Post date: Jan 12, 2015 10:52:12 AM
Hello Vets,
In this week's Bleat;
• Registration for 2015
• 2015 Race Calendar and Marshal Roster
• Update on David Clark
• Check your postal address details in IMG
• From the Handicapper's desk
• Interstate Events
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports
Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc
Ian Morton
You can find archived copies of the Bleat: here.
A reminder that no riders will be permitted to compete in 2015 unless they are registered. This is to ensure that members have insurance coverage while competing in events. Rider registration will be checked at the signon desk tomorrow night. If you register at the last minute before coming out to the track, please bring along a copy of the confirmation email.
To register go to the IMG site. Logon with the username and password that you used to register last year. The annual subscription for 2015 remains unchanged.
If you have forgotten your password, go to top right hand corner and click on username and password. That will enable IMG to send you another password to your email address. To ensure you transfer the numbers and letters correctly it is advised to cut and paste.
Any queries please direct them to membership@actvets.cc and not the contact on the password retrieval page.
We have had little feedback on the draft calendar put out just before Christmas, so it is now locked in DOWNLOAD HERE.
The 2015 calendar features some:
- 27 summer criterium races - at SFP;
- 16 graded scratch road races - with 9 in ACT and 7 in NSW;
- 7 handicap races - mostly in NSW;
- 5 winter criterion races split between SFP and Dairy Flat venues;
- 3 time trials (2 regular, one hill top) with a further two time trials being features of other races.
Those other races are:
- the Peter McLennan Memorial race at Gunning (TT + 2 graded scratch races); and
- the club championships (an age TT and and age race).
That adds up to some 56 races . . . not counting the track program. None of this would be possible without our club members participating as marshals, referees, Accredited Traffic Controllers (ATC) . . . as well as racers.
Your club Race Committee has now allocated race referees, marshals and ATCs to the 2015 race calendar roster. Referees have been allocated from our pool of trained and experienced referees and ATCs have also been allocated from our pool of trained ATCs to to the ACT venue races. The marshals have been allocated from you, our participating club members, based on your participation in the recent 2014/2015 point score. Put simply - if you race, you will also need to contribute to helping other club members race safely.
The races at Yass, Bredalbane, Gunning, Dalton are marked as yellow. We will make a separate call for volunteers for these races given their distance away. The club can assist with fuel costs to officiate at these races, also for drivers of the lead and trail cars at all NSW races.
Please locate your name on the calendar and mark the date in your diary. We will send out reminders in ‘The Bleat’ two weeks prior to the race and also in the week of the race. The referee (race director) for the event will need to confirm with you. If you cannot attend, the earliest possible advice is essential. If you have not been an active racer recently, but intend to race in 2015, please e-mail race.committee@actvets.cc and we will put you into a ‘marshal reserve pool’. Also contact the race committee if you wish to do more marshalling or at the ‘far away’ races.
If we have scheduled you to marshal on a difficult day - say your tenth wedding anniversary or your daughter’s netball grand final weekend - please e-mail race.committee@actvets.cc and nominate several other possible races you are able to marshal and we will look to reallocate/swap you.
Veteran’s club member David Clark was involved in a collision with a 4WD on the descent of Black Mountain last week. Reports are that the 4WD turned in front of him to go into the dirt carpark on the right near the summit. End result was a broken collarbone and a rib. A very lucky result considering the speeds that one can reach when descending Black Mountain.
More amusing was Dave’s immediate concern for his beloved Pegoretti with his first words after the impact being “Is my bike ok?” Needless to say this one shall be retired gracefully and will be a talking point in years to come around the Clark household.
Dave is currently resting at home and won’t be riding for a while. During his rest phase, we’re sure he will continue to search the internet for antique Campagnolo parts.
This serves a timely reminder that at this time of year Canberra has quite a few interstate visitors in holiday mode who are confused about driving on our beautiful roads and therefore extra care should be taken on the roads at this time of year.
A reminder to login to IMG and check your postal address is correct by the 19th January to ensure that we have the correct contact details.
The handicapper was a bit slow off the mark this evening and didn't make the Bleat, so here are this week's handicaps;
- Andrew Yates ->B
- Domonic Romano -> B
- Marcus O'Toole -> B
- Michael Hanbury -> D
- Colin Kelley -> D
- Robert Slikker -> E
- Tony Sheehan G -> F
- Jeff Gough C -> B
• Classic Adelaide Masters Cycling Series during the Tour Down Under week 17-25th Jan 2015.
Registrations are now open at http://www.samc.org.au/
• 2015 Riverina Rush Cycling Classic - Narrandera
- 28 Feb - Twilight Criterium
- 1 Mar - Road Cycle Classic
for more information contact Gerry Daly
Where: Stromlo Forrest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
G Grade@ 5:45 - 15min + 2 laps; C/D Grade@ 6:09 - 30min + 2 laps; E/F Grade@ 6:47 - 25min + 2 laps; A/B Grade@ 7:20 - 40min + 2 laps
Race Director: Alex O'Shea
Contact: Email: o'shea.alex@comcare.gov.au Ph (02)6260 4488
The nominated marshals for this event are;
• Craig Kentwell
• Dale Kleeman
Please confirm with the Race Director that you are available. If you unable to make the date that you have been rostered please find a replacement.
The Program for Wednesday is as follows:
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap Graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 7.10pm: 6 Lap Team Pursuit;
7.10pm – 7.20pm: 4 Lap Handicap;
7.20pm – 7.40pm: 6-Lap scratch (All in with B Grade early start).
Make a good start to the New Year - See you there!!!
The nominated marshals for the next two weeks are;
- Jan 20 @ Stromlo: Craig Kentwell, James Curran
- Jan 25 @ Dairy Flat: Stjepan Hirsler, Tony Sheehan, Phil Anderson
- Jan 27 @ Stromlo: Sean Fleming, Pauline Thorn
- Feb 01 @ Stromlo: Baden White, Ed Pellegrino
In C grade the main protagonist was Dale Teddy who made a number of attacks and had a good break at one stage. Richard Bourne and Terry Moore, both who had obviously recovered well from the previous Sunday's epic ride up to Corin, were also active. With 11 minutes to go the first of the kangaroos crossed the course and one of them sensibly decided not to hop into the middle of the bunch while the others fortunately crossed in well in front or behind. The next event was C passing D, and this was done with much shouting but seemed to go well enough. Next we had a crash involving Steven Stolk and Warwick Wilson, caused by a flat tyre with four minutes to go. The yellow flag came out for this one but once the course was deemed safe the hostilities resumed. The extra rest unfortunately spurred on D to chase down C grade and with the bell about to be rung the yellow flag came out again to ensure the final lap was conducted safely. Many riders struggled to see the yellow flag so went on to sprint for the line despite the absence of a bell to signify the last lap . After the grades had separated the race was back on but it was amusing to see riders charging for the line as I rang the bell. Terry went on a flyer and held off the remnants of C until the last bend. In the end it was Jeff Gough, Ben Vagnarelli and Sue Powell who made it onto the podium.
The D grade version had the kangaroos, the crash aftermath, the two passings and the yellow flags--but overall the race turned out to be too much of an intellectual challenge for most so the finishing bunch was rather depleted. There weren't any attacks worth noting early on . In the downhill charge to the line it was the clever Michael Golding followed by the smart Tony Beasley and the bright Kelvin Alley who took the honours. Michael's winning comment of "This race doesn't count for handicapping purposes" may be a reflection of the apparent chaos of the last four laps, but he's still a worthy winner given his accurate reading the race and ability to follow the referee's instructions.
Without the ghastly cross winds, A grade was not your usual put-'em-in-the-gutter-and-hammer-affair. The protection of the bunch on a windless day offers many more riders the opportunity to spring from the bunch to launch their own attack or chase down someone else's. Adam Carmody, Mark Harris and Steve Blackburn all launched vicious attacks in the first 20 minutes only to find themselves reeled in by the bunch. Steve and Mark's were pretty much textbook-style counter-attacks off a lull in the pace. One of Mark's was accompanied by the famous "hup, hup" call from someone in the middle to the bunch hoping to get a free ride back into the action. Paul Scherl claimed the longest break and went solo for about 3 laps, but with 3 minutes to go it was all back together. With two laps to go Mark was second last but at the bell he was suddenly second wheel and this was a great launching pad to claim victory over Adam and a fast finishing Steve Jones.
B started off on a solid pace and were in the process of catching A before their fireworks began. Although a new club member, Dom Romano's attacks are all ready well known to the B grade bunch and didn't bring much of a reaction. James Jordan's early exuberance led to his quick downfall. Marcus O'Toole initiated a few breaks, one with ex-pres Rob Diamond, as did Bruce 'chase-em-down' Goodspeed. Just when you thought they were settling down for long sprint Bruce, Dale Kleeman and Travis Hicks got in a threesome, and despite the tiny margin to the chasers, maintained their positions to the line. Some may call him Bruce 'Onespeed', but he came up with the goods today, demonstrating that it can take at least three months to get back into form of the previous summer after a cycling holiday in France. Go figure.
Tony Sheehan led Bruce Jones and Bernie Crowe for the entire G grade race. Bernie dropped off at 7 mins, and Bruce was dispatched in the home straight, earning Tony a date with Sue Frost, F grade's only regular, next week.
The E graders all perhaps fancied themselves to win the bunch sprint, as the pace was calm and the bunch tightly packed for most of the race. Kirsty Cummin and Rosemary Robinson had few goes at the front early on. Baden White charged out of the bunch on the home straight with 14 minutes to go but John Ignatius and others dragged the bunch back to him . Always on the podium Ian 'The Bleat' Morton also was pushing the pace along in the latter stages. With two to go, Frank O'Sullivan cleared out for a flyer but couldn't sustain his momentum, as Bill Frost cranked up the pace. With the benefit of the downhill finish, the young, lanky Luke McGowan was the clear winner, followed by John and Baden.
F grade was very civilised as always. Sue Frost and Ed Joliffe swapped turns with visitors Robert Shiner and Dillcet Sue. One of the visitors thought riding with E grade was a better option after the bunch passed, but was ushered back to his own flock thanks to kinds words from the E grade bunch and a yellow flag. Robert, Sue and Edward took the podium positions.
There were 12 starters for the Wednesday 7 January track session. Given the time of year, this was not a bad roll up.
The A and B Grade scratch races were each eight laps. The A Grade race was fast paced and no one could make a break. A packed bunch accelerated to the line with Steve Jones taking a close win from Ben Davis and Michael Langdon. The B Grade scratch held an even pace until two laps from the finish when the top three place getters took off. Ian Drayton took the win from Phil Anderson and Steve Hirsler.
The points race is a gruelling event, in this instance having four sprints at four lap intervals. In A Grade, Aaron Sedgemen took the first sprint. However, Steve Jones who excels at these events, won all the remaining sprints. The final points tally saw Steve Jones take the win from Aaron Sedgemen and Ed Garnett on equal points. The B grade points race saw a variety of sprint winners with Phil Anderson, Ian Drayton and Steve Hirsler all having success. The points tally saw Phil Anderson as winner followed closely by Ian Drayton and Steve Hirsler.
The track session concluded with a combined A and B grade Italian Team Pursuit. This was excellent racing. Initially Team 2 looked to have it in the bag as the early riders established a good lead. However, Steve Jones and Ed Garnett in Team 1 were determined to make a good showing and closed the gap to around 1 metre at the finish. Steve put in a great last lap. However, Michael Langdon could sense the danger and found just enough pace to stay ahead.
Major place getters were as follows:
8 Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Steve Jones, Ben Davis, Michael Langdon; (B Grade) Ian Drayton, Phil Anderson, Steve Hirsler.
16 Lap Points Race (A Grade): Steve Jones 20, Aaron Sedgmen 15, Ed Garnett 15. (B Grade) Phil Anderson 22, Ian Drayton 20, Steve Hirsler 18.
6 Lap Italian Team Pursuit : (Team 2 Winners) Michael Langdon, Aaron Sedgemen, Rohan McMurray, Ben Davis, Phil Anderson, Steve Hirsler