Tottenham resident Matthias Kiernan jumped to a breakaway to take out the A-grade finale of the Beach Road Summer Criterium cycling series at Altona’s fast and wide Drake Boulevard.
The riders were greeted by a perfect summer’s morning, with light breezes and blue skies.
Kiernan, 30, of Brunswick Cycling Club, took advantage of a trademark Miles DaCosta solo breakaway.
“I attacked at the start and was brought back by the bunch; then Miles went off the front and I got across,” Kiernan recalled. “We were suffering pretty badly until Morgan Smith came across to us and he was pulling much harder turns than either of us. We worked consistently until we lapped the field and we let them go for the sprint for fourth at the end.
“Then I let Miles go and sat on Morgan’s wheel until I put in an attack that worked.
“This is my first win in quite a while, so it’s pretty welcome.”
Kiernan took the win from Smith and DaCosta, with Andrew Bonello taking the bunch sprint for fourth.
Dom Dudkiewicz took the Beach Road Cycles Series, winning with a conservative run in the pack. It was a necessary move given that later in the day he was competing in the state championships. Dudkiewicz pipped Bonello by a single point in overall standings.
In B-grade, St Kilda’s Sam Gartner tore up the bunch sprint to win comfortably from Dan Purcell and veteran Agi Giramondo.
Mat Hudson showed more consistent form to take the C-grade win from Paolo Bondi and Daniel Atkins, while D-Grade’s sprint was taken out by Scott Morrison over Paul Longfield and Damien Hall.
In women’s racing, Danielle Baxter streeted the field in only her second race. The novice rider is now two-for-two after a solo breakaway that lapped the field.
