It was a thrilling finale to the Bathurst Cycling Club’s A grade criterium championships on Sunday, as just 0.833 of a second separated first to fourth after just over 40 minutes of racing.
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Craig Hutton finished first overall, finishing 0.021 of second ahead of fellow GPM Stulz teammate Will Hodges in second and 0.104 of a second ahead of Josh Corcoran.
Orange native Harry Bryant, who races with the Bathurst Cycling Club, had an impressive day, finishing 0.833 of a second behind Hutton.
Hutton said he’s always happy to get a win in any event.
“It was some good close racing, with lots of tactical racing. All the guys have been in good form and there was attacks almost every lap,” he said.
“It was probably one of the hardest criterium races I’ve ever been in.
“Will had some really good strengths and was fairly active early. I was sort of doing the same thing but Josh wanted to wait out his time and with 10 minutes to go, he pushed.
“I thought Josh’s move might have worked but Harry had a different idea and tried to chase him down.
“Will had the final move but I was able to get across the line first.
“We might all be teammates but we all want to win and the get the title.”
Hutton said Bryant had one of the best rides of the day.
“It was a strong ride. He’s a bit young and not as experienced as some of the others but he had a good crack. He’s got a good future ahead of him,” he said.
Club racing coordinator Glen Partridge said it was a strong finale in A grade.
“It was a really good race. Credit to them, they all do the training and get the results,” he said.
“Probably the highlight of the day was Bruce Hutton winning C grade and his son taking out A grade.”
Only three cyclists competed in B grade, with Stuart Renshaw finishing just 0.065 of a second ahead of new club cyclist Julian Woods.
Nathan Pearce took the other placing in B grade, 4.282 seconds behind Renshaw.
Partridge said the club had been expecting more for the B grade but said the competition was strong regardless.
“Stu Renshaw was really strong, had a really good ride. Julian Woods has just moved to Bathurst and he’s a really good crit cyclist but Stu was just too strong,” he said.
Finishing behind Bruce Hutton in C grade was Nic Barrett and Mick Foran in second and third.
Partridge said Barrett had one of the best rides of the day.
In D grade, John Kitchen finished in first ahead of Rosemary Hastings and Norman Wise.
Road racing will return on Sunday and Partridge said cyclists should arrive at the club house at 8am to sign-in, to start racing at 8.30am.
