31/05/2026
2026 GP DOUG GARLEY
12th EDITION
CLUB CHAMPION REIGNS SUPREME
The twelfth edition of the GP Doug Garley was contested on the last day of autumn by eighteen riders. Overnight rain made the gravel (Davenport Road) muddy in some sections and the strengthening west wind kept the ‘feels like’ temperature around 4 deg C for the duration of the race.
The race honouring the inaugural Eureka Club Champion was set to be contested over five laps of the Davenport Road circuit. At 9.9 kilometres per lap, it makes for race distance of 49.5 kilometres, including 16.5 kilometres of unsealed road!
Terry Collie set off as the lone Limit rider after his partner in crime - Greg Curnow - did not make the start line in time. Unfortunately the 35 minute handicap was never going to be enough, with both riders effectively riding individual time trials.
The next group had featured heavily in the placings at the previous handicap race - Peter Livitsanis, Roger McMillan, David O’Brien and Danny Whelan - with a slight push out to compensate for the longer race distance they rode away at 19 minutes.
The 15 minute group consisted of Aymeric Derbecq, Dennis Shaw and Jonathon Lacey.
If they rode to their current form they stood a good chance to go deep in the race.
After late scratchings, the 8 minute group was down to just a pair of riders in Tom Moreno and Glenn Ford. Their only hope would be to hang onto the faster groups when they were caught - a tall ask indeed!
Second Scratch had a 3 minute gap on the Scratch group. Jason Hendry and Dayne Pearce were joined by Dean Wells. The trio needed to ride to their best if they were to stave off Scratch.
Scratch was a formidable group on this day, with Club Champion Damian Larkin joined by Gareth Aplin and two former winners of the GP Doug Garley - Paul Brick (2022) and Darryn Reed (2025).
All said and done, this race has always been a hard task with just one previous winner Craig Lee (2019) hailing from the Scratch group. Perhaps this day would yield a different return?
To the race and although Collie had completed his first lap before half the field had started, his lead was diminishing quickly.
On paper the Livitsanis group appeared to hold all the aces on this day. They were on a mission and knew that the key to winning would be keeping their bunch intact.
The Shaw group was travelling well behind, although Lacey was struggling early in his return to racing from illness. Lacey eventually lost contact about the middle of the race, by which time Shaw and Derbecq had the Livitsanis group in their sights.
It was a hard day at the office for Ford and Moreno, they lasted until midway before Second Scratch caught them. Both men jumped aboard, however Moreno lost contact a few kilometres later.
Fun fact: Second Scratch has a strong recent record in the GP Doug Garley, supplying the previous four winners - Brick (2022), Hendry (2023), Stu Brien (2024) and Reed (2025).
Five on the trot was always going to be difficult and the task seemed nigh on impossible after Hendry lost contact early on lap number four with Scratch bearing down on them.
Scratch were on a flier, being driven hard all day by Larkin, with each man working as hard as he could. They caught the remnants of Second Scratch with around 18 kilometres remaining and four riders quickly became six. Ford lost contact almost immediately having been caught out by the extra screws Larkin turned as the catch was made.
As the race had worn on, the wind had increased speed and gradually shifted to due west, rather than the northwest direction it had been at the start of the race. It was now a block headwind up Davenport Road and combined with soft gravel and the gradient it made the slog just that much harder for all the riders.
At the bell lap the Livitsanis group was leading the race, with Derbecq and Shaw closing in rapidly, then streaming past on the last third of the gravel section up to the Avenue Of Honour. For a moment the lead bunch swelled to six riders, however the added pressure being applied by Derbecq and Shaw soon split them apart. Livitsanis hung onto the faster men, while McMillan, O’Brien and Whelan fell away on the climb up Avenue Road.
Scratch turned off the gravel section soon after and started picking off the dropped riders.
Onto Henderson Road for the final time and the wind seemed to have gotten a little stronger, making for an even faster trip down to the pig farm.
Derbecq, Livitsanis and Shaw still had a sizeable lead, however the larger chase group was rapidly eroding that advantage away.
Through the turn at the pig farm corner and the Scratch group lined up the race leaders and rattled past at a speed too fast for them to latch on.
The final turn onto Davenport Road was soon upon the new race leaders with just two kilometres remaining in the race. With varying degrees of fatigue affecting the six riders it certainly seemed like a lottery who would reign supreme on this day.
Aplin opened a gap in the first few hundred metres. Larkin crossed to him. Wells jumped across the gap but only made it to Aplin’s wheel as Larkin started to pull away.
Pearce had followed Wells and this setup a springboard for Brick to jump over to Larkin’s wheel. Aplin rallied and got back on with Pearce in tow. Wells and Reed were dropped.
One kilometre remaining and the final selection had been made with four men in the hunt.
The final climb was tortuous as the four riders pushed harder and harder - mainly because they didn’t realise they actually had the race lead!
Into the final hundred metres and Brick and Larkin start a drag race, each trying to best the other.
Aplin responds with his own sprint, sending his rear wheel slipping and sliding all over the place and forcing Pearce into an evasive manoeuvre, but neither rider will catch the men ahead.
To the line and Larkin has a small gap on Brick - finally winning the race at his fourth attempt.
Back at the club rooms Terry Collie told stories of Doug Garley, having known him since his youth at the Blackburn velodrome. Terry said Doug enjoyed racing in the wet, cold and wind during his time with the Eureka Vets at Learmonth.
Many thanks to the volunteers who made the day’s racing possible:
Corner marshals - Ryan Spiteri, Mal Rock, Shane Nankervis and Stuart Pearse
Commissaires - Vicki Reed and Graeme Parker
Club rooms - Elaine Parker, Lyn Rock, Linda Whelan and Julie Connelan
Race photographer - Kamryn Reed
GP Doug Garley (50 Km Handicap):
1st - Damian Larkin (Scratch)
2nd - Paul Brick (Scratch)
3rd - Gareth Aplin (Scratch)
4th - Dayne Pearce (3 min)
5th - Darryn Reed (Scratch)
6th - Dean Wells (3 min)
7th - Dennis Shaw (15 min)
8th - Aymeric Derbecq (15 min)
9th - Peter Livitsanis (19 min)
Fastest Time - Damian Larkin (Scratch) in 1h 18m 50s, ave. 37.6 Kph
Ride Of The Day - Dennis Shaw (15 min)
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Eureka Cycling now heads into a winter break. Racing proper returns in August, however there are some fun criteriums scheduled at the new Airport circuit during winter. These are aimed at assisting riders to get back into racing form by August.
