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Club Races
O'Brien Charges to Victory
Concongella Handicap
Sunday 25th October 2009
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Gerard O'Brien |
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Chilly
conditions with a strong, gusty wind ensured a tough
ride for Grampian Veteran Cyclists as they tackled
Stawell’s Concongella 47km circuit on Sunday.
The
five minute markers set out aggressively, losing
Peter Mayo and Les Power early in the race, leaving
Peter Parnaby, Gerard O’Brien and Harvey Lang
to chase 18 minute markers Meg Parnaby and Larry
Bales.
Scratch
markers Frank Kean, Tim Schneider, Drew Heard and
Danny Monaghan rode strongly to pick up 2 ½ minute
markers Alan Barnett, Sean Prins and Dean Hayward
shortly after the turn at Joe Joel.
The combined
bunch thundered along the back stretch with aid of
the tail wind, touching speeds of 57km/hr as they
strived to close in on the leaders.
However,
despite losing Parnaby at the halfway mark, O’Brien
and Lang maintained a clear lead as they rounded
up the limit markers with 5km to ride.
O’Brien
broke clear over the concluding stages to record
an easy win, with Lang holding on for second place
over the fast finishing Schneider, who recorded fastest
time of 1 hr 14 mins.
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