Club Races
Parnaby Breaks Away to Win
Concongella
Sunday 31st January 2010
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Peter
Parnaby |
Grampians
Vets rider Peter Parnaby led the 5 minute riders'
charge to the line last Sunday, taking out the 46
kilometre Concongella Handicap.
Very warm
temperatures and a strengthening north easterly wind,
combined with the hilly start out along the Landsborough
road, made for difficult riding conditions.
Parnaby
combined well with fellow 5 minute riders Tony Lloyd
and Stuart King, to have the 7 minute riders Peter
Mayo, Tony Rathgeber and Les Power in their sights
before Joel Joel, and caught them soon after.
The
two bunches combined, until they hit the first of
the hills heading back to Stawell along the Navarre
road, when they lost the 7 minute riders again.
With
a chasing wind, the pace was high, and the three
5 minute riders picked up the lone limit rider Meg
Parnaby with about 9 kilometres to go. Meg Parnaby
put in an outstanding ride to sit on the back at
speeds up to 50 kilometres per hour for the remaining
distance.
Further
back, the scratch riders Frank Kean, Peter Wemyss
and Drew Gray had caught the 3 minute riders Sean
Prins, Wayne Klauss and Alan Barnett soon after Greens
Creek, and were slowly gaining on the riders in front.
However,
the 5 minute riders still had a 400m lead with 2
kilometres to go, and on the final hill, Parnaby
made the break, quickly opening up a gap and taking
out the race from Stuart King and Tony Lloyd.
Drew
Gray recorded the fastest race time of 1 hour, 13
minutes.
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