2019 Round 1: HEZ Kurrie Kurrie Monday 10th June

[Artson]

Event Date: Monday 10th June 2019
Venue: Hunter Economic Zone, off Kurri Kurri-Mulbring Rd. Kurri Kurri NSW 2327
CNSW Entry boss Entry Fee: $45 (single day), $95 (full series entry),

08:50am – Division 5 – 3 laps -36km
09:00am – Division 3 - 5 laps 60km
09:01am – Division 4 - 4 laps - 48km
11:00am – Division 1 - 7 laps - 84km
11:11am – Division 2 - 5 laps - 60km.

On the day entry will be available at a fee of $55. Please allow enough time for grading and sign-on procedures


Hosted By:




 

[Artson]

IMPORTANT: The HEZ TMP stipulates Vehicle movement Protocol that must be adhered to:

Parking
•         Is off the road and on the Eastern side only
•         Is nose of Vehicle Towards the road ( Reverse in)      

Arrival during first wave (8:50am – 10:15am)
•         Be prepared to be stopped by Traffic Control and follow their instructions
•         You may be let onto the circuit in groups (please stay as 1 convoy)
•         No Vehicles are permitted to overtake a Peloton
•         You will not be permitted to enter the “Finishing Straight” within 5 minutes of a race finish.
 
Departure during Second Wave (11:00am – 12:45pm)
•         Use a spotter to exit your parking
•         You are not permitted to pass a Peloton
•         No vehicles will depart on Bell lap (~12:10 – 12:25)
 
Minor modification time and distance:
Why modify?
•         To allow for vehicle movement after wave 1 and presentation.
•         I was unable to gain TMP approval for the “short lap” concept
•08:50am – Division 5 – 3 laps -36km
•09:00am – Division 3 - 5 laps 60km  
•09:01am – Division 4 - 4 laps - 48km
•11:00am – Division 1 – 7 laps 84km
•11:01am – Division 2 – 5  laps - 60km
 
I appreciate you paying attention to these rules and also your patience. Should you have any concerns or issues about any of these matters. Please raise them directly with the race promoter Paul Craft or Newcastle Cycling Club President Michael Flynn.

[Artson]

Round 1: HEZ results




Division 1   (84km)
      
1.  Johnathan MILLINGTON    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club   …...1hr 57:25
2.  Glenn MATHISKE    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley
3.  Peter WAKEFIELD    ………………………………………….   Penrith cc
4.  Nathan BONARIUS    ………………………………………….   Sydney Uni Velo Club
5.  Jordan ROSS    ………………………………………….   Illawarra Cycle Club
6.  Luke Cridland    ………………………………………….   St George CC
7.  Eddie SALAS   ………………………………………….    Penrith cc
8.  Mick CURRAN    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
9.  Daniel SULLIVAN    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling C
10.  Andrew FINLAYSON    ………………………………………….   North Western Sydney CC
11.  Christopher BALL    ………………………………………….   Manly Warringah CC
12. Ben NEPPL    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
13. Peter Hoorwood    ………………………………………….   cnsw
14.  Russell Menzies   ………………………………………….   Lidcombe Auburn CC
15.  Craig STEVENS    ………………………………………….   Northern Sydney CC
16.  Matthew GLANVILLE    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
17. Adam SOCHA    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
18.  Merrick LAW    ………………………………………….   Illawarra Cycle Club
19.  Luc MCCANN    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC
20.  Christian GODYN    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
21.  Dan MCGUIGAN    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
22.  Grant HARMER    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
23.  Ben WARE    ………………………………………….   Peloton Sports
24.  Justin MILLINGTON    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
25. Mathieu BREMAUD    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
26.  Dane CRAWFORD    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
27. Allan SMITH    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
28. Michael BURKE    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
29.  Simon BALL    ………………………………………….   Marconi CC
30.  Jon LEIGHTON    ………………………………………….   Harlequin
31.  Will MCLAREN    ………………………………………….   Manly Warringah CC






Divison 2    (60km)    
      
1. Kevin BERKELEY    ………………………………………….   Parramatta CC…...1:26:55
2.  Geoff BAXTER    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
3. Jordan REIZES    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
4.  Ben EXLEY    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
5.  Quinten ROGER    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC
6.  Kyle SULLIVAN    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
7.  Mick QUINN    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
8.  Matthew COY    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
9.  Brendan BUHAGIAR    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
10.  Nick JOHNS    ………………………………………….   Nowra Velo Club
11.  Nicholas JACK    ………………………………………….   ADF Cycling
12.  David EMERY    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
13.  Matthew HOOKER    ………………………………………….   Marconi CC
14.  Jack YUEN   ………………………………………….    Waratah Masters CC
15.  Jamie MCHUGH    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
16. Stephen BORG    ………………………………………….   NWSCC
17.  Darren RUSSELL    ………………………………………….   Sydney Uni Velo Club
18.  Robert CATER    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
19. Tom CLAYTON    ………………………………………….   Warratah Masters CC
20.  Matt WALKER    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling Club
21. Scott Davis    ………………………………………….   CNSW
22. Peter RYAN    ………………………………………….   Marconi CC
23. Brad HOOKER    ………………………………………….   Marconi CC
24.  Trevor SMITH    ………………………………………….   Manly Warringah CC





DIV 3 Race results    (60km)    

1.  Andrew HELLMICH     ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC      ………………….1:29:47.99
2.  Rodney LATHAM    ………………………………………….   Illawarra Cycle Club
3.  Campbell FULLER    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
4. Michel NIJLAND    ………………………………………….   Muswelbrook
5.  Nigel PERRY   ………………………………………….    Hunter District Cycling
6. Matthew GREEN    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
7.  Neil ARNOLD    ………………………………………….   Illawarra Cycle Club
8.  Peter SELKRIG    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
9.Dean MARCINKOWSKI    ………………………………………….   Illawarra Cycle Club
10. Glen Elton    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
11.  Kevin YOUNG    ………………………………………….   Parramatta CC
12.  Keith HARRIS    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
13.  Darrin TUCKER    ………………………………………….   Randwick Botany CC
14.  Cameron VICKERS    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
15.  Melanie BREADEN    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
16.  Ruth STRAPP    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
17.  Richard MEASURES    ………………………………………….   Manly Warringah
18.  Katie BANERJEE    ………………………………………….   Harlequin
19. Andrew WALKOM    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
20. Rob TWYEROULD    ………………………………………….   North Western Syd CC
21.  Antonio RANIERI    ………………………………………….   Penrith CC 1
22. Rhys ASHPOLE    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
23.  Ben PATTERSON    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
24.  David ASHTON    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
25.  Dugald SPENCELEY    ………………………………………….   Lidcombe Auburn CC
26.  Andrew ROBERTSON    ………………………………………….   Lidcombe Auburn CC
27.  Peter HAYDON    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
28. Patrick Grant    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
29.  Patrick CONDLIFFE    ………………………………………….   Lidcombe Auburn CC
30.  Chris KNOX    ………………………………………….   North Sydney CC
31. Matt BENNETT    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
32. Peter ROBERTSON    ………………………………………….   Harlequin
33. Nosh MISTRY   ………………………………………….    St. George CC
34. Kurt SMITH    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
35. Col HAISELL    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
36.  Adam KIMBERLEY   ………………………………………….    Central Coast CC
37.  Stephan SHORT    ………………………………………….   Waratah Masters CC
38. Kurt PURKISS    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
39.  Alan CHAPMAN    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
40.  Ivor THOMAS    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC
41.  Michael OWEN    ………………………………………….   North Western Syd CC
42. George PROSSALENTIS    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters





Division 4     (48km)    

1. Justin WOOLLARD    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC ………..1hr  15:07
2.  Iain Mudie    ………………………………………….   Hunter Dist CC
3.  Derek CRAIG    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
4. David BROWNE    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
5. Arthur SNOW    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
6.  Daniel King    ………………………………………….   CNSW
7.  Robert JOHNSON    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
8.  Ryan KENNEDY    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
9.  Ross MURDOCH    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
10.  Peter MCKAY    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC
11.  Brett Stewart    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
12.  Tim Ramon    ………………………………………….   CNSW
13.  Andrew JACKSON    ………………………………………….   Camden Cycle Club
14.  Brett LAMBKIN    ………………………………………….   NCC
15.  Bryan ATKINS    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
16.  Nicky WESTERN    ………………………………………….   Muswelbrook
17.  David FARLEY    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
18. Wade BUCHAN    ………………………………………….   Marconi CC
19.  David HILL    ………………………………………….   Muswelbrook
20.  Jeremy GILCHRIST    ………………………………………….   Goulburn CC
21.  Richard BUSH    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
22.  Michael KELLY    ………………………………………….   Sydney CC
23. Pip ASH    ………………………………………….   Tamworth CC
24. Jamie Grohan    ………………………………………….   CNSW
25.  Michael STANTON    ………………………………………….   Dulwich Hill BC
26.  Sherrie-Ann H   ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
27.  Sacha FERNANDEZ    ………………………………………….   NWSCC
28. Scott Baxter    ………………………………………….   Lidcombe Aurburn CC
29. Peter Noble    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
30. Sally MCKENNA    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
31. Troy PATTERSON    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
32.  Gavin VICKERS    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
33.  David HEATON    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
34.  Brian GLENDENNING    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
35.  Darren Towill    ………………………………………….   CNSW
36.  Tom GOOLD    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
37.  Raoul WESTBROOK    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
38. Sam DOHERTY    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
      


   
Division 5 (40km) … Across the line.       
Age adjusted results to follow       
      
1.  Guy PAGE    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC …………….1:05:53.49
2.  Scott DALLEN    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
3. Michael BOWEN    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
4.  Thomas MUCKLE    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
5.  Stephen CHAPMAN    ………………………………………….   Central Coast Cycling
6.  Colin KNEALE    ………………………………………….   Sutherland Shire CC
7.  Colin BROOS    ………………………………………….   Manning Valley CC
8.  John PRICE    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
9. Harry ROURKE    ………………………………………….   Waratah Masters CC
10.  David REGATTIERI    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
11. Andrew TRAPPITT    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
12.  Yoni HOPE-HODGETTS    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
13.  Ian GRAINGER    ………………………………………….   Bicisport
14.  Steve CASSIDY    ………………………………………….   Waratah Masters CC
15.  John MUIRHEAD    ………………………………………….   Parklife Cycling Club
16.  Hugh JONES    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
17.  Samara SCHULZ    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
18.  Gregg Fisher    ………………………………………….   Waratah Masters CC
19. John MUSICH    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
20.  John HOPE-HODGETTS    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
21.  Paul ANDERSON    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
22. Chris CARROLL    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
23. Terence FLYNN    ………………………………………….   Hunter Valley Masters
24. Steve BROWN    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
25.  Jennifer RAY    ………………………………………….   Hunter District Cycling
26.  Charles White    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
27. 516 Nick OSBORNE    ………………………………………….   Hunter Districts CC
28. 545 Mark CRAIG N   ………………………………………….   northern Sydney CC
29. 538 David DONNELLY    ………………………………………….   Newcastle Cycling Club
30. 541 Russell GARSTANG    ………………………………………….   Central Coast CC
      
   Division 5 Age based results
Your age minus your place.

1   Guy   PAGE       68
2   Thomas   MUCKLE   67
3   Colin   KNEALE   66
4   Harry   ROURKE   62
5   Ian   GRAINGER   61
6   Hugh   JONES   60
7   Stephen   CHAPMAN   57
8   Colin   BROOS   54
9   Yoni   HOPE-HODGETTS   54
10   Michael   BOWEN   53
11   John   PRICE   53
12   John   MUSICH   53
13   Terence   FLYNN   53
14   John   MUIRHEAD   52
15   Greg    FISHER    52
16   Scott   DALLEN   51
17   David   REGATTIERI   51
18   Andrew   TRAPPITT   51
19   Chris   CARROLL   51
20   Jennifer   RAY   49
21   Steve   CASSIDY   47
22   Paul   ANDERSON   47
23   John   HOPE-HODGETTS   45
24   Steve   BROWN   44
25   Samara   SCHULZ   38
26   Julie    GARDNER    35
27   Mark    CRAIG    27
28   Nick   OSBORNE   26
29   Charles    WHITE   25
30   Riussell    GARSTANG    15
31   David   DONNELLY   11

[Artson]

Round 1 of the CERVELO Masters Series,
incorporating the Open round of 2019 CNSW Masters Premiership Series


A solid field of master aged riders lined up for the first round of The Cervelo Masters series which included former Olympians along with multiple former current /past World Champions, World Record Holders and more National Champions than burn out marks at the now infamous HEZ circuit.



Despite the stella field most of the talk during the warmup was in regard to the power of the leading Masters team DHUEZ Racing. On the start line this was very evident with the team sending their big attacking riders to the front line seemingly broadcasting, “this is going to be a Fast start”
 
               
From the gun the attacks started paying no respect to the undulating 84km ahead of them. Every initial move contained a Fluro lime jersey. The heart starter Prime was won by Mick Curren who opened the scored board for his team (DHUEZ 1 = Bunch 0) shortly after Curren had return from his sprint win, a move containing the inform Andrew Finlayson along with the superb tactician Eddie Salas launched clear of the field. Finlayson, having recently won the Grafton to Inverell was not someone you would let go up the road, hence the chase was a focal point of the mid-section of the race.  It did seem from the sidelines that Finlayson was the rider creating the most amount of stress throughout the race until, a break of 5 riders established itself Christian Godyn, Jonathan Millington Nathan Bonarius (all DHUEZ) Glenn Mathiske (MVCC) and Peter Wakefield (Penrith)
        
Godyn sacrifices his chances by driving the break for the first 10km and it appeared that Bonarius was the protected rider this was until Wakefield and Mathiske put him into difficulty in the last 3km’s of the event. With the Bonarius now gone Millington had to employ plan B “win the race” which he did with surgical precision easily outsprinting his exhausted compatriots.
 

Simon Ball (Buncheur) was denied his chance at the Bunch gallop with a last lap puncture never the less the 5th place sprint could have been any “CNSW Open” event sprint with the likes of Ross, Cridland, Salas and Curren all throwing their bikes for a high place finish.  Jordan Ross’s 5th place indicated that Dhuez also had the Sprint covered.


 
A massive thankyou to the sponsors CERVELO KASK, TWE, Champion Systems and SHIMANO, along with the assistance of Newcastle Cycling Club.  Incorporated into the series is the CNSW Masters Road Premiership Points Series. The 2018 Winner Ben Neppl was only too happy to pass over the leader’s trophy to Jonathan Millington. Jono will now have the honour of wearing the race number 1 into round 2 wear I am sure there will a contingency of riders wanting to rip it off his back, conspicuously including some of his teammates

[Artson]

Division 2


The most crucial moment of the Division 2 race was very early in the piece at the conclusion of the first lap. This was the heart starter Prime and it was skilfully won by Nick Johns (Nowra Velo). However, it was also the launching pad for the winning break. Needless to say, Nick was not part of this defining moment as he was too busy celebrating his prime win and sucking in oxygen as others were pedalling away.


As race commentator I was a little confused to know if I could call it a break? Div 2 contained a total of only 24 riders and the lead group contained 9 of them. So, I quickly settled on the term BRUNCH which is somewhat a combination of a Break and a Bunch.


The 9 riders dutifully continued to extend their lead as the remaining laps counted down. Ben Exley (CCCC) made an exciting and bold move with 12 km remaining but was unable to maintain his lead, especially with the wind increasing as the day went on.

I was looking forward to calling the sprint. However, I was pleasantly surprised as to what transpired. It was not actually a sprint, instead a grind to the line with almost every rider utterly destroyed by the intensity of the previous 59.7km’s. The only rider who was going fast was Kevin Berkley, which is evidence that he got the tactics correct, managing to reserve some energy for the last burst. It was interesting to see 2nd place getter Geoff Baxter’s surprised face when he crossed the line. I imagine he was thinking “I am going so slow, but I still get second” The remaining riders crossed the line and forgo any warm down instead electing to assume a fetial position on the side of the road.


Although the top eight was decided the action and thrills in this division was not completed. The 9th rider of the Brunch had cramped in the final km. Brendan Burgair (DHUEZ) was dragging his somewhat broken carcass up the final hill to the finish, until the commentator (aka me) started shouting “The bunch is coming!”  Brenden lurched is body out of the saddle in a comical attempt to make the line. All that was missing was “Benny Hill” music as that man Nick Johns was attempting to make amends. Brendan made it by 0:00.00.01sec.
My greatest joy was yet to come. I was so lucky and privilege to be able to inform both riders that it really didn’t matter as we only award points to 8th ?





In the words of: Geoffrey Baxter Hi all,
We'd just started on our 2nd lap of 5 laps and there was an acceleration up the hill past the start finish line and 8 guys got a gap. And of course I was in my usual position protection the rear of the field. So missed the guys going up the road. When I saw everyone looking at each other I thought I have to bridge the gap. So managed to getaway and catch them alone. We all worked well together and there wasn't too much bludging. Believe it or not I even did my fair share of work. Real happy with my result and Kevin had really good legs in the spirit and gapped us all.
There you go.

[Artson]

Division 4 Report


There was a last-minute boost to the starting line up of Division 4 with several riders self-electing to step up a grade from Div 5. To those riders, I would like to extend my gratitude and congratulations. Hence 38 riders rolled out for the 48km event and many were expecting a Novocastrian dominance.

Unlike the division 3 race which appeared to be a race to be in the break. The Div 4 field seemed more content to stay intact as much as possible. The first lap prime was won impressively by Jeremy Gilchrest. The unfortunate thing for Jeremy is that the cash prize is designed to cover the fuel costs of the athlete. However, with fuel prices a $1.45+ I am sure he would struggle, coming from Goulburn.



Today Div 4 would end in a bunch gallop and I am told that the winner, Justin Woollard, has mastered the art of sprinting the uphill HEZ finish, having won his last 3 outings at the venue. He timed his run brilliantly to pass the less experienced triathlete Iain Mudie who seemed more concern about who was behind him then the finish line in front of him.  The first women to cross the line was Nicky Western from Muswellbrook who held out the very much improving Pip Ash who had travelled down from Tamworth to be apart of the Cervelo Masters series. 

   

[Artson]

 

From the Dhuez masters juggernauts point of view race report div 1 and div 2
  https://dhuezracing.com.au/2019/06/12/recap-cervelo-masters-round-1-2/?fbclid=IwAR1l0Sct5d_mY3dk2lkOS4Q0qlwGn_QVgIUcPJcNKgLdnpTrOthqIhZBRas
 

[Artson]

Divison 5 report

The most anticipated grade of the 2019 Cervelo master’s series round 1 was indeed Division 5. With a truly unique/innovative prize and points structure very few knew how this would influence the event.
Your age minus your place. How does it work?

Essentially it is self-explanatory, but to clarify, the first rider across the line may not necessarily be decaled the winner of Div 5. The prizes would be awarded to the cyclist who retained the highest number after deducting their place from their age. Clearly we needed a couple of rules and yes we had two.
1.   Women would start with a 15 point bonus
2.   Should a group larger than nine arrive to a finish 9th onwards would receive the same place.

Ok, now that those rules are clear, how did affect the race?
Although, most riders in the bunch were a little confused by this twist of rules. I truly think that the older riders (who most benefitted) fully understood the implementations of the points system they had been waiting 50+ years for. The 70-year-old fraternity knew that if the bunch stayed together they increased their perosnal chances of taking the prize. It is commonly known that with age comes wisdom and the elder riders not only controlled the race but dominated it as well.

It was only with a little bit of surprise, that we saw one of the elder statesmen and true tactician, Guy Page launch out of the wheels to take victory.  Fully aware that Guy is 69 years of age it did not take me long to announce him as the overall victor amassing an impressive 68 points (age 69 minus place 1st) . But it was only later, after entering the data into my spreadsheet that I could see how impressively tight the competition had turn out to be.  

1   Guy   PAGE       68
2   Thomas   MUCKLE   67
3   Colin   KNEALE   66
4   Harry   ROURKE   62
5   Ian   GRAINGER   61
6   Hugh   JONES   60
7   Stephen   CHAPMAN   57
8   Colin   BROOS   54
9   Yoni   HOPE-HODGETTS   54
10   Michael   BOWEN   53
11   John   PRICE   53
12   John   MUSICH   53
13   Terence   FLYNN   53
14   John   MUIRHEAD   52
15   Greg    FISHER    52
16   Scott   DALLEN   51
17   David   REGATTIERI   51
18   Andrew   TRAPPITT   51
19   Chris   CARROLL   51
20   Jennifer   RAY   49
21   Steve   CASSIDY   47
22   Paul   ANDERSON   47
23   John   HOPE-HODGETTS   45
24   Steve   BROWN   44
25   Samara   SCHULZ   38
26   Julie    GARDNER    35
27   Mark    CRAIG    27
28   Nick   OSBORNE   26
29   Charles    WHITE   25
30   Riussell    GARSTANG    15
31   David   DONNELLY   11

[Artson]

Div 3 Report

words by someone in the race.

With 40+ riders it was always going to be a tough ask for a breakaway to get established and stay away in the Div 3 race. The problem was, if a break didn't make it to the end, we may as well have given first place to Nigel Perry before we started - if he's there with a sniff of the finish line, he's a sure bet.


The first lap saw a few riders take a stab off the front but everything was back together at the bottom of the finishing straight for the prime. It looked like it was going to be an all in sprint but the real contenders came to the front and an Illawarra ride took the $20 almost uncontested after showing how serious he was about getting his fuel money for the trip home.

The following few laps saw a big bunch being peppered with attacks by ones, twos and threes but nothing looked overly serious before a few of the stronger riders like Alan Chapman Keith Harris and Mel Breaden came to the front to restore order. That didn't stop the likes of Glen Elton and Adam Kimberley from the CCCC having repeated attempts to break the chain hold of the bunch with the assistance of riders from Muswellbrook, Hunter District and Lidcombe Auburn Clubs.



With two las to go, the wind was up and it was looking more and more like a bunch sprint was in order.

Not wanting to make it too easy for Mr Perry, Andy Hellmich got in the ear of Rod Latham from Illawarra and suggested they give it a go on the next turn around. The thinking was, with Rod's help, his strong looking mates and the other Coasties may not chase. And with the help of a couple other committed riders, the break could stick. It was worth a try.  

Four riders jumped at the turn around, dug super deep and got a decent gap. All four put their heads down before one rider pushed himself into the red and had to ease up. It was down to three.

The bunch realised the danger and started the chase and it was good to see other Coasties, Ben Patterson and David Ashton helping the chase - no collusion here and everyone racing for themselves. The women in the bunch weren't shirking the work but the chase was a little disorganised for too long and the break pulled out a handy lead.

With 4km to go, Campbell Fuller of RBCC had been redlining for the last lap and yelled at the other two boys to go on without him.

It was down to two.

Rod and Andy swapped consistently till the last corner when Andy took the back seat. Rod pushed it all the way to the line but Andy had a just enough in the tank for the last 50m and pipped Rod in the finishing straight.



With the bunch still coming ow strong, Campbell held on for 3rd and almost got back to contest the sprint when Andy and Rod started stalling before the sprint.

Michel Nijland of Muswellbrook won the bunch kick from a some what interested Nigel Perry. Melanie Breadman of HD was the first female and came in just in front of Ruth Strapp of Bicisport and Katie Banerjee or Harlequin.

All in all, a great race with plenty of action and great to see a break rewarded after some solid riding.