Strong, blustery winds didn’t deter the 23 riders who saddled up to race on Friday night.
A-grade
We welcomed back young gun Max Trewhella in A-grade in a small field of four alongside Aaron Mulkearns, Jack Arnold and George Griffiths.
With no riders having any allegiances, the pace seemed more civilised than usual to begin and with small numbers, no-one seemed willing to stretch the group, for fear of stretching themselves.
All riders worked through the front and the pace stayed strong, with Jack Arnold looking impressive and no-one was showing any signs of weakness.
With a lap to go it was anyone’s race. In a frantic finish Aaron triumphed by a wheel over a fearless Jack Arnold, with George Griffiths in third.
B-grade
From the outset it seemed that this week’s race would be steady, without the surges that have typified B-grade racing in 2024. Then along came Matt Sherman.
With a withering effort, he rode clear and stayed clear, lap after lap. For those on the rear the elastic snapped and John, Jamie and Brayden, in his first B-grade race, had to regroup to try and bridge the gap.
Up front, Matt had been rejoined by Nick McNair, Francis Lias, Bryce Denham and Liam Harland as the pace continued.
There was no clear favourite amongst the crowd as the bell rang out for the final lap. In the finish it was Francis Lias who proved too strong, winning in front of Bryce Denham and Liam Harland in third.
C-grade
C-grade saw the return of Sarah Mulkearns and the debut of new rider Darren Kruger.
At the seven-minute mark, Alex Williams touched pedals on the back corner, launched in the air and fish tailed sideways out of control. But in the best rodeo riding seen at EMCC, he regained control and continued.
Before heart rates had settled and despite assurances to the contrary, Sarah launched a stinging attack to stretch the field. Over the next few laps, her attacks popped Claire Goodman, Liam Clohesy and Darren Kruger off the bunch.
With three laps to go she attacked again but with each lap the gap narrowed.
Into the final lap with a slender margin, Alex Williams managed to surge past to victory with Sarah Mulkearns second, holding off a fast-finishing Darren McKemmish in third.
D-grade
As has been the way for D-grade for most of the season, a small field of Heather Lias, Ray Hamilton and Zenon Gawronski took to the start.
As the pace steadily built through the race, all three riders took turns on the front, with the crowd marvelling at the strong, slow cadence of Zenon. The smart money was on Heather, but the group stayed together.
Once greeted by the bell for the final lap, it was as if Heather was tired of the company of the older men as she lifted the pace and surged off the front for victory, followed by Ray in second and Zenon third.