Club Races
Clear Win to Brumby
Fyans Creek 51km Handicap
Sunday 4th March 2012

	Gary Brumby

Ararat cyclist Gary Brumby burst clear of the pack with 100 metres to go to score a clear win in the Grampians Vets 51 kilometre Fyans Creek handicap, held last Sunday in good racing conditions.

The race was run over a new out and back course from Fryans Creek Road, near Halls Gap, to the end of the Sandbar Road, near the Western Highway.

Brumby, along with fellow two minute riders Crystal Wemyss, Wayne Klauss, Dean Hayward and Geoff Richards, set off hard in pursuit of the five and a half minute riders Daryl Elliott, Drew Heard, Les Dunn and Rod Hetherington, who were also making good time.

At the half way turn, they had pulled them back by 2 minutes, and with a head wind for the first half of the return journey, combined with the hills of the Sandbar Road, continued to make greater inroads into their lead. They finally caught the five minute riders shortly before Mount Dryden, with about ten kilometres to go.

Further back the scratch riders Frank Kean, Drew Grey, Peter Wemyss and Steve Monks had their work cut out after loosing Wemyss early on with a puncture, but still managed to cut their 2 minute deficit to the bunch in front in half by the midpoint turn. However, after gaining a little more ground on the return journey over the hills, once the two bunches in front had combined they failed to make up any more time.

Further up the road, the lone limit rider Shirley Hetherington had been caught on the last of the hills by the fifteen minute riders Meg Parnaby, Peter Mayo and Geoff Hateley, who were now battling to hold off the combined two and five and a half minute bunches.

The catch happened with six kilometres to go, leaving the whole field together except for the chasing scratch riders.

Les Dunn was the first to attack in the sprint, but was overtaken by Drew Heard with Daryl Elliott, Crystal Wemyss and Gary Brumby all close behind. With one hundred metres to go, Brumby exploded out of the pack, quickly putting in a big gap to take out the race easily from Heard and Elliott.

Frank Kean recorded the fastest race time of one hour, eighteen minutes and fifty-six seconds.