GERALD Liew is the inaugural winner of a crash-marred Compton Green Handicap, a five-lap, 76-kilometre circuit of the You Yangs with a testing uphill finish.
For the organisers, the Footscray Cycling Club, cold weather and school holidays contributed to a smaller-than-expected field of 50 riders being divided into six ability-based groups. Each group took off at intervals of about four to five minutes, with the best riders going last.
Scratch, the last group to take off, caught the previous cluster, second scratch, after just two laps, and the subsequent touch of wheels was followed by a crash. Four riders were brought down and Danny Bellis and Anthony Garnier were taken to hospital. One unlucky rider from third scratch, Jeremy Smith, appeared to break his bike’s stem about four kilometres into the race and had to pull out early.
Ben O’Leary, Miles De Costa, Brett Hickford and Ben Johnson caught the five remaining third scratch riders with a lap to go.
Phil Tehan, Les Kennet and Peter McQuade were able to latch on for nearly a lap until Johnson boldly broke away on Flinders Avenue.
The race ended in a thrilling finish between Liew and Ben Coull, with Liew holding on to win.
