Huon Valley Classic

10-11 October 1997

D'Entrecasteaux Channel and Huon Valley regions, Southern Tasmania Race profile is here.

When QUITters became winners !

The QUIT team, captained by Australian 1500 metre champion Mandy Giblin, grabbed overall victory in the 1997 Purity Supermarkets Huon Valley Classic. Athletes had to contend with extreme conditions as strong winds and rain lashed southern Tasmania for the duration of the event. The race was run over a reduced distance this year to attract younger Tasmanian athletes who may have been intimidated by the longer format, and many responded with peformances which hopefuly will encourage them back next year for the full event.

Friday night's 3km time trial stage was won by the National Mutual Home Loans team, but overall performances were fairly even, with no team suggesting it would dominate. Saturday morning's stage from Snug to Cygnet seemed set up for the Rosella team, with a long final leg of 11.4km made to order for race top-seed Michael Dalton. However, a superb run by Mandy Giblin over the 7.1km second leg saw the QUIT team hit the final changeover with a handy lead over Rosella and a chance for an upset win. Although giving away almost two minutes to Mathew Dillon, Dalton put in a fine run to record a 38 second victory. Third team home was National Mutual Home Loans, followed by Oceana/FIT, Mobil One, Talays, and Cripps Bakery.

Disaster struck Rosella in the first leg of the afternoon stage from Cygnet to Huonville when Oceana/FIT's Bruce Chetwynd fell, bringing down Ken Atkinson with him. Although Chetwynd recovered reasonably well, Atkinson cramped badly and struggled home in sixth place. Unaware of the drama behind them, the QUIT team pushed hard for an early lead, knowing that their number three runner, triathlete Michael Anderson, would need all the buffer he could get to hold out Dalton over the final 9.4km leg into Huonville. Strong runs by QUIT number seven Dale Parker, number two Ashley Mahar and number six Keith Williams gave Anderson a four minute lead over Dalton at the final changeover, and although he reduced the deficit by almost two minutes, the margin was too big and Anderson held on for a stage win and overall victory.

As well as being a win for team captain Mandy Giblin in her first Huon Valley Classic, it was also a win for first-time manager Amanda Coombe, who obviously had done her homework on the form guide prior to selection night.

Overall placings:

QUIT 6.02.40
Rosella 6.04.19
National Mutual Home Loans 6.05.05
Oceana-FIT 6.06.43
Mobil One 6.07.03 
Talays 6.09.30
Cripps Bakery 6.12.38

Full Results Are Here!

Report by: Greg Hawthorne.

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