12/10/2013
By Rob Monk
Warragul Cycling Club members turned out in good numbers to the Cloverlea circuit on Saturday for a teams race.
Cycling is generally considered an individual sport there can be a serious team aspect to it. In the teams race riders are put into one of four teams. Points are awarded for the first 20 finishing positions in the race. The team with the most points wins. It is not necessarily about winning the race but having most of your team high in the points.
As is conventional in the teams race an early breakaway formed just after the gun. Graeme Parker (Blue Team) and Jayden Manintveld (Red Team) got away early meaning the other two teams were doomed to do most of the pace making while the rest of the Blue and Red team did nothing. It was not surprising that the Orange and Green team had missed the break. They were led by the physically strong but tactically inept Glen Marriott (Green Team) and Leigh Hauxwell (Orange Team). The teams race requires tactical nouse so Green and Orange were rudderless ships.
Manintveld and Parker were allowed to establish a good break before the Blue team tried to get second rider into the break with first Paul Yeatman, then Pete Whelan trying to jump across. The red team’s super domestique, Col Brown made sure no-one else could get off the front. Haxwell’s race ended early when he broke his front wheel on lap 3.
A big bunch of 20 riders stayed together for most of the race. The red team tried to dislodge Zvonko Maric and Grant Neilsen on the run up to the corner at the beginning of the bell lap but they hung on grimly. George Tambassis completed the day of tactical blunders by the Orange team when he tried to ride away into the block head wind on Parkers Rd. His effort was in vain and just managed to tire himself for the final sprint.
Manintveld went on to win the race after dragging Parker around for most of the four laps.
Red had 20 points with blue second with 19 Points.
The red team were well organised in the sprint. Darren Cook split the field with a big leadout. Unfortunately for Cookie it was Col Brown rather than team Captain Pete Finlayson on his wheel. Cookie kept going for home but now the Blue Teams designated lead out rider was benefiting from someone else’s hard work. Pete Whelan (Blue Team) took third in the sprint from Matt Parkinson (Orange) and Pete Finlayson (Red). Next home was Rob Monk (Blue). At this stage the blue team had filled 3 of the first six placings and were looking good. Unfortunately their next rider came in 14th place and no-one else scored. The red team was more consistent and they won the day courtesy of Darren Cook in 9th, Col Brown in 12th, Geoff Thompson in 14th and Duane McDonald in 15th.
Red beat blue by 5 points with Orange in third and Green in fourth.
Next week is a scratch race at Shady Creek.
