Win by tyre’s width

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33942, 8 September 1975, Page 3

Win by tyre’s width

(By

RAY CAIRNS)

Paul Flattery’s outstanding range of allround skills gave him victory yesterday in the Go-Cola mini-tour. But victory in the country’s premier cycling tour for novices came the hard way.

His 3sec margin over Tony Strang was really the closest of the tour’s history. True, Toni Horne won by I.ssec last year, but in essence, Flattery’s margin was more a tyre’s width than 3sec. That was the margin by which he won the last stage, from Peter Hulmes, and had the

positions been reversed, the surprising Strang would have won.

The consistent Flattery won the first stage from Rangiora to Oxford, with a very late challenge that overcame one of the favourites, Tony Duder. He beat the bunch for second in the second stage after Strang had stolen away and won by 48 sec. Flattery won the time trial by Bsec from Garry Monk, who is something of a specialist in these things, and then won the final stage. Strang led Flattery by 7sec going into the final stage. But many of the leading contenders had fallen by the wayside much earlier. BAD CRASH A severe crash in the first stage removed from the tour tne promising Julian Doesburg, among others, and removed from any real contention such fancied riders as Jim Tabak, Kelly Woodley, Shane Smith, Ron Richdale, Gavin Sutherland and Phillip Eder.

Eder eventually withdrew, the gallant Hulmes fought his way back to a most meritorious fourth over all, and Duder, who had escaped the crash, was plagued by cramp in the second and fourth stages.

For once, there was a certain degree of aggression in the first stage, which is so often ridden negatively. Duder, Doesburg and Flattery started it all, and they stayed clear to Cust and the first few points in the King of the Mountains section. STRUNG OUT

On both the big climbs in the second stage, through the Ashley and Glentui gorges, the field was strung out, but the pressure was not maintained and the efforts evaporated. When Strang took his chance, Bkm from Loburn, there were still more than 20 in the bunch and such a large number meant lack of interest in a chase.

Richdale, one of the most fancied visitors, provided

some interest in the final stage, and he had to, being more than IJmin down. But he was swallowed up too, and at the end of the 105 km total journey, there were still 23 in the bunch. Monk and Hulmes did at least as well as expected of them, and there were most promising efforts by Ray O’Connor and Michael Quy. Perhaps the two who stood out most were Ross Wells, who has been racing for only nine months and was ninth over all, and Steve van Pelt, originally only a reserve but a most creditable performer until the injuries he suffered in the crash eventually forced him out in the fourth stage. Results:—

Stage one, Rangiora-Oxford, 34km.—P. S. Flattery 1. A. Duder 2, G. R. Monk 3. R. O’Connor 4, A. Strang 5. Time, 56:03. Stage two, Oxford-Loburn, 40km.—Strang, 1:6:22, 1; Flattery 2, R. Richdale 3. Monk 4, K. Woodley 5, all 1:7:10. Stage three, Loburn-Ashley, 3km time trial.—Flattery, 4:57, 1; Monk, 5:05, 2; G. Sutherland, 5:22, 3; P. Hulmes, 5:25, 4; Richdale, 5:28. 5; Strang, 5:29, 6. Stage four. Ashley Forest block, 28km.—Flattery 1, Hulmes 2, Strang 3, M. Steele 4, Monk 5. Time, 48:05.

General classifications. —Flattery, 2:55:35, 1; Strang, at 3sec, 2; Monk at 39sec, 3; Hulmes at 1:8, 4; O’Connor, at 1:15, 5; M. Quy, at 1:18, 6; G. Bridgeman, at 1:19, 7; Steele, at 1:22, 8; R. Wells, at 1:29, 9; S. McSkimming. at 1:29, 10. King of the Mountains.— Duder. 19, 1; Monk, 17, 2; Sutherland, 9,3; W. G. Wyllie, 5. 4.