thursday July 8. Love it or ... not, it's a big part of our history. The handicaps will be up soon at the Cycle Sport Victoria web site. Click HERE for the definitive account of last year's race by one of the few survivors. (This piece, by the way, was one of three winners of the coveted BSCC Web Site Editor's Choice awards for favorite contributed pieces last year.) Also see HERE and HERE for some lively debate about this race on the BSCC forum. Updated, July 11: please click HERE for the official race flyer. And HERE for a map of this year's course. The course now exits the freeway at Learmonth Road, like the past few years, heads past Vic Roads (last year's finish line), turns right at Gillies Street, left at Carlton Street, then right onto Wendouree Parade. Full marks to the race organizer, Doug "Bronco" Armstrong, BSCC life member, for choosing a more iconic finish for the 100th running of the race. Making the last 5 km safe, what with tight round-abouts, absent-minded pedestrians, parked cars, tram lines, and the potential for a big bunch of exhausted riders at race pace on wet roads will be a challenge. Just ask Adam Hansen. Ballarat City Council, the biggest supporter by far of our club and our sport, has taken on the challenge, with Doug's approval. The word is that the road will be closed from the freeway exit all the way to the finish. Cool! The leaders are expected to get to the finish about 2 PM. Local knowledge: the finish line is expected to be at the zebra crossing opposite Piper's, exactly the same place as it was for the first stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour last year. Wendouree Parade curves gently around to the left approaching the finish, so you won't actually see the finish line until almost 100m to go. Worth bearing in mind: if you're in the finale and you have the legs for a long sprint, you'll probably want to go before you see the line. There will be signs up at 10 km, 5 km, 1 km, 500m and 200m to go, but it's a fair bet that not everyone will be reading them, especially not the last few. Corrections? Questions? Comments? Contact the web lackey |
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