Sean Grimes won both his 10 lap Scratch races and came fourth in the combined Under 15/17 handicap race. Sean has recently been sponsored by Shortis Cycle & Tri and will be gearing up for a good season in 2010.

The Darren Smith Classic 2009 turned out to be a great day for Gold Coast CATS Cycling Club. This was our first outing at the Holden Driver Training Centre at Norwell and for most cyclists this would have been their first ride on this 2.1 km circuit.

There was a full program of events catering to all ages and levels of competitive cyclists. The organisation of such an event is complex and credit must be given to all members of our committee who put their shoulder to the wheel and spent considerable time and effort in the preparation and organisation of the day.

The weather on the day was warm and windy and riders commented that there was considerable heat coming off the track. The wind made conditions extremely difficult but at the same time encouraged the adventurous to attack.

The Junior races provided excellent results for local Junior riders from Gold Coast Goldstars with wins to Ryan Duncan, Daniel Rae, Bradley Rae, and Jesse Kerrison. Para-Olmpic Silver Medalist Bryce Lindores won the Tandems event.

Ron Hewes in Masters C made an early break and teamed up with Goldstar's rider Roger Cooper to create a good gap between them and the peleton. Hewes’ training partner, Pat Goddard wanted a piece of the action and soon joined the lead pair to create an unassailable lead. Goddard’s explosive sprint from 100 metres out saw him take first place from Hewes who was fast closing in. Gary Muharen also rode strongly in this race. Ron Hewes was rewarded for his early efforts by taking two of the three primes.

The Masters A race also produced a great result for Gold Coast CATS Cycling Club. Club Coach Mark Brady established an early break with World Champion rider Danny Clark and Chris Millen from HPRW. The longer they rode the more they distanced themselves from the field until Mark Brady broke from the lead group to establish an unbeatable lead. Clarke had issues with locked gears and a broken spoke on his front wheel for 4 laps but showed his experience to finish a strong second – another quinella for Gold Coast CATS Cycling Club. Highly creditable performances were also produced by Geoff Willmott who finished third in the Masters B race and Brittany Lindores who also put in a strong performance to finish third in the Women’s C event.

Loren Rowney and Liz Young showed how powerful they were taking 1st and 2nd in the Women's A race by a large margin (Liz Young also rode very well to finish in the Masters A race moments prior to he Women's event) with Zoe Watters taking 3rd to provide a Marcelletes triple.

Amanda Hogan from Goldstars took out the Women's B race by a decent margin and is showing how her training is paying off on the back of a number of local wins. 

The pace in the Elite event was fast and furious with numerous breaks being made and caught. Race favourite, Jonathon Cantwell, proved his superiority by out-sprinting the lead group to the line for a decisive win. We were delighted to have Robbie McEwen and Darren Smith’s father Dennis present for the main event and thank them for assisting with the presentations at the conclusion of the day. Robbie even showed his talent as a commentator in the closing stages of the Elite race.

Our thanks are extended to Gold Coast CATS Cycling Club riders who supported the race and to all riders and attendees who contributed to the success of the event whether through riding, attendance, sponsorship or assistance on the day.

We look froward to seeing you all next year. 

Videos: 

Cycling Sport News Interview - Robbie McEwen

Cycling Sport News Interview - Danny Clark

Cycling Sport News Interview - Jesse Kerrison

Congratulations to Helen Griffiths on her Silver placing the UCI World Masters Track Championships in Sydney on Tuesday.

Helen has only been riding Track since the beginning of this year and rode the Pursuit Event. Helen won the Queensland State Titles earlier this year and has progressed very rapidly under the guidance of Mark Brady. 

Helen was beaten by the winner from previous years who broke her own world record to beat Helen. 

An outstanding performance from our Elite Mens Team has resulted in their winning the Queensland State Team Time Trial at Laidley last Sunday.

The team of Matt Werrell, Ricky Lanyon, Ben Cutajar and Peter Gwynne beat a strong field over 80 kms by just 6 seconds. Conditions were extremely difficult with the prevailing strong winds and it is a credit to these riders to have shown such determination to achieve a gold medal performance.

Gold Coast CATS were well represented on the day with 4 Mens teams and 2 Womens teams all of whom performed with merit.  In addition to the Gold Winning performance of the Elite Mens team special mention must go to the following:

SILVER medals were won by our Womens Masters team of Sally Smalley, Lisa Drew, Janine Parkin, and Debra Marl, and our Mens Masters 6/7 team of Paul Wild, Robert Driver, Ron Hewes, and Steve Davies. Whilst our Mens Masters 2/3 team of Mark Brady, Garry Elliott, Greg Pooley and Peter Roper were awarded BRONZE.

Other Gold Coast CATS riders to take to the road included the second Mens Masters 2/3 team of Gary Parkin, Pat Goddard, Nathen Berghammer, and  Richard Mier. The Womens Elite team consisted of Heidi Croxson, Renee Stone, Brittany Lyndores, and Amanda Scott.

Congratulations go to all who braved the difficult conditions and wore their Gold Coast CATS colours with pride.