Northern Combine, Alf Walker Handicap Race Report from the rear view mirror
Balliang, loved by some and despised by many for its crosswinds and filthy weather was the destination for the Northern Combine, Alf Walker Handicap 09/09/23, hosted by the Brunswick Cycling Club. Given the number of times I have to explain where it is, it's probably one of the least known locations in Victoria. It was my turn to volunteer, so I packed the car, picked up my Brunswick mate Fergus also volunteering and set the GPS for Balliang Hall. My task for the day was to be the lead car at the race. Unlike the Pearl Jam song, Rear View Mirror alluding to running away, this was the day you wanted to be in my rear view mirror.
32 riders, 5 juniors and 27 open age riders (minus a few late scratchings) gathered on a pretty good day by Balliang standards. Head wind on the start/finish straight, followed by a cross-head wind on Staughton Vale Rd, a tail wind on Granite road and a cross-tail wind on Box Forrest - Lees Rd Great to see new riders, Jacob Erlandsen and Ben Phillips making their debuts to road racing and David Park making a crossover from track to road. In pre-race negotiations with race director Andrew Gannon, David and Jacob manage to swap themselves between bunches in the interest of taking it easy on Jacob the new kid. Andrew washed his hands of all responsibility for the handicapping and firmly stated that if the handicapping is done properly, you should only win a handicap every 5 years.
Under the watchful eye of Chief Commissaire, David Cutajar, the Limit riders Kate Scarlett and Bill Birney with a 25 minute head start on scratch rolled out on the dot of 10am. They set a strong opening pace swapping turns like clockwork. 27 minutes in on the Granite Rd descent Bill managed to gap Kate, whom I later learn has an aversion to fast descents. Kate managed to close the gap and rejoin Bill on the gravel and they went through the first lap in 51 minutes. A lap and a half in nearing the Granite Rd turn, the pair are going strong and catch up with Michael Kirmizi escorting Omer and Riley, a couple of juniors around the course.
Leading into the gravel for the second time, the gravel master, Che Dungey lead a large group of riders powering down Box Forrest Road. Shortly afterwards, a lone rider in white broke away, with a couple in hot pursuit. Approaching the Telstra exchange on the corner to bring lap two to a close, scratch rider James Page has made his way into my rear view mirror. At 11:43am, we are two laps down, with one to go and James is clearly in TT mode. The chase pack disappeared in the rear view mirror. The speedo is averaging close to 40km/hr on the final stretch of gravel, showing James has no intention of releasing his grip on this race. At 12:24:52 James crossed the line in first place, 2:22 ahead of fellow scratch riders Lucas Moore in second and third, Tai Bell-Lui at 2:45.
Unfortunately the new kids on the block making their Balliang debuts, David, Jacob and Ben, were dealt an unfair hand by the handicapper and pulled out after the second lap. At least they hung around to cheer on the winners and still had smiles on their faces.
Our winner on the day was James Page, 46 from the St Kilda Cycling Club. When asked how the race was won, James reported "We dug deep early and lost one of our riders, Alistair Taylor. We made the catch of the 4min group and worked with them for a while. The we stayed together for a while and all hell broke loose in the last 7km of the 2nd lap. I found myself with a gap (on the gravel), but I didn't really fancy going solo with 30km to go. I stretched it out and rode at my limit until I couldn't see them anymore and managed my effort through to the finish. It was pretty challenging in the crosswinds. I rode Granite Hill pretty hard for a last time knowing I would get a bit of a break on the descent and rode to 90% perceived effort on the last segment of the course". James extended his thanks to the club for putting on the event.
James Page crossing in 1st place
Second place, Lucas Moore has only been back from Europe for a week, where he did some bike packing around Spain, France and Switzerland. "As we went into the gravel for the second time, James and I decided to go 1-2 into the gravel and push the pace a bit. I did the first turn and he did the second, and that's where he started to ride away from me because I'm pretty light. Then I didn't see him for the rest of the race".
Second scratch rider, David Koroknai from Noble Park Dandenong Cycling Club, punctured early and gave himself a chance to fix his flat and get back on, but was caught within a minute and a half and had to settle with being out of the top 10. David looked the part carrying his punctured tube over his shoulders, like the riders of old.
First woman across the line was Kate Scarlett from Melbourne Uni CC., who reported "It was a hard race with a lot of headwind. I had company for the first two laps, before being dropped and then I went solo". She is planning to work on her descending skills on her home training base in the Macedon Ranges.
In summary, whilst it was a smaller than usual field, it was great to see a cross section of ages represented and especially to see a masters athlete competing at such a high level. Race Director Andrew Gannon paid tribute to Alf Walker who handicapped the first race Andrew ever did over thirty years ago and he has been coming back ever since. The last race of the Northern Combine season is the St Kilda Trophy race, a graded scratch race on the Pastoria course outside Kyneton. Get along and end the winter road racing season on a high note with strong numbers.
Comments
Post a Comment