Capital Region Masters Cycling Club

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  Kit Update

•  NSW Track Masters Championship

•  From the Race Committee

•  Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Kit Update

Dear Members,

We would like to update you all on the status of the kit order, as we have had some progress and it is getting closer! As you can see from the attached photos, Jimmy has received the sample final product, and has provided minor alterations to the size of the CRMCC logo. But other than that, production is full steam ahead! Indeed great care has been taken to ensure the highest quality product for our members, and we thank Jimmy and MVMNT CLUB for that. The manufacturer has advised that the shipment of kit is expected to be 7th April, after taking into account local public holidays. We thank you dearly for your support and patience during this time and look forward to seeing everyone in brand new Club kit very soon!

David Parker
Vice President, CRMCC

NSW Track Masters Championship

A number of club members headed to Sydney on the weekend for the NSW Track Masters championship and came home with a swag of medals – John Paul de Sousa, Sarah Stephens, Karen Clutson, Kerry Knowler, Lindy Hou and Alison Hale, ably supported by Steve Jones as mentor, coach, holder and giver of post race debriefs of what went wrong! We looked forward to him waiting until we racked the bike and then asking, like in a performance review, “Well how do you think that went?”

Notable mentions go to

• Peta Brill for taking Gold in the Scatch and Points race, and a nail biting finish in the Individual Pursuit final to finish 1/100th of a second behind the winner.
• Kerry Knowler for a mammoth effort for stoking Lindy on the tandem in the para events and backing up for individual and team events, taking gold in the Individual Pursuit.
• Karen Clutson for a huge PB in the flying 200m of 13.458 (A grade beckons next season for sure!) and missing a place in the final after a questionable call by the Commissaire for coming out of the sprint lane when the other ride rode into her.
• Lindy Hou for her golds in the Sprint, Time Trial and Individual Pursuit and for the energetic cheering she did for every event.
• Alison Hale for her gold in the Points race (and minus mentions for turning Steve Jones’ hair gray by giving chase to Kerry’s lead out in the Points that was supposed to draw off her competitors!)
• Sarah Stephens for her gold in the Time Trial and Point race and for her the huge grin when she beat her friend Taryn Dickens (frequent Thursday night spectator) by a narrow margin in the Time Trial.
• John Paul de Sousa for his silver in the Sprint event in his first outing on an indoor velodrome.

Photos

Kerry Knowler	Kerry Knowler & Lindy Hou	Peta Brill	Sarah Stephens	Karen Clutson & Alison Hale

It was a great weekend, slightly marred by the decision of Auscyling NSW to not allow ACT riders to progress beyond the heats to contest for the medals for the Team Sprint and Team Pursuit events as these were limited to NSW affiliated clubs.

For regular Thursday night trackies, we missed the commentary of Michael Langdon, particularly when Alison and Karen went into the final match sprint bronze medal ride off with one up each.

Alison Hale

From the Race Committee

Coaching

The Race Committee is looking to establish a roster of people prepared to act as coaches/mentors for new members who want to develop their skills.

Could anyone who is interested or who knows anyone who might be interested, please let the Race Committee know (race.committee@actvets.cc)

Race Directors and Marshals

The RMS has been updated with the ACT races that we have currently secured approval.

We are looking for volunteers to fill the Race Director and Marshal positions so that we can ensure the running of these races.

Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

Early bird entries close on 26 March. More details at: www.rotaryrides.org.au

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 29^th March: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Pre-registration required by 29 Mar 2022 3:50 pm.

No late entries accepted.

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
B/D 20m+2 @5:50
E/F/G 20m+2 @6:15
A/C 20m+2 @6:40

Race Director: Dominic Romano   Contact: Email: dominic.romano74@gmail.com    Ph  0408 411 362

Marshals: Craig Lindenmayer

Track Racing has concluded for the 2021-22 season

Sunday, 3^rd April – No Scheduled Road Race

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 22^nd March

A perfect night for racing with warm temps and barely a breath of wind. Not conducive to break aways although this didn’t stop a couple trying with two in A grade making a move right from the get go. That two quickly became four who before long were brought back in the space of half a lap. Showing that no one is winding down for the season A grade apparently averaged 44 km/h which was believable given at least one punter was seen in a deep state of zen post race working hard to keep his lunch down! Some joggers seemed determined to prove it’s not just dogs that don’t belong at a bike race by trying to cross in front of a fast finishing Gerard Tiffen, James Meadley, and visitor Nicholas Wilson.

B grade also held a strong pace in fading light with few silly, bold, or daring enough to make serious moves off the front. Some did try to animate the race with Ben McDuff making a very late charge that wasn’t to be. In the end it was a fairly controlled race with a strong finishing Dom Romano powering to a sprint finish and great celebration, Tom Stewart-Moore, and Seymour Saville-Boss showing less committee time equals more training time.

C grade continued on the theme of controlled racing with no notable moves and even fewer willing to put their nose in the (not so present) wind. Tim Mineham and Mark Taylor had reportedly applied ample lashings of chamois cream and were in strong form to tow the bunch around, keeping enough breath in them to encourage other would be roulleurs. Alas, it was not to be and the two soldiers pushed on while Michael Hanbury, the much cheered for Stephen Terracinni, and Graham Tanton timed their run to perfection to take podium spots in the sprint.

D grade was also out late keeping a steady and consistent pace which helped keep Simon the first aider’s heart rate under control in the fading light. No sign of the kangaroos at the top of the track either so it was a fairly civilised affair all round. Bruce Griffin came home first followed by Peter Frew and Kevin Newhouse for third.

E,F and G had the lowest numbers with 6, 5 and 2 in each grade respectively. This in theory should make tracking the race easier for the race director but these grades showed the highest attrition rates with riders scattered all around the course. E grade largely stayed together with it being one for the ladies with Linda Stals and Michelle Hodgetts bringing home first and second and Mick Donaldson in third. Ken Birch, Susan Frost, and Ross Heazlewood the victors in F, and in G after some late race sharking and sideways looks reminiscent of a track sprint it was Andre Swenson taking the win ahead of Bernard Crowe.

Special thanks to Gai Monahan for marshalling, Simon Whitehead for being 1st aider at the ready, and Andy Matz as the committee rep with the keys.

Craig Tozer

Track Racing Season 2021-22

The 2021-22 Track Racing Season concluded on Wednesday 24 March with a team race, trophy presentation and drinks to celebrate another successful season. The track season was challenging, with around 6 race sessions lost due to Covid restrictions and rain. However, the level of enjoyment was as high as ever. We were fortunate that the presentation event went ahead in fine weather after rain threatened all day.

A total of 32 riders participated in one or more of the 21-22 track racing sessions. Since the transfer of our track program to the Bundadome venue in 2014, a total of 77 riders from the club have participated in Track racing. Attendance was slightly down on last year, with 12 – 18 riders being the norm. This season, A grade was split into two levels (A1 and A2) for results and championship points. This change has opened up the Track Championship to more riders.

There were 14 evening track sessions with around 50 races over the season. The season provided a variety of race formats including scratch races, handicaps, pursuits, match races, points races and sprint time trials. All races contributed to an overall Track Championship. This year Alison Hale took out the Track Championship. It has been good to see several riders in contention for the championship in recent years. Alison is a most deserving winner as she attended every track session and proved to be the strongest rider in B grade. It was great to see several new faces this year and some returning trackies from years past. We had a very strong and successful female contingent including Karen Clutson, Sarah Stephens, Alison Hale, Pat Rooke, Kerry Knowler and Lindy Hou. It was good to see the A2 grade riders well up in the Championship point scores. Tony Beasley took out second place in the Track Championship with Craig Kentwell taking third place. Both of these riders had strong seasons and were consistently competitive.

Regrettably. this track season was not injury free. Ken Birch had a fall at full pace, due to a clipped wheel. Ken suffered bad abrasions and bruising. In the last eight years, we have had only six accidents at track, with mostly minor injuries. Despite the speed, close quarters racing and lack of brakes, track racing is consistently the safest race discipline offered by the club.

The standard of riding was high and most of the regular riders improved considerably over the season. As usual, it was difficult to select the most improved rider. However, this season’s award for most improved rider went to Karen Clutson from B grade. Karen has been super competitive in B grade and developed into a very worthy rival for Alison Hale.

The track season included a handicap Wheel Race just after Christmas, with the trophy taken by Steve Jones, using great tactical nous. Steve was off bike touring at the presentation date, so his medal and trophy were kindly accepted by his partner Kerry Knowler. Kerry is a track regular and exceptionally strong rider who can usually be relied upon to enliven the A grade events with suicidal attacks.

Towards the end of the season, we ran a four-event Omnium Championship. The results for this event are decided by “the algorithm” which attempts to equalise the chances of all track participants, regardless of grading. This year Michael Langdon took out the Omnium Championship. It was great that Michael returned as a regular rider this season. His lively presence had been missed.

21-22 Track Medal Winners

(L to R: Craig Kentwell & Tony Beasley: Bronze & Silver medallists for the Track Championship, Kerry Knowler: Accepted Xmas Wheel Race Trophy for Steve Jones, Alison Hale: Overall Track Champion, Karen Clutson: Most Improved Track Rider, Michael Langdon: Omnium Champion).

This summary would not be complete without acknowledging and thanking all the parties who contributed to the track season. In particular, Phil Coulton and the club committee arranged track bookings and provided general support for the track racing discipline. Ian Morton published reports and results in The Bleat. Kim Malcolm organised all the winner’s medals. Kirsty McVeigh took care of the finances that support track racing. Simon Whitehead provided regular sports medicine support. Thanks also to those who assisted in myriad ways over the season and particularly to the track riders who invariably displayed the best competitive spirit and camaraderie. As usual, trackies were great company over the season.

Graeme O’Neill

21-22 Track Season Results

Christmas Wheel Race Results (1st – 5th):
Steve Jones, Tony Beasley, Alison Hale, Craig Kentwell, Warwick Wilson

Season’s Most Improved Track Rider
Karen Clutson

Final Omnium Championship Points:
Michael Langdon (16), James Newhouse (13), Graeme O’Neill (13), Frank O’Sullivan (12), Tony Beasley (11), Tim Jolly (8), Karen Clutson (7), Alison Hale (6), Kerry Knowler (5), Lindy Hou (5), Terry Danaher (5).

Final 21/22 Track Championship Point Scores:
Alison Hale (239), Tony Beasley (226), Craig Kentwell (204), James Newhouse (197), Michael Langdon (191), Graeme O’Neill (133), Steve Jones (128), Karen Clutson (123), Ken Birch (119), John Paul De Sousa (116), Bruce Griffin (97), Kerry Knowler (93), Phil Coulton (85), Wayne Benham (68), Tim Jolly (65), Warwick Wilson (62), Ben Davis (58).

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  From the Race Committee

•  Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Handicaps

Changes this week;
 – Tom Stewart-Moore C to B
 – Simon Porombka C to B
 – Dale Kleeman C to B
 – Ben Vagnarelli D to C
 – Paul McKay E to D

CRMers out and out

An eagle-eyed Bleat reader commented on my rendition of the Peaks Challenge 2022 results which appeared last week. This was shocking for two reasons: one was that someone actually read it and the other was that Emma Padovan was the OVERALL female winner, beating 129 entrants ranging from TicTokers to OK Boomers.

ACT crit champs

These champs were conducted by AusCycling ACT on the weekend. The weekend format means more crits can be held on weekdays for those that like to mindlessly circle Stromlo, but it was a blow to entries resulting in only the likely medal winners turning up. This is further proof that we need to keep holding our championships on consecutive Tuesdays. See link for no surprises.

Dropper seatpost at Milano-San Remo

Those of you who follow international cycling would have seen Matej Mohric’s spectacular win at Milano-San Remo on Sunday morning. The use of the dropper seatpost, the bunny hop out of the gutter and the overall kamikaze descent that gave him enough advantage to prevent anyone bridging on the Via Roma will be part of cycling folklore for decades. I’m just wondering if any club members have already ordered a dropper seatpost in time for the winter season. Just think how handy it will be in the Iron Mike when descending from the end of the bitumen. The 50m gained will justify your purchase, if we move the finish line to Condor Creek.

GCN mega-fail

Kicked out of the bedroom where the smart TV is and unable to watch GCN on the intellectually challenged TV in the lounge room meant that I was streaming Milano-San Remo on my phone while watching a drama on iview to keep me awake during the first boring 260km. At first the app was allowing me to fast forward to the action so I could monitor race progress, but when the 6th episode of ‘Unforgotten’ had finished and Poggers’ minions were lighting it up on the Cipressa, my phone was showing an interview with Mads Pedersen and the riders still had over 100km to go. Unable to fast forward and not wanting to find out the result at 6am, I sadly had to resort to watching the live updates text feed on Cycling News.

Rob Langridge

From the Race Committee

Coaching

The Race Committee is looking to establish a roster of people prepared to act as coaches/mentors for new members who want to develop their skills.

Could anyone who is interested or who knows anyone who might be interested, please let the Race Committee know (race.committee@actvets.cc)

Race Directors and Marshals

The RMS has been updated with the ACT races that we have currently secured approval.

We are looking for volunteers to fill the Race Director and Marshal positions so that we can ensure the running of these races.

Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

Early bird entries close on 26 March. More details at: www.rotaryrides.org.au

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 22^nd March: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Pre-registration required by 22 Mar 2022 3:50 pm.

No late entries accepted.

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
E/F/G 20m+2 5:50 E/F/G 20m+2
A/C 6:15 A 28m+2, C 28m+2
B/D 6:50 B 28m+2, D 25m+2

Race Director: Craig Tozer   Contact: Email: cranoss@gmail.com    Ph  0414 157 765

Marshals: Gai Monahan

Thursday, 24^th March: Track Racing Presentation

This track session will be the 21-22 season presentation evening. Hope to see as many trackies as possible. All other club members also welcome.

There will be the usual practice and warm up from 5.30pm and a single Italian Pursuit event at 6.00pm, followed by the trophy presentations. The club will provide drinks and nibbles. If anyone wishes to bring a plate it will be most welcome.

Sunday, 27^th March – No Scheduled Road Race

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 15^th March

Unlike last week, the dry weather saw riders return in numbers across all grades. A and C grades start the evening, A Grade saw a number of attacks through out the race with Mathew Corby making a long range attack on the last lap only to be run down with the line in sight with James Meadley crossing first followed by, Mark Harris and Brad Peppinck. As a result of a communication breakdown, only the first three finishes were captured for A Grade. If you came in 4th and 5th please contact the race committee to allow the appropriate point to be allocated to you. C Grade set a steady pace with Mark Vardy taking his fair share of time up front. In the end it came down to a bunch sprint with Tom Stewart-Moore taking the points followed by Simon Porombka and Dale Kleeman.

B and D grade we next to go, like C Grade B Grade kept itself together for the majority of the race with Dominic ( The Dominator ) Romano taking a hotly contested sprint leading in Ed Pelligrino and Todd Sowter.

D grade stayed together until the final lap when it came apart leaving three riders in the lead group. After contested sprint Ben Vagnarelli took 1st place, which incidentally the same result as when he last raced in 2016 in C grade, followed by Steven Harrison and Greg Mitchell.

E.F and G grade were last to go, with Paul Mckay taking out E Grade, followed by Robert Solomon and Linda Stalls. F grade was won by Lindsay Graham with Gai Monahan taking G.

Graham Tanton

Track Racing – 17^th March

Thursday 17 March was the last competitive track session for the 21-22 season. Weather for the session was cool and overcast with almost no wind. Attendance was good at 16 riders, 9 in A grade and 7 in B grade.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was quite eventful. It commenced at a solid pace with turns by John Paul De Sousa, Wayne Benham, Michael Langdon and Tony Beasley. On lap 5 Craig Kentwell launched an attack, soon gaining 20m on the bunch and drawing out Michael Langdon as an ally. Over lap 6, Kerry Knowler worked hard to close the gap to this pair, eventually taking the lead by lap 7. Then Tim Jolly attacked with Michael Langdon again covering the attack. The bunch was fairly consolidated going into the bell lap and at that point Michael Langdon put in the decisive attack gaining a good lead and holding it to the finish. Tim Jolly and Ben Davis put in a dogged pursuit of Michael and were rewarded with second and third placings respectively.

The B Grade scratch race was also fairly eventful. Frank O’Sullivan enlivened matters with an attack from the start, soon gaining a 30m lead and putting Phil Coulton into difficulty, in pursuit. Phil rolled off and Bruce Griffin took over the pursuit before handing off to Alison Hale. By this time, Alison was within striking distance of Frank. One good acceleration closed the gap to Frank and soon consolidated the bunch. Graeme O’Neill took over the pacing for lap 5. When he rolled off, the bunch was starting to get toey with riders splayed across the banking and jockeying for position. This continued until the bell lap approached, when there was a sudden acceleration from Alison Hale and riders sprinted through the bell lap. Terry Danaher, Alison Hale and Frank O’Sullivan contested the placings. Terry showed a good turn of speed to take the win, while Alison was able to hold off Frank O’Sullivan to take second. Frank took a comfortable third place.

The next event was a 200-metre flying start time trial. This is a popular and technically challenging event. The fifteen riders who participated had exciting runs and put in respectable times that were quite close within the different grades. Michael Langdon put in the best time in A1 grade at 13.22 seconds. Tim Jolly had the best time in A2 grade at an amazing 13.27 seconds. Terry Danaher was best in B grade at an also impressive 13.91 seconds.

A 4-lap handicap was scheduled as the next event in the race session. However, with heavy cloud cover, the light was fading, so this event was dropped.

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. This event had 2 teams of 7 riders. Team 1 was anchored by Michael Langdon, so team 2 needed to establish and consolidate an early lead. Team 2 did their best and built a significant lead over the first 70% of the race. They surrendered some of their lead in the latter part of the race. However, they still looked a good prospect right up to the final changeover. At this point Michael Langdon was just too strong for the Team 2 anchor and gained a win for Team 1 by a few metres. It was an interesting race.

Major place getters for this session were as follows:
8-Lap Graded Scratch: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon, John Paul De Sousa, Wayne Benham. (A2 Grade) Tim Jolly, Ben Davis, Tony Beasley. (B Grade) Terry Danaher, Alison Hale, Frank O’Sullivan.
200m Fly TT: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon (13.22s), John Paul De Sousa (13.94s), Wayne Benham (13.98s), (A2 Grade) Tim Jolly (13.27s), Kerry Knowler (13.89s), Craig Kentwell (13.95s). (B Grade) Terry Danaher (13.91s), Frank O’Sullivan (14.29s), Alison Hale (14.36s).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Michael Langdon, Tony Beasley, Craig Kentwell, Tim Jolly, Phil Coulton, Frank O’Sullivan, Bruce Griffin).

Final Omnium Championship Points:
Michael Langdon (16), James Newhouse (13), Graeme O’Neill (13), Frank O’Sullivan (12), Tony Beasley (11), Tim Jolly (8), Karen Clutson (7), Alison Hale (6), Kerry Knowler (5), Lindy Hou (5), Terry Danaher (5).

Final Season Point Score:
Alison Hale (239), Tony Beasley (226), Craig Kentwell (204), James Newhouse (197), Michael Langdon (191), Graeme O’Neill (133), Steve Jones (128), Karen Clutson (123), Ken Birch (119), John Paul De Sousa (116), Bruce Griffin (97), Kerry Knowler (93), Phil Coulton (85), Wayne Benham (68), Tim Jolly (65), Warwick Wilson (62), Ben Davis (58).

Graeme O’Neill

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Race Committee

•  Masters Out and About

•  Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Race Committee

A reminder on race entries

Last Tuesday we had some members enter the crit but not race in anticipation of it being canceled due to the weather. Racing goes ahead unless the weather presents too great a risk such as lightning, extreme winds, or bushfire smoke. The regular wet track, Duck Pâté, and ugly southerly alone won’t result in a canceled race which by all accounts made the points worth the cost of a bottom bracket!

If you have entered a race but unable to race the race committee is happy to help with transferring your entry providing you email race.committee@actvets.cc as early as possible but definitely before your scheduled race time. Transferring is possible but does require some RMS wizardry so “changes of mind“, “legs needing a rest“, or “can’t miss MAFs” cannot be accommodated.

Coaching

The Race Committee is looking to establish a roster of people prepared to act as coaches/mentors for new members who want to develop their skills.

Could anyone who is interested or who knows anyone who might be interested, please let the Race Committee know (race.committee@actvets.cc)

Race Directors and Marshals

The RMS has been updated with the ACT races that we have currently secured approval.

We are looking for volunteers to fill the Race Director and Marshal positions so that we can ensure the running of these races.

Masters Out and About

The Falls Creek Peaks Challenge (235km 4000+ climbing metres) was held over the weekend with the club’s star mountain goats Emma Padovan and Jeremy Gillman-Wells recording some stunning performances. Emma was the 41-50 age category winner in 8:47 against 53 starters, while Jeremy, having recovered from his exhausting session of race directing on Tuesday, was 7th out of 454 finishers in the same age category for the men in a time of 7:53.

Over Wagga Wagga way, Marc Vroomans and Mark Harris finished 9th and 11th, respectively, in the Div 3 Criterium at Ladysmith, but were less successful in the open handicap. Ben Morrison was 4th in the Div 2 criterium, and finished among the 50-rider bunch in the handicap. Meanwhile at the Vikings Supercrits, Johnathan Chowns continued to turn back the decades, winning the D grade race.

Rob Langridge

Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

Early bird entries close on 26 March. More details at: www.rotaryrides.org.au

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 15^th March: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Pre-registration required by 15 Mar 2022 3:50 pm.

No late entries accepted.

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
A/C 5:50 A 28m+2, C 25m+2
B/D 6:25 B 28m+2, D 25m+2
E/F/G 7:00 E/F/G 20 m + 2

Race Director:  Graham Tanton   Contact: Email: grahamtanton@hotmail.com    Ph  0419 880 078

Marshals: Geoff Ellacott

Thursday, 17^th March: Track Racing

The Program for Thursday is;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice,
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 200m flying start TT;
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 4-lap handicap race;
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit.

Note: This session will be the final competitive track session for the 21-22 season. The season presentation evening will be 24 March 2022. Hope to see as many trackies as possible at the presentation evening. All other club members also welcome.

Sunday, 20^th March – No Scheduled Road Race

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 8^th March

Scratchings came thick and fast with Gerard Tiffen, Nathan Spillane, Gareth Downey and Paul Watson calling “I’m out” even before the day had begun. But that dear reader, was the tip of the iceberg with many riders having enough sense to not even register; whilst the howling gusts triggered others to not even bother glancing out the window in order to realise pulling on the lycra was foolhardy; meanwhile others delved deep into the BOM radar & weather alerts with great anticipation and decided this was a great week to volunteer for officiating.

26 hopeful souls backed themselves before 3.50pm. As it turns out, that was mostly bravado and folly.

First up to not race with 0 from 3 entrants in B grade and 0 from 5 in D great – it was a 100% “wash out” with no points awarded and a delighted CRMCC committee gratefully accepting the $80 donation.

G grade offered up a lone Andre Swenson who arrived super keen and super early. Sure, not keen enough to turn a pedal in anger for warm up – but there nonetheless. As we scoured the form guide for starters in F grade, Lindsay’s wife was aghast at the fact that we had even called her to find out whether or not Lindsey was indeed racing. He wasn’t. And that left Ross Heazlewood to “soak” up the maximum 2 points on offer in F. Cheekily, Andre, who had been sitting on Ross’ wheel all day, attacked up the final back straight but that move was to no avail and Ross easily rolled over him up the final climb of the day and monstered the cranks down the home straight into a nasty cross-head-southerly for glory. Impressively, that also meant a maximum 2 points for Andre in F grade so…well played sir, well played.

That left A & C grades with 3 hitters and 4 gladiators respectively…and they rolled out combined for 30 minutes & 25 minutes + 2 respectively. C grade valiantly holding the wheel in the early laps with Brad Peppinck and Bruce Goodfellow from A grade swapping turns out the front. David Parker was dangerously loitering at the very back of the combined A/C bunch. Brad made his first move down the front straight into the wind on lap three followed by Bruce and DP scrambling to stay in touch. This move, followed by the pace into collarbone corner, dislodged C grade and DP. And then with the tailwind behind them all up the back straight, the whole bunch managed to reform by the time they came round for the fourth lap.

Brad made another move off the front for lap five with DP and Bruce trailing. Further back to C grade who were trying to bridge the gap downhill into the headwind. By the time they hit the top of the track, it was A grade all back together for lap six and then the elastic snapped to C and the 3 A’s were out front, chopping off by themselves. Well that got us to 18 to go and quite frankly, nothing much happened in those long, cold, windy, wet and gloomy 18 minutes. Well except that Brad attacked with 9 to go and achieved a sizeable gap very quickly – a confident man in the wet considering he’s recently off the collarbone injury. And then it was all back together with 4 minutes to go. With two laps to go there was no action and all together into the final lap – clearly all saving themselves for the final. As they received the bell the wind was gusting strongly and the rain was picking up. Still all together is they came into collarbone corner for the final time and as they rounded the back straight with the tailwind the expected attack never came and it was all very cagey indeed. Into the home straight and they were fully fanned out across the track with DP unable to sustain the pace and Brad Peppernink showing his prowess and sprinting form as he crossed the line well ahead of Bruce.

After C grade was dislodged from the trio in A – Dale Kleeman was dropped due to the surging pace and strong winds. Mind you the enormous jacket he was wearing acted somewhat like a parachute and surely restricted his movement in the forward direction. The remaining three in C grade worked well together to stay up the front and ensuring that Dale could not rejoin. Mark Taylor was never seen at the front – the wily cat biding his time at the back of the 3 – although that did cost him a mouthful of track grit from all the spray. Dale rejoined the back of the bunch after being lapped with 2 to go. Tom Stewart-Moore led it out up the back straight however the combatants were very controlled and it looked like a lot of cat and mouse going on as they climbed for the last time. Tom was still in the front until halfway down the main straight and then Mark Taylor opened up the sprint and held on for the win ahead of Ian Preston and then Tom. Mark clearly taking a leaf from the Troy Reddick/Christophe book of racing – NEVER put your nose in the wind until you see the line…

Jeremy Gillman-Wells

Track Racing – 10^th March

Weather for the season’s 13th track racing session was mild with a moderate head wind in the Bundadome front straight. Attendance was 12 riders, 5 in A grade and 7 in B grade. This race session saw the completion of both the season’s track championship and the 4-event omnium championship.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was orderly. It commenced at an even pace with turns by Tony Beasley, James Newhouse Tim Jolly and Craig Kentwell. Craig must have felt good, as he did almost two laps on the front before handing off to Michael Langdon. Michael did a lap and a bit at bunch pace, before rolling off. However, instead of rotating to the back of the bunch, Michael eased up the banking, positioning himself for an attack as the bunch rolled into the penultimate lap. Michael soon made the expected attack, surging out to a 30-metre lead in the next half lap. As Michael rolled into the bell lap, Craig Kentwell, Tim Jolly and the remaining bunch were pursuing hard. However, by this stage Michael’s lead was unbeatable and he rolled in for a comfortable win. Craig and Tim battled it out for second place with Tim just pipping Craig at the line.

The B Grade scratch race was also fairly orderly with a good, solid pace. Terry Danaher, Karen Clutson, Alison Hale, Pat Rooke and Graeme O’Neill rolled through one lap turns on the front. Frank O’Sullivan took over the lead on lap 6. When he handed off to Phil Coulton, there were two laps to go. Phil took this as a signal to put the hammer down and put the bunch under pressure. The pack accelerated and before long the front runners where barrelling into the bell lap, at speed. Alison Hale held off everyone over the bell lap to take the win. Terry Danaher and Franck O’Sullivan pursued relentlessly and picked up second and third spots, respectively. Phil Coulton missed the reward for his attack, fading over the last lap.

The evening’s second event was a 2-Lap handicap event to conclude the Omnium Championship. Graeme O’Neill and Michael Langdon were tied on top points leading into this event, so if either could lead the other home, they would be a good prospect to take the championship. Graeme went off with the limit riders. Disaster struck immediately, when he pulled out of a cleat on initial acceleration. There was no hope of recovering from this, so Graeme dropped onto the duck board as remaining riders streamed past. The handicap was keenly contested with Frank O’Sullivan riding strongly for a win. James Newhouse did well to take second place from a difficult handicap. Michael Langdon rode superbly from the scratch mark to pick up third and take the Omnium championship by 3 points.

The evening’s third event was a difficult 12-lap snowball points race with 4-sprints. In the aptly named snowball, the sprint points grow as the event proceeds, making the latter sprints more valuable. In A grade, Craig Kentwell put in a great tactical effort to secure a win with 12 points. Tim Jolly and Tony Beasley rode doggedly to pick up second and third spots respectively. In B grade, Alison Hale dominated picking up 14 points for the win. Karen Clutson rode a good, tactical race to take second spot with 9 points and Frank O’Sullivan picked up third spot with 5 points.

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. This event had 2 teams of 6 riders. Team 1 was anchored by Michael Langdon, so team 2 needed to establish and consolidate an early lead. Team 2 almost did that, by great riding over the first two laps. However, the mid-race riders for Team 1 (Karen Clutson, James Newhouse and Tony Beasley) refused to give up any more advantage to Team 2. Consequently, Team 2 had only a small lead going into the final lap. Michael Langdon easily closed down this lead and surged to a 10-metre win for Team 1. The changing fortunes made for an interesting race.

Correction from last week:
Combined 2-lap Handicap: Alison Hale, James Newhouse, Karen Clutson

Major place getters for this session were as follows:
8-Lap Graded Scratch: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon. (A2 Grade) Tim Jolly, Craig Kentwell, Tony Beasley. (B Grade) Alison Hale, Terry Danaher, Frank O’Sullivan.
Combined 2-lap Handicap: Frank O’Sullivan, James Newhouse, Michael Langdon.
12-Lap Graded Snowball: (A Grade) Craig Kentwell (12pts), Tim Jolly (10pts), Tony Beasley(8pts). (B Grade) Alison Hale (14 pts), Karen Clutson (9 pts), Frank O’Sullivan (5 pts).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Michael Langdon, Tony Beasley , Karen Clutson, James Newhouse, Pat Rooke, Graeme O’Neill).

Final Omnium Championship Points:
Michael Langdon (16), James Newhouse (13), Graeme O’Neill (13), Frank O’Sullivan (12), Tony Beasley (11), Tim Jolly (8), Karen Clutson (7), Alison Hale (6), Kerry Knowler (5), Lindy Hou (5), Terry Danaher (5).

Season Point Score Update:
Alison Hale (239), Tony Beasley (226), Craig Kentwell (204), James Newhouse (197), Michael Langdon (191), Graeme O’Neill (133), Steve Jones (128), Karen Clutson (123), Ken Birch (119), John Paul De Sousa (116), Bruce Griffin (97), Kerry Knowler (93), Phil Coulton (85), Wayne Benham (68), Tim Jolly (65), Warwick Wilson (62), Ben Davis (58).

Graeme O’Neill

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Race Committee

•  Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Race Committee

Coaching

The Race Committee is looking to establish a roster of people prepared to act as coaches/mentors for new members who want to develop their skills.

Could anyone who is interested or who knows anyone who might be interested, please let the Race Committee know (race.committee@actsvets.cc)

Race Directors and Marshals

The RMS has been updated with the ACT races that we have currently secured approval.

We are looking for volunteers to fill the Race Director and Marshal positions so that we can ensure the running of these races.

Rotary Five Peaks Challenge

Early bird entries close on 26 March. More details at: www.rotaryrides.org.au

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 8^th March: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Pre-registration required by 8 Mar 2022 3:50 pm.

No late entries accepted.

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
B/D 5:50 B 30m+2, D 25m+2
E/F/G 6:25 E/F/G 22 m + 2
A/C 6:55 A 30m+2, C 25m+2

Race Director:  Jeremy Gillman-Wells   Contact: Email: jezgw@icloud.com    Ph  0434 111 172

Marshals: Craig Coleman

Thursday, 10^th March: Track Racing

The Program for Thursday is;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice,
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 2-lap handicap race (Omnium Event).
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 12-lap graded snowball.
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit.

Note: This session will be the second last competitive track session for the 21-22 season. It will conclude the 4-event Omnium championship. The season presentation evening will be 24 March 2022.

Sunday, 13^th March – No Scheduled Race

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 1^st March

The Toughest Conditions Ever greeted riders last Tuesday, with the first day of autumn bringing rain that washed away not only the sunshine but the race referee’s notes – so apologies are in order if the race report appears to be merely inspired by actual events.

Off first was E/F/G grades who probably had the pick of the conditions. All grades rolled away together with Andre Swenson and Bernie Crowe quickly settling into a tempo and letting E and F go up the road. Michelle Hodgetts requested an upgrade to E before the race started and then proceeded to put her F grade colleague to the sword with she and Chris Copeland towing the field around most of the race. With the handicapper present and adjusting race grades post-race, Chris got up over Mick Donaldson with Rosemary Robinson rounding out the podium and Michelle Hodgetts claiming the final position in E grade and Ross Heazlewood the lone rider in F finishing with the bunch to take the points for the win. In G grade Andre Swenson prevailed over Bernie Crowe in what must have been a fairly tough evening out with just the two in the group and the inclement weather.

With A and C grades rolling up the race was on, with a break both Mark and Stephen off the front in their respective grades at one point or another. Mark eventually returned to the bunch in A grade and Stephen, who nearly earned a warning for chasing A grade as they came past dangling off the front of C grade for a while before being swallowed up but hanging on for a strong second place finish behind a very strong Simon Porombka and in front of an evergreen Dale Kleeman who was very impressive. The B grade bunch worked well to bring back Stephen Terracini and then stay together for the bunch kick, impressive to watch.

With a dozen finishers in C and 14 in A grade the limited skills of the race referee were tested and some in the main A grade bunch were inadvertently shown the 2 laps to go board twice. However the break of four had established itself early and was on for young (welcome to the club James Meadley) and old with Nathan Spillane, Jeremy Gillman-Wells and Gerard Tiffen working extremely well together and lapping the C grade field several times and keeping the main bunch at a steady distance. The chasing group didn’t stand a chance of catching such a committed break and a few lone efforts to bridge ended up nowhere. The main interest was going to be if anybody could roll Gerard Tiffen for the win and in the end his teammate Jeremy Gillman-Wells took a very first, with Gerard second, James Meadley third and Nathan Spillane the chocolate medal. Back in the main field it ebbed and flowed a bit but finished in one group with Marc Vroomens getting the bunch kick over Christophe Barbaret and Mark Terracini. A bit of excitement in the final corner occurred with what sounded like an exploding tyre was confirmed with Michael Payne limping across the line with a popped front tyre, having hit a rock. Further salt was rubbed into the wound when Michael’s spare had a hole in it and the call of shame was made to the broomwagon. A tough night out.

By the time B and D got away the weather had become even more filthy, truly a race for the hard men, and Mongo. A dozen riders, evenly split amongst the two grades and to the surprise of nobody, Dominator The attempted an early break but it didn’t end up going anywhere with a group of four rolling around in a race that was shortened due to inclement weather leaving Gavin Stephens toughing it out solo for 5th, Dominic Romano pipping Darren Blackhurst for the bronze and Ed Pellegrino proving the best able to handle the cold and wet to beat Pete Young for the victory.

D grade had all six starters finish the race, and they looked to be having about as much fun B grade and the race officials were. Jonathon Chowns rode a very strong race for the win in front of Kevin Newhouse and Frank O’Sullivan. Chapeau to all though.

Fingers crossed for better weather for the last few races, and thanks to David Buckley for the assistance and timekeeping, and also to Rob Langridge for setting up and providing advice during the course of the races.

Ben McDuff

Track Racing – 3^rd March

Weather for the season’s 11th track racing session was cool with a strong head wind in the Bundadome front straight. There was a smattering of rain before the warm up commenced. However, the track was dry by the time the first rider began practicing. Despite a few threatening clouds, it remained fine for the race session. The uncertain conditions likely affected attendance, which was quite poor with just 11 riders, 6 in A grade and 5 in B grade. Terry Danaher lined up in B grade for his first track session with our club. However, Terry is an experienced track rider who adapted quickly to the racing.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was fairly tame by usual standards. It commenced at an even pace with turns by Tony Beasley, James Newhouse and Craig Kentwell. Michael Langdon rolled to the front on lap 4. He can usually be counted on to ramp up the pace. However, this time Michael was content to keep the pace even. After turns by Tim Jolly and John Paul De Sousa, Tony Beasley returned to the front on lap 7. This was Michael Langdon’s cue to attack. Michael soon had a 20m gap and held that comfortably through the bell lap for the win. Craig Kentwell and John Paul de Sousa put in a solid pursuit and were locked together approaching the line. Craig nosed ahead for second place with John Paul having a healthy gap on the remaining field for third place.

The B Grade scratch race was also fairly orderly, though the pace was quite high from the start. Graeme O’Neill had a shaky start, almost pulling out of a pedal before pursuing hard to close an initial gap. The action really started on the penultimate lap when the whole field put the hammer down. Karen Clutson and Alison Hale were soon out front, as usual. This time Karen powered over the line for a win over Alison in second place. Newcomers Terry Danaher and Frank O’Sullivan battled for third place with Terry taking the place in a good first ride with the track group.

The evening’s second event was a series of paired match races, with points counting towards the 4-event, Omnium Championship. These were interesting contests with some close results. Tactics were fairly similar across the event with most riders trying to get a small advantage in the high banking sectors. Winners were Michael Langdon, Tim Jolly, Tony Beasley, Karen Clutson and Terry Danaher.

The evening’s third event was a 2-lap handicap with A & B grades combined. Alison Hale and Karen Clutson scorched off the start line and overhauled the limit rider in half a lap. However, James Newhouse and the rest of the field were soon pursuing hard and keeping Alison and Karen well in sight. Alison had the pace to hold off everyone for a close win over Karen Clutson in second place and James Newhouse in third place.

The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. This event ended up with 2 teams of 5 riders. The teams were closely matched so it was no surprise that the small differential at the finish could be put down to better teamwork by Team 1. Team 2 made a small mistake in allowing a gap to develop in their paceline over the initial laps. This provided all the advantage that Team 1 needed for a good win.

Major place getters for Wednesday were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon, John Paul De Sousa. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell, Tony Beasley, Tim Jolly. (B Grade) Karen Clutson, Alison Hale, Terry Danaher.
2-Lap Paired Match Races: Winners (A1 Grade) Michael Langdon (A2 Grade) Tim Jolly, Tony Beasley. (B Grade) Karen Clutson, Terry Danaher.
Combined 2-lap Handicap: Alison Hale, Karen Clutson, James Newhouse
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (John Paul De Sousa, Tim Jolly, Karen Clutson, James Newhouse, Graeme O’Neill).

Omnium Championship Points after Round 3:
Michael Langdon (13), Graeme O’Neill (13), Tony Beasley (11), James Newhouse (9), Tim Jolly (8), Frank O’Sullivan (7), Karen Clutson (7), Alison Hale (6), Kerry Knowler (5), Lindy Hou (5), Terry Danaher (5).

Season Point Score Update:
Alison Hale (221), Tony Beasley (210), Craig Kentwell (186), James Newhouse (179), Michael Langdon (173), Steve Jones (128), Graeme O’Neill (123), Ken Birch (119), John Paul De Sousa (116), Karen Clutson (107), Bruce Griffin (97), Kerry Knowler (93), Phil Coulton (75), Wayne Benham (68), Warwick Wilson (62), Ben Davis (58).

Graeme O’Neill