On Sunday, the State Criterium Championships were held in Castlemaine.  Our Macdonald Shaw/CharterMason team successfully won the title.  Here is Brad Wills report on how the race unfolded.

Sunday April 10th was the day of both State Criterium Championships and Baw Baw Classic, which saw the team divided into the races that suited the riders abilities best.

The riders that raced the M19 state criterium consisted of James, Michael, Will, Liam, Camden, Scott and myself.  As soon as we got the briefing from Chief Commissare and were set off, the pace was on with an immediate attack from Will, Michael and James.  After the first attack the pace never let off with over half the field being dropped in the first 10-15 minutes.  The team (Macdonaldshaw/CharterMason) were always on the attack trying to produce a winning combination and at the same time allowing other teammates to rest while the other riders in the race were forced to chase. 

By the 25 minute mark there was only 8 riders left in the bunch, 5 of which were from the Macdonaldshaw/CharterMason team.

As the bell lap came around with no riders up the road I hit the front from the bottom corner (corner 4) as planned with James right on my wheel, who was closely followed by Liam.  I gave this last effort my all, leading James and Liam out up to the top of the hill to ensure that they were in the best position possible for the descent into the final corner.  James held off the group and picked up 1st place while Liam picked up 3rd. The team had a great race with everyone’s efforts going towards the 1st and 3rd medals with teammates Will and Michael finishing right behind them in the sprint.

Huge thanks to Bob, Helen and parents helping out on the day to ensure that everything was running smoothly. 

The team also wishes Emily all the best in her recovery from the crash in which she was involved.

Cheers
Brad