Round 1 report
Round 1 of the 2016 Aggregate Series (and last round of the 2015/16 Summer Series), Sunday 20th March 2016
On perhaps the first cool morning of 2016, a motley crew of riders ranging from cute and cuddly to tall and angular (plus a couple of ring-ins from Adelaide) assembled on the banks of the Murray to participate in the nearest thing to a race that the Mountainless Bike Club can manage at this time of year.
The track (the original 6 km) had been tested midweek and found to be interesting in a dusty/sandy kind of way. The Rain God Huey has not been kind to us and the track reflected it – let’s call it ‘bulldust over hard pack’.
After the traditional race briefing, nearly forty riders lined up to grind out somewhere between two and five laps…and were waved away through the Playpen shortcut.
Typically…everyone charged out hard….apart from seemingly half of B grade Mens who all managed to miss their pedals on the first attempt and then had to scramble for some sort of position before the entry point.
The race unfolded as most races do…we all spaced out, some people overtook, some got overtaken. Tyler didn’t really do either…he just took off and was never headed despite Tim Klein doing his level best to get after him. Matt Leeder managed not to break a chain this time and thundered into third in A Grade Mens despite Nathan Floramo’s best efforts to wear him down.
The Womens A grade was a sparse affair with other of our usual riders enjoying the delights of MTB in Tasmania. Still and all, Sonja Mock held off Sophie Mott for the win and both took valuable points in the overall race.
B Grade Mens was well stocked with the usual wheezers and moaners for the first race. Unfortunately not all wheezed and moaned in quite the same way and the pack was spread all over the course. Or in Brooksy’s case, over a very small part of it. He’s continued his hoodoo run with the Playpen by going OTB on the very last log on Lap 2. Fortunately, his escapade resulted in no serious injury despite demolishing his helmet. Meanwhile, Andrew Greenfield roared out of the blocks chasing Rohan and Nathan and was never seriously challenged by the rest of B grade. Sean Dwyer finished a distant and fading second with the fast improving David Siladi chasing doggedly close behind. Nic Dew overcome the cruisey cool he often cultivates early in a race to put in two fast final laps but it wasn’t quite enough for the podium this time.
B Grade Womens was another sparse affair with Kerrie Copley taking the points over Hayley Baldock.
A grade Juniors is also a division with a quiet pack. Bailey Copley was on his own for this race but the unheralded and thus far ungraded Zane Cocks also fronted to put up a very respectable challenge to Bailey’s potential stranglehold on this category this year.
As always, B Grade Juniors was a crowded affair during their dash over the two laps. Whilst it wasn’t often close it is fair to say that most of the young guns have much improved shape and form as they dash around Coomie. They all put a big effort into getting around without getting lapped or overwhelmed by the faster riders and must be commended on their efforts. Flynn Williams took out the division with Caelan Dew taking second followed by Zac Furey (representing Furey Family Racing) in third.
And that rounds out the event. The next instalment is on show on April 10th when we give the Long Track a nudge. The rest of April is set aside for chocolate recovery programs and preparation for the Dirty Weekend down at Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills on April 30th. There’ll be a couple of weekend night rides as part of the preparation. If you are interested in coming to or racing at the Dirty Weekend then get in touch with Nigel or Nic and say so…
Till then…
