Batt Again

Nick Batt’s form was again to good when he won Cuddon Cycling Marlborough’s Cycle World Stage Race No5 at Fairhall last Wednesday evening.
The first stage over 9km from Wither Hills Winery around the Benmorven circuit and finishing into the Ridge Resort Road saw five riders line up for the sprint. Batt prevailed over Dylan Vile, Gerard van Antwerpen, Kevin Bishell and Paul Newman.
The second stage 4km time trial saw Batt again dominant as he powered over the hill ridge course to finish up Fairbourne Drive 11 seconds clear of Vile with another 17s to Newman in third place.
The final 10km stage out to Godfreys Road and return to Wither Hills Winery saw the whole field stay intact with Van Antwerpen taking line honours over Bishell and Graham Henderson. The sealed handicap section went to Vile by 1s to Craig Anderson with Bishell and Newman another 1s back in third equal place.
The overall result saw Batt take victory by 10 seconds over Vile with Bishell another 17s back in third place.
The ‘B’ grade event saw Zac Mortimer score a win in the first stage over Ethan Brydon and Merrick Thompson. Brydon won the hill time trial by 10 seconds from Thompson with Motimer another 9s back. The final stage was again Brydon over Susan van der Pol and Motimer in the final sprint. Overall Brydon took the win by 26s to Thompson and just another 1s to Mortimer. The sealed handicap went to Mortimer by 3 s to Brydon with Shaun Woods 50s back in third place.
Cycle World Stage Race No5- A grade, Stage One 9km, N Batt 12m 37s 1, D Vile 12m 38s 2, G van Antwerpen 12m 39s 3, K Bishell s.t. 4, P Newman 12m 41s 5. Stage Two 4km, N Batt 7m 57s 1, D Vile 8m 08s 2, P Newman 8m 25s 3, K Bishell 8m 28s 4, G van Antwerpen 8m 33s 5. Stage Three 10km, G van Antwerpen 14m 48s 1, K Bishell s.t. 2, G Henderson 14m 49s 3, P Newman s.t. 4, C Anderson 14m 50s 5. Overall classification, N Batt 35m 28s 1, D Vile 35m 38s 2, K Bishell 35m 55s 3, P Newman s.t. 4, G van Antwerpen 36m 00s 5. Sealed handicap, D Vile (30s) 35m 08s 1, C Anderson (1m 40s) 35m 09s 2, K Bishell (45s) and P Newman (45s) 3 equal. B grade, Stage One 9km, Z Mortimer 15m 12s 1, E Brydon 15m 13s 2, M Thompson 15m 20s 3. Stage Two 3.5km, E Brydon 7m 17s 1, M Thompson 7m 27s 2, Z Mortimer 17m 38s 3. Stage Three 10km, E Brydon 17m 05s 1, S van der Pol s.t. 2, Z Mortimer 17m 12s 3. Overall classification, E Brydon 39m 35s 1, M Thompson 40m 01s 2, Z Mortimer 40m 02s 3. Sealed handicap, Z Mortimer (1m 30s) 38m 32s 1, E Brydon (1m) 38m 35s 2, S Woods (6m) 39m 25s 3.