Club Races
Daryl Elliott Takes out A Grade Scratch Race Fyans
Creek - Sunday 20th January 2008
|
 |
|
Daryl Elliott |
|
|
Horsham cyclist Daryl Elliott snatched victory right
on the line to take out the Grampians Vets A grade
scratch race, held over the 44km Fyans Creek circuit
last Sunday.
Fifteen riders fronted for the first race of the year,
and were divided into A, B and C grades for the scratch
events.
The A grade riders left first,
with Garry Rice showing his strength and attacking
up the first of the hills. Several riders slipped
off the back, but regained the group soon after.
The
pace was solid for the hilly section along Sandbar
Road, but it wasn’t until
the group turned for home with about 12km to go that
the attacks really started. Rice once again attacked
repeatedly, with Chris Scott and Alan Barnett also
trying to break away, but the head wind made the job
difficult, and all breaks were short lived.
It came down to a cat and mouse game
over the final 2kms, until Scott made a break, taking
Barnett, Elliott and Peter Parnaby with him. Heading
into the final straight, these riders jockeyed for
position, until Parnaby finally broke clear.
With 50
metres to go Peter Parnaby looked to have it won, but
Elliott was close behind and just managed to lunge
ahead right on the line, to win by half a wheel. Alan
Barnett crossed the line in third place
The B grade event was dominated by Steve Monks, who
broke clear in the later stages of the race, and won
by a convincing margin. Stuart King also broke free
of the other riders to come home second, with Leon
Gibson third ahead of Frank Stokes and Tom Eldridge.
The C grade riders split about half way through the
race, loosing Larry Bales and Roger Williams on the
hills. Merv Thompson, Meg Parnaby and Shauna Heard
battled out the finish, with Heard making a dash a
long way from home, but ran out of puff into the head
wind. Thompson streaked past to win, with Meg Parnaby
second and Heard third.
Riders are asked to note that
next Sunday’s
race has been cancelled, as most riders are involved
with the Horsham Triathlon. Racing will resume on the
3rd March at Quarry Road.
|