Club Races
Rathgeber Wins Stawell Racecourse
Stawell Racecourse Handicap
Sunday 17th October 2010

	Tony Rathgeber

A tiny field of six riders fronted for the Stawell Race Course 55km handicap last Sunday, partly due to riders participating in the Round the Bay in a Day.

Cool but good racing conditions prevailed, as Meg Parnaby and Peter Mayo set off into the gentle westerly wind, 13 minutes ahead of scratch.

At the Pomonal turn, about one third of the way through the race, 5 minute riders Alan Barnett and Tony Rathgeber had reduced their 8 minute deficit to 4 minutes, while scratch riders Danny Monaghan and Dean Hayward were 2 and a half minutes further behind at the same point.

Twelve kilometres later, having doubled back towards Stawell before turning across past Lake Fyans, the 5 minute riders had gained another 2 minutes on the limit riders at the Mokepilly turn, to trail by only 2 minutes, while the scratch riders had lopped off a further 30 seconds to be 2 minutes behind the 5 minute riders.

About 12 kilometres from home, the five minute riders had caught the limit riders, and for some time worked together, until Meg Parnaby, suffering the effects of a gruelling 70km Camperdown to Warrnambool the day before, dropped off. At this point, scratch was only 45 seconds behind the tiring leading riders, and with the leaders starting to disintegrate on the Bungles Cave hill, the field came together soon afterwards, about 5 kilometres from home.

Hayward did the work early in the sprint to the line, but a well positioned Tony Rathgeber pounced to take out the race from Danny Monaghan and Peter Mayo. Monaghan also recorded the fastest race time.