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Club Races
Prins Wins Christmas Handicap
Fyans Creek, Sunday
14th December 2008
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Sean
Prins |
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In a display of awesome power, Grampians
Vets rider Sean Prins broke clear in the final straight
to claim victory in last Sundays 44km Pat and Leon
Gibson Handicap, held from Fyans Creek Road, near Halls
Gap.
Prins, riding from the 5 minute mark
along with Peter Mayo and Harvey Lang, was quickly
reeled in by the flying 3 minute 45 second riders Tony
Lloyd, Peter Parnaby and Stuart King.
This combined
group then continued the charge and soon afterwards
overtook the 7 minute riders Meg Parnaby, Les Power
and Tania Walter at about the half way point, picking
up Walter as they went past.
This large bunch of riders
then combined to work the hard final section of the
race, into a strong southerly wind. With 10km to go
they overtook the 10 minute limit riders, Shauna Heard,
Frank Stokes and Trevor McDonald and set out for the
finish.
Further back, 1 minute 45 second riders
Leon Gibson, Alan Barnett and Drew Heard struggled
after Heard retired with a mechanical problem, and
were caught by scratch riders Tim Schneider, Frank
Kean, Jamie Bennett and Dean Hayward. Although this
group combined extremely well, they were still 500
metres short of the leading bunch with 2km to go.
Entering
the final straight, with 1000m to travel, Prins made
his move and broke clear of the 2leading bunch. At
first the other riders did not chase, thinking he could
not possibly maintain his speed into a head wind for
that distance. However, Prins showed an unbelievable
strength and stamina, and held off all challenges to
cross the line 15 metres ahead of Stuart King, with
Peter Parnaby close behind in third, just ahead of
Peter Mayo.
The scratch riders were not far behind,
with Frank Kean claiming fastest race time of 1 hour
10 minutes.
Being the last race of the year, the
annual awards were presented after the race. Both Meg
Parnaby and Leon Gibson were awarded joint Rider of
the Year, as both had had such great years, winning
a long list of medals at the Australian, Victorian
and South Pacific Championships.
Peter Mayo was awarded
the Most Improved Rider for his efforts over the year,
while Meg Parnaby won the Aggregate ahead of Leon Gibson.
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