Club Races
Heard Powers to Victory
Lake Lonsdale 60km Handicap
Sunday 23rd August 2009

	Drew Heard

Grampian cyclists tackled two laps of Lake Lonsdale on Sunday. The tough 60km undulating circuit was made even more difficult by a strong cold northerly wind, which made settling into a rhythm very difficult.

First away on 11 ½ minutes was Tania Walter, Meg Parnaby and John McIntyre, followed four minutes later by Tom Eldridge, Peter Parnaby, Tony Rathgeber and Les Power.

Despite losing Peter Parnaby due to a mechanical on the first lap, this group slowly closed in on the limit markers on the second lap.

Meanwhile, scratch riders Gerard O’Brien, Drew Heard, Dean Hayward and Daryl Elliott had caught four minute markers Allan Barnett, Tony Lloyd and Peter Mayo, and were bearing down as the two front groups came together. On catching the lead groups, O’Brien launched an attack that only his fellow scratch markers and Tony Lloyd could follow, and this group headed for the finish line.

O’Brien made several attempts to break clear over the concluding stages, but was reeled in and swamped near the line, with Heard taking out the race from Elliott and Hayward.