Veteran wins cycling

Press, 18 July 1977, Page 18

Veteran wins cycling

By

RAY CAIRNS.

Cyclists at the opposite ends of the age scale took all the honours in the Harry Saundercock Memorial 100 km classic at Waikari on Saturday.. Doug Todd, a veteran, won the race, his second major victory in the last month, and a junior, Toni Horne, had the fastest time.

Todd dismissed a suggestion that he was making a habit of winning important races — his other victory, over 40km in Dunedin, was worth a $lOO trophy — with the comment, “That’s about the sum total of success in my whole career.” Todd did not look like being beaten. His bunch, off 32min, closed rapidlv on the other three bunches ahead of it — originally separated by a total of 13min, they were only Smin apart after the first of the four laps — and only five were left together with a lap to ride. The others were another veteran, Don Johnson, a junior, Wayne Kirk, and two other experienced riders, Dave Savage and John Degarnham. Savage found the last lap too much and the remaining three found Todd's powerful sprinting too much when it came to the finish. Degarnham was equally well clear of Kirk, whose best performance it was, and Johnson was a similar margin back. By winning the Ross Bates Memorial Cup for the second time — he was first and fastest last year — Horne made certain that he would leave his mark on the race, now 27 years old. Until his effort last year, only Gilbert Painter and Stuart Stephen had the fastest time as juniors, Horne is ahead of them all now as the only junior to do so twice.

There was never any question! that the scratch riders would j take the fastest time when the: break mark of 7min went away! with two scratchings and with Bruce Brunton puncturing in the ! first 100 m, then puncturing his| spare tyre before going any fur-: then The bunch was down to six, and onlv two of those, Phillip Taylor a’nd John Mullan, stayed with the scratch riders to the finish. Mullan, whose effort was a further major step in the road to recovery, was almost nostalgic afterwards. He saw in Horne something of the Mullan who won so many fastest-time and championship placings in the early 19705. “Just doing the bare minimum and pulling out, just like Mullan.” said Mullan. “That’s the way to win them.” One bunch that made quite an impression was that from llrnin. But the solid efforts of the 23min bunch made its task forlorn and, after staying intact for most of the race, it fell apart in the final lap. The 18min bunch also disintegrated towards the end. Ken Askew took off and managed to close 2min of the 3min 45sec his bunch was conceding to the leaders at the start of the final lap, but his bunch was fragmented by its effort. Results (Dunedin, D; Papanui, P; Hornby. H; Woolston, W; Invercargill, I. _ , Todd (D, 23mln) 1, Degamham (P, 23min) 2, Kirk (H, 30min) 3, Johnson (W, 23min) 4, Askew (W Ifimln) 5, F. S. Flattery (P, 18mln> 6, A. M. Duder (W, 18min) 7, M. Fortune (P. 18min) 8, W. McLellan (I, iSminl 9, Roger Prince (W. 26mim 10. Time, 2:44:47. Fastest time: Horne (P, scr.l, 2:29:32, 1 and fastest junior; C. M. Hogan iP, scr.l, 2:29:33, 2; B. G. Stockwell- (P, scr.), 2:29:34, 3. At Kaiapoi yesterday Craig Adair, a first-year rider, broke a five-year-old record in the Kaiapoi time-trial championships, /idalr’s time for the ,6.5 km junior ride was 9min 14sec, taking 27.3 sec from Mark Bruce’s 1972 record. Mark Nichols won the senior 10km championship by lOsec from the national champion, Shane Smith, but was 20sec outside the record with his 14min 36.55ec.