Halls Gap
VCV Open 2010
Eureka Rider finds
Gold!
Halls Gap
- Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st November
NOTE - The
following race description was gleaned from various
sources, and is an approximation at best. Please
overlook any minor inaccuracies, as it is not possible
to see the whole event as it unfolds. Feel free to
contact us if there are major errors in facts!
View the race photos here
One could be forgiven for thinking
it was Ladies Day at the annual Grampians Vets Halls
Gap Open, with six out of the first ten placings going
to women.
Cyclists from across the state enjoyed
the calm, sunny conditions that prevailed over the
weekend of the 20th and 21st November, with 60 entries
for Saturday’s graded scratch races, and over
100 for the main event on Sunday.
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Shirley
Hetherington |
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In Sunday’s
60 kilometre handicap, the calm conditions favoured
the limit riders, with 36 minute riders Shirley Hetherington
and Lester Campbell reeling in 40 minute front markers
Brian Long and Anne Austerberry soon after the first
leg to Pomonal, picking up Long as they went past.
The
29 minute bunch, powered along by local riders Meg
Parnaby and Frank Stokes, and Colac rider Murray Mathews,
were closing the gap slowly but surely. These two bunches
remained out in front until the closing stages of the
race, while behind them the other ten bunches were
starting to converge.
The scratch riders, hauled along
by the awesome power of Leigh Egan, soon caught the
2 minute bunch on the stretch across to Mokepilly,
past Lake Fyans, but seemed to lose their way a bit
after the two bunches combined, and failed to catch
the other bunches.
Ahead of them, the 5 minute riders,
including local powerhouse Shane Clark, had combined
with the 7 minute riders on the stretch from Mokepilly
to Illawarra, and set off in pursuit of the 9 minute
riders, whom they caught with about 5 kilometres to
go, picking up local riders Dean Hayward, Sean Prins
and Peter Wemyss in the process.
At this point, the
12 minute riders, with local riders Danny Monaghan,
Alan Barnett and Crystal Wemyss, were working hard
and maintaining their independence, but were finally
caught about 1 kilometre from home.
Meantime the 16
minute riders, supported by local rider Stuart King,
had also caught the 18 minute riders on the stretch
from Mokepilly to Illawarra, picking up local riders
Tom Eldridge, Tony Rathgeber and Peter Mayo in the
process. However, the bunches ahead of them remained
an elusive blob in the distance.
The 21 and 24 minute
bunches, containing locals Damian Rabl and Les Power,
had combined on the stretch along the Sandbar Road,
but were still well behind the leading two bunches.
Back
at the front, the limit riders Hetherington, Campbell
and Long were still riding well, but the 29 minute
riders Parnaby, Stokes and Mathews were gaining, and
with 5 kilometres to go, were still in with a chance,
until disaster struck 3 kilometres from home. Mathews
clipped a wheel, and went down, with Parnaby only managing
to stay upright by a miracle, but putting her bike
out of action in the process.
With their main challengers
out of the race, Shirley Hetherington, of the Ballarat
Eureka Club, went on to a well earned and popular
win, sprinting to victory ahead of Lester Campbell
from Warrnambool, with Brian Long of Geelong third.
With
good prize money paid down to 10th place, the next
bunch in was the combined 21 and 24 minute riders,
producing a frantic sprint for the minor placings.
Noel
Austerberry (Goulburn Valley) was 4th followed by Mandy
Hosking (Geelong), Kerry McCredden (Central Vets),
Jack Trickey (Central Vets), Fran Medina (Central Vets),
Sabrina Smythe (Central Vets), and Wendy Bennett (Central
Vets) in 10th place.
The first three ladies home, sponsored
by St Lawrence, were Shirley Hetherington, Mandy Hosking,
and Kerry McCredden. A special thank you to St
Lawrence for supporting women’s cycling.
Les Power was
the first Grampians rider home.
The winners time was
1 hour 51 minutes, while Leigh Egan recorded the fastest
race time of 1 hour 20 minutes.
Handicap Results
1st Shirley Hetherington(Eur), 2nd
Lester Campbell (W), 3rd Brian Long(G), 4th Noel
Austerberry (Gv), 5th Mandy
Hosking (G), 6th Kerry McCredden (Cv), 7th Jack Trickey
(Cv), 8th Fran Medina (Cv), 9th Sabrina Smythe (Cv),
10th Wendy Bennett (Cv).
Fastest Time Leigh Egan 1hr 20 minutes
1st Grampians rider was Les Power.
1st female rider Shirley Hetherington,
2nd female rider Mandy Hosking (G), 3rd female rider
Kerry McCredden
Starting list is here.
Scratch Races Results
Division
1
1st Steve Young 2nd Marty Taube 3rd Andrew
Weightman
Division
2
1st Peter McDonough
2nd Geoff Bennett 3rd Malcolm Lloyd
Division
3
1st Richard Taube 2nd Phillip O'Toole 3rd Garnet
Bateson
Division
4
1st
Stuart King 2nd Craig Halliday 3rd Crystal Wemyss
Division
5
1st Mandy Hosking 2nd Robert Logan 3rd Noel Austerberry
Division
6
1st Graeme Lockwood 2nd Sabrina Smythe 3rd Les
Power
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
The Grampians Club would like to
thank all those who helped make the event run as smoothly
as it did, and who helped on corners, with salads etc
on the day. A special thank you to Tony Lloyd who was
the main organiser behind the scenes, and to the VCV
race officials and handicapper who always do a magnificent
job beforehand and on the day.
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