Season Closes at Myrniong

Eureka Cycling Club travelled to Myrniong to stage the final race for the 2022 season on Sunday 11th December. Club sponsor Shane Cook had suggested the event back during the COVID times and after setbacks earlier in the year, the club was very pleased to finally deliver the race.

Riders were greeted with plenty of sunshine and a very strong north wind out on the race circuit in the Pentland Hills. Three and 3/4 laps of the circuit would give the race a total distance of 49 kilometres, which was more than enough in the testing conditions!

Limit set off and were soon spread out as they battled the howling wind on the gentle climb. The quartet - Jennifer Collier, Alana Forster, Peter Lamb and Steve Linane - wisely regrouped and commenced rotating turns as best they could to take advantage of their 12 minute mark.

Five minutes later, race commissaire Bill Goldfinch sent the next group on its way. Bob Braszell and Andrew Wilson were joined by a long time friend of Eureka - Jim Burzacott, who now races with Geelong Surf Coast and the Super Vets - in the 7 minute bunch. Into the maelstrom they rode, promptly being battered from pillar to post in those first few kilometres by the wind that seemed to come from the left, from the right and from head on.

Visiting Eastern rider - John Blyth - joined former Eureka Champions Greg Ley and Tony Mirabella, riding off at 5 minutes. Against the odds, the men quickly found a smooth rhythm that no other group would match on this day.

Second Scratch set off with a one minute advantage on the lone Scratch man - Jason Hendry, the newly crowned Club Champion. For their part, Tim Sinclair and Dean Wells welcomed Rob Ellis back to the hammer bunch, as well as Scott Waldron. Unfortunately the early pace put pay to Waldron’s experience and he bid farewell soon after the start.

At the front of the race Alana and Lamb had broken clear of Jennifer and Linane on the first windward leg. The pair sat up after turning into Muirs Lane and the quartet regrouped again.

The other bunches are also reaching the shelter that Muirs Lane offers. Along this section the crosswind helps the riders as they cross over the highpoint of the circuit, before plunging down into a gully.

After Muirs Lane the race turns south. There’s not much time to be won for the chasers, as each bunch enjoys the free speed that the northerly wind gives them on the gentle downhill section.

The road drops away after the finish line and the riders swoop down towards the Old Western Highway. The downward run continues right to Myrniong, then praise the weather gods as that strong northerly helps the riders climb up through the town and over the crest. The next turn sees a steep pinch before the wind smacks the riders in the face again...

Most bunches splinter on the climb through Myrniong... Alana and Lamb are the remnants of Limit, having dropped Jen and Linane. Just a pair of riders remain in the 7 minute group - Braszell and Wilson - with Burzacott lost to the winds.

The 5 minute group is still intact, with Blyth, Ley and Mirabella all accounted for and working well together.

Second Scratch is down to Ellis and Wells, with Sinclair fading out the back as Hendry closes the gap to 200 metres - but it’s as close as the Club Champ would get on this day...

Lap 2 sees the dropped riders losing the battle with the wind, whilst those lucky enough to have someone to ride with can at least pace themselves.

Alana and Lamb still lead the way. Group Mirabella is next on the road, having overtaken Braszell and Wilson. By the end of Muirs Lane Ellis and Wells have also made that catch and they are now the third group on the road.

It’s much of the same with the downwind leg to the highway, with each of the groups flying along and very thankful for the lack of traffic on the narrow stretch of road.

Past the halfway mark of the race and the field is really starting to compress as the groups climb up through Myrniong and head back into the teeth of the wind...

Mt Blackwood Road doesn’t get any easier on Lap 3. Such is the strength of the wind, there are sections where the riders are barely doing 15 Kph!

Group Mirabella can see the race leaders, whilst Ellis and Wells can make out both bunches ahead of them. Stroke by stroke the gaps are reduced, but again the tailwind run back to the old highway holds the chasers off as each bunch receives the bell.

The climb through Myrniong is hot in the sun, with the the riders going at the same pace as the breeze. Just ten kilometres remaining and thankfully just one more time into the wind!

The three remaining groups are spread across just 500 metres and the gaps are closing fast. Group Mirabella catches Alana and Lamb half a kilometre before the turn onto Muirs Lane. Ellis and Wells are only one hundred metres behind. The Second Scratch riders sense this is their chance - crosswind and slightly uphill on a rough surface - they rip the metres out of the gap.

Ley assumes control at the head of the race as the race leaders rocket down into the gully for the final time. Lamb uses the climb out of the gully as a springboard to attack. Mirabella goes with him and they open a small gap on Alana, Blyth and Ley. Wells is next on the road, with Ellis just behind as the race swings south for the final time.

Lamb and Mirabella ease up, this allows Alana, Blyth and Ley all to rejoin them. Blyth goes to the front and takes up the pacemaking, but the pack is in two minds. Behind them Wells is crossing the gap quickly and Ellis is only another fifty metres further back.

The road straightens out and still the leaders are undecided how to make the final run to the line. Wells makes the catch with one kilometre remaining and makes it a bunch of six riders to fight out the finish... but Ellis hasn’t given up and he’s almost on them...

Downhill and downwind it’s going to be a fast finish with just one small rise 200 metres from the finish line. The metres rapidly tick down and the riders are looking left and right as they rocket along at close to 60 Kph.

Wells goes at 400 metres - attempting to ride them off his wheel. The line stretches out but Mirabella has the perfect sit. He waits and waits...

This has been a trying week for the Mirabella family. Last Sunday seems an eternity ago. Tony was out at Learmonth racing with Eureka, whilst his children participated in the Wellness Run at St Kilda. Daughter Jemma took ill during the event and was taken to hospital. A number of other fun-runners had suffered a similar fate - having succumbed to the sudden heat which the weather gods sprang upon the state.

Thankfully, after a short stay in hospital Jemma is now well again, however for the Mirabella family it was a week of angst which they’d sooner forget...

Tony launches his sprint at the short rise and quickly takes the lead from Wells. Blyth has a late surge, but Tony holds the gap to the line and wins for Jemma, then it’s a blur of lycra as the rest of the pack cross in swift succession...

The Eureka members were pleased to be joined by Ray’s wife Val and children Janelle and Lachlan for the post race feast and presentations.

Thank you to race sponsor Shane Cook Homes and the Eureka team who made this day possible - Rick Calvert course setup and lead car; corner marshals Terry Collie, Paul Corkill and Mal Rock; race commissaire Bill Goldfinch; handicapper Peter Livitsanis and Julie Connellan for organising the refreshments.

The Ray Hodgson Classic concludes the 2022 racing season for Eureka and what a marvellous way to go out, with Tony (who has competed in over 350 Eureka races) taking the prize. Our mate Ray would have been stoked!

Ray Hodgson Classic (49 Km Hcp at Myrniong):

1st - Tony Mirabella (5 mins)

2nd - John Blyth, Eastern CC (5 mins)

3rd - Dean Wells (1 min)

4th - Greg Ley (5 mins)

5th - Peter Lamb (12 mins)

Fastest Female: Alana Forster (12 mins) in 1h 40m, ave. 29.4 Kph

Fastest Male: Dean Wells (1 min) in 1h 29m, ave. 33.1 Kph