Great Event - Great Venue!!!

Firstly I'd like to extend congratulations to Wynnum Redland Cycling Club for putting on a fantastic event today. This is the first time WRCC have used this course since 1997 (I heard this indirectly so I apologise if it is not correct). The race was well run and the facilities, parking and organisation was first rate.

For those of you who didn't know WRCC secured the use of the Vehicle Training Centre at Mt Cotton and ran a 3.2 km Kermesse format road race for all grades. The fields were large but the course was superb making it a very safe event. With the organisation and effort by both Logan and Wynnum Redlands the standard of events has taken a real jump and the bar has been set. Let's look forward to all clubs matching the calibre set by these two clubs.

The racing was fast and it was a hot and windy day. A few overhead clouds kept the temperature down a bit but there was a lot of pain left on the road. Luke Lucas was recruited (kicking and screaming I bet) to commentate for the event and kept the spectators up to date with the race and the personalities in it. Luke had a great day on the mic and kept the crowd entertained - excellent job buddy.

Good results from Gold Coast riders with CATS own Gary Muharen getting a 2nd in the Masters C event having missed the rider up the road after pulling the break back. Alan Devine, Mick Follett and Geoff Willmot rode well in the Master B race with Alan saying that for him the first four laps were the hardest of the race a she adjusted to the course and the pace. Josh Hamilton from Goldstars came away with a 2nd on his birthday in the Under 13 event. Peter Duncan of Goldstars had a powerful finish to take 2nd in the Masters A. A race in which our own Club Captain Nathen Berghammer rode well in after cooking himself training the day before. At one stage local rider Peter Roper, of Goldstars and TDU/GCT, and two others were away in a break but the race was neutralised for the finish of the Masters B race and the bunch used the neutralisation to pull them back in. John Evangelista pulled a big day out of the bag finishing (I may be wrong on this) in fourth place. Jesse Kerrison stormed home in the Under 17 event which at times clocked speeds faster than the Masters A race taking the win away from Ian Richards of HIT Racing. Special mention must go to Brenden Dance and Luke Rich for digging in and finishing the race - great spirit from both these chaps. Emily Roper once again showed her class with what looked like an effortless ride. Emily and another young lady rode away from the Under 17 Womens, Masters B, C and D Womens field and battled it out for the hill top finish. Amanda Hogan of Goldstars also did well to finish with the Masters Women bunch.

In the Mens Elite race Kyle Bateson, Ben Cuttajar, Michael Hosking, and Matt Werrell from the Gold Coast CATS rode a hard race with Matt Werrell narrowly missing the first Prime by a tyre width. This however meant that he was placed towards the back half of the field when a break for five riders went up the road at 70 minutes into the 90 minute race. The break was soon joined by a bridging group of three making it a very difficult job to pull them back. The peloton didn't organise effectively as the break wasn't communicated to the rest of the bunch. The break away had four Budget Forklift riders in it, a few of which were backing up from Mooloolaba the day before.  The break worked well together and put in a gap of 55 seconds at the finish with two riders using Budget Forklifts own train to roll them on the line. Michael Hosking broke away from the chasing bunch to take a top 10 placing and finishing first out of the chasing bunch. Shaun Evangelista, Peter Spencer and Sean Folley also had good rides finishing with the main bunch.

Congratulation to all the Gold Coast riders who rode today you all represented your clubs well and it was a pleasure to watch the race and catch up with you all. Keep training hard and lets see some more placing going to Gold Coast riders.  Ride Safe!

Robert Craig - Club Secretary