Emma Pritchard
As the early morning mist rose slowly, close to 300 participants in the 64th edition of the Squadron Energy Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic took their places on the start line outside the Crown Hotel Motel in Prince Street on March 15 and commenced their gruelling 228km journey from the Clarence Valley to the New England region.
An iconic sporting challenge which tests the strength and stamina of every competitor, this year the race was held as Round 5 of the inaugural ProVelo Super League (PSL), an annual cycling league hosted across the country with teams and athletes competing in a points format over six events.
Chris Thompson, Event Organiser, said the ongoing support of Squadron Energy has enabled the event to expand from a one-day format to a two-day festival of cycling with the main races including the Grafton to Inverell Open where competitive cyclists from throughout Australia compete in their respective age categories over the full distance, the Grafton to Inverell Pairs Relay where the first team member rides from Grafton to Mt Mitchell and covers 119km before passing over to the second team member who completes the final leg of the Grafton to Inverell course from Mt Mitchell to the finish in Inverell over 110km, the Mt Mitchell to Inverell Gran Fondo which offers cyclists a short event option over 110km, and the inclusion of Open and Masters Lake Inverell Circuit races on March 16 to support the PSL categories.
“The Grafton to Inverell is a very tough race,” Mr Thompson said.
“It has close to 4000m of climbing and a cut-off time of nine and a half hours.
“We recognise that it does require a level of preparation and training just to finish.”
While a number of local riders from the Grafton Cycle Club including Garry Reardon, who was competing in the race for the 30th time alongside his son Jye Reardon, also took part in the event this year, South Australian Tristan Saunders from Team Brennan p/b TP32 crossed the line first ahead of 2023 winner Zac Marriage from Butterfields Ziptrak, recording a smart time of 5:38:51.
Brendon Davids, also from Team Brennan p/b TP32, joined his teammate Saunders on the podium after finishing third.
While acknowledging his fellow riders following the race, Saunders also paid tribute to his team, describing their first and third placing in the race as a great testament to their dedication to the sport.
Sydney cyclist Gina Ricardo from Praties Cycling Team won the women’s edition of the 110km Mt Mitchell to Inverell from Rachael Wales of Butterfields Ziptrak Racing and Rhylee Akeroyd from Meridian Blue Cycling Team.
In his 30th Grafton to Inverell, Mr Reardon finished seventh in the Men’s 60-69 Years category, stopping the clock at 8:24:32.
Clarence Valley Council (CVC) Mayor Ray Smith, who had the privilege of sounding the horn to signify to start of the main race, said the iconic event puts Grafton on the map each year.