It was cold and wet in Creswick near Ballarat, but it did not prevent the 150 plus strong field to take part in the 133k long ‘Fred Icke’ handicap road race  today.

The race was launched around noon under some sunshine which must have given some positive energy to the eventual winner , Fergus MacLachlan. The 17 years old from the Carnegie Caulfield Cycling  Club took control of  the 18 minutes bunch he was part of and was imposing  a solid pace in the first climb.

By the half way mark MacLachlan and Co had swallowed most of the front markers and they continued their united efforts until the end. The scratch group worked really hard all day to try to bridge the gap but they eventually failed to reach the line first by a couple of minutes.

In the end Fergus MacLachlan proved too strong and finished off his earlier effort by winning the ‘Fred Icke’ handicap road race in a close sprint disputed under freezing rain.

We must congratulate all the participants for their efforts on the day as the conditions were pretty miserable with the thermometer only reaching 6.9 degrees at the max.

Arnaud Domange

http://www.arnauddomange.com.au/Creswick%20Road%20Race%20June%202009.html