Devonport Busted

Off to Devonport last night to watch Buster Mottram run the Mile.

The big fella ran 3:59.1 on grass to win by about 30 metres. He hit the front just under 300 out and it was all over.

Some other big names in the race included Collis Birmingham (10m) Lachlan Chisholm (scr) and Irishman David Campbell (20). None of them got close. Buster had dropped Chisholm by the end of the first lap and Collis never looked like taking him on.

On a sad note, there was a MASSIVE crash in one of the cycling events that caused a 2 hour delay to the program. 7 riders came down, one breaking his Collar bone after hitting a light pole, and another guy (Shamus Liptrop) fracturing his skull, and breaking his Jaw and Femur after being thrown over the outside fence. He looked like a rag doll as he was flung off his bike.

He was later airlifted to Royal Hobart Hospital for emergency Brain Surgery.

We were sitting about 150m away and could hear the impact of the guys hitting the fence. The silence afterwards was shocking.

Unfortunately, track bikes often contribute to the seriousness of a crash as they have no brakes, and are fixed wheel, so when the s#*^ hits the fan in front of you theres only one thing thats going to happen......... OUCH.

Tell me why I gave up cycling again???

Mottram was a class act. The first thing he mentioned when interviewed after his race was the crash, and he thanked the crowd for their patience and hoped that all the riders concerned would be OK. Like I said, a class act.

Hopefully young Shamus makes a complete recovery. Whether or not he ever rides a bike again is another story. A crash like that has to leave more than just physical scars.