Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

•  Vale John Ignatius

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  From the Race Committee

•  2021 AGM – Thinking of Nominating for the ACTVETS Committee?

•  Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Vale John Ignatius – 1952 – 2021

Vets member John Ignatius passed away at his Canberra home surrounded by his family on 17 January. John competed in 87 events between 2008 and March 2019. His most recent victory was at Uriarra Homestead in April 2018. 2016 was perhaps his best year in D grade, as he placed second at the Mt Tennant Terror race and earned a well-earned second at the Peter McLennan Gunning Tour. John also volunteered seven times.

The photo below shows the presentation after a diabolically freezing and wet day at Old Federal Highway in 2018 where John was the director of a race with only 25 participants.

The club extends its heartfelt condolences to John’s family and friends.

John Ignatius (left) at OFH 2018

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Mass Promotions

To even out the A-C/B-D imbalance I’ve initiated a mass promotion for B and D grades. This is a trial and not necessarily permanent.

B grade to A grade

Ben McDuff
Bruce Goodfellow
Kieran Butler
Al Raitt
Michael Foulds
Gareth Downey

C to B

Frank Zeller
Doug Pashley

D to C

Vanessa Judge
Liz Lowe
Frank Zeller
Andrew Peel

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

From the Race Committee

1st Aiders required – Sun 7 Feb and Tue 16 Feb

We need fill in 1st aiders for the races on Sun 7 Feb at Lookout Hill and the Tue Stromlo crit on 16 Feb. If you have current 1st aid qualifications, can you please assist at one or both of these events. 1st aid kits will be at both events if needed.

We cannot race without a 1st aider present. All members are urged to do the training and get qualified. The club will cover $200 of training fees.

You won’t be feeling great if an accident happens and you couldn’t be bothered learning how to help save another rider’s life.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

2021 AGM – Thinking of Nominating for the ACTVETS Committee?

You’d be very welcome. If you would like to know more about how the club works and want to contribute in some way then talk to a current Committee member (details on the web site – https://actvets.cc/about/committee/).

Then fill out and submit a nomination form, prior to the AGM, to the president (president@actvets.cc) and the secretary (secretary@actvets.cc).

Nomination forms are accessed and downloaded via the Member documents shared drive link on the web site (https://actvets.cc/documents/) or contact a committee member.

The AGM for 2021 will be held on Monday 15th February 2021 at 7:00pm in the Loft Meeting Room at the Raiders Club Weston.

Russell Marston
Secretary ACT Veterans Cycling Club

Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

We have engaged an external evaluator, Erin, to look at how well we engage with our membership and target group, to identify what works well and what can be improved. Many of you participated in an online survey late last year.

Erin is inviting female members (former members also welcome) to participate in an online focus group. This will provide an opportunity for female members to provide direct feedback about the club, discuss specific issues emerging from the survey findings, and consider how the club may better respond to women’s interests.

Three times are available to choose from:

• 7:30pm, Wednesday 27 January 2021
• 7:30pm, Thursday 28 January [New additional time]

Focus groups will take one hour and be held via the online platform Zoom. To participate or for more information, contact erinbarry@hotmail.com.

If you would like to contribute but are unable to attend these session times, please contact Erin to arrange a separate time for a phone call.

For more information about the evaluation activities, visit the ACTVCC website: https://actvets.cc/about/have-your-say-actvcc-survey.

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are conditions for travelers from other states.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Heat Warning

Vets,The temperature for tomorrow’s Crit Race (26rd Jan) is forecast to reach 35 degrees.Members are urged to take care in the hot conditions. Ensure you drink plenty of water before, during and after the race.Riders who feel unwell during the race should stop and seek assistance from the First Aid attendant.

Tuesday, 26th January: Stromlo Criterium

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

Race Director:  Alain Arbaut Contact: Email: arbaut@grapevine.net.au    Ph  0400 493 148

Marshals: Peta Brill

Wednesday, 27th 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 race.
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 4-lap handicap.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 10-lap points race.
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit

Sunday, 31st January – Tidbinbilla Handicap

Where: Intersection of Tidbinbilla Reserve Rd and Paddy’s River Road approx 14 km from Point Hut Crossing.
Parking: Off the road on either side of Paddy’s River Road. For road safety reasons, please DO NOT park on the corners of the intersection. Road traffic can be busy and dangerous, especially around the times we are finishing.
When: 9:00 am.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number
Race Description:
Tidbinbilla Nature reserve to turn at power lines on hill before Point Hut Crossing T junction for 18km. 2 Laps for 36km

Race Director:  Simon Milnes Contact: Email: simonmilnes@bigpond.com    Ph  0407 296 418

Marshals: Conan Liu ETC, Donald de SMET, Bruce Goodspeed ETC

RACE REPORTS:

Track Racing – 20th January

Wednesday 20 January saw the 11th track racing session for the 20-21 season. The evening was hot with a stiff headwind in the back straight. The temperature cooled slightly over the evening and the wind moderated, providing quite good conditions for racing. Attendance was good with 15 riders, 7 in A grade and 8 in B grade.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race started at an easy pace with Steve Jones and Wayne Benham taking the initial turns. On lap 3 the pace increased after John Paul De Sousa rolled to the front. On lap 6, Warwick Wilson rolled to the front and attacked. Craig Kentwell pursued and dragged the bunch up to Warwick within a further lap. Lap 7 saw Craig Kentwell leading, with the pack bunched and read to pounce. Craig initiated the final attack approaching the bell lap. Steve Jones and John Paul De Sousa pursued. The bell lap was hot with Steve Jones overhauling all to take the win from John Paul De Sousa and Rowan McMurray. Craig managed to hang on for fourth place.

The B Grade scratch race was quite orderly for the first 6 laps with riders swapping the lead lap by lap. Tony Beasley rolled into the lead on lap 7 and initiated an early sprint over 1.5 laps. Initially Phil Anderson and Graeme O’Neill pursued. However, Graeme fell back and most of the bunch streamed past to continue the pursuit. The pace was hot with Ian Drayton again proving too strong for the field and taking the win from James Newhouse and Tony Beasley.

The evening’s second event was a 1-lap screamer, a short, flat out, standing start, time trial. The initial acceleration phase is likely the most critical for a good race time. A grade times were extremely close with six of the seven starters posting times within a 1 second margin. Steve Jones (29.15 seconds) just squeezed out John Paul De Sousa (29.17 seconds) for the win. Wayne Benham (29.42 seconds) posted the third best A grade time. James Newhouse put in the best B grade time, at an impressive 30.87 seconds. Ian Drayton (31.28 seconds) and Tony Beasley (32.19 seconds) posted the second and third best B grade times.

The third event for the evening was a 2-lap handicap with two races where A & B grades were intermingled. Race 1 was won by Ian Drayton, closely followed by Ken Birch and Alison Hale in that order. Race 2 was won by James Newhouse followed by Phil Anderson and Tony Beasley in that order. The overall results suggest that B grade riders may be marginally advantaged by the current handicaps.

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. The teams were 6 riders each. Both teams had good starts and rode without error. Team 2 established an early lead and maintained it over the event. However, Team 2’s lead was never more than 10 metres. In the closing stage, it seemed just possible for Team 1’s Steve Jones to close the gap on John Paul De Sousa. Steve put in a blistering half-lap that made winning seem possible. However, John Paul held steady at a solid pace that eventually put the catch beyond Steve’s reach. It was a well-deserved victory for Team 2.

Major place getters for Wednesday were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Steve Jones, John Paul De Sousa, Rowan McMurray. (B Grade) Ian Drayton, James Newhouse, Tony Beasley.
1-Lap SS Time Trail: (A Grade) Steve Jones (29.15s), John Paul De Sousa (29.17s), Wayne Benham (29.42s). (B Grade) James Newhouse (30.87s), Ian Drayton (31.28s), Tony Beasley (32.19s).
2-Lap Handicap: (Race 1, A&B Grade) Ian Drayton, Ken Birch, Alison Hale. (Race 2, A&B Grade) James Newhouse, Phil Anderson, Tony Beasley.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (John Paul De Sousa, Rowan McMurray, Wayne Benham, Ian Drayton, Ken Birch, Alison Hale).

Season Point Score Update:
Ian Drayton (163), Steve Jones (158), Phil Anderson (147), Ken Birch (138), James Newhouse (135), John Paul De Sousa (130), Alison Hale (109), Wayne Benham (108), Phil Coulton (105), Bruce Griffin (85).

Graeme O’Neill

Mt Majura Time Trial – 24th January

The promise of high temperatures didn’t deter 23 hardy climbers from competing in the Club’s first road race of 2021 – a 2.8km time trial to the summit of Mt Majura.

With the temperature already heading north of 30 degrees, Steve Crispin took out first place in A grade also recording the fasted time of the day with an impressive 8.54, followed closely by Daniel Lekhac (9.07) and Paul Hollings (10.20) in 3rd. Al Raitt took out B grade with a time of 10.11 and, in what is possibly a first for the club, three B grade riders recorded identical times – separated by just 1/100s of a second the final placings for the three in 5th 6th and 7th were Tim Minehan (11.51.06), Peter Young (11.51.23) and Bruce Goodfellow (1.51.49). Sean Conway in his first race for the club took out C grade in 11.38 which could draw some attention from the Handicapper in future events. Well done Sean.

Congrats to all those that made their way out to the first race of the year, next week’s race is a handicap at Tidbinbilla and the next hill climb event will be a graded scratch finishing at the Square Rock carpark on Corin Dam Rd on 14 February.

Thanks as always to Graham Hendrie and Ian McVay making these races happen.

David Hennessy

Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

•  Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

We have engaged an external evaluator, Erin, to look at how well we engage with our membership and target group, to identify what works well and what can be improved. Many of you participated in an online survey late last year.

Erin is inviting female members (former members also welcome) to participate in an online focus group. This will provide an opportunity for female members to provide direct feedback about the club, discuss specific issues emerging from the survey findings, and consider how the club may better respond to women’s interests.

Three times are available to choose from:

• 4:00pm, Sunday 24 January 2021
• 7:30pm, Wednesday 27 January 2021
• 7:30pm, Thursday 28 January [New additional time]

Focus groups will take one hour and be held via the online platform Zoom. To participate or for more information, contact erinbarry@hotmail.com.

If you would like to contribute but are unable to attend these session times, please contact Erin to arrange a separate time for a phone call.

For more information about the evaluation activities, visit the ACTVCC website: https://actvets.cc/about/have-your-say-actvcc-survey.

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Promotions

Conan Liu B to A

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

The AGM for 2021 will be held on Monday 15th February 2021 at 7:00pm in the Loft Meeting Room at the Raiders Club Weston.

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are conditions for travelers from other states.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 19th January: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
E/F/G 5:50 30 min + 2 laps
A/C 6:30 A 45m+2, C 40m+2
B/D 7:20 B 45m+2, D 40m+2

Race Director:  Penelope Anderson Contact: Email: penelopeanderson100@gmail.com    Ph  0458 651 046

Marshals: Josh Quilliam

Wednesday, 20th 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 race;
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 1-lap SS time trial.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 2-lap handicap.
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit

Sunday, 24th January – Mt Majura – Time Trial Uphill

Where: Assemble at Base of Mnt Majura Rd
When: 9:00 am.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number
Race Description:
Mnt Majura hill climb
Average Grade: 7.8%

Race Director: David Hennessy Contact: Email: lehenn@bigpond.com    Ph  0411 484 516

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 12th January

The threat of a thunderstorm and high winds were the backdrop to racing on 12 January 2020, although not enough to deter a strong turn out as crits ramped back up for 2021.

In A grade, Dan Lekhac was the undisputed winner of the ‘combativity’ prize attacking off the front and spending the first thirty minutes away with Liam O’dea also working hard swapping turns. After being brought back with a strong chase led by Mark Harris, Matt Corby and Paul Scherl, Dan took off again trying his luck solo but was brought back to the fold once more. In the closing stages, Jason Chalker managed to get a gap and looked like potentially staying away before Marc Vroomans opened up a lengthy sprint but carried his speed all the way to the finish line having time to sit up and enjoy his second win in a row, undefeated in 2021. Mark Harris and Matt Corby rounded out the podium.

C grade was another hotly contested affair dominated by the Terracinis who took turns to attack and open up a series of breaks. After a flurry of attacks, Andrew and Stephen Terracini got away with Frank Zeller as the bunch behind struggled to get organised, despite a strong effort by Ben Neal to get across to the leaders. In the end, Andrew and Frank were left to fight it out for the win and despite Frank opening up the sprint, it was Andrew who had the better legs crossing first for a well deserved victory.

After an orderly start, the tranquility in B grade was upset by Rainer Wilton making a guest appearance after a mechanical kept him from starting in A grade. The pace was kept high by Dan Crocker and David McCook, with Al Raitt regularly featuring in the attacks. Roman McMurray and Darren Blackhurst also put in strong efforts to get away but were reeled back by the bunch. In the end, it came down to a bunch sprint with Conan Liu timing it to perfection and enjoying the win, followed by Kieran Buttler and Gareth Downey.

After a civilised start, Mike Golding disrupted the peace attacking around the 15 minute mark. Further attacks by Terry Moore, Ian Morton, and Mark Taylor followed but were brought back. Brian Chugg established a small gap staying away with Mark Taylor for a lap, before further attacks from John Ross and Eoin Rothery. Following the pattern of the night, a bunch sprint ensued won by Kevin Newhouse from Paul Clare and Alex Somma Riva.

With light fading and the flashes of lightning in the distance, E and F grade set off together. Chris Reis kept up early pace along with Geoff Ellacot and Rosemary Robinson. The bunch cooperated well rolling turns until Pat Rooke kicked things off with two laps to go, attacking off the front. In E grade, Chris Reis took a flyer from collarbone with plenty of time to enjoy the win, followed by Geoff Ellacot and M Donaldson. Colin Calderwood, who contested the sprint with E grade, was a deserving winner in F grade, followed by Dennis Puniant and Bob Mitter.

Lastly, a reminder to all bunches when overtaking slower riders/bunches to hold their line, particularly when the pass takes place at the bends. While everyone stayed upright, the B grade bunch cut across D grade when passing making for some tense moments and riders were squeezed in the corner.

Brad Peppinck

Track Racing – 13th January

Wednesday 13 January saw the resumption of the track racing season in 2021. The evening was hot and still. The temperature cooled slightly over the evening, providing quite good conditions for racing. Attendance was good with 15 riders, 7 in A grade and 8 in B grade.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race started at an easy pace with Martin Graham and Ben Davis taking the initial turns. It was not until lap 4 that the pace increased as Steve Hirsler rolled to the front. By lap 6 Craig Kentwell and Wayne Benham had positioned themselves high on the banking in prime position to attack. Craig attacked as lap 7 commenced, with Wayne in hot pursuit. The final two laps were contested at a scorching pace. Steve Jones gradually worked his way to the front and took the win. Martin Graham also progressed to take second spot. Wayne Benham overtook Craig Kentwell and held on for third place.

The B Grade scratch race was quite orderly for the first 6 laps with riders swapping the lead lap by lap. Ian Drayton rolled into lead on lap 7 and initiated an early sprint over 1 + 3/4 laps. The pace was hot with James Newhouse and Ken Birch pursuing Ian and the remainder of the bunch hanging on relentlessly. Ian Drayton held out for a well-deserved win. Phil Anderson overtook Ken Birch over the final lap and took second placing. Ken held out the remaining bunch to take third place.

The evening’s second event was a 200 fly, a flat out, flying start sprint over 200 metres. This is a popular and highly technical event where the flying start needs to be spot on for a good time. The A grade times were quite close. However, Steve Jones put in an outstanding sprint for best time at 12.87 seconds. Closest to Steve were Wayne Benham (13.78 seconds) and Craig Kentwell (13.97 seconds). Ian Drayton put in the best B grade time at 14.62 seconds. Ken Birch was a close second at 14.95 seconds and Tony Beasley was only a fraction slower at 15.02 seconds for third placing.

The third event for the evening was a graded mystery race where the final lap signal is given, at random, in the range 5 – 8 laps. Sometimes this event can be won by a combination of luck and initiative. However, for both A and B grade, the bunches stayed tight over the critical laps and the event results were down to pure pace. In A grade, Steve Jones took the win ahead of Craig Kentwell in second and Wayne Benham in third place. In B grade Ian Drayton demonstrated his strength with a win over Phil Anderson (second) and Ken Birch (third).

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. The teams were 6 riders each. The event was a bit more one sided than usual. Both teams had good starts and rode without error. However, team 1 had the edge and soon gained around 15m advantage that they held to the finish.

Major place getters for Wednesday were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A Grade) Steve Jones, Martin Graham, Wayne Benham. (B Grade) Ian Drayton, Ken Birch, Tony Beasley.
200m Fly: (A Grade) Steve Jones (12.87s), Wayne Benham (13.78s), Craig Kentwell (13.97s). (B Grade) Ian Drayton (14.62s), Ken Birch (14.95s), Tony Beasley (15.02s).
Mystery Race: (A Grade) Steve Jones, Craig Kentwell, Wayne Benham. (B Grade) Ian Drayton, Phil Anderson, Ken Birch.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Steve Jones, Rowan McMurray, Ian Drayton, Ken Birch, Colin Calderwood, Graeme O’Neill).

Season Point Score Update:
Ian Drayton (139), Steve Jones (138), Phil Anderson (137), Ken Birch (124), James Newhouse (113), John Paul De Sousa (111), Phil Coulton (105), Wayne Benham (93), Alison Hale (92), Bruce Griffin (85).

Graeme O’Neill

Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

•  Heat Warning

•  Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Heat Warning

Vets,The temperature for tomorrow’s Crit Race (12th Jan) and Wednesday’s track (13th Jan) is forecast to reach the mid-30’s.Members are urged to take care in the hot conditions. Ensure you drink plenty of water before, during and after the race.Riders who feel unwell during the race should stop and seek assistance from the First Aid attendant.

Seeking female ACT Vets members for online focus groups

The ACT Vets Cycling Club has engaged an external evaluator, Erin, to how we can engage with our membership and broader target group, to identify what works well and what can be improved. Many of you participated in an online survey late in 2020.

Erin is conducting two online focus groups with female members (former members are also welcome). These focus groups will provide an opportunity for female members to provide their direct feedback about the club, discuss specific issues emerging from the survey findings, and consider how the club may better respond to their interests.

Focus groups will be held via the online platform Zoom, at the following times:

• 4:00pm, Sunday 24 January 2021
• 7:30pm, Wednesday 27 January 2021

If you would like to participate or want further information, please contact erinbarry@hotmail.com.

If you would like to contribute but are unable to attend these session times, please contact Erin to arrange a separate time for a phone call.

For more information about the evaluation activities, visit the ACTVCC website: https://actvets.cc/about/have-your-say-actvcc-survey.

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Promotions

Simon Costello B to A road
Heath Wade B to A
Christophe Barbaret B to A
Gareth Downey C to B
Craig Coleman D to C

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

The AGM for 2021 will be held on Monday 15th February 2021 at 7:00pm in the Loft Meeting Room at the Raiders Club Weston.

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are conditions for travelers from other states.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 12th 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:  Bradley Peppinck Contact: Email: bradpeppinck@hotmail.com    Ph  0478 028 598

Marshals: Wayne Benham

Wednesday, 13th 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 race;
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 200m fly.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: Graded mystery race.
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit

Sunday, 17th January – No scheduled race

Road Racing will resume on Sunday 24th January.

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 5th January

Despite the weather initially threatening to spoil the evening, Tuesday night races went ahead with remarkably good conditions – a little windy at the start and a strong sea breeze blowing in the last few minutes of the final race. Overall the quality of the racing this evening was very good, entertaining and all riders arrived at the finish safely and without incident.

B and D Grades lead off the evening in warm and sunny conditions. Whilst D Grade stayed together for the majority of the race B Grade was another matter altogether. Darren Blackhurst and Heath Wade broke away from the bunch about a third of the way through the race with Darren ultimately going back to the bunch whilst Heath strongly stayed away for the rest of the race, maintaining a lead up about the length of the straight. In the last few laps Christophe Barbaret made a brave attack off the front to try to bridge over to Heath but without success. Heath “comfortably” took out the race from Christophe with Conan Liu winning the bunch sprint for third. After a steady start David Hennessy and Bruce Griffin had a crack off the front of the D Grade with about 10 minutes to go but without success. The bunch finish in D Grade saw Craig Coleman take the win from Anthony Dick and Brian Chugg.

Grades F and G started together and E Grade raced on their own. These bunches pretty much stayed apart for the full length of the race. Jeff Ellacott in his first race in F grade did very well and attacked the bunch about halfway through the race but did not stay away. E Grade stayed together for the majority of the race until Penelope Anderson put the pressure on with a few laps to go, causing the bunch to disintegrate quite quickly. Penelope took out E Grade from Rosemary Robinson and Chris Copeland. F Grade was ultimately won by Dennis Puniard from Jeff Ellacott and Edward Joliffe. Gai Monahan had a quiet race in G Grade and finished strongly.

The final race of the evening was A Grade and C Grade and conditions were close to perfect. Right from the start Stephen Terracini and Frank Zeller took off in a strong break in C Grade and stayed away for quite a few laps. Once caught, Stephen Jones attacked to get away for several laps as well, but without success ultimately. Gareth Downey was prominent towards the end of the race in covering all breaks and ultimately succeeded in winning the sprint followed by Stephen Jones and Lance Purdon coming in third. The small A Grade field was remarkably intact for most of the race with riders seemingly intent on maintaining a high steady pace rather than riding too aggressively. Paul Scherl suffered an untimely puncture with a handful of laps to go and was able to rejoin but did not contest the sprint. In a tight sprint hampered by a strong easterly that has just blown in Mark Vroomans took the win from Matthew Corby and Steve Crispin.

Phil Walker

Track Racing – 6th January

The track session scheduled for 6 January was cancelled due to unsuitable weather conditions for racing.

Season Point Score Update:
Phil Anderson (124), Ian Drayton (114), Steve Jones (113), John Paul De Sousa (111), Phil Coulton (105), Ken Birch (103), James Newhouse (99), Bruce Griffin (85), Alison Hale (83), Ben Robey (82).

Graeme O’Neill

Hello Vets,

Welcome to 2021. Hope you all had a good break and are all looking forward to a new year of racing;

•  Registration Renewal

•  Tumut Cycling Classic – 10 Jan

•  2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  Racing this Week

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Registration Renewal

You should have all received an email from the AVCC providing details of registration for this year. Please ensure you have followed the instructions to register for 2021 prior to racing.

I have just done an update of rider details in RMS to reset financial status for this year. If you are thinking of racing on Tuesday, do not leave it to Tuesday afternoon to rejoin. Do it now to avoid delays and congestion at registration. I will do another update tomorrow to allow financial members to pre-enter.

If you are not financial you can’t race!!

Ian McVay

Tumut Cycling Classic – 10 Jan

As there is no club event on 10 January, you might want to concider the Tumut Classic, which is a charity event raising money for Tumut hospital.

The event has been running for several years now (Covid interrupted this year) and has a very very scenic parcours including an ascent of Blowering Dam wall and a 200m / 6% climb after 90km.

www.tumutclassic.com.au

2021 AGM – Held in a COVID Safe Environment

The AGM for 2021 will be held on Monday 15th February 2021 at 7:00pm in the Loft Meeting Room at the Raiders Club Weston.

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are conditions for travelers from other states.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 5th January: Stromlo Criterium

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

Race Director:  Philip Walker Contact: Email: pwalker001@gmail.com    Ph  0412 708 305

Marshals: Paul Clare

Wednesday, 6th 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 race;
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 200m fly.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: Graded mystery race.
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit

Sunday, 10th January – No scheduled race

Road Racing will resume on Sunday 24th January.