Road Racing

First year young gun Braden McKay has taken out the 2010 GCC criterium series by 6 points over Anythony "Rangers" Reyntjes and strong man Nathan Wilson.

Braden has consistently placed in both C and B grades over the 10 race program - and his efforts have now paid dividends. All three riders have each won themselves a chunk of the $500 cash prize pool.

Due to the Round 10 cancellation (thanks to heavy rain) - presentations will be made at the first Road race of the winter season at Winchelsea - Sat April 3. Winter calendar and details to come soon.

Final series leaderboard here.

Criterium racing at Eastern Gardens has been cancelled due to rain and standing water on the course.

The Geelong Cycling Club apologies for any inconvenience, but after an inspection of the circuit - racing was deemed to dangerous to start. Final standing of the Summer criterium series will be announced in coming days and presentations will be made at the first race of the road season. Details to come.

Windy conditions and threatening rain ensured the cream rose to the top at GCC's criterium at Torquay this weekend. Brad Young, Matt Oliver and Josh Rudd survived the tricky conditions to snatch victory in A, B and C grades respectively.

8th place in B grade by Braden McKay puts him in the series lead by 6 points over Anthony Reyntjes and a futher 2 points in front of Nathan Wilson. The final round next weekend (location to be confirmed) will decide the final series placings and the $500 prize pool. Check the series leader board here. For more photos by Alan Schmidt, click here (make sure you are logged in first).


How it Happened...

A Grade:

Racing started sedately in A grade with riders content to ride together for the opening laps. However this was not to last long as up and coming young gun Blake Hose and Ballart rider Will Wettenall turning the heat up with repeated attacks. Eventually Oliver King and Daryl Suter succumbed to the pressure and lost contact. Blake's strength and aggressiveness then payed off as he broke away to gain a sizeable gap on the chasing bunch of Will, previously week's winner Brad Young and Tom Paton. However the trailing peleton got their act together and reeled Blake in after a 20 minute stint off the front. However Blake's presence in the lead group proved too much for Tom who then lost contact himself. The remaining trio were then happy to work together to maintain their advantage for the rest of the race. Coming into the last lap Will and Blake kicked hard out of the final corner and the race looked to come down to a drag race between the two. However they didn't reckon on the previous week's winner sitting in the wheels and with 100 metres to go, Brad accelerated and drove his bike to the line to take the race by half a bike length over Will and Blake.

B Grade:

Racing started aggressively in B grade with Matty Oliver taking immediate responsibility for the race and putting the bunch under pressure. With help from Anthony Reyntjes and Nathan Wilson, Matty's hard work split the peleton with only Anthony, Nathan, Matty and Tony Ross able to make the break. The continued pressure then proved too much for Tony who eventually lost contact. Coming into the final three laps, Nathan tried a solo break of his own going for the win. Unfortunately Matty and Anthony were onto him quickly and the tree settled for a sprint finish. Coming out of the corner Matty capitalised on his strong ride and showed his speed to take the win over Anthony and Nathan.

C Grade:

Col Smith attacked hard out of the neutral zone to quickly gain an impressive gap over the rest of the field. He looked every bit the likely winner until Josh Rudd took off on his own in pursuit. After a number of laps Josh finally made contact and the leading two looked like they would be difficult to overcome. Meanwhile Simon Masters and David Lay took responsibility for the chase and their combined efforts started to break the peleton apart. After 20 minutes only the break of Col and Josh and the chasing group of Simon Masters, David Lay and Stefan Bosh were still in contention for the race win. However Col's early efforts began to tell and he was unable to maintain the pace with Josh. After dropping back to the chase group he's tired legs then quickly attributed to his losing contact with Simon and David as well. Meanwhile Josh continued to build his solo lead to take a comfortable win. Simon Masters then showed his racing experience, out sprinting fellow chase group member David Lay for second place.

D Grade:

Young riders William Key and Jaime Edwards benefitted from some experienced instruction from Peter Quibell and former Club Champion Daniel Wilson. Peter and Daniel rode with the two youngsters and provided tips on racing, cornering and gearing. Coming into the final three laps Jaime demonstrated her strength to break away and hold a small margin over Jaime for the D grade win.

Round 8 of the GCC Summer Criteriums was a day for the consistent performers to score more points in their bid to become the most consistent series rider and take out their share in more $500 in prizes. A mix of youth and experience took line honours including Brad Young, Daryl Suter and Martin Watters in A, B and C grades respectively. Consistent series performers Adi Yusoff, Braden McKay and David Lay also figured well to score highly.




How it Happened...

A Grade:

The temperature peaked near 30 degrees for the start of A grade, making for hot and sweaty racing. As soon as the flag dropped Brad Young surged hard to string out the bunch. With the help of Adi Yusoff and Peter Kerr their continued to keep the pace high until Tim Lim and Daryl Suter succumbed to the pressure to fall back and lose contact. The leading three were then content to work together and push their advantage towards the finishing line. With 3 laps to go the lead trio began to watch each other closely until Brad Young kicked hard from the final corner to produce a finish that would make Mark Cavendish proud, taking the win from Adi and Peter.

B Grade:

B grade started aggressively with club president Shaun Gilbert deciding to show his cards early and attack repeatedly. Unfortunately his efforts were to little avail as the bunch were happy to roll along behind in his wake. Eventually Daryl Suter put in a powerful attack that was to be decisive. His efforts split the bunch and only Nathan Wilson, Gabriel Carey and Braden McKay were able to follow. Shaun Gilbert attempted to get across but his early efforts told and along with Matt Oliver, Craig Strong, and Liam McGary they were quickly distanced. However, Daryl was not content to ride to the finish line with his break away companions and in quick succession attacked again to build a sizeable solo lead that he looked likely to hold to the finish. But Nathan, Gabriel and Braden kept their heads and worked together to keep Daryl in sight. Their efforts were rewarded when they caught him with less than 5 minutes to race. However Daryl demonstrated his class and endurance to sprint clear in the final lap and take the win in front of Nathan and Gabriel.

C Grade:

A sizeable C grade bunch rolled away for their start of their early race. However things were not to remain together for long as a break away of three quickly formed with Martin Watters, Gerard McHugh and David Lay forming a powerful alliance out front. Col Smith having missed the break put in a heroic effort to try and drag the remnants of the bunch across. However he found help hard to come by and the gap slowly opened up into an insurmountable lead. Coming out of the final corner the leading three battled hard for the win with Martin Watters backing up some consistent results to take the win ahead of Gerard and David.

D Grade:

D grade took to the circuit under the expert guidance of experiences clubman Shaun Gilbert and B grade winner Daryl Suter. The race veterans provided invaluable tips and advice to a mix of young and old riders including Simon Diberrich, Jack Quibell, Ashley Gilispe and William Key. With three laps remaining the race heated up and the new riders took to the competition with relish. Through the final lap Jack and Simon took off to duke it out for the victory. However age and experience won out over youth with Simon taking the victory.