Brehaut's hill-climbing gives leg-up to victory

THE Island Games are not on his agenda this year - but Paul Brehaut remains the man to beat on local roads. Brehaut sprinted to victory in the Guernsey Velo Club's Liberation Day Road Race held over five-and-three-quarter laps of the L'Eree circuit, but it was the performance of those who finished behind him that gave him as much pleasure as his own.

Brehaut is combining racing with coaching the club's emerging talent.

'I give them their structure and off they go. I'm really pleased with the way it's going,' said the medallist from the 2003 Games.

'It's good that there is a younger team coming through.

The Liberation event is one of the few road races in which all the categories start together.

However, within a few minutes of the start, the peloton had already split.

The leading group of 15 riders settled into a steady pace but Brehaut and Rob Smart put in the first few, leg-softening attacks.

Brehaut then decided to up the pace with a powerful surge on the second ascent of Pleinmont hill.

Tony Bleasdale, Smart and Graham Le Maitre were the only riders who could match Brehaut's effort and the group opened a gap of 30 seconds on their first lap clear.

The chasing pack of Ann Bowditch, Chris Le Page, Nick Mann, Stuart Le Tissier, Alan Rowe and Carl Thomson were attempting to reel in the leaders, but clearly some riders were struggling.

By lap three, the leaders had built up a gap of more than a minute, but this was at the expense of Le Maitre who although having the race of his life, was deep in unknown territory and lost contact with two-and-a-half laps remaining.

In the chasing group, Mann, seeing Le Maitre ahead, seized his opportunity at the bottom of L'Eree and attacked.

The only riders able to respond were Le Page and Bowditch. However, Mann was to pay for his efforts and was dropped on Pleinmont hill, leaving Le Page, Bowditch and Le Maitre to chase down the leaders.

As the riders crested the hill for the final time, Brehaut clearly looked the most comfortable of the leading trio.

Now working very hard, the chasers had closed the gap slightly but it was looking unlikely they would gain enough time on Brehaut and his companions.

All eyes were on the finishing straight as Brehaut, Smart and Bleasdale came into sight.

All appeared to be watching each other and Brehaut was first to react, using his explosive power to win.

Le Page led in the chasing group, who had cut their loss to just 45 seconds with an impressive last-lap effort.

In a one-lap time trial, top under-16 rider Nathan Baudains showed his class with an emphatic victory over the L'Eree course in an impressive 21min. 30sec.

James Cameron took the honours in the under-14 category in 23-29.