Now in its fourth year the Kilkenny Cycling Club Lyndoch Weekend Masters Handicap has become a must race for masters riders competing in the South Australian winter road race program. This year’s event was blessed with mild conditions and the Barossa Valley course again lived up to its reputation as an ideal Masters course. Just enough climbing to test the legs and a great finishing straight to please the sprinters.
The limit bunch containing lots of Skinnys lead the race away and they held their advantge to the preme at the end of the first lap, in which Wendy Gordon just edged out Dean Semmler -PACC. The bunches were now starting to close up and just before the climb after the Whispering Wall turnoff a peleton of all bunches, except scratch, had formed. This large group now started to jockey for position with the speed dropping and not to many of them interested in taking the lead into a headwind.
Three riders from scratch Jason Tattersall, Angelo Anibaldi and Patrick Houweling were working to their peak in chasing the slowing peleton down and saw their chance to ride around about 20 riders to take a win. But Bill Drodge was having none of this, and together with Olav Marold, Bryan McIntyre, Aaron Pollard, Robin Parson, and Russell Johnstone, he put aside the fatique in the legs from a long and hard season and sprinted for the line. The fast finishing Tattersall took second and the Cippolini mounted Pollard rounded out the podium for third.
When interviewed after the race, Billy said “It was great to win the last race of my season and in fact my last race. After a long career over 20 years I have decided to hang up the bike and rest the body, catch up with lots of work around the property and see lots more of my family and business associates”
The South Australian bike racing scene will miss Bill Drodge and we certainly hope that he may join us for a few more “old timer masters” races in the future.
Race Results
66 Bill Drodge
64 Jason Tattersall
70 Aaron Pollard
61 Angelo Anibaldi
63 Patrick Houweling
69 Bryan Mcintyre
67 Russell Johnstone
83 Robin Parsons
77 Liam McInerney
75 Elizabeth Georgouras
81 Dale McNeil
90 Richard Markowski
68 Olav Marold
71 Christopher Spence
82 Kerianne Parfitt
76 Vincent Mankelow
73 Tim Blackburn
78 Sean McKay
65 John Danvers
72 William Thompson
87 Robert Baird
86 David Tichy
80 Steve Johns
98 Wendy Gordon
91 Vicki-Lynne Birks
85 Georg Thierry
99 Dean Semmler
92 Anthony Brennand
93 Lynette Collins
95 Meriel Custance
74 Matthew Double DNF
62 David Grigg DNF
94 Trudy Fenton DNF
