Fresh and familiar faces hit the road for criterium

Peel District Cycling Club’s first criterium of the season at Smeaton Way took place last Sunday, with new and old faces racing, including John Mogg, a former State and club champion returning to racing after a 13-year break at the age of 82.

A-grade saw three Peel members with recent international experience race — Tyler Lindorff, who represented Australia at the junior world track championships, Conor Leahy, who represented Australia in the recent Oceanic Track Championships, and Theo Yates, who recently won a stage of the Tour of Iran.

The racing was frantic with attacks and counterattacks — suddenly there was one rider up the road, with Leahy attempting to bridge and a bunch of six riders chasing, with another eight riders spread around the course.

A couple of laps later Leahy was alone on the front, while Yates was driving hard at the front of the chase group when Lindorff attacked.

The next couple of laps saw Leahy off at the front, Lindorff chasing hard and the bunch slowly losing ground.

Lindorff and Leahy joined forces and kept increasing their margin.

On the final lap, Leahy attacked down the back straight and held off Lindorff to take the win, with Will Heath third in the sprint from the chase bunch.

In an aggressive B-grade race, there was always a rider or two attempting to form a breakaway.

In the end it was bunch sprint, with Wlliam Cellis taking the win, Tomasz Wolsicyzk second and John Rapheal third.

The pace varied dramatically in C-grade as various riders attacked, then backed off, with Callum Hunter crossing the line first, Steve McLeod second and Albert Ulbriecht third.

The younger riders were in D-grade and two of them, Calum Milne and Micheal Baker, attacked on the second lap and rode away from the group. The pair stayed away to the finish, with Milne taking the win. Peter Barclay led the chasers home for third.

Mogg raced E-grade on his return, which finished in a bunch sprint won by Roger De Pontes, with Simon Stolton second and John Bywater third.