Footscray Cycling Club set up and raced early at Altona’s Drake Boulevard on Saturday to skirt the day’s brain-sizzling top temperature of 41 degrees with riders revelling in the cooler racing that an 8am and 9am start provided.
With $3000 prizemoney on offer for the 4-Race Series on top of regular prizemoney, a record turnout of 128 riders enjoyed some intense racing in calm and light conditions, with all grades experiencing higher than usual average speeds.
The A-grade race was hit with a flurry of attacks from the get-go, with three riders initially getting away, to be eventually joined by another two to form the winning break of five. With another break of five some way behind the leaders, as well as the massive bunch chasing them, everyone had to do their bit to chase those ahead or stay clear of those behind.
Several times, the middle five nearly caught the leading five, but just as it looked good the leaders would push the time out again.
So it continued until the race’s end when Dom Dudkiewicz took the bunch sprint comfortably from Azerbaijan National Team racer Elchin Asadov and Bikebug’s James Love.
A few riders tried their hand at a breakaway during the B-grade race, but the size of the bunch and its willingness to chase meant that all attempted breakaways were routinely brought back, the 41km/h average speed keeping everyone honest and bringing the result down to a mass bunch sprint.
Hawthorn rider Evan Armstrong took out his second B-grade win and his fourth victory in Footscray racing when he unleashed his dominating sprint to finish clear of Taro Malcolm and Cam Woolcock.
In C-grade, the bunch were too eager to chase and it was always going to come down to a bunch sprint, which is where Steven Moses did his best work, beating Reuben Wilkes and Matt Strachan.
In D-grade, Stuart Coull tried a solo breakaway and it took the bunch 20 minutes to reel him in, but Coull couldn’t hold on as Coburg’s Matthew Scott took out a bunch sprint from Cameron Buhajiar and Andrew Leyton.
