Rising star: EMCC star Max Trewhella (far right) poses alongside the other classification winners after taking out the B-grade Merv Dean Memorial Tour title. Photo: Richard Bailey.
Echuca Moama Cycling Club’s Max Trewhella took out the B-grade Merv Dean Memorial Tour in Bendigo at the weekend, claiming the overall title by five seconds.
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Trewhella was a model of consistency across the three-stage race, starting with a 93.5km road race on Saturday.
The young gun finished second at the head of the bunch sprint, 47 seconds behind the first place rider, who won the stage in a solo breakaway, and entered day two in second place in the general classification.
Stage two was the queen stage, a 74km road race up Mount Alexander, which was set to shake up the pecking order in a big way.
Trewhella found himself in a two-up sprint for the line, and although he had to settle for second on the day, he inherited the leader’s jersey with just one stage to go.
Defending a five-second lead, the final 58km stage would require Trewhella to employ all of his nous if he were to claim the overall win. As the riders came into the finishing straight on the final lap of the Harcourt loop course, Trewhella was exactly where he needed to be.
Pedal power: Trewhella (right) unleashes his sprint to the line during the queen stage to Mount Alexander. Photo: Richard Bailey.
The EMCC rider unleashed his sprint, crossing the line to complete a hat-trick of second place finishes, and with it, the overall B-grade title by five seconds from Bendigo local Harry Nankervis.
There were a host of other EMCC stars in action, led by the impressive Levi Hone in the A-grade tour.
Hone finished 14th overall, which was good enough for fifth place in the under-19 classification. Hone finished inside the top 15 riders on every stage, with his ninth place on stage three his best result.
The rising cycling star was also sixth in both the A-grade sprint and hill climb classifications, a strong indication of his all-around abilities.
Young gun: Levi Hone (middle) in action during stage three of the A-grade Merv Dean Memorial Tour. Photo: Richard Bailey.
In the two-day Merv Dean Junior Tour, Lenny and George Griffiths were in the thick of the action yet again, both riding to top-10 finishes in the general classification.
In the under-15 division, George managed third place in his stage one hill climb time-trial, which he backed up with a sixth place in the stage two road race that afternoon. On the final day, a fourth place in stage three meant he took out fifth place in the overall classification.
Lenny, competing in the under-17 division, claimed seventh place in the opening time trial stage, before a fifth place in stage two and 10th in the final stage netted him sixth spot in the general classification.
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