WITH a top-of-You-Yangs finish, extra laps and a strong Westerly wind, any riders making it to the podium in the Footscray Cycling Club’s Road Championships had to earn it the hard way on Saturday.
Thirty-one-year-old Steve Pilson earned the exclusive right to wear the coveted No.1 for the next year with his strong win in the A Grade race.
“We just kept a consistent pace and nobody really wanted to go bananas because of the length of the race (105 km), the windy conditions and the hilltop finish, so we didn’t lose too many riders for the first five laps,” Pilson said.
“The race really got interesting with two laps to go when the bunch was strung out in the gutter. I turned into the headwind clear with Chris Zucchet on my wheel, and then I saw a couple of other guys make it across to us and before we knew it we had a break on the bunch which was looking pretty cut up.
“We pushed on and kept the advantage and made sure we kept it.”
At this stage the pace was too much for the ever improving Zucchet, and the four remaining riders turned into the park with the coveted championship in their sights.
Lachie Doak was the first to fade, and Dom Dudkiewicz had his day ruined when his chain broke with 100m to go, so it was Pilson and Ben Johnson who contested the final push, with Pilson crossing just ahead of Johnson, followed by the exhausted Doak and Dudkiewicz walking his chainless bike for the final 100m to claim fourth place.
Tarneit resident Remo Munaretto bowled over all opposition to take a decisive win in B Grade with a perfectly timed attack in the last kilometre of Saturday’s race.
After a string of podium finishes, 29-year-old Altona resident James Bell took out the C Grade with a strong finish in the final climb into the You-Yangs Regional Park near Little River.
Tommy Gray proved he has no shortage of guts and determination by making an incredible recovery from a recent heart attack to take home the D Grade Medallion. Tarneit resident Gray may be 67, but rides like a man of 30 years.
