| Men's / Youth event |
| 30 lap points criterium |
| points every 10 laps (5,3,2) w. Double points last lap |
|
| The men's event had a total of 19 starters, 3 of them under 17. For |
| the first ten laps, the pack stayed intact, with just 2 of the riders |
| off the pace. The first prime was won by Ian Smith, with Menno |
| Jongsma in second and Steven Struthers third. This trio had been |
| driving the pack and deserved the points. However, in the next lap, |
| Menno opened up a slight gap and was joined by hard man Ian. |
| The pair stay away for the next six laps, at one point having a 12 |
| second advantage but the bunch was now working hard and on |
| Lap 17, the race came together. Then Ray Wagner took a flyer |
| and grabbed an 8 second advantage, with youth riders Brodie Hay |
| and Mark Grant staying with him. The break managed to stay |
| away for the next 3 laps, taking all the second prime points before |
| the pack pulled them back. With 10 laps to go, Ian and Menno |
| again attempted to break clear but they were quickly absorbed. |
| Then CVCC's Ray Wagner, with Brodie Hay in hot pursuit, broke |
| from the pack and gained up to 20 seconds. They held on for a |
| Further 4 laps but, with the finish only 4 laps away, the fast |
| -moving bunch hauled them back and started setting up for the |
| final sprint, with double points up for grabs. Menno led a group |
| Of 6, including Simon Struthers, Ian Smith, Ray Wagner, and |
| youth riders Mark Grant and Brodie Hay who was having a |
| remarkable day. With one lap to go, the race came together |
| but as they came down from the last, fast corner, Ian Smith |
| Brodie and Chris Cameron had again gapped the field and |
| sprinted for the line, with Cameron coming up the outside to |
| edge Smith by half a wheel and Brodie taking a well-deserved |
| third ahead of the remnants of the pack. |
| This was one of the fastest criteriums on the Boxwood circuit |
| and shows that the general standard of riding is improving steadily. |
| Thanks to volunteers, Larry Reynolds, Steve Grant, Andrea |
| Hunter, Iain Hay, and Al Henderson. These good volunteers |
| helped out at registration, looked after the belland lap board |
| and did a sterling job controlling the vastly increased volume |
| of traffic. |
|
| Judy Villeneuve took some good photos of the event, here |
|