The Lower South East will welcome some of the best riders in Australia for the She’s Apples 100 Mile Men’s Classic and the Pristine Skin and Laser Clinic, Fennell Forestry and GT Bobcat 111km Women’s Classic, to be held on May 20th.
First held in 1933, it is one of the longest running races that is still handicapped.
It is the 86th running of the 100 Mile Classic for men.
Held over 100 miles – 160km – the race attracts the finest riders in Australia including members of the Australian Olympic teams.
The Mount Gambier Cycling Club is proud host, with major input from the SA Police and the Mount Gambier City Council, plus the many sponsors.
With over $14,000 in prizes to be shared among the riders over the weekend, the race attracts a high-quality field.
As a handicapped race, the entrants will be grouped and leave at different times with the hope that they will all arrive together at the finish line.
The first riders will leave from White Avenue, near Millard St, at 10am, with the fastest group leaving approximately 60 minutes later.
From there the riders proceed along White Avenue and Benara Road, turning on to the Kongorong –Tantanoola Road to Millicent.
At Millicent the riders turn at Short Street and return along Millicent Road to Glencoe via Mile Hill Road.
On leaving Glencoe, riders proceed along the Kangaroo Flat Road to Millicent Road then along Jubilee Highway West to Tollner Road, White Avenue and Grant Avenue.
They continue down Bay Road to Port MacDonnell and return to Mount Gambier.
The finish will be on Bay Road near the police station, at approximately 2.30pm.
The women’s classic is held as a race within a race, with the females racing in their own handicapped groups for their own 111km race, starting at a similar time to the men.
It is the fifth iteration of this race, first organised by the Mount Gambier Cycling Club in 2018.
With increased sponsorship from Fennell Forestry and GT Bobcat, along with the continued support of Pristine Skin and Laser Clinic, the prizemoney for the women’s race includes $2000 for the winner, one of the richer purses in Australian cycling.
Once again, the cream of Australia’s female riders are expected to attend, including hopefully the riders from Team Bridgelane who recently took out the top four places of the Grafton to Inverell race.
There is prizemoney for the first rider to cross the line, as well as for the fastest time, in case the fastest riders do not quite catch the earlier riders.
The Fennell Forestry, GT Bobcat and Pristine Skin and Laser Clinic Women’s 111km Classic will start from the same place, again with the riders handicapped according to their projected speed.
The women will follow the same course as the men out to Millicent and back, until they arrive at the corner of Bay Road and Grant Avenue where they will turn left.
The finish will be on Bay Road near the police station, at approximately 2.15pm.
Crowds are more than welcome to cheer on the riders.
Some good places to watch the riders will be as the groups head through Millicent, the top of Range Hill, along Grant Avenue or as the groups start coming together near the Bellum Hotel.
The thrilling downhill finish past the Blue Lake and down Bay Road in one to see, as the riders reach high speeds in the downhill run to the line.
The Junior riders will not miss out, with the running of the ASW Lawyers Junior Classic at 9am.
The U11/13 riders will race a 10km course along Caroline Road at Yahl, with the U15/17 riders tackling a 40km out-and-back course that takes them from Yahl to the Border Road and return.
The course is familiar to the local riders, while many other youngsters from around the state will join in and look to participate in the Kermesse on Sunday, which forms part of the SA Junior Road State Series.
Sunday morning will see the Blue Lake and John Watson Drive closed to traffic as the riders tackle laps around the Blue Lake for the MGA Insurance and Native Plant Wholesalers South Australian Kermesse Championships.
Junior racers will tackle from three to five laps of the 3.6km Blue Lake circuit from 8am, while the Senior races will begin from 9am, culminating in the Mens (75 minutes + 2 laps) and Women’s (50 minutes + 2 laps) Open Championships.
The start/finish line will be on John Watson Drive, between Crouch Sreet South and Sunnyside Drive.
The close-quarters racing should be enjoyable to watch and the public is welcome.
Local senior starters include Dr. Colin Weatherill and former winner Matthew Opperman.
Patrick Langsmith and Sarah Dally are also two young local riders who have signed up to race for the first time in their respective events.
