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Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6: Higgison's huge points haul

Tuesday 17 December 2013, 8:54AM

By Nick Warren

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Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome.
Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome. Credit: Nick Warren
Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome.
Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome. Credit: Nick Warren
Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome.
Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome. Credit: Nick Warren

WELLINGTON CITY

Louis Higgison was on dominant form at the Burkes Cycles Speed League Round 6 at Wellington Velodrome in Hataitai on Sunday December 15. The first year under 19 rider racked up a clean sweep of wins in the main events, and also won the men's The Lanes Sprint Ace contest, beating Zac Blakely into second place. Higgison's points haul in total was 27, lifting him up to fourth in the Senior/ Under 19 standings. At just under halfway through the season, Higgison is a serious contender for the overall title.

Current leader though is Blakely who also rode well, coming second in the A category Sprinters Scratch and winning the lap 8 prime in the 20 lap Handicap Scratch. Just one point behind Blakely is previous overall champion Nick Warren who managed to pick up points in the 10 lap Scratch, Hare and Hounds and Handicap Scratch where he finished second.

There was some exciting racing in the B category, with Paul Behrens just pipping Mike Bell on the line in the 8 lap Scratch, the latter having led out for well over a lap and holding off all other contenders except Behrens. Displaying characteristic grit, Lawrie Farrington's constant attacks earned him a well deserved third place. Mark Coburn won the Sprinters Scratch in an extremely tight, near blanket finish between the top three. Chris Taylor was second and Mike Bell third.

Newcomer Pete Mora stamped his mark on proceedings, winning the Hare and Hounds comfortably. A top local road racer, Mora also showed class in the final Handicap Scratch and will be one to watch in the second part of the season when Burkes Cycles Speed League returns after the Christmas break on January 26.

Ele Pepperell's lead in the women's overall competition looks as solid as ever, and she has a firm grip on the Champion System leader's jersey, holding a 22 point lead over Sarah Barclay with Holly Blakely a further three points back. Despite Blakely getting the better of Pepperell in the Sprinters Scratch race, Pepperell made amends in the one-on-one The Lanes Sprint Ace by getting the jump on her opponent and holding her off to the line. A crash in the Handicap Scratch took out Martine Barnes who suffered nasty scrapes and bruises but is otherwise alright.

Jon Barnes jumped into the lead of the Lemond Fitness Power Play competition, where riders have 30 seconds to record the highest power to weight ratio on a top-of-the line Lemond Fitness static trainer. Barnes' 15.7 Watts/Kg mark puts him well ahead of current second place Ele Pepperell.

The Burkes Cycles Speed League now takes a break over Christmas but will return on January 26, 2014 at Wellington Velodrome in Hataitai.

Round six results are here.
Check all the results here: www.pnp.org.nz/track/speed-league-racing/results/
Photos are up on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wellington.velodrome
Follow us on www.twitter.com/welly_velodrome or drop us a line at track@pnp.org.nz.