Massive Masters 2 Grade Overshadowed By Sparnon’s Dominance
A monster field took to the 2019 Super Series in Masters Cat 2, with 11 teams taking part across 8 rounds. By the end of the Series, with a handful of guest riders across the teams, the numbering topped out at 99 race numbers allocated; the most any Super Series grade has ever, or will ever have (more on that later).
It was obvious even from the team lists that this would be afiercely contested grade, with the swollen ranks containing a range of local racersfrom those who were fixtures at VLCC’s Wednesday night crits, through to currentState Road Champions in Darren Webb (MMAS4, Port Adelaide Cycling Club), and CraigBeddome (MMAS6, Harcourt Williams), and the talk of the town, 1996 Junior TeamPursuit World Champion Matthew Sparnon (USG Cycling). When it came time to get the racing underwayin the first round’s Mischief Brew Points Race, the results foreshadowed howthe remainder of the Series would play out for this grade.
In that first race, an early break made up of Sparnon, Webb, ADX Depot’s Michael Davies and Norwood CC’s Raphael Christinat would get away at the first sprint. They would stay away for the remainder of the race, with Sparnon able to show a clean pair of heels to his breakaway companions at nearly every turn, cleaning up the majority of the points to be had.
The Round 2 Altitude Cycling & Fitness Team Time trialwould prove the first and last time we’d see Sparnon off the podium for theremainder of the Series, with Team Envirosport – Titan Performance, Norwood CCand Team Scyon all going faster on the course than Sparnon’s USG Cycling. Christinatand fellow Norwood CC teammate James Hollamby were tantalisingly close to Sparnon’sGC lead, but it was to only go south for any chasers from there.
The Wallaroo Road Race often suits a breakaway, and so wasthe case with Masters 2 this year as Jo Fitton (Team Scyon), David Homburg (NorwoodCC) and Michael Davies (ADX Depot) joined Matt Sparnon and splintered the bunchover 76km. With the top 3 at the Road Race going again at the Moonta Criterium,it was becoming clear that we had three men in contention for every podium tocome – Sparnon, Davies, Fitton, in that order.
From there, the back four criterium races at Vic Park XL, HALO Aldinga Beach, Murray Bridge and Unley Oval Reserve would see several riders take a shot at Sparnon in a race finish or an intermediate sprint, and be denied. 13 riders would contest intermediate sprints for points against Sparnon, but only one could manage to beat him to the line – ADX Depot’s Phil Crick at Murray Bridge. Sparnon finished the Series with 29 from a possible 30 points in the Adelaide Advanced Physiotherapy Sprint Classification, the next placed rider (Michael Davies, ADX Depot) managing just 5 points. By the time each race got to the line, Davies would find himself second to Sparnon in all but the final round, where that position was filled by Tonsley Village’s Michael Bryant. Davies would prove unbeatable in the Chateau Yaldara Over 50 Classification, taking 21 of a possible 21 points across the 2019 Super Series. Jo Fitton (Team Scyon) was unlucky to lose the third spot on the GC podium late in the Series to USG's Phil Bray, with an elbow injury in Murray Bridge leaving him without the opportunity to contest at Unley Oval.
With USG Cycling and ADX Depot tying up the top two points-earning opportunities for much of the Series, only strength in numbers in the minor placings could help any of the other teams find their way to Teams Classification glory, but it was not to be. Sparnon's USG Cycling found themselves scooping up points left, right and centre through Phillip Bray, Sam Jeffries and Jason Rowland, enough to stave off ADX Depot in the second spot on Team points. Norwood managed a respectable third place in the Teams Classification, with 5 riders in the top 15 overall: Hollamby, Christinat, Stephen Maney, David Homburg and last year’s winner, Tom Baxter. Matt Sparnon would wind up the Series with 7 from 7 individual round wins, 9 from 10 intermediate sprint wins, and enough GC points to come 4th in the grade on his own.