Post date: Feb 27, 2017 11:23:55 PM
Hello Vets,
In the Bleat this week;
• From the desk of the President
• Autumn She Rides
• Big Canberra Bike Ride 2017
• From the desk of the handicapper
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports
Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc
Ian Morton
Dear Members,
Many of you may have been looking forward to the Time Trial last weekend. I am sorry that it did not go ahead. This was due to circumstances beyond the control of the Club.
In order to conduct road races each year, the Club submits proposed race routes and dates to both NSW Police and the ACT Territory and Municipal Services Directorate (TAMS) before Christmas of the previous year. Race approval requires maps of the course noting the placement of marshals and signage. As the Club has used the same courses for many years, this process should be straight forward. The race last weekend did not receive approvals in time, or indeed notification of the non-approval of the race in a timely manner.
The Race Committee and I are investigating why the race did not receive notice of the approval to try to ensure that members are not disadvantaged again this year. I will be discussing the issue with the head of Cycling ACT and will also take this issue up with the ACT Government.
I thank members for their patience on this issue and hope to advise you all of an outcome shortly.
Regards,
Dougal Torrance
President
ACT Veterans Cycling Club.
Cycling Australia's She Rides ‘Together’ program is led again this year by Level 2 Cycling Coach and Vets member, Angie Wren. This course is for women who already have the ability to ride a bike for at least an hour and would like to learn more about group riding, fine-tuning their skills, and getting fit on the bike.
With a maximum of nine participants you will learn about all aspects of road cycling and how to implement a training program to maximise your fitness gains. The course starts with an introduction session on Tuesday evening, 14 March, and then continues for eight Saturdays, 7am - 9am, from 18 March to 20 May (with two weeks break in the middle for the school holidays). More information and registration instructions are at the following link:
Angie Wren
The easterly certainly took its toll on Tuesday night. I arrived 10 minutes into A grade and already the entire field was spread around the course with some riding as though they were on their last lap after finishing Fitz's epic. Our brave President was already a DNF after hastily departing on his A grade debut. B grade will go down in history as the day the Fawkeswagon Kombi (Michael Fawke) drove the pace from the gun and kept going until only one rider, Tim Minehan, could say on his wheel. Within half a lap the bunch had split in half, and from then on riders were being picked off lap after lap like ducks at a Canberra show shooting gallery. The first few riders behind Michael had some protection from the wind, but the rest were chewing on their stems in the gutter--it was awful.
The wind was decisive in sorting the sheep from the goats in most grades so there are many promotions for this week.
- Michael Fawke B to A
- Simon Junkovic B to A
- Tim Minehan B to A
- Warwick Wilson C to B
- Graham Tanton C to B
- Matthew Haddock D to C
- Simon Johnston D to C
- Andrew O'Neil E to D
Note to Riders (again); The Vets club allows riders who are well off the back or a lap down to continue riding, whereas in a championship criterium races these riders would be pulled off the course. This does not mean, however, that you can then rejoin a faster group when a lap down, and it certainly precludes gaining places by joining a group a lap ahead and then claiming places further up the finishing order. The "I didn't know" excuse is unfathomable in such circumstances.
BE PART OF THE 2017 BIG CANBERRA BIKE RIDE & VOLUNTEER!
Pedal Power ACT is conducting the 2017 Big Canberra Bike Ride on Sunday 5 March 2017. The Big Canberra Bike Ride is an event for all abilities and ages to celebrate safe cycling in Canberra.
Volunteers are essential to the success of the Big Canberra Bike Ride and your involvement would be highly valuable. With a range of volunteer duties that includes drivers, road marshals, event workforce and many others we will have a task for you! If you are interested in helping out on Saturday 4 March &/or Sunday 5 March please contact Joanne Brown at events@pedalpower.org.au, phone 6248 7995 or visit the website www.bigcanberrabikeride.com.au
Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
E/F/G 5:50 25 min + 2 laps
A/C 6:20 A 35m+2, C 32m+2
B/D 7:10 B 35m+2, D 32m+2
Race Director: Dale Kleeman
Contact: Email: dalek011@gmail.com Ph 0438516382
2 x marshals required for this event.
The Program for Wednesday is as follows:
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 10-lap graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 6.40pm: 6 lap Team Pursuit;
6.40pm – 7.00pm: 4-lap handicap race;
7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian pursuit.
Where:Dairy Rd, Fyshwick.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
8:00 CD 38 minutes plus 1 lap
8:45 AB 45 minutes plus 1 lap
9:35 EFG 30 minutes plus 1 lap
Race Director: Nick Boylan
Contact: Email: paddlepower@grapevine.com.au Ph 0406379973
1 x Marshal required
A strong breeze was blowing across the course that was going to make racing interesting tonight. Thankfully the heat of the last few weeks had disappeared and it was surprisingly cold later on in the night catching those at the finish line unaware with no warm clothing.
With Bernie missing the omnipresence of Bruce Jones in G Grade it was another walk in the park. Bernie started off with F grade but for once those F graders were fast and Bernie decided it was best to ride alone for 25 mins.
Paul Robey was definitely warming up for his NSW Track champs with several attacks in the early rounds. He really must have been training for that 500mtr TT as each and every time he got a break, he was quickly reeled in by the peloton. In the end Bill Frost took line honours ahead of Ed Joliffe and Graham Hendrie.
Under darkening conditions with the temperature dropping the riders wanted to get away quickly as it was cold! And they wasted no time getting down to business with Andrew O’Neil getting a mini-break. However he was caught and whilst there were several surges later in the race the group held together until the final lap where Bruce Griffin out powered them to take out a fine win ahead of Andrew O’Neil and Mike Brett in 3rd.
A very impressive 27 riders started in D grade. Great to see such a large group of racers. However starting together as such a large group doesn’t mean they’ll finish together and after a few laps, there was some pressure applied up front which meant some riders got caught at the back and a few lost the wheel of the rider in front and with the wind the way it was, they started to drop off the back. Once again the roos thought it would be good to join in, but this time were outclassed by a flock of ducks who seem to have no fear when standing on the track as riders whizz by them at high speed. With 3 laps to go, Elizabeth Lowe & Matthew Haddock “took flight”, however with a significant number of riders chasing they were caught and it came down to a mass final sprint with Matthew Haddock “fitting the bill” in the sprint to take the win ahead of Simon Johnston and Steve Simms.
Only 9 riders lined up for the start of C Grade. Once again the wind played a significant role in this race because with a small group of riders there is not many places to hide and if you get caught out of position you’ll quickly feel the wind pick up to push you off the back. A flat tyre for one rider and a retirement by another whittle the group down to 7 riders, whom were spread around different parts of the course. In amongst A grade who were also all over the course it was tough work keeping track of who was who. Warwick Wilson was the victor on the day ahead of Graham Tanton and John Thorn.
A great turnout of 21 riders for B Grade. In a case of Déjà vu from the previous week, it was game on in lap 1 with riders split everywhere coming past the judges on lap 1. A break of 7 riders quickly formed and in them it was no surprise to see the cream of the crop rise to the top with Michael Fawke, Mark Taylor, Nick Boylan, Rob Langridge and Tim Minehan all in the break. It was a fine display of teamwork and they were looking like a TT team from the Tour De France with all doing turns at the front, and peeling off quickly. It’s what is needed when the winds were as strong as they were. Meanwhile behind them the field was blowing apart helped by the wind and the fact that organizing a chase group of any real substance was difficult to muster. The 7 lead riders were then whittled down to 5 with Rob and Mark falling off due to the pace being set by Michael Fawke. A few minutes later it was Nick Boylan’s turn to wave adios to the group leaving Tim Minehan, Michael Fawke and Simon Junakovic to keep the spark in the lead group. On the final lap, Simon dropped off leaving Michael and Tim to fight out the sprint in the final straight with Michael Fawke taking out a powerful win just ahead of Tim who after the race wasn’t sweating?? And Simon Junakovic who rode strongly all race got home for 3rd.
Last minute instructions to newly promoted Dougal Torrance to not chase the first attack were ignored as he furiously went after the Dominator on lap 1. After 3 laps they were caught by the other 22 riders who started A Grade who know better and in a flash the prez was spat out the back along with a lot of other riders as the pace picked up. Quickly forming was a very potent 7 rider break containing Mark Harris, Paul Scherl, Marc Vroomans and Ben Morrison and Nicholas Stewart. They built up a big lead over the remnants of what was once A Grade that was now spread to all corners of the course. With 10 minutes, Ed Pellegrino playing the role of super domestique for Ben Morrison upped the pace. The only rider to hang on with Ed and Ben was Nicholas Stewart. Chasing hard but making no inroads was the group containing Mark Harris, Marc Vroomans and Paul Scherl. With a few laps remaining Ed dropped off the front to let Ben and Nicholas go head to head with Ben Morrison taking the win in a sprint ahead of Nicholas Stewart in 2nd with Mark Harris leading home the chase group in 3rd.
Many Thanks to Tony Weir for helping in the early stages of the night before racing later on. If you are racing in the last event of the night you can still volunteer earlier on. We always need helpers to put out the signs and keep track of the early races, so if you get to the course early put your hand up. Also thanks to Tom Roberts our ever reliable medical man who does more than just patching up riders by helping with the timings and lap boards.
Ben Davis
The attendance for Session 15 of the track racing season was slightly below par with fourteen riders split almost equally between A and B grades. The weather was hot with the usual stiff back straight headwind that moderated over the session.
Alec Millett, who last week lead the track season point score, was missing from the A-grade line up for only the second time this season. Alec had a bad fall in the previous evening’s CCC track race. Our best wishes go to Alec for a speedy recovery.
Five riders lined up in A grade for the initial 10-Lap scratch race. The pack held together for 8 laps. By that point, the pace was hot. Michael Langdon tried an attack but could not escape. With the bell lap approaching Andrew Peel took the lead and the pack scorched around the final lap as riders jockeyed for the sprint. Steve Jones showed his sprinting prowess to take the win from Michael Langdon and Paul Connor in that order.
The 10-Lap B grade scratch race unfolded in a similar fashion. The pack stayed together at ever increasing pace. On lap 9, John Paul De Sousa attacked with Tony Beasley and Phil Anderson immediately taking up the chase. The pursuers could not make an impression as John Paul held on for a comfortable win. Tony Beasley and Phil Anderson followed in that order.
The evening’s second event was a 1-lap screamer, a flying start time trial. Kerry Knowler attended for just this event and warmed up carefully on rollers. Kerry’s time of 22.90s shows why she is one of the strongest female vet riders. She was only 0.78s slower than the best of the A-grade men. Steve Jones, Michael Langdon and Paul Connor set the best A-grade times in that order of merit. In B grade, the order of merit was Steve Dean, Steve Hirsler and John Lowe. John Lowe’s ride was particularly creditable, as it was only his second evening participating at Track. Of interest, is that the flying start was around 5 seconds quicker than last session’s standing start for the same distance.
The next events were paired match races over two laps. Contrary to expectations, most of the races were won by a rider going well out and sprinting over the entire last lap. You normally would not expect this to be the dominant strategy for success. However, it was another surprise in the rich tapestry of bike racing. The six match race winners were Steve Jones, Michael Langdon, Ben Davis, Steve Dean, Tony Beasley and John Lowe.
The final combined Italian pursuit had five riders drawn from A and B grades on each team. Team 1 made a good start and had a handy lead. However, they made a tactical error in ordering their riders allowing Team 2 to catch up and draw ahead in mid race. With strong riders like Paul Connor and Michael Langdon anchoring Team 2, there was no chance of reversing their mid race advantage. Congratulations to Team 2 for sound tactics and a good win.
Major place getters were as follows:
10-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Steve Jones, Michael Langdon, Paul Connor (B Grade) Paul De Sousa, Tony Beasley, Phil Anderson.
1 Lap Screamer Time Trial: (A Grade): Steve Jones (22.12s), Michael Langdon (22.45s), Paul Connor (22.77s) (B Grade) Steve Dean (23.92s), Steve Hirsler (24.62s), John Lowe (24.89)
2-Lap Match Races: (Winners) Steve Jones, Michael Langdon, Ben Davis, Steve Dean, Tony Beasley, John Lowe.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Michael Langdon, Paul Connor, Tony Beasley, Ross Scutts, John Lowe).
Current Points Score Leaders: Michael Langdon (232), Phil Anderson (229), Steve Jones (224), Alec Millett (220), Ross Scutts (215), Tony Beasley (187), Steve Hirsler (166), Kerry Knowler (146).
Graeme O'Neill
Race Cancelled due to lack of approval