IF you like your road cycling to be raced in wet, wild and highly unpredictable conditions, the Footscray Cycling Club’s annual Bob Robson Memorial criteriums held in the Williamstown High School precinct on Anzac Day served up a treat.
The feature race rewarded those who took on the risk of breaking away, with teachers Adrian Hanson and Ben Johnson successfully rolling the dice and offering the bunch a tactical lesson to finish one-two on the line.
With a wet track, Hanson, 28, like most riders, wondered if the race would go ahead and he was certainly glad that it did when he saluted for line honours. “On the way to the race it was pouring,” he said. “I had my doubts about whether we’d even get to race.”
In true Anzac spirit and buoyed by the fact that 100 people had attended the 5am dawn service in pouring rain in Williamstown, racing went ahead. Early on, the in-form Ben Johnson, James Love and Sean Gatter broke away, and when they were nearly brought back into the bunch, Hanson saw the opportunity and jumped across.
“Steve Pilson had just completed a massive turn on the front of the bunch to bring back the break and the break was just up ahead, so I took that opportunity to skip across, and only Ben and I stayed out,” Hansen said.
He and Johnson turned the event into a two-horse race. They opened up an unassailable lead on the peloton and attention then turned to a head-to-head battle. “We knew we had a good lead because we heard the announcer say we had 23 seconds on the bunch,” Hansen said.
Johnson, a noted strong rider but not the best sprinter, would have to try to drop Hanson by riding away from him; and Hanson, a noted sprinter who has outsprinted the likes of Robbie McEwen, had to weather whatever attacks Johnson threw at him, hold his wheel, and outsprint him at the end.
Hanson knew that Johnson’s attack was coming. “With four laps to go, Ben made his move and made a big jump in one of the corners and put me in a bit of trouble, so I spent half a lap off the wheel chasing and just managed to bridge the gap back on to his wheel,” Hansen said. “I knew he was strong but that if I was still on his wheel with three to go I’d be right. When we got around the last corner, I launched. Ben looked at me and gave me a smile. He was cooked. I passed him and crossed the line pretty happy.”
2012 Bob Robson Memorial Anzac Criterium
A grade: Adrian Hanson, Ben Johnson, Dom Dudkiewicz. B grade: Lewis Croft, Antonio Marino, Trevor Perry. C grade: Shane McGuirk.
