Meisel-Dennis Magnificent in SuperCrit Round 5

Photos courtesy of Greg Long

Matthew Meisel-Dennis outsprinted all other competitors in a close finish to claim victory in the fifth round of the Vikings SuperCrit Thursday Criterium series.

Meisel-Dennis, fresh out of the junior U/19 ranks, was assisted to his win courtesy of a well drilled lead out from his fellow team mates on the newly launched Canberra based Suzuki Uno squad.

Fellow compatriot Joel Stewart hit our hard of the final corner but was pipped on the line by Meisel-Dennis, while Michael Matthews crossed the line in third to make it a Suzuki Uno trifecta.

How it unfolded

Sunny but blustery conditions greeted the riders as they departed on their 55 minutes plus 3 laps of the Stromlo Forest Park course. With the course comprised of two main parallel straights running North and South and the wind blowing in from the West, plenty of racing on the edge of the course was predicted.

With the bunch easing into the race, Bike Culture's Dave Deery and Scott Sparkman stole a hefty march early on.
Team QUON's Scott Payne was loathe to allow the Bike Culture duo such a commanding lead, accelerating up at the front of the bunch to minimise the gap to the leaders.
As the bunch built up inertia over the next few laps, Deery and Sparkman were pegged back into the thirty strong main pack.

Velo Canberra's Michael Cupitt was the next to test his mettle in a game solo move. Cupitt, who is preparing for an upcoming half ironman, didn't hold back and stretched his advantage out to almost a half lap of the hotmix circuit. Cupitt maintained his lead just shy of 10 minutes before he too succumbed to the difficult conditions in the wind, but not before claiming the first of two Coopers Pale Ale sprint primes.
As Cupitt was returning to the main field, Mountain biker Ben Henderson turned on the pace to rip off the front. Henderson was quickly followed by Bike Culture racer Stuart Morgan. Cupitt dug deep to find some extra grunt and latched on to the pair to form a serious and threatening move.

John Forrest and Alistair Loutit of Suzuki Uno picked the pace up as the trio stretched their lead, however as Adam Phelan and Michael Matthews began assisting the chase, Henderson and his partners slowly were welcomed back into the pack.
As the peleton made their way through the half way point of the race, the second of the sprint primes occurred with Michael Matthews thundering out of the bunch to claim the prize.

With conditions resistant to riders escaping the fold of the pack, Stuart Morgan revved up the bunch with some stinging turns of pace that had riders scrambling to hold wheels.

Lurking back in the bunch and looking fidgety was Round 2 winner Michael Tolhurst. Tolhurst finally lost his patience at 10 minutes to go and had a crack at breaking away. Tolhurst too found the wind unrelenting and after two solid laps was embraced by the main group.

Escape specialist Marc Williams of Rideshop immediately counter attacked the returning Tolhurst and gained a thirty metre gap. Again Williams struggled in the wind and was soon back in the peleton.
With 3 laps to go the front of the main field was awash with the orange colours of Suzuki Uno as they marshaled their riders in preparation of the looming and inevitable bunch sprint. Also muscling their way up were the red army colours of Bike Culture in the form of Dale Percival and Daniel Green. Also weaving his way through the pack was the consistent Justin Tomlinson in his flashy green attire.
Bell lap saw the entire field stretched out in a long line as Loutit let the horses out to gallop. Halfway up the back straight Stewart ducked under Loutit into the final curve. Stewart lined up for the finish out of the last bend and kicked hard a long way from home. A hundred metres out Stewart looked like holding on, however the straight proved to be just a touch too long and Meisel-Dennis bagged his first SuperCrit win in gasping style.
Marc Williams motored to fourth, while the wily Tomlinson claimed fifth.


Top Ten Results SuperCrit Round 5


1. Matthew Meisel-Dennis
2. Joel Stewart
3. Michael Matthews
4. Marc Williams
5. Justin Tomlinson
6. Scott Sparkman
7. Ben Henderson
8. Neil Skipper
9. Dale Percival
10. Michael Cupitt


All Photos Courtesy of Greg Long
http://www.greglong.photostockplus.com/