ACT Veterans Weekly Bleat, Monday 14th January, 2019

Hello Vets,

In this week’s Bleat;

• Extreme Heat Warning
• Registration Renewal for 2019
• Summer Points Table
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton

Extreme Heat Warning

Hot Weather Guidance from SMA

Advice on Hot Weather can be found on the SMA website: https://sma.org.au/resources-advice/policies-and-guidelines/hot-weather/. Key advice;

Modifying warm-up

In hot conditions, the duration and intensity of a warm-up should be reduced to minimise the increase in body heat and temperature before competition.

Drinking (Hydration)

Substantial amounts of water are lost through sweating when exercising vigorously in the heat. During strenuous exercise sports people often replace only half their sweat losses, but they tolerate moderate levels of dehydration well.

To minimise dehydration, drink about two cups of water in the 2 hours before exercising. During exercise lasting 60 minutes or longer, 2-3 cups (500-750 ml) of cool water or sports drink per hour are sufficient for most sports.

Dehydration is rarely the sole cause of sports heat illness, but maintaining an adequate water intake assists temperature control. Carbohydrate and electrolytes in sports drinks help to maintain performance in endurance events.

Other considerations

Age and medical conditions:

• If you have recently experienced a high temperature, infection, diarrhoea, or vomiting you should NOT take part in strenuous exercise.
• People over 65 or who suffer from a variety of medical conditions, who are taking medication or who are pregnant may experience difficulties exercising in the heat. Examples include, asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, epilepsy, overweight and obesity. Medication may also include those purchased over the counter. If you are unsure of their effect, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Registration Renewal for 2019

Note: For new members who registered after 1 Oct, your membership is valid up until the end of 2019.

2019 membership renewals are now due. To renew, go to https://memberdesq.sportstg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244 or follow the prompts via our website www.actvets.cc. Click on the Login link and enter the username and password from last year. If you have forgotten your login and password , after clicking on ‘login’ – go to the tab at the top right hand side of the screen and click on ‘Username & Password’ – then forward your email address as requested in the box that will appear. SportsTG will then forward you the information.

You need to renew your membership prior to your first race in 2019.

Before each race, a check has to be done of all those registered to race to ensure they are financial members and covered by insurance. As a courtesy to those committee members who work hard to ensure the club complies with the terms of our insurance cover and also produce the race results, please renew your membership at least 2 days prior to racing. Membership costs are:

• A full competitive membership for 2019 is $120
• Non competitive membership for 2019 is $5

Upon renewal, your 2019 licence will be emailed to you direct from SportsTG. Please print out a copy and it is suggested that you laminate it or place it in plastic for future reference during the year ahead. You will need to show this licence if you enter events run by other Veteran Cycling Clubs or the AVCC.

Please ensure that your personal particulars are always kept up to date, in particular your emergency contact details. For those members with First Aid qualifications please also update the site. It is a member’s responsibility to keep these updated via the SportsTG website.

Please note that all members are expected to contribute to club administrative functions during the year. These may include: directing or marshalling races, providing first aid or joining the club committee.

Kirsti McVay
Membership Secretary

Summer Points Table

Race results contribute towards points for the Season. The current points table can be found under the Member Points page. The current top 10 places so far this season are;

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 15th January: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
A/C @5:50 A 45m+2, C 40m+2
B/D @6:40 B 45m+2, D 40m+2
E/F/G @7:30 30 min + 2 laps

Race Director:  Tony Sheehan Contact: Email: sheehan5@tpg.com.au    Ph  0439439472

Marshals: Bob Perkins

Wednesday, 16th January: Track Racing

The Program for Wednesday is;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-Lap Graded Scratch;
6.20pm – 6.40pm: 2-Lap Handicap;
6.40pm – 7.00pm: Belgium Win & Out;
7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 20th January: No scheduled race

1st Aiders Needed

The Club requires the presence of a 1st Aider at all races. We usually get a 1st Aider from Sport Medicine Australia, however they are having trouble ensure availability of people to attend our races. As such, we may become more reliant on club members to provide 1st aid support.

Ideally all members should have 1st aid qualifications. If you have an accident you want the people you are riding with to know how to provide you with potentially lifesaving help.

Members are encouraged to undertake 1st aid training and will be reimbursed for the training costs if they offer 1st Aider support for club races.

Upcoming Marshal Roster

Thank you to those who have already volunteered to help. Nominees, in blue have been selected based on results from the previous race season and the period since they last helped at a race. Nominees are requested to advise their availability/unavailability to the race committee (race.committee@actvets.cc) as soon as possible.

Summer series crit races are held at Stromlo Forest Park on Tuesday evenings and road races are held on Sunday mornings.

* denotes ETC required for ACT races.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo Criterium – 8th January

The first crit of the year experienced an auspicious start, with a spectacular storm coming through at 5pm. It dramatically affected the number of riders, making my job much simpler. The track inspection was conducted with the assistance of an umbrella and gumboots. A thankyou to the whole A-Grade field who did an assessment for me, from a competitor’s point of view. Cheers to both of you.

A-Grade: Two competitors, who in a sporting gesture circulated with the C-Grader. The race was shortened to 38 minutes due to a late start. First across the line was Seymour Saville-Boss, followed closely by followed by Mark Terracini.

B-Grade: This was the toughest run of the night. A tight bunch circulated (together with a visitor), with the lead changing several times, completing 20 laps. The field fragmented a bit. From my vantage point, Dougal was a stand-out, although the rest of the field kept the pressure up. Ian Preston did his usual push early, but a lack of interest by the rest of the field meant he was reeled in. The (visitor who won’t be named) mistook the 2-minute time board for B-Grade (up to then it had been showing D-Grade), and launched. Only to be presented with the 2-lap board next time around. A strong finish at the end by Dougal Torrence, Mark Taylor and Tony Rowley.

C-Grade: Darren Blackhurst was the only competitor (instant win). The A-Graders were sort-of kind to him. He completed 20 laps in the 38 minutes (compared to B-Grade doing 20 laps in 42 minutes). About lap 13 he was really showing signs of strain with sweat dripping from his nose. A really strong effort.

D-Grade: This was the most spirited race of the night. 18 laps completed in the 38 minutes, but the pace was hot enough to fragment the field. Helmut Zeller rode strongly and gapped the field, with a small bunch following. The remainder dropped off the pace towards the end of the race. B-Grade passed them, but that caused the bunch to spark up, and D-Grade came back at them. While it made the officials job a bit more difficult, I commend them for showing some spirit. Helmut Zeller then daylight to a small tight group led by Andrew Harrold and Kevin Newhouse.

E-Grade: The stand-out performance of the night was in E-Grade. Penelope Anderson led the field for all but one lap (guess). The riders circulated as a bunch (with Penelope leading most of them). She tried to make a break about 10 laps in, but couldn’t make it stick. The finishing order was Stuart Carling, Penelope Anderson and Howard Moffat.

F-Grade: One competitor Chris Copeland (instant win!), who circulated with E-Grade (and finished in front of Howard). Well done.

John Marinov

Track Racing – 9th January

This session was the first tack racing for the new-year. The signs were good with a calm, balmy evening and a reasonable turn out of fourteen riders.

The initial events were graded scratch races over eight laps. A Grade had five riders and began at a good clip. The solid pace and refreshed experience of track racing seemed to make riders conservative. The bunch circulated in unison for five laps. Ed Garnett dropped off the bunch around this point. At the same time, Craig Kentwell put in an attack. However, this was immediately closed down and riders continued to circulate in a bunch. The start of the penultimate lap saw Michael Langdon positioned high on the banking and primed for an attack. Within a few seconds, Michael had 20 metres on the bunch and the gap increased to an unbeatable 80 metres by the bell lap. Michael took a decisive win. The remaining riders were strung out struggling to hold the pace. Craig Kentwell came in second. Tony Beasley and Hamish Anderson disputed third place with Tony taking it by a tire width.

The B grade scratch race had 9 riders and also commenced at a solid pace. Graeme O’Neill struggled at the back and was dropped when Phil Anderson put in a mid-race attack. There were soon gaps all through the bunch. These slowly closed as the pace steadied. Soon Steve Hirsler hit the front and again upped the pace in the bunch. As the bell lap commenced Bruce Griffin hit the front and commenced a solid lead out. However, Wayne Benham, Steve Hirsler and Ross Scutts all sprinted around Bruce to finish in that order.

The second event was a 200 metre, flying start time trial. This is a popular event that is quite technical. As usual, it was interesting to see the variations in launch distance and start line tried by different riders. The early starters had an advantage with no wind. However, halfway through the event, riders had to launch into a moderate headwind. Times were quite respectable. Michael Langdon had the best time of 12.69 seconds in A grade. Ed Garnett and Tony Beasley had the next best times. Ed’s time of 13.14 seconds was very competitive with the winning time. In B Grade, Steve Hirsler did the best time (14.32s) followed by Bruce Griffin and Wayne Benham.

The next event was a Mystery race. For this event, riders do not know the race distance and the bell lap is called by the race director, when he sees fit. The event was run all-in and enlivened by giving B grade a 1/3 lap start on A grade. B grade combined well and set a good pace. It took A grade four laps to close the gap on B grade. At the catch, Michael Langdon surged around the B grade bunch, just as the bell lap was called. The bell jolted B grade and several riders set off in pursuit of Michael. Wayne Benham latched onto Michael’s wheel and after a tow round the final lap, sprinted around Michael for a great win. Michael Langdon held second place with a gap to Steve Hirsler in third place.

The track session closed with an all-in, Italian pursuit. This event had seven riders per team and was not as evenly contested as normally expected. Both teams made good starts and should have been closely matched. However, Team 1 made a tactical error by poor communication, allowing the team to split. This is usually fatal to a team’s prospects and so it proved. Team 2 gained an advantage from the split and despite the best efforts Hamish Anderson, Craig Kentwell, Ian Drayton and Bruce Griffin, the situation could not be retrieved. Team 1 cruised to a decisive victory.

Place getters for this session were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Michael Langdon, Craig Kentwell, Tony Beasley. (B Grade) Wayne Benham, Steve Hirsler, Ross Scutts.
200m Fly TT: (A Grade): Michael Langdon (12.69s), Ed Garnett (13.14s), Hamish Anderson (13.84s). (B Grade) Steve Hirsler (14.32s), Bruce Griffin (14.65s), Wayne Benham (14.69s).
Mystery Race: (A&B Grade): Wayne Benham, Michael Langdon, Steve Hirsler. Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Tony Beasley, Michael Langdon, Ed Garnett, Ken Birch, Phil Anderson, Steve Hirsler, Wayne Benham).

Season Point Score Update:
Dougal Torrance (125), Ross Scutts (124), Michael Langdon (116), Steve Hirsler (101), Phil Anderson (97), Wayne Benham (79), Tony Beasley (76), Bruce Griffin (71), Craig Kentwell (66).

Graeme O’Neill