The club welcomed a number of new faces at both the twilight crit on Friday  at Buchanan Park and the final race of the Thirty Series  in Cloncurry on the Quamby Road on Sunday morning.

On Friday night, eight senior riders lined up to try out the new evening event. Heat was still a factor even at 6.30pm as Mount Isa’s weather continued to produce temperatures in the mid to high 30s at 6pm.

Rory French, David Ericson, Brayden Nicholson, Vicki Nicholson, Jim Lillecrapp, new member Darryl Swift, Jason Ahearn, Michelle Lee and Ronnie Ventura set off on a 15-minute, plus one lap, venture with the whistle at 6.30pm. 

There were no favours for the field as the first five riders put the burn on after a lap.

 Lungs were heaving in the hot evening air as riders tried to extract every bit of energy from their bodies. Rory French continues to impress with his off-season form and put in an attack, with both Nicholsons and Ericson hunting him down. Lillecrapp was an early casualty, sitting off the back but refusing to yield. The riders continued to ride at a strong pace without any pain being inflicted upon their pack-mates until  under-17 rider Brayden Nicholson bravely chanced his luck, putting the pedal down to stretch a gap out in front. The pack came back together and the pace slowed, allowing Lillecrapp to bridge the gap.

With time ticking down, it was down to the final flurry in the last lap. French was up to the task and gapped Ericson to take the line, with a commendable ride by Brayden Nicholson in third ahead of Vicki Nicholson. The back riders to their credit continued to circuit at full pace and will be stronger for the effort.

Six juniors were next to take to the start line, with Tristan Nicholson looking to keep the family name at the front of the field. With a large variation in age all  riders rode to capacity and made their parents proud. Seven minutes plus one lap saw Tristan victorious circuiting seven times followed by Denis McGookey, a new under-15 rider who rode very well for second. Third was one of the youngsters Shayla Nicholson who covered six laps in the time period, with Stephanie Marsh next on five laps and the tiny Natalie Marsh covering four laps.

It was the final race of the enticer Thirty Series on Sunday.

 Twenty-seven riders lined up for the two 15-kilometre loops and under-13 Tristan Nicholson was ready to ride 7.5km of the course as his first official road race.

A stiff head wind pushed into the riders on the trip out to the far turn around with a gradual incline causing more pain to some riders, and a strong tailwind on the return to the start saw all riders click through their gears to find a small cog to pick up the speed.

Off on scratch were Sherrie Atkinson, Kerrie Ann Hogan, Margaret Kenny and Eloise Kippers, all of Cloncurry. Leaving on  one minute were Lucy Richardson, Lisa Ward and Kiri Bunker. Belinda Rayner and Kate Busch were next off on 2:30, with Simone Marsh and Rachael Palfreyman leaving on four minutes. Lyn Roughan and Matt Vessey punched the pedal down at 4:30 to mark the end of C and the beginning of B grade. At six minutes Linda French and Brayden Nicholson had their work cut out to stay ahead of the first of the strong B grade group with Vicki Nicholson, Danny Walker, and David Atkinson departing on 7:30 with Brett Oates, Geoff Marsh and Brad Rix 30 seconds in arrears. The big guns of A grade group 1 was David Knight and Craig Nicholson, leaving on 8:30 and finally the backmarkers on 9:00 of Rory French, series leader Les Rayner and Matthys Labuschagne the final group to depart.

The headwind played its evil tricks on the newer riders with the incline taking its toll on the front of the field. The B grade group of V Nicholson, B Nicholson, Atkinson and Walker were quickly to work leaving riders in their wake. The A graders too had formed quickly into a large group making time on the field. The catch with the main B group came just after the first lap, with an amalgamation of those able to keep pace with the marauding gang. The inevitable bunch sprint saw R. French take line honours, with improving Craig Nicholson in second, and senior sprinter Dan Walker well and truly starting to show form of the past for third. Series leader L. Rayner grabbed fourth spot, Knight fifth, Labuschagne sixth and Atkinson seventh.

With the double points on offer Les Rayner was able to stay on top of the leaderboard with wins in races 1 and 2 and the fourth place for the final race with 38 points in total. Rory French’s 30 points for the double point win saw him take second spot, with Craig Nicholson third on 21 points and David Knight fourth on 17 points.

The club’s annual meeting is next week at the MICCHR Building in Isa Street on Sunday,  March 1, at 2pm.

 All positions are vacant. A race calendar will be drafted once the new committee is established.

All inquiries should be directed to coppercitycyclingclub@gmail.com.