Ken Dinnerville race result incl report from race winner
On 16-Aug-20 the Illawarra Cycle Club hosted a fantastic bike race.
It was the 63rd running of the Ken Dinnerville Handicap. Riders travelled from all over the state to deliver a record field to the start line. Racing was tough in freezing conditions and strong winds. The race was won by Jarrod Williams, an Illawarra Cycle Club member. Most importantly, the event ran without issue and was thoroughly enjoyed by all that attended.
Thanks to those that volunteered their time to make the race happen. Thanks to those that competed and made the event a standout.
More details can be found here
https://cycling.org.au/nsw/ken-dinnerville-2020
The race in his own words – race winner Jarrod Williams
The 63rd running of the Ken Dinnerville is the one that everybody wants to add their name on the trophy. It’s always a popular event and with many of the lead up events having been cancelled due to COVID, riders were desperate to get racing again. This saw a massive field of well over 200 riders start the race. The Gunning course is well known for producing some challenging conditions and it certainly didn’t disappoint with freezing conditions and gusty winds all day. I started the day in Block, with Scratch just five minutes behind and very eager to chase us down. With limit 30 minutes ahead, we knew we had to push hard all day. The start was super fast and we dropped a number of riders before the first turn around. I had fellow club members, Luke Meers and Luke Britten in my bunch who both looked strong as we continued to chase down the leaders. Unfortunately Meers struck a puncture which ruined a potentially great run.
As the race went on, we continued to pick up other bunches and with 11 kilometres to go, we came across club legends Terry Wall and Mick Marshall who had held the lead (not that we knew this at the time) in a small break of 3 riders for much of the race. A tremendous effort by these guys but sadly their day was done as the group of about 60 riders engulfed them.
Now to the business end. Not knowing if there were any other riders or bunches ahead, or how far scratch was from catching us, everyone knew we still had to push hard. With 5 kilometres to go, the attacks started with Luke (Britten) and I still in the mix. None of the attacks worked partly due to the strong bunch of chasers but also the difficult conditions.
As we turned onto the final uphill drag to the finish line, everyone knew it was game time with about 47 riders still in contention. With everyone looking around waiting for someone to launch it first, I snuck up on the right hand gutter, found a gap and launched my sprint. Looking across to my left, I could see former club member Zac Marshall had also launched, and the drag race commenced. After a seemingly endless 200 metre sprint, I crossed the line, unbeknownst to me, in first place! Zac had taken second with Luke Britten also producing a massive sprint and missing the podium by the narrowest of margins. It took me a while to realise what I had just accomplished, the biggest victory of my career. Sprinting against some of my best friends is a weird feeling as they are the first people I want to see do well, but also the first people that I want to beat. It is a huge honour to add my name to the list of champions. A big thank you must go to the Club and all those involved in hosting and running this very important event for all Illawarra members. It was really special to be able to hold this event in 2020 and preserve the memory of Ken Dinnerville.
