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2003 Coburg
Club Championships
Sunday 28
September, 2003, Romsey - 90km
Carl Cubitt won the 2003 Coburg Cycling Club championships at Romsey
on
Sunday 28 September, 2003. Cubitt outsprinted Garry Clively in a
repeat
performance of last years championship result.
Riders got under way in sunny but extremely windy conditions for 2
laps
of the tough 45km circuit. With $600 in prize money and paying to
tenth
the riders watched each other for the first 30km before flatlander
Mussie Akgun put in the first serious attack at the bottom of the
first
climb.
With a roaring headwind Akgun did not spend long in front before Tom
McDonough attacked on the second climb, forcing a break with Carl
Cubitt,
Garry Clively, Andrew Ward, Paul Logan and Darren Lapthorn. The five
riders stayed together until the base of "the wall" a brutal climb
on
which Andrew Ward attacked and immediately gapped the bunch.
Over the top of "the wall" Ward led by 30 seconds, with Cubitt,
McDonough,Clively and Lapthorn in pursuit. With speeds of 60km/h
Ward got the
break out to 45 seconds along Lancefield Road, but with 30km
remaining the pursuing bunch held Ward at 30 seconds again, and were
content to let him sit in front in the wind. Back in the bunch,
several of the riders found the going too tough and climbed into the
warmth of
their cars after the completion of the first lap.
Up "the Wall" the second time, Ward dug in and got the break out to
35
seconds. Once over the wall Clively encouraged the break to dig in
deep
resulting in Wards lead being shut down to 18 seconds almost
immediately.
The increased pace took its toll on McDonough and then Lapthorn and
with only a few kilometers remaining Ward dangled off the front and
seemingly had the option of continuing in his attacking solo style,
or
waiting for the pursuers.
Ward was caught on the last climb into the Romsey finishing
straight.
Clively aggressively attacked up the climb with Cubitt sticking to
his
wheel. Ward was unable to respond and the duo quickly established a
considerable gap that enabled Cubitt and Clively time to slow the
pace to
15km/h as they played cat and mouse in the final kilometer.With both
riders hugging the left hand gutter, Cubitt hit out from behind into
the
cross wind and prevailed in the sprint for the second year in a row.
1st Carl Cubitt (Nemesis) 2:39:54
2nd Garry Clively (Nemesis) @ 0:01
3rd Andrew Ward (MBC) @ 0:42
4th Darren Lapthorn @ 1:12
5th Tom McDonough @ 2:04
6th Paul Logan @ 12:41
7th Gerard Glennon @ 19:58
8th Mick Skerritt @ 20:03
9th Andre Pudebat @ 20:06
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