O Cup # 1 Mansfield

Sunday April 26th, O Cup #1, Mansfield. The Skies are gray and in the past 24 hours they have done more than threaten us with rain, they have doused us in it. On the up side of things, if there is any course that I would have to race in the rain, this would be the one. At the start we were missing a few riders on the front line, but on the same note we had had some extra horsepower coming from a strong Planet Energy rider.. Mark Batty ( yes my brother) he is going good and after a really solid 10 day stage race in South America, I would put my money on him (Meagan would vouch for me on this one). It was a quick start, right from the gun, the pace was set high and did not relent, the course was very fast and didn't have any "real climbs" to put a good hurt on. None the less it was a very fast race. The main train stuck together right till the last lap, where Peter, Mark and myself were able to get a slight gap on the hard chasing field, which was being led by some really strong racers, Mike Mitchnick and Cam Jette. It was all going to come down to the last few km's. Bringing a strong Sprinter like Mark in the last few fighting minutes of a race is not always such a great idea, he packs one hell of a punch. 2km to go, he pinned it, rode right through myself and Peter to take the first O Cup win of the season. Good stuff bro, you got legs man. All in all it was a solid day out, and everyone that worked in the train deserves a pat on the back, or in our case, a juicy burger and greasy fries...