JasonM
04-09-2010, 06:24 PM
After claiming ACT's first medal of the championships in yesterdays time trial, Allison Rice was keen to do the double in today's road race. The ACT U17 team were well positioned to medal in this event with three riders finishing in the top 11 in the previous days time trial. As expected the weather played a significant part of the proceedings and after the first short lap the main field had already been split in half. Allison Rice, Lucy Kirk and Kate Huckstep were all positioned well as they headed out for the second and longer lap which would take then down through Uriarra Crossing and towards the homestead. Maddy Marshall was not too far behing the lead group as she too ventured out for the second lap. The ACT girls had a solid plan going into the race and they all rode brilliantly to ensure they gave themselves the best chance of a medal. In the end it came down to the climb of the 3 sisters and as expected the highly fancied Emily Roper made her move, but Allison was hot on her heals and at the top of the climb it had become a race of two, with both girls working together to clear out from the main pack. Coming into Stromlo for the finish it was Roper who had managed to force Allison into the front position and as they entered the straight Roper unleashed her sprint to run out the winner by several bike lengths with Allison claiming second and the silver for her second medal of the championships. Lucy Kirk and Kate Huckstep continued to push on their way back to stromlo and both finished highly placed. Maddy unfortunately took a small spill in the wet conditions but fortunately was not hurt. All of these girls should be proud of their efforts and team work in todays event.
The other morning race featured a packed U17 mens field. The previous days ITT winner had posted a phenomenal 47km/h average and he featured prominently early on with NSW rider Caleb Ewan. The boys had two laps out through Uriarra Crossing and unfortunately this was the scene of events that eventually shaped the race. A lead rider crashed on the decent towards the crossing and this caused chaos in the main pack with a significant number of riders either crashing or being forced to take evasive action. This caused large splits in the field and drained most of the firepower for chasing down any breakaway's. Phil Jermyn was the best placed ACT rider at the end of the first lap and was still in a prominent position in the chase pack. Sean Whitfield came through not long later to start his second lap. After a few more minutes several pairs or solo riders came through, including Josh Lind and Ben Comfort. Around this time we discovered that Karl Michelin-Beard had been involved in the crash on Uriarra on the first lap. While he was out of the race he was unhurt and survived to fight another day. A small, slow moving group was next into Stromlo and it was clear they were not too keen about heading out on a second lap. ACT's Josh Buchanan was in this group and he informed us that most of the riders had been caught up behind the crash and had little chance of catching back up. A short time later we received the unfortunate news that Sean had also fallen and was injured. The latest report was that Sean wasnt too badly injured but was having some x-rays to rule out any broken bones.
In the end the race was decided by a decisive move by Caleb Ewan, who ditched his breakaway partner on the run back to Stromlo and he cruised in for a well deserved solo win. Phil Jermyn put in a fantastic ride to cross the finish line not too far behind the main chase groups and was completely exhausted after he crossed the line. A very gutsy ride in tough conditions.
The afternoon races kicked off with the U15's racing over a modified course, which cut out Uriarra Crossing. Michael Rice and Hamish Prosser were the two ACT riders on the start line and with weather conditions deteriorating it was always going to a tough race. At the end of the first lap, Michael Rice was well placed in a small lead group and Hamish was not to far behind and he found himself in a small chase group heading out on the second lap. Around 22 minutes later the boys were back from the second lap and the NSW riders were prominent in picking up the pace on the crit circuit to try and break things up. Hamish was soon seen in a small group of three who had ridden away from the remenant of the chase group and if anything he looked to be seeking more assistance from his fellow chasers, indicating that he was still strong and wanting to continue the chase. At the final turn the lead pack was still all together and things were looking like playing into Michael's hand for another medal for the Rice family when a call came over race radio informing everyone that he had suffered a mechanical with 3km to go. Ultimately Michael had snapper his derailleur hanger and his bike was unrideable, an unfortunate way to finish but we wish him better luck in tomorrows crit. Hamish came in a short while later and had made definite improvements on his time trial result and was even heard saying he thoroughly enjoyed the race.
So all up a mixed day of results for ACT riders in what would have to be one of the toughest days of racing seen in Canberra for some time.
Tomorrow's racing is sure to be exciting with the 7 crits on a sure to be wet track. If you don't mind a little rain and have some free time feel free to come and cheer along out ACT riders as they aim for three medals in three days.
--
Jason Mahoney
ACT Junior Team Coach
The other morning race featured a packed U17 mens field. The previous days ITT winner had posted a phenomenal 47km/h average and he featured prominently early on with NSW rider Caleb Ewan. The boys had two laps out through Uriarra Crossing and unfortunately this was the scene of events that eventually shaped the race. A lead rider crashed on the decent towards the crossing and this caused chaos in the main pack with a significant number of riders either crashing or being forced to take evasive action. This caused large splits in the field and drained most of the firepower for chasing down any breakaway's. Phil Jermyn was the best placed ACT rider at the end of the first lap and was still in a prominent position in the chase pack. Sean Whitfield came through not long later to start his second lap. After a few more minutes several pairs or solo riders came through, including Josh Lind and Ben Comfort. Around this time we discovered that Karl Michelin-Beard had been involved in the crash on Uriarra on the first lap. While he was out of the race he was unhurt and survived to fight another day. A small, slow moving group was next into Stromlo and it was clear they were not too keen about heading out on a second lap. ACT's Josh Buchanan was in this group and he informed us that most of the riders had been caught up behind the crash and had little chance of catching back up. A short time later we received the unfortunate news that Sean had also fallen and was injured. The latest report was that Sean wasnt too badly injured but was having some x-rays to rule out any broken bones.
In the end the race was decided by a decisive move by Caleb Ewan, who ditched his breakaway partner on the run back to Stromlo and he cruised in for a well deserved solo win. Phil Jermyn put in a fantastic ride to cross the finish line not too far behind the main chase groups and was completely exhausted after he crossed the line. A very gutsy ride in tough conditions.
The afternoon races kicked off with the U15's racing over a modified course, which cut out Uriarra Crossing. Michael Rice and Hamish Prosser were the two ACT riders on the start line and with weather conditions deteriorating it was always going to a tough race. At the end of the first lap, Michael Rice was well placed in a small lead group and Hamish was not to far behind and he found himself in a small chase group heading out on the second lap. Around 22 minutes later the boys were back from the second lap and the NSW riders were prominent in picking up the pace on the crit circuit to try and break things up. Hamish was soon seen in a small group of three who had ridden away from the remenant of the chase group and if anything he looked to be seeking more assistance from his fellow chasers, indicating that he was still strong and wanting to continue the chase. At the final turn the lead pack was still all together and things were looking like playing into Michael's hand for another medal for the Rice family when a call came over race radio informing everyone that he had suffered a mechanical with 3km to go. Ultimately Michael had snapper his derailleur hanger and his bike was unrideable, an unfortunate way to finish but we wish him better luck in tomorrows crit. Hamish came in a short while later and had made definite improvements on his time trial result and was even heard saying he thoroughly enjoyed the race.
So all up a mixed day of results for ACT riders in what would have to be one of the toughest days of racing seen in Canberra for some time.
Tomorrow's racing is sure to be exciting with the 7 crits on a sure to be wet track. If you don't mind a little rain and have some free time feel free to come and cheer along out ACT riders as they aim for three medals in three days.
--
Jason Mahoney
ACT Junior Team Coach