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Irish Handicap
A big night at Dirt Crits on Tuesday night with Zac Empey taking the win from Sam Moseley and Jason Parker (who was making his long-awaited return to racing.) Results to come soon. Ish.
The Black ’n’ Tan
By Will Calvert Jones
Ask a pro cyclist what the pinnacle of one-day races in the world is, they will respond with Paris-Roubaix - a two hundred and sixty kilometre race in France that includes upwards of fifty kilometres of cobbles.
Ask a Mansfield cyclist what the pinnacle of their race calendar is, they will respond with the Black ‘n’ Tan road race, a biblical thirty kilometre route consisting of upwards of seven kilometres of gravel racing across the ruts and bumps of Scullys Lane and Mount Battery road.
That is what sixteen riders were faced with on Thursday night just gone (some are rumoured to have pulled out because they were scared and scarred from previous editions).
The night was hot. Two bottles of water needed, or wanted, throughout. Sweat piling on to the forearms and face well before the starting gun went.
When that moment came, Di Condie and Micala Jacobs screamed off Limit into a roaring Buller Road headwind. Left they went up Scullys Lane, with Dave Jagger and Wil ‘MTB’ Wilson following a couple of minutes back. The following twelve riders started at different times with Janine Appleton and Tim Hall making ground after the Coombesberg hill, a windowless spot on the Old Tolmie Road that made everyone feel like an exposed, frying egg on a saucepan.
Talia and Jarrod Appleton had to see a man about a dog midway through the ride, while Di also slipped off for a mid-race kip at home after some suspicious food poisoning from a fellow competitor.
Off Scratch Bruce Halket, Dave Moore and Steve Brown had their work cut out for them chasing Mauro Brega and Ewyn Carter off ‘Block. They eventually did cut the work out and overtook the depleting Block group midway through the race.
It was a chase in vain for the Scratch racers, as Darren ‘lead-out’ Bakker towed Will Calvert-Jones a-la Mark Renshaw to his first win. Bruce and Steve Brown rounded up the podium places with Ewyn and Janine closely behind. Kudos to Steve Curnow and Micala for long, windy solo efforts on a difficult night in the saddle.
Special thanks to the handicapper and volunteers for the night. The race for overall MMBCC honours continues Thursday with the Bakker Plumbing Handicap at Jamieson.
Here are the very detailed results, with an updated points score, which proves that John has plenty of time on his hands. Many thanks to both Jenni Sparnon and Tony Copland for this week’s pics.
