The season opener, and first race of the East Gippsland Crit series, was raced at Newry on Sunday 4th February. The recent addition of a stop sign to one of the intersections on the regular course has made it impractical to race that circuit, so there was a last minute change of route. The longer course, still starting from the Newry Football Ground, is 6.4km putting it more into the “Kermesse” category.
A strong showing from Bairnsdale helped to make the racing fast paced and competitive. The recent ADFCC recruit Dave Elliott showed that he is a force to be reckoned with, taking out both intermediate sprints and crossing the finish line in first place followed by Mitch Rankin. In B grade it was Matt Weatherall from Bairnsdale making it look easy to take out the intermediate and final sprints, with Mike Renehan 2nd.
As this was the first of a four race series, there is still plenty to race for going into the next event starting 10am on Sunday at Lindenow. With another two races to follow, it is not too late to make up some ground and get some runs on the board. Also, each race that is participated in or assisted with earns points towards the prestigious Mike Renehan Perpetual Award- so get in early and start accumulating points!

Location

Newry Football Ground, Cnr Boisdale- Newry Road and Three Chain Road, Newry, Victoria 3859