Brehaut tops his golden year

IT TOOK a little more than two hours and 50 miles of racing for Paul Brehaut to be crowned the Guernsey Velo Club road race champion of 2003. It was a fitting achievement for someone who has dominated the local cycling scene this year.

If there was to be an upset, perhaps Chris Le Page was the man to cause it, but both his and Brehaut's every move were closely watched during the five laps of the Vazon circuit which took the riders up L'Eree hill.

There was a reluctance from the riders to work on the front and there was frustration as some soft-pedalled.

Brehaut had plenty of attempts to break free of the main pack and, in doing so, caused some damage to the less-experienced riders who were dropped from the pack.

Terry Wright also put the pressure on by raising the pace on a number of occasions as he hit the front of the peleton.

Frustrated by the negative nature of the race, Ann Bowditch put in an attack by the Last Post and into Talbot Valley.

As Le Page attempted to jump to Bowditch, he noticed he was dragging the other riders with him so eased back as Simon Rowe bridged the gap to Bowditch.

The two worked together through King's Mills and out onto the coast from Le Gele Road.

They were still 36 seconds clear as they climbed L'Eree only to be caught eight miles into their breakaway at Les Prevosts Road.

As Brehaut approached them, he put in another fierce attack and it took some effort from the peleton to keep with him.

Going into the final few miles and a 10-way sprint was looking likely. Bowditch made a final attempt to break free at Perelle but was closed down; then it was Mike Brehaut's turn along the shingle bank but again, he was chased down. A bunch sprint saw Brehaut take the title from Le Page in second.