Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

  • Dairy Flat working Bee
  • Team QOUN Crit race
  • Event Traffic Controller’s Course – POSTPONED
  • Racing this Week
  • From the Race Committee
  • Race Reports

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

Ian Morton

Dairy Flat working Bee

Last year Nick Boylan put a large amount of effort into ensuring the Dairy Flat course was safe for racing prior to directing the event. This year we need to relieve Nick of this task.

We will be running a Working Bee this Saturday afternoon on 7th December at 4:00pm. Bring your work gear and gardening equipment along to help clear the course. Liquid refreshments and snacks will be provided. The more people helping out, the quicker it will be.

Team QOUN Crit race

Team QUON will be running the Crit at Stromlo on 10th December. More details of the event to come.

Note that the Grade start sequence will vary for this week as follows;

Grade Time Week 09 Race Duration
E/F/G 5:50 28 min 2 laps
B/D 6:25 B 42m 2, D 38m 2
A/C 7:15 A 42m 2, C 38m 2

Event Traffic Controller’s Course – POSTPONED

The proposed Event Traffic Controller’s course scheduled for 7th December has been postponed to 15th February.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 3rd December: Stromlo Criterium – Graded Scratch

Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
A/C 5:50 A 42m+2, C 38m+2
B/D 6:35 B 42m+2, D 38m+2
E/F/G 7:20 28 min + 2 laps

Race Director: Tony Rowley Contact: Email: tony.j.rowley@gmail.com    Ph  0421453062

Marshals: David McCook

Wednesday, 4th December: 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 – 7.10pm: Mystery Race;
– 7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian Pursuit

Sunday, 8th December: Dairy Flat Road

Where: Travel toward the airport and drop down onto the northern end of the track west of the second river crossing or, head to Fyshwick then west onto Dairy Road and follow on until you find a gate that delineates the cut off section.
When: 9:00 am.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number
Race Description:
Race in your Crit grade.
E/F/G 9:00 30 mins + 1 lap
C/D 9:40 40 mins + 1 lap
A/B 10:30 50 mins + 1 lap.

Note: Tea and coffee won’t be available after racing this week.

Race Director: Nick Boylan

Marshals: Wayne Benham

From the Race Committee

New RMS

The update of RMS, which works better on mobile devices, has been implemented. Bookmarks to the old RMS no longer work. You need to follow the updated links to the Race Calendar and Results from our home page at actvets.cc.

Upcoming Race Officials Roster

With the implementation of the new Race Calendar, the publication of the upcoming Race Officials Roster in the weekly Bleat will be discontinued.

Rostered race directors AND MARSHALS are shown against each race.

Please check the calendar (http://rms.actvets.cc/calendar). If your name is followed by TBC (To Be Confirmed) you need to contact the race committee (race.committee@actvets.cc) as soon as possible to either confirm your attendance or to request a swap.

Empty race directors and marshal positions are denoted as Vacant. Some marshals for races in the ACT need to be Events Traffic Controllers (ETC) and appear as Vacant ETC.

Please review the vacancies for upcoming races and email the race committee with events you would like to help out at, rather than wait and be asked to help at a race you wanted to do. Races cannot happen without members contributing to make them happen.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

RACE REPORTS:

Uriarra Homestead Time Trial – 24th November

A glorious, nearly windless morning greeted 11 committed time trialists at Uriarra Homestead on Sunday morning with a good mix of riders across the grades toeing the line. The course was two laps of a short turn toward Condor Creek and back toward Uriarra Crossing. A (slight) tailwind coming back from Condor had all riders flying back past the start/finish but the uphill drag coming the other way was reportedly hard work for all.

In A grade renowned time trialler Anthony Willemsen cleaned up, covering the approx 32k course in 43.18, more than two minutes ahead of the next finisher (and winner of the Tiffen TT Cup) Gerard Tiffen (45:33), who put more than two minutes into Jason Chalker (47:59). Gerard Tiffen and Jason Chalker are racing at Tour of Bright this weekend so this final shakedown TT should see them in good stead.

B graders Michael Fawke (47:42), Pete Young (51:29) and Bruce Goodfellow (55:33) finished in that order, with Michael recording third fastest actual time on day. Stephen Schwenke (58:41) was the lone C grader with Alex Sommariva (1:00:15) and Anthony Beasley (55:23) duking it out for honours, with Anthony coming out on top with a stomping ride that would have had him on the podium in B grade.

Rounding out the field was Lindsay Graham (1:06:55) who bested Polly Templeton (1:09:17) in F grade.

Many thanks to Andrew Matz, Robert Brunato, Mick Donaldson, Terry Moore and Mongo. The race went very smoothly and there were no traffic issues that were noted. As always thanks to Graham Hendrie, not only for the race setup for the race director assistance he provided.

Ben McDuff

Stromlo Criterium – 26th November

The gloomy forecast and the AusCycling vote didn’t deter 28 riders who ventured on to the track. Initially we were treated to a dry track with WNW winds with 35 km/h gusts.

As per the President’s post on the Club Facebook page at 5:30pm, the conditions were fine, however this public announcement ensured that the curse would be implemented during the race, with E grade having to endure rain as the temperature plummeted to 13 degrees. The marshals kept warm by doing Mexican waves, and chasing a plague of juvenile roos, as if it was macropod schoolies week.

The same cold front brought snow to the alpine regions later in the evening. Ross Robinson was on hand to photograph spectacular photos of the double rainbow; you can check these out on the Vets Facebook page.

B grade rolled away with 5 riders with special visitor Alana Forster, last year’s B grade Queen of Bright joining the bunch. The B grade gentlemen promised to look after Alana, as she was opting for a final aerobic tune-up prior to defending her title on the weekend.

B grade rolled turns effortlessly for the first 20min. At 26min, Craig Tozer, Alana, Peter Young, and El Presidente Dougal started to pull away from Presto, with Craig Tozer victorious over Dougal and Peter in the sprint. Addendum: Alana finished Bright in a very credible 8th in Women’s A grade this year behind National Road Champion Sarah Gigante, so well done to Alana, and well shepherded gentlemen!

8 riders in D grade set off, with Ian Morton opting to ride up a grade from E. After 9 mins Joshua Quilliam had opened up a 50m gap. It wasn’t long before Elizabeth Lowe reeled him in, and towed Daniel Smith in pursuit. These 3 intelligent riders worked well together as the other riders splintered off and started their own ITTs. In the end, Liz was the strongest rider, with Josh and Dan 2nd and 3rd respectively. Special credit can be extended to Ian for riding up a grade – will this be the new benchmark?

In C grade, there were only 2 riders with Clinton Porteous and Darren Blackhurst rolling turns until Clinton outsprinted Darren on the line, marking a successful November of racing in his return to Vets after a 2 year hiatus, which should be applauded (and noted with some concern!)

In E grade, there were 7 riders with Robert Miller and Chris Copeland opting to ride up a grade from F. The first move after 6 mins was instigated by Penelope Anderson causing a split with Tony Sheehan, Theresa McLachlan, and Rosemary Robinson consolidating to work together. Somehow, Paul McKay managed to make his way back to the bunch in the closing laps, and on bell lap, Penelope led out Tony establishing a 200m lead around the top corner and took it to the line comfortably ahead of Paul McKay in 2nd and Robert Miller in 3rd.

The six A graders were waiting and watching for their start time as the rain fell, heralding a wet, gritty, duck poo-filled night of goodness. Seven minutes into the race, Jason Chalker, Aaron Thomson, and Mark Terracini, were making their presence felt with teasing attacks. With 28 mins left on the clock, it was these 3 left with Rainer Wilton. There were further surgy attacks by Thommo, Rainer and Mark. With 17 mins left, Jason attacked and only Thommo and Rainer were able to follow. In the final, it was Rainer taking the sprint by a bike length from Jason, and Thommo.

Thank you to guest Chloe Hanbury for her expert trackside assistance, marshal Mick Hanbury and to former Club Treasurer Barbara Bayliss for managing the office. Special thanks to Dougal Torrance, Alan Bontjer and Ian Preston for their help in keeping the roos at bay, and to Simon Whitehead for First Aid, and his running commentary. Thanks to CACT for the loan and use of the electronic timing board.

Conan Liu

Double Rainbow over the track at the end of the B Grade race.

Track Racing – 27th November

Wednesday 27 November was a very warm day. However, the evening conditions moderated to provide nearly ideal conditions for racing. Track attendance was reasonable with 6 riders in A grade and 8 in B grade.

The initial event was a 200 metre, flying start time trial. This is a popular event as it is quite technical and almost like enjoying the final sprint in a road race without suffering through 40 kilometres to get there. There is usually a bit of uncertainty about the optimum launch distance and line down the banking to start. However, most riders followed a similar line crossing the start line around 1.5 metres from the duckboard. The biggest experimenter was Dougal Torrance who chose massively high gearing, around 116 inches, for the event. Dougal’s time of 13.61s was good enough for third in A grade, so the gearing might be counted a success. Michael Langdon managed 13.54s on lower gearing to set second best time in A grade. The stand-out performance was Hamish Anderson who surged around the track in 13.20s. Hamish looked fast, especially leaning into the bend onto the finish straight.

B grade times were quite competitive with Warwick Wilson doing 14.07 seconds to better several A grade times. Tony Beasley (14.98s) was the only other B grade rider under 15s. Ken Birch performed well, at 15.03s just a few hundredths over 15s. Graeme O’Neill (15.98s) was quite chuffed to go under 16s for the first time in recent years, even though it only provided seventh placing in B grade.

Next event was a 12-Lap Snowball. This event had sprints occurring every three laps, with escalating sprint points as the race progressed. The unusual point scoring makes it a highly tactical race. Michael Langdon led the A grade bunch out with Dougal Torrance making an early attack. However, this was quickly shut down. As the first sprint lap approached, Steve Jones burst from the pack quickly followed by Michael Langdon. The pair held off the pursuing pack with Michael and Steve in that order for the initial sprint points. Hamish Anderson was left to close a significant gap to the leading pair. However, the effort compromised his remaining race. For the second sprint, Michael and Steve remained out front in that order. Dougal Torrance burst from the pursuing pack to take one point for third. The race consolidated to a single bunch approaching the third sprint. This provided Martin Graham with an opportunity to jump from the bunch and hold off the pack for an excellent 4 points. Dougal Torrance, Michael Langdon and Hamish Anderson followed him over the line in that order to collect the sprint points. The final sprint was close fought with Dougal Torrance taking a 5 point win, followed by Steve Jones, David McCook, Michael Langdon and Martin Graham in that order. The final points wash up saw Dougal Torrance and Michael Langdon tie for first place (9 pts). The remaining order was Steve Jones (7 pts), Martin Graham (5 pts), David McCook (3 pts) and Hamish Anderson (1 pt).

The B grade Snowball was led out by Steve Hirsler. The first sprint saw an early attack from James Newhouse and Phil Anderson who took the points in that order. The pace was hot and already one rider was dropped. Several riders attacked going into the next sprint lap. In the bunch sprint, Ross Scutts was passed by Tony Beasley in a well timed move. Warwick Wilson picked up the third place point. Ross Scutts attacked as the third sprint lap approached. However, Tony Beasley pounced again as the line approached and took the maximum sprint points. Warwick Wilson and James Newhouse collected the third and fourth place points respectively. Ross Scutts attacked again approaching the final sprint lap. However, several riders were waiting to pounce as the finish line approached. Warwick Wilson overcame the bunch in the final sprint, followed in order by Tony Beasley, Ross Scutts, James Newhouse and Steve Hirsler. The final points wash up was Tony Beasley (11 pts), Ross Scutts and Warwick Wilson (equal 8 pts), James Newhouse (3 pts), Phil Anderson and Steve Hirsler (both 1 pt).

The track session closed with an all-in, Italian pursuit. There were six riders per team in what is normally a close contest. In this instance Team 2 had Ken Birch lead them out for a brilliant start. Actually, Ken was a bit too quick and gapped the team. This is commonly a fatal mistake. However, it seemed the gap just made the Team 2 more determined to chase. They soon had a significant lead that Team 1 could simply not peg back. Team 1 made some in roads in the latter half of the race. However, Team 2 still finished with a 25 metre lead for a comfortable win.

Place getters for this session were as follows:
200m Fly TT: (A Grade): Hamish Anderson (13.20s), Michael Langdon (13.54s), Dougal Torrance (13.61s). (B Grade) Warwick Wilson (14.07s), Tony Beasley (14.68s), Ken Birch (15.03s).
10-Lap Snowball: (A Grade): Michael Langdon (9pts), Dougal Torrance (9pts), Steve Jones (7pts), Martin Graham (5pts) (B Grade) Tony Beasley (11pts), Ross Scutts (8 pts), Warwick Wilson (8pts), James Newhouse (3 pts).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Hamish Anderson, Martin Graham, Michael Langdon, Ross Scutts, Warwick Wilson, Ken Birch).

Season Point Score Update:
Hamish Anderson (90), Ross Scutts (88), Tony Beasley (84), Martin Graham (81), Warwick Wilson (73), Michael Langdon (73), Phil Anderson (72), Dougal Torrance (72), Phil Coulton (65).

Thank you to Simon (1st Aid) and Jarrah Anderson for officiating.

Graeme O’Neill