LIMIT riders pushed themselves to just that in Sunday’s John Woodman Memorial Wagga to Albury Cycling Classic, with all six placings from the 29-minute bunch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cobram-Barooga rider Tony Crawford edged out Wangaratta’s Brent Nichols and Albury-Wodonga’s Ken Payne to claim the 30th anniversary handicap race.
Dean Holgate, the Wangaratta son of 1988 winner John, placed fourth, followed by Adrian Hamilton, of Wagga, and Albury-Wodonga’s Tim Schilling.
The scratch riders tried but failed to reel in the leading group, Jacob Kauffmann coming closest to record the fastest time, arriving within two hours and 50 minutes.
Runner-up Nichols also took out the intermediate sprint at Culcairn while Albury rider Taryn Heather, part of the Specialized team, won both the female sprint and line honours.
Echuca-Moama’s Kayden Jeffreys, riding in the second group to start at Wagga, was the leading under-19.
Third place Payne, a friend of the late John Woodman and one of the race organisers, was the first Albury-Wodonga rider home and received the biggest cheers at the presentations.
Crawford’s victory was his maiden in open company after he returned to the sport only a couple of years ago.
An elite junior, the 42-year-old IT consultant loved his inaugural Wagga to Albury race, which he had entered with no expectations.
“I was hoping just to stay on the bunch, that was it, I was really surprised actually,” he said. “About halfway through the ride I was sort of thinking I still had a bit of petrol in the tank and was feeling OK.”
He praised his fellow limit riders and noted a favourable wind had helped.
“We went hard but not too hard and didn't cook ourselves,” he said. “Then at the end I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Kauffmann, the present NSW road champion, also debuted in the John Woodman Memorial but said he would be back next year.
“A little bit of a frustrating race for us back markers today because we never really thought we were getting to the front,” he told the crowd.
Albury-Wodonga Panthers Cycling Club president Geoff Damm said last year the front markers had been caught by halfway owing to the bad weather.
“You can go into these races and everyone’s always got a chance,” he said. “Handicap racing encompasses riders of all abilities, male, female, beginners, experienced, we had a para athlete out there today too.”
