Hello Masters,
In the Bleat this week;
• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports
Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc
From the Desk of the Handicapper
Promotions
Paul Watson B to A
Wayne Pettett B to A
Conan Liu B to A
Allan Bontjer D to C
Passing
Reminder: Currently, we are enjoying large turnouts for the crit races. This is great but does mean that there’s an added element of danger when large bunches are passing each other. The passing bunch must call out early which side of the course the other bunch should be on. The bunch being passed should single out as much as possible and ease off the pace a little. Once all the riders have passed, the leaders of the bunch being passed should only pick up the pace once the last rider is at least five back lengths ahead or ensure they are on the other side of the track and aren’t being sucked along. The leaders or anyone else should not try to gain advantage from the faster bunch.
Taking laps out
Riders can take a lap out if experiencing a puncture or a mechanical. They must report to the race director their intentions. It’s the rider’s responsibility to source a spare wheel or to seek mechanical assistance. The race director will not have a power tool to remove thru axles.
Getting dropped
Riders dropped through lack of horsepower must not rejoin the race a lap down in the middle of the bunch or compete in the final sprint. Furthermore, they cannot assist riders who are less than a lap down to rejoin the bunch.
CRMs out and about
AusCycling NSW RR and TT champs at Gunning We all know Gunning can dish up atrocious conditions. Remember that freezing handicap in July 2019 when the wind chill was below zero? Then there was the gale blowing during last year’s Peter McLennan Gunning Tour. Last weekend for the NSW champs was even worse with rain to add to the gale-force winds and freezing temperatures. Quotes from the riders included being ‘drenched’, ‘unable to change gears because of frozen hands’ and ‘stinging rain and squalls’. It was a fantastic effort by all given the conditions, and special mention goes to Michael Payne who took out the M6 title with a 30-second margin to spare. Selected results follow.
TT
Vanessa Judge 3rd W3
Brendan Byatt 2nd M5
Stephen Blackburn 7th M5
Owain Tilley 2nd M8
RR
Vanessa Judge 5th W3
Terry Moore 3rd W7
Michael Payne 1st M6
Chris Short 5th M6
Keith Harris 15th M6
Stephen Blackburn 2nd M5
Paul Hollings 11th M5
Nathan Spillane 16th M5
Peter Zygadlo 28th M5
Mark Harris 3rd M7
Ian Preston 16th M7
Bruce McMillan 4th M8
Brian Peak 8th M8
Tony Beasley 12th M8
Des Brown 3rd M10
Ben Morrison 4th M3
Nick Stewart 8th M3
Marc Vroomans 15th M4
Rob Langridge
Handicapper
RACING THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, 16th November: Stromlo Criterium
Note: Pre-registration required by 16 Nov 2021 3:50 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Race Description:
E/F/G 5:50 20 min + 2 laps
A/C 6:25 A 38m+2, C 33m+2
B/D 7:05 B 38m+2, D 33m+2
Race Director: Heath Chester Contact: Email: heathtracy@iinet.net.au Ph 0419 162 193
Marshals: Iain Johnstone
Wednesday, 17th November: 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 – 6.40pm: 2-lap handicap;
6.40pm – 7.00pm: Graded mystery race;
7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian pursuit.
Sunday, 21st November: Club Championship
Reminder: All riders must pre-register on the ACT Vets website (https://rms.actvets.cc/calendar) by 20/11/2021 6:00 PM prior to the race. There is no registration on the day.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Where: Assemble at Uriarra Rd / Brindabella Rd, T-Junction. From North Canberra slightly faster Coppins crossing & right onto Uriarra Road. From Sth Canberra follow Cotter Road down to bridge crossing, turn right onto Brindabella Road.
When: 9:00 am.
Race Description:
Two laps of Uriarra Homestead – top of Uriarra Crossing – Condor Creek – Homestead.
M1-4 (30-49) do extra 1/2 lap to top of Uriarra Crossing.
Race Director: Cat Riley Contact: Email: catjriley@gmail.com Ph 0448 692 989
Marshals: Robert Miller ETC, Ed Logue ETC, Andrew Matz ETC, Stuart Roesler, Van driver – Robert Langridge
RACE REPORTS:
SFP Criterium – 9th November
Crit racing is popular. There were over 140 riders on Tuesday and 43 starters in B grade. Amazing numbers and perfect racing conditions.
A Grade: Team Tiffen must have had a plan as they were applying early pressure and pushing the pace. Jeremy Gillman-Wells and Gerald Tiffen were the second attackers and got a small break off the front. The bunch pulled them back slowly. Another Tiffen Team attack, followed by yet another attack by Jeremy with 24 minutes to go. Newbie James Meadley put in a valiant attack towards the end but in the sprint it was Ben Morrison followed by Jeremy Gillman-Wells and Gerard Tiffen. A fast and exciting race.
C Grade: Damien Copeland was the first to get off the front before being hauled back. The Dominator led a spirited charge mid race and stayed off the front solo for a couple of laps. Ian Preston dragged the peloton up to Dominic. I heard his wife yelling “get off the front Ian”. In the sprint it was Ben Neal followed by Dominic Romano and David Buckley.
B Grade: A huge group of more than 40 riders fronted for B grade. Apparently the rubber band effect at the rear was enormous. Seymour Savell-Boss wasn’t too stressed, he was on the front down the main straight chatting his head off. At 20 minutes to go a group of 4 got away and established a 50m gap before it came back together for the sprint. Paul Watson prevailed over Wayne Pettett and Conan Liu.
D Grade: Mark Taylor was again active in the early attacks. Rob Langridge was his accomplice for a couple also. The tandem made a slow start but by mid race was starting to dictate the pace. Mark Taylor wasn’t finished yet and made two further attacks to be the most combative for the day. Rob Langridge also got into the act and time trialled off the front with 15 minutes to go. Mark Taylor this time with Anthony Dick established a 100m gap before it was closed down. John Ross had a dig with 10 to go followed by surges from the evergreen Dave Hennessy and Michael Larkin. In the sprint, Al Bontjer used his track prowess for the win followed by Thomas Stewart-Moore and Alex Sommariva. I heard a report that D grade averaged 39.6kmh which is wickedly fast for the grade.
Massed Start: 68 riders of B and D Grades
E Grade: The bunch stayed together for the majority of the race with the exception of Howard Moffat who unusually was ejected off the back after being squeezed in a corner, but circulated at a good clip by himself. Chris Reis won the sprint followed by Dale Dummett and Geoff Ellacott.
F Grade: The bunch let birthday girl Sue Frost led the first few laps, so thoughtful. Lee Hopson, making a welcome return to racing was encouraged by the race director to put his nose into the wind, which he did obligingly. The small bunch circulated well in the good conditions, before Colin Calderwood mercilessly robbed the birthday treat from Sue Frost followed by Lindsay Graham.
G Grade: Gai Monahan was the sole G grader and maintained a solid pace and time trialled around the course to victory.
Thanks to marshal Ross Heazlewood and committee member Andy Matz for their assistance.
Bruce Griffin
Track Racing – 10th November
Wednesday 10 November saw the second track racing session for the 2021-22 season. The weather prediction for the evening was 90% probability of rain. However, the weather radar suggested that the rain system might skirt Canberra. The optimists attended what turned out to be a reasonable evening of racing. Just one race event was disrupted by a brief, rain shower. Attendance was good for the conditions with 14 riders, 8 in A grade and 6 in B grade. A grade numbers were bolstered by the promotion of James Newhouse into A grade.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race started with Michael Langdon leading out at a comfortable pace. Over the first 6 laps Ian Drayton, Tony Beasley, John Paul De Sousa, James Newhouse, Steve Jones and Wayne Benham took turns at the front, with the pace increasing as the laps ticked off. Lap 7 began with the group bunched up as they entered the front straight from the high banking. Craig Kentwell emerged from the bunch and put in a solid attack with 2 laps to go. Michael Langdon immediately pursued with a small lead group in tow. A lap later Michael reined in Craig and went on for a comfortable win. From the pursuing group, John Paul De Sousa and Steve Jones also managed to overtake Craig in the final lap, going on to second and third placings in that order. Craig held on for fourth place.
The B Grade scratch race began at a good tempo and was ticking over nicely for 4 laps when suddenly hit by a brief, rain squall. The race officials made a sound, rapid decision to ring the final lap bell as lap 5 commenced. It took a moment for riders to grasp what had happened. Then the whole bunch transitioned to a mad sprint over the final lap. It was a race against both riders and a rapidly wetting track. Ken Birch emerged as the strongest and took a good win. He was followed by the strong B grade female contingent with Karen Clutson taking second place and Alison Hale pursuing for third place. Racing then ceased for around 15 minutes while the track dried out.
In the uncertain weather conditions, the race organisers elected to run the Italian Pursuit next, in lieu of the scheduled 200m flying lap time trials. The pursuit attracted two teams of 6 riders and was a cracker. Both teams started well and rode in disciplined fashion. Team 1 had a minor problem holding wheels around mid-race. However, they managed to hold a good pace, retaining a small lead over Team 2. As the final laps approached, Tony Beasley and Michael Langdon managed to claw back most of the deficit for Team 2. This gave Michael Langdon an even chance when matched against Steve Jones for the final lap. Both Michael and Steve put in scorching laps leading to an exciting, close win (less than half a wheel width) by Michael, for Team 2.
The weather conditions were improving by the conclusion of the Italian Pursuit, so the decision was taken to run the 200-metre fly event. Not all riders lined up for this event. However, the ten riders who participated had exciting runs and put in respectable times for the conditions. Michael Langdon put in the best A grade time at 13.49 seconds. Alison Hale took the B grade honours with an excellent 14.88 seconds. Other rider’s times are as listed in the results below.
Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon, John Paul De Sousa, Steve Jones. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell, Tony Beasley, James Newhouse. (B Grade) Ken Birch, Karen Clutson, Alison Hale.
200 metre Fly Time Trail: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon (13.49s), Wayne Benham (13.98s). (A2 Grade) Tony Beasley (14.69s), Ian Drayton (14.84s), James Newhouse (15.14s). (B Grade) Alison Hale (14.88s), Bruce Griffin (15.34s), Ken Birch (15.65s)
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Michael Langdon, Tony Beasley, Ken Birch, Alison Hale, James Newhouse, Graeme O’Neill).
Season Point Score after Round 2:
Michael Langdon (38), Tony Beasley (36), Alison Hale (32), James Newhouse (31), Karen Clutson (30), Ken Birch (30), John Paul De Sousa (29), Craig Kentwell (29), Ian Drayton (24), Bruce Griffin (24), Graeme O’Neill (22), Warwick Wilson (18), Phil Coulton (17), Mark Vroomans (14), Wayne Benham (14).
Graeme O’Neill
