Triathletes join Spokes’ Classic riders

Spokes Cycle Club’s Mullewa Midwest Classic ride was held on Sunday, May 6, with 25 riders participating.

All riders started the 127km ride from Mullewa via Nangetty Road, with 18 riders crossing the finish line at the Greenough Hamlet.

With triathlon season over, it was great to have some triathletes come and join the ride.

Conditions were perfect for the early start in Mullewa, where riders set off in staggered groups.

The first 48km of the ride was smooth with rolling hills but generally, groups were able to work together until the turn-off to Nangetty Road.

Having ridden less than 3km, Fiona Angelatos had mechanical issues but in the spirit of the sport, Sean Catley stopped to assist and, once fixed, they worked their way back to join Eliza Thomas.

All three then rode together for the remaining 125km.

The westerly headwind on the Nangetty Road took a heavy toll, with seven riders withdrawing along the stretch.

However, the B-grade group of six riders stayed together with Peter Johnson and Reg Salmon doing their lion’s share of the pulling into the ever-building headwind. Johnson eventually took line honours in a time of 4hrs:08min:53sec.

Marissa Drummond held her position in this group until the last kilometre when fatigue took its toll, causing her to clip another rider’s wheel and fall from her bike.

Thankfully, she incurred only minor grazes and she was able to remount and finish three minutes behind the group. The A2 group of Dale Luscombe, Ben Freer and Leighton Thomas worked well as a team and finished strongly, with Luscombe out-sprinting the others to finish in 4hrs:01min:29sec.

Tom Wake rode above himself and held on to the B-grade group until the final 20km, where he dropped off.

However, he was able to jump on the back of the A2 group as they came past and he finished strongly in 4hrs:18min:19sec. Once handicaps were applied to race times, Wake was the winner of the event on handicap. Trevor Lake rode solo for the first half of the race after being dropped by the B-grade group on the early hills.

However, in the second half of the race, as the headwinds built, he did get some respite when the A2 riders came past, and he was able to join their group to finish in a time of 4hrs:19min:44sec.

The small A1 group of two riders — Damon Angelatos and Paul Hearne — rode as a powerhouse and recorded an event-best time of 3hrs:50min:57sec and crossed the line together. After dropping Andrew Toovey at the 70km mark, Jacquie Hearne rode solo into the unrelenting headwind for 60+km, and finishing in a time of 5hrs:04min:07sec.

One rider, Michelle Coelho, travelled from Perth to join the ride, and she and Kate Watson rode the entire race together to finish in 5:32:05. Spokes Cycle Club’s next ride is on May 20 and is the final ride of the Enticer series.

Details of this ride can be found on Spokes Cycle Club website at www.spokescycleclub.com.au.