Capital Region Masters Cycling Club

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Committee

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Report

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Committee

Next Committee meeting

The next Committee meeting of the CRMCC will be held on Monday 5th December.

Members who would like to attend in person are welcome to join us at the Raiders Club, Weston at 7:00pm.

Members who would like to attend by Zoom can use the following invitation: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82676094565?pwd=Ym1mTkF0THJ3WjlBdWJVOGY3VVFHQT09, Meeting ID: 826 7609 4565, Passcode: 267331

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Crankys Bicycle Worx Vouchers

Stuart Carling from Crankys Bicycle Worx in Downer has kindly donated a number of Major Tune Service Vouchers to be drawn from criterium race entrants. These are worth $180 (excluding parts) and include a comprehensive tune check and adjustment of all components on the bike including a wash and degrease of frame and components.

Congratulations to Stephen Terracini who won the first voucher at the race on the 15th November.

The second voucher winner will be announced between the first and second races on 29 November. Riders must have entered a race and be present at Stromlo at sometime on the same evening. To avoid a committee member printing and cutting up the names of the hundred entries, the winner will be selected earlier using the the Excel random number function. Committee members are ineligible to claim the prize. You can check out Stuart’s services here.

Promotions

Julian Singson B to A
Aaron Thompson B to A
Ed Meeuwissen B to A

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 29^th November: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Registration required by 29 Nov 2022 3:50 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Late entries may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please email race.committee@actvets.cc

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

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
Sunset @ 8:01

Race Director: Aaron Thomson Contact: Email: aaron_thomson@hotmail.com    Ph  0492 811 825

Marshals: Daniel Lekhac

ps For those members riding home after the race, don’t forget your lights. It will be getting dark soon after the racing.

Thursday, 1^st December: 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 – 6.40pm: 2-lap handicap.
6.40pm – 7.00pm: 8-lap Snowball.
7.00pm– 7.20pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 4^th December – Dairy Flat Road – Criterium Points Race

Reminder: All riders must register on the CRMCC Web site (https://rms.actvets.cc/calendar) by 3/12/2022 6:00 PM prior to the race. There is no registration at the event.

Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.

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.
Race Description:
A/B: 9am 50mins plus 1 lap
C/D: 10am 40mins plus 1 lap
E/F/G: 10:50am 30mins plus 1 lap
Riders are to race in their ‘Crit’ grade

Race Director:  tba Contact: Email: tba    Ph tba

Marshals: Vacant, Vacant Van Driver.

RACE REPORTS:

Track Racing – 24^th November

Thursday 24 November saw the sixth track racing session for the 2022-23 season. The weather was fine and sunny, though slightly cool. During the warm-up, there was a very strong head wind in the back straight. Fortunately, this moderated as the session progressed. Attendance was good with 16 riders, 9 in A grade and 7 in B grade. Blind athlete, Lindy Hou made a welcome appearance after a long lay-off, riding a tandem track bike with Colin Calderwood. They had a good evening, mostly as the popular lead out.

8-Lap Scratch Race

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was led out by Tim Jolly at a comfortable pace. The first five laps were quite orderly, with Conan Liu, Steve Jones, John Paul De Sousa. and Wayne Benham taking one lap turns at the front. However, each of these riders notched up the pace a little, so that the pack was really motoring by lap 6 when Kerry Knowler took the lead. Kerry appeared to have some tactical intent, as she pulled up the banking after a quarter lap, allowing Craig Kentwell to take the lead. At this point the race became interesting. Craig surged out for a lap as Conan Liu, Tim Jolly and Terry Danaher became active, jockeying for a good position to launch into the bell lap. With the bell lap approaching, Conan Liu surged past Craig and looked the hot prospect. However, as the bell lap progressed, Tim Jolly and Terry Danaher launched a vicious attack from the high banking and were soon around Conan, jockeying for the win. Ultimately Tim was the stronger and took the win closely followed by Terry Danaher and Conan Liu in that order.

B Grade had their typical, ordered race for the first 5 laps, with riders taking one-lap turns and holding a good pace. One-lap turns progressed until lap 6 when the pack had a great lead out from the tandem with Lindy Lou @ stoker and Colin Calderwood @ pilot. It was a good wheel to follow, double the horsepower, double the torsion and draft. Indeed, James Newhouse wizely stuck to them like glue for the race. James tucked in and then attacked around the Tandem on the bell lap, taking his time to drop down into the sprinters lane to take the win, followed by Garnetti 2nd and Anderson 3rd.

200 metre Fly

The evening’s second event was a 200-metre track sprint from a flying start. This is an exciting and technical event for riders. The launch is from high on the banked turn at near maximum pace. The kick down the banking is followed by a flat-out sprint for 200 metres. It is amazing how exhausting such a short sprint can be.

Most track regulars are quite accomplished at this event, so the lines and pacing were fairly consistent. However, Ed Garnett (alias Garnetti, premier bike builder) had a big drama, when his bike started the death wobbles at around 50 km/hr, shortly after the start line. It looked disturbing, but fortunately Ed managed to hold it together and avoid a nasty spill.

The A grade times were quite consistent with around a 1 second spread. A1 grade riders Steve Jones (13.61s) and Tim Jolly (13.64s) posted the stand-out times with Steve getting the upper hand by just 3 hundredths of a second. Craig Kentwell (14.12s) and Terry Danaher (14.14s) had an even closer tussle for best time in A2 grade. In B grade, both Hamish Anderson (14.33s) and Bruce Griffin (14.96s) put down excellent times under 15 seconds.

The 200 Fly event took considerable time to complete, so planned Snowball races were postponed until the following week, allowing sufficient time for an Italian Pursuit event.

Italian Pursuit – back straight breeze

A benign north-westerly prevailed for this week’s Italian pursuit. Another good start by Graeme O’Neill for team 1 this week saw the team well harmonised. Bruce Griffin started Team 2 at least as fast – noticeable by the half bike length gaps in Team 2 – the other riders needed to build on Bruce’s excellent start.

The win for Team 1 was again determined in the mid bunch of the Italian team – this time by Kerry Knowler. On her turn Kerry lifted the pace – the three riders behind were right in the draft and they then got up to warp speed with no gaps. Team 2 rode well but the mid bunch could not lift to the extend Kerry did. John Paul (Diesel) De Sousa @ anchor rider Team 1 had to hang onto the wheel of Conan Liu – he did and won it comfortably for Team 1.

For the flavour of the Italian Pursuit race, listen to the audio file of Michael Langdon’s Race Commentary. Thanks also to Michael for the better parts of this event write up.

Results Summary

8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, Steve Jones. (A2 Grade) Terry Danaher, Craig Kentwell, Kerry Knowler. (B Grade) James Newhouse. Ed Garnett, Hamish Anderson
200m Fly: (A1 Grade) Steve Jones (13.61s), Tim Jolly (13.64s), John Paul De Sousa (13.75s). (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell (14.12s), Terry Danaher (14.14s), Kerry Knowler (14.23s). (B Grade) Hamish Anderson (14.33s), Bruce Griffin (14.96s), James Newhouse (15.25s).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu, Steve Jones, Kerry Knowler, Ed Garnett, Graeme O’Neill).

Season Point Score Update

Tim Jolly (102), James Newhouse (94), Conan Liu (93), Craig Kentwell (92), Alison Hale (90), John Paul De Sousa (74), Ed Garnett (57), Mark Canaider (52), Graeme O’Neill (50), Bruce Griffin (48), Hamish Anderson (47), Wayne Benham (45), Steve Jones (43).

Graeme O’Neill

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Committee

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Report

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Committee

Committee meetings

The committee has received feedback from members asking about happenings at our monthly meetings. Members are always welcome to join the committee, one of our sub-working groups, or simply attend meetings which are held at 7pm on mostly the first Monday of each month at Raiders Western who generously support the club with meeting space. For our 5 December meeting and onwards we will be including a reminder and Zoom invite in the preceding week’s Bleat (28 Nov. 2022) so for those interested please keep an eye out and as always, feel free to lodge questions via the secretary@actvets.cc email address. Minutes, including the 2022 back catalogue, will also be published on the website for those who can’t make it to meetings. Hope to see you there and getting involved.

NSW racing update

As we approach the end of 2022 with the winter season behind us and the summer road season commenced, the committee felt it important that members are aware of the work being done to resume racing on NSW courses.

2022 has been a difficult and costly year for racing in NSW, primarily because the traffic controller qualification many of our wonderful ETC volunteers hold is recognised in the ACT only. The reason for this is that the ACT qualification is a truncated version for events, not the full ‘worksite’ qualification required by Traffic for NSW (TfNW).

As we’ve worked to resolve this we’ve engaged professional ETC services at a total cost around $10,500 for the 2022 calendar year, which has significantly impacted our resources as NSW race revenue consistently falls short of the cost of professional ETC services. It has also been identified that while our ETC qualifications need upgrading we also need to meet TfNW requirements for race directors.

These require that race directors must hold the Implement Traffic Management Plan qualification. While the professional services we’ve been using have this, it comes at an additional cost and they are not experienced to act as race directors as per AVCC racing rules.

The committee are cognisant of the disappointment the suspension of NSW racing has caused, after all we are racers too, but cannot in good conscience continue to run races that don’t comply with the myriad of requirements and where failure to do this could potentially impact member protections. The reality of our times is that we must be more professional in how we run our amateur organisation to manage the risks to our club and you our members, mates, and competition out on the road.

As a committee we are confident and committed to getting back on NSW courses once all these requirements are met, and until then are working on arrangements for our marque Gunning Tour we hope many of you will come out and support. Over the coming months we will be working on race director options and models to present to members, and calling for members to get qualified as NSW ETCs.

Until then, thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through this. Stay safe, have a great Christmas, and get training for an exciting 2023 road season.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 22^nd November: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Registration required by 22 Nov 2022 3:50 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Late entries may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please email race.committee@actvets.cc

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
B/D 5:50 B 40m 2, D 35m 2
E/F/G 6:35 28 min 2 laps
A/C 7:10 A 40m 2, C 35m 2
Sunset @ 7:54

Race Director: James Meadley Contact: Email: james@maritex.com.au    Ph  0400 664 326

Marshals: Anthony Dick

ps For those members riding home after the race, don’t forget your lights. It will be getting dark soon after the racing.

Thursday, 24^th November: 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: 200 metre fly.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 8-lap Snowball.
7.10pm– 7.30pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 27^th November – No scheduled race

RACE REPORTS:

Track Racing – 17^th November

Thursday 17 November saw the fifth track racing session for the 2022-23 season. The weather was fine, but cool. There was a strong southerly wind, providing a rare head wind in the front straight. Attendance was satisfactory with 13 riders, 7 in A grade and 6 in B grade.

8-Lap Scratch Race

The 8-lap A grade scratch race was led out by John Paul De Sousa who soon had the pack moving at a good clip. The majority of the race was quite orderly, with Conan Liu, Tim Jolly, Ben Davis and Wayne Benham taking turns at the front and holding a fast, even pace. Craig Kentwell rolled to the front on lap 5 and kicked the pace up a notch before handing off the Kerry Knowler. The real action was left to the bell lap when John Paul De Sousa attacked from the high banking closely pursued by Conan Liu. As the bell lap progressed, Tim Jolly surged around the leaders and cranked on the power, quickly gaining several metres for a comfortable win. Conan Liu followed Tim in for second place with John Paul De Sousa a close third.

For the 8-lap scratch race, B Grade conducted professional 1 lap turns as the riders were cautious of the unusual front straight head wind. The pace was consistently increasing as riders stayed in a tight bunch.

Ian Drayton (in All Blacks skin suit) attacked on lap 6 with Alison Hale (Stolen Goat striped kit) in close pursuit. With 1.5 laps to go Alison feigned in and out of the sprinter’s lane (note – one must stay in the sprinters lane from the final turn of the bell lap, if leading). Alison dispersed the other B grade riders up the track and commenced her sprint sequence count down. She timed the sprint lap to perfection with a close finish – result, 1st Alison Hale, 2nd Frank O’Sullivan, 3rd James Newhouse.

Standing Start Time Trial

The second event was a 2-lap standing start time trial. This is a flat-out sprint for around one minute and a real gut buster. Tim Jolly set the stand-out time of 51.86 seconds, around 3 seconds quicker than the next best time. Wayne Benham (55.06s) and John Paul De Sousa (55.25s) put in the next best A grade times.

In B grade James Newhouse confirmed his expertise in this event with a creditable winning time of 57.48 seconds. This time was closely followed by Frank O’Sullivan (57.64s) with Alison Hale putting in the third best time of 60.19 seconds.

Italian Pursuit – A tale of tailwinds

Team 1 started very well with Graeme O’Neill; (keeper of the Omnium algorithm) – placing Team 1 in front from the start. That lead was built on by rider no. 2, Alison Hale.

Team 1 didn’t start into the 25km/h southerly head wind – Team 1 started under the southern banking lip of the Bundadome (37% gradient on the bank) – once clear of the lower banking (half a lap), Team 1 hitched the tailwind down the back straight and picked up substantial pace.

Team 2 on the other hand with a good start all the same; hit the headwind after half a lap – this disrupted the Team 2 coalition of the willing.

Both teams worked well together with no gaps. Team 1 came through for the win (20 metres) with Team 2 anchor Tim Jolly making up ground again this week, but the Team 2 chase was once again into the headwind.

For the flavour of the Italian Pursuit race, listen to the attached audio file of Michael Langdon’s race commentary. Thanks also to Michael for co-authoring this event write up.

For the flavour of the Italian Pursuit race, listen to the audio file of Michael Langdon’s Race Commentary. Thanks also to Michael for the better parts of this event write up.

Results Summary

8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell, Kerry Knowler. (B Grade) Alison Hale, Frank O’Sullivan, James Newhouse.
2-Lap Standing Start Time trial: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly (51.86s), Wayne Benham (55.06s), John Paul De Sousa (55.25s). (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell (55.59), Kerry Knowler (58.58). (B Grade) James Newhouse (57.48s), Frank O’Sullivan (57.64s), Alison Hale (60.19s).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Conan Liu, Craig Kentwell, James Newhouse, Wayne Benham, Alison Hale, Graeme O’Neill).

Season Point Score Update:

Alison Hale (90), Tim Jolly (85), Conan Liu (80), James Newhouse (77), Craig Kentwell (74), John Paul De Sousa (61), Ed Garnett (43), Mark Canaider (43), Bruce Griffin (37), Graeme O’Neill (35), Ian Drayton (35), Wayne Benham (35), Phil Coulton (32).

Graeme O’Neill

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  Race Registration Issues

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  From the Committee

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Report

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

Race Registration Issues

There are currently some issues with the on-line registration system payment form. We are currently looking into the issue.

The Race Fee has been set to $0 so Members should be able to Register without having to load the payment form.

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Crankys Bicycle Worx Vouchers

Stuart Carling from Crankys Bicycle Worx in Downer has kindly donated a number of Major Tune Service Vouchers to be drawn from criterium race entrants. These are worth $180 (excluding parts) and include a comprehensive tune check and adjustment of all components on the bike including a wash and degrease of frame and components.

The first voucher winner will be announced between the first and second races on 15 November. Riders must have entered a race and be present at Stromlo at sometime on the same evening. To avoid a committee member printing and cutting up the names of the hundred entries, the winner will be selected earlier using the the Excel random number function. Committee members are ineligible to claim the prize. You can check out Stuart’s services here.

Promotions

Very friendly conditions have resulted in few breakaway winners in the past month, but this will change with a 30km/h westerly forecast for tomorrow! Riders displaying early season form have been duly rewarded with promotions.

Michael Rowland B to A
Andrew Yates B to A
Craig O’Neall C to B
Luke Philps C to B
Sonja Falez D to C
Ross Heazlewook F to E

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

From the Committee

AVCC Insurance

Back in July, the Committee (thanks to Dougal) looked at and compared the insurance coverage between AVCC and AusCycling and concluded that AVCC was more comprehensive. As a reminder, the following advice from AVCC outlines the current coverage;

The AVCC’s insurance will cover you for riding in events sanctioned by the AVCC (ie. events organised by an AVCC affiliated club) and for training rides etc. but it will not cover you for riding in other organised events (eg. events organised by AUSCycling, charities, councils etc). The organisers of these events will need to have their own insurance to cover the participants. The COCs are provided to each AVCC affiliated club at the start of the year. I have attached CRMCC’s COC.

This is the relevant paragraph from the Schedule of Cover –

“For registered members of the AVCC, benefits are applicable to third party injury and property damage occurring during any and all bike riding activities 24hrs a day, unless the AVCC insured member is competing in an event / race that is not sanctioned or conducted under the endorsed protocols of the AVCC Inc.“

Registration for 2023

Fees for next year have not been set (waiting on Insurance costs) so Members should not try to register for next year yet.

Reminders will be sent out once Registration is open.

First Aid Qualifications

Could members who are First Aid qualified to email the Race Committee (race.committee@actvets.cc) so we can build a Master list for future reference?

Reduced Membership Fee for Remainder of 2022

A reduced membership fee of $80 is now available for new members and non-financial members wishing to rejoin the club between now and 31 December 2022. Register via the AVCC online membership portal at https://memberdesq.sportstg.com//index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 15^th November: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Registration required by 15 Nov 2022 3:50 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Late entries may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please email race.committee@actvets.cc

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
Sunset @ 7:47

Race Director: Michael Golding Contact: Email: magolding2010@gmail.com    Ph  0402 011 986

Marshals: Cat Riley

ps For those members riding home after the race, don’t forget your lights. It will be getting dark soon after the racing.

Thursday, 17^th November: 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 – 7.00pm: 2-lap standing start, time trial.
7.00pm– 7.20pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 20^th November – Uriarra Homestead – Graded Time Trial

Reminder: All riders must register on the CRMCC Web site (https://rms.actvets.cc/calendar) by 19/11/2022 6:00 PM prior to the race. There is no registration at the event.

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:
Uriarra Homestead – Uphill to Short turn before the climb – downhill to top of Uriarra Crossing – back up to Homestead.
3 laps for A-D Grades. 2 Laps others

Race Director:  tba Contact: Email: tba    Ph tba

Marshals: Russell Marston ETC, Vacant ETC x 2, Vacant Van Driver.

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 8^th November

An almost perfect evening for bike racing was duly delivered for the many riders who turned up to blow out the cobwebs built up on account of their recent lack of SFP crit racing opportunities.

The evening kicked off with a 21 rider strong A-grade and an even larger 26 rider C-grade peloton. In A-grade, an early 2 lap solo attack from Daniel Lekhac got things off with a bang, Daniel was then joined for a few more laps out in front by the numberless Trek rider for some more suffering before both were gobbled up by the Cartel led bunch. The racing from that moment turned into an on/off type affair for the most part. A few riders had their moments off the front in an attempt to lure a strong breakaway but it looked as if it was always going to come down to a bunch kick. The downhill bunch finish was certainly fast, James Meadley held out to salute the judges, followed by Michael Davies and the always-threatening Gerard Tiffen. (Most combative red number awarded to Daniel Lekhac for his many solo efforts).

C-grade was a more steady consistent affair, things got underway with Team Quon applying some serious pressure early to potentially shell a few off the back, but no dice. Luke Philips and Stephen Terracini were next to jump off the front for a lap and a half in the breeze before the bunch pulled them back. Next to go was Simon Costello, Mark Vardy, and an identifiable 3rd assailant for another spell off the front, again the bunch had everything in control, and the race headed to its inevitable bunch sprint. Craig O’Neall was too strong at the line, followed by Luke Philips and Michael Hanbury.

B & D grades were next to head out to race circuit, the 26 racer strong B-grade got things firing from the starting gun. Matt Hinchcliffe, Aaron Thomson and Michael Rowland jumped out to early lead and held the bunch at arm’s length for the first 10 minutes of the race before the peloton bought them back. Ed Meeuwissen, Toby McLenaghan and crowd favourite Krusty Bryant were next to have a crack out front before returning to the fold. Michael Rowland and Toby McLenaghan went away again, this time with Andrew Chamberlain for company, but the Dominator led bunch were having nothing of it and in a few moments it was all back together. Andrew Yates’ outlandish lycra apparel was thought to have been an attempt to blind and confuse the contenders at the finish line but unfortunately for Andrew 2nd place in the bunch sprint would have to suffice as Michael Rowland was just too good, 3rd went to the consistent Ed Meeuwissen.

D-grade was another large peloton of 22 racers, most of whom seemed more than willing to sit in behind the tandem of John Barlow and Ben Healy for some drafting practice in the early stages of proceedings. Ian Morton had a go at the 15-minute mark, Rob Langridge had a go at the 28-minute mark, however, another bunch sprint was on the cards. The sprint from Sonja Falez was just too strong for her rivals and the resulting victory would have had to be the most impressive of the evening, Sonja led Brian Chugg home for 2nd place and Ally Roche for 3rd.

E and F grades rolled away under the spectacular Blood Moon, unfortunately, F-grade visitor Robyn Smallwood missed the start by as much as 30 seconds as she was experiencing an electronics malfunction. Robyn to her credit, circulated strongly solo for the duration at the distant rear, to me Robyn was a winner and can certainly be proud of her effort. Both E and F grades circumnavigated SFP in bunch formations with style and with great enthusiasm. E grade was won by Linda Stals, followed by Chris Copeland and Brent Fraser. F grade victor Ross Heazlewood edged out Bob Miller and Lindsay Graham in 3rd place.

Track Racing – 10^th November

Thursday 10 November saw the fourth track racing session for the 2022-23 season. Finally, the weather gods smiled on the session, with balmy conditions and light wind. The conditions were no doubt a factor in the good attendance (18 riders equally split between A and B grades).

The 8-lap A grade scratch race kicked off with Craig Kentwell leading out at a good tempo and doing one and a half laps on the front, before handing off to Steve Jones and then Conan Liu. Conan lifted the pace and successive turns by John Paul De Sousa, Terry Danaher, Ben Davis and Wayne Benham kept the pack really motoring. Tim Jolly rolled into the lead just before lap 7 and kicked up the pace further. At this stage, Craig Kentwell was looking very lively and was soon surging out at pace, establishing a handy gap but, ominously, also towing out Steve Jones and a small following pack. At the finish, Steve sprinted past John Paul De Sousa to take the win with John Paul and Conan Liu claiming the minor placings in that order. It was an honest and fast paced contest.

The 8-lap B Grade scratch commenced with Phil Coulton providing a genteel start. It progressed to riders taking half lap turns after Ian Drayton’s one lap turn substantially moved the group on from genteel pace. On occasions, Ed Garnett was seen poised high on the track on a superb steel, burnt orange, Garnetti frame. The crowd anticipated a flying attack – however it did not occur. Phil Coulton was soon back on the front handing off to the Alison Hale / Karen Clutson team with 4 laps to go. However, this was too far out for these sprinters – so half lap turns ensued – even second wheel pull ups too. Eventually, James Newhouse started a lead out with Alison Hale in tow, now commencing her launch sequence. From high on the track, Alison attacked James. Out of the saddle Alison shot down the banking with one lap to go with teammate Karen Clutson in hot pursuit. Result 1st Hale, 2nd Cluston 3rd Newhouse.

The second event featured 2-lap handicaps with two separate races, each hosting A and B grade riders. Race 1 was dominated by A grade with Craig Kentwell and Steve Jones putting in great efforts from back marks to overhaul the B grade riders for first and second placings. James Newhouse salvaged respect for B grade, by taking the third spot in Race 1. Race 2 saw Graeme O’Neill lead out on the limit handicap. However, Ed Garnett started like a Dapto Greyhound and overtook Graeme on first pass of the back straight. Ed slotted himself into the sprinters lane preparing for the bell lap. Alison Hale had seen this and tried to stay with the leaders. However, Terry Danaher was, by now, well positioned and moved through the draft of Ed Garnett to the lead. Karen Clutson was in the mix, but the back markers had left their run too late, as 2 laps goes pretty fast. The result was 1st Terry Danaher, 2nd Ed Garnett, 3rd Karen Cluston.

The third race event was a mystery race with the bell lap called at random between lap five and lap ten. To make it interesting, the race combined A and B grades with B grade given a half lap start. B grade sensibly worked together over the initial laps while A grade split up and pursued individually. This strategy worked for Conan Liu who powered through the laps to overtake all for the win. Alison Hale and Mark Canaider capitalised on the B grade strategy by holding on for second and third placings, respectively.

The final event for the evening was the usual Italian Pursuit. On current results, it seems that if Craig Kentwell is in your Italian Pursuit team, it will usually return a win. Yes, the team anchor (last rider), needs to stay the race. However, the mid team riders must keep the team together with a nuanced ride.

Team 1 started well with Graeme O’Neill (aka the algorithm master) surprisingly, not pulling a foot! From a good start, Team 1 worked well together with Karen Clutson and Alison Hale applying smooth and ever faster laps.

Team 2 had a genteel start and needed to lift the speed. Nonetheless, their start was coordinated and good enough. Some gaps soon appeared within Team 2 so kudos to Mark Canaider for holding the third lap together, handing over to James Newhouse for a steadying lap. Meanwhile Team 1, after several great laps, now experienced a mid-field difficulty. Team 2 had by then ironed out the gaps. Craig Kentwell then set the mid field mortise and tenon joint for Team 2 now really pick up speed, providing an excellent platform for John Paul (Diesel) D’Sousa and Conan Liu at Anchor. By the final lap, the Team 1 Anchor (Tim Jolly) had too big a job on his hands with Conan Liu completing a blistering final lap to build the Team 2 lead out to around 40 metres. Congratulations to Team 2.

For the flavour of the Italian Pursuit race, listen to the audio file of Michael Langdon’s Race Commentary. Thanks also to Michael for the better parts of this event write up.

Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Steve Jones, John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell, Terry Danaher (B Grade) Alison Hale, Karen Clutson, James Newhouse.
2-Lap Handicap: (Race 1) Craig Kentwell, Steve Jones, James Newhouse (Race 2) Terry Danaher, Ed Garnett, Karen Clutson.
Mystery Race (7 Laps) Conan Liu, Alison Hale, Mark Canaider.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu, Craig Kentwell, Elizabeth Lowe, James Newhouse, Phil Coulton, Mark Canaider).

Season Point Score Update:
Alison Hale (72), Tim Jolly (67), Conan Liu (64), James Newhouse (59), Craig Kentwell (54), John Paul De Sousa (47), Ed Garnett (43), Mark Canaider (43), Phil Coulton (32), Hamish Anderson (31), Graeme O’Neill (29), Ian Drayton (26), Steve Jones (26).

Masters,

In this week’s Bleat;

•  From the Committee

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Report

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

From the Committee

Registration for 2023

Fees for next year have not been set (waiting on Insurance costs) so Members should not try to register for next year yet.

Reminders will be sent out once Registration is open.

First Aid Qualifications

Could members who are First Aid qualified to email the Race Committee (race.committee@actvets.cc) so we can build a Master list for future reference?

Reduced Membership Fee for Remainder of 2022

A reduced membership fee of $80 is now available for new members and non-financial members wishing to rejoin the club between now and 31 December 2022. Register via the AVCC online membership portal at https://memberdesq.sportstg.com//index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 8^th November: Stromlo Criterium

Note: Registration required by 8 Nov 2022 3:50 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Late entries may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please email race.committee@actvets.cc

Where: Stromlo Forest Park

Race Description:
A/C 5:50 A 38m 2, C 33m 2
B/D 6:35 B 38m 2, D 33m 2
E/F/G 7:15 25 min 2 laps
Sunset @ 7:40

Race Director: Antony Bishop Contact: Email: antony.bishop@hotmail.com    Ph  0414 205 090

Marshals: Russell Marston

ps For those members riding home after the race, don’t forget your lights. It will be getting dark soon after the racing.

Thursday, 10^th November: 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.
6.50pm– 7.10pm: Mystery Race.
7.10pm– 7.30pm: Italian Pursuit.

Sunday, 13^th November – No Scheduled Race

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 1^st November

On a bleak Tuesday evening the registered riders for B, E and F decided they were better off indoors at home. Nine of the 51 registered riders were not letting a wee bit of moisture to deny them the chance of duck poo on their drivetrain.

D grade with four riders were the first to roll away. Ian Morton held on grimly for 13 minutes before the rubber band broke to leave Steven Harrison, Rob Langridge and Paul Morgan to take turns for the next 17 minutes before the final two laps. Ian Morton then withdrew after 30 minutes with a flat tyre when told there were two laps left. “Why couldn’t this have happened after the first lap?” was Ian’s reply.

With Langridge leading the others during the second last lap, I asked who would take it out with Morton replying “It won’t be Langridge as he won’t want to up grade himself!”. As they approached for the nuts for the final time, the three riders were doing their best to not be on the front. In one of the slowest sprints you could observe from three riders, Morgan crossed first with Harrison second and the club handicapper ensuring he stays in D for another week.

Next was an intermission with no E and F grade riders.

Final event was A and C. An agreement was made to shorten the race to 26 minutes plus 2 laps for A while C would be five minutes fewer.

Both grades rode off together with A riding away from C very early in the race. A kept racing together until around 3 minutes left with visitor Rhys Armstrong putting in an effort up the finish straight that James Thorp followed and dropped VP Dave Parker.

Armstrong dug in again with two laps left to create a small gap yet Thorp reeled him on the back straight. On the final lap Thorp surged to drop Armstrong which the pursuer reduced in the approach to Collarbone before James put in another effort approaching the final corner to emerge on the final straight with a buffer to ride for the chocolates, with Rhys second and Dave third.

C grade was a race of two – Ian Preston and Craig O’Neall. Preston and O’Neall swapped turns during their race where Ian had an aero advantage as Craig wore a cycling jacket where the hoodie resembled a windsock, particularly up the straight. Preston forced the pace on the final lap to win with a comfortable gap to O’Neall.

Thank you to Tom Stewart Moore for the marshalling, Simon as our first aider and committee members who helped in setting up and closing.

Ed Logue

Track Racing – 3^rd November

Thursday 3 October saw the third track racing session for the 2022-23 season. The weather was again unpredictable, with scattered showers as the evening approached. However, conditions for racing were, ultimately, quite good. The evening was largely fine and sunny, with light rain appearing only after the racing was completed. There was a fresh headwind in the back straight, the usual wind direction for the Bundadome. Attendance (12 riders) was fair for the uncertain conditions. A and B grades each had six riders.

The 8-lap A grade scratch race kicked off with John Paul De Sousa leading out at a good tempo. Conan Liu and Tim Jolly rolled through turns on the front and each notched up the pace so that the bunch was holding a very quick tempo by mid race. John Paul took another turn mid race, followed by Steve Jones in his first outing this season. On laps 6 and 7, Ben Davis and Wayne Benham notched up the pace further. However, this did not discourage an attack by Tim Jolly on lap 7. Tim’s attack seemed to surprise the bunch, as the reaction was delayed until Tim had a lead of around 30 metres. At this point Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa and Steve Jones reacted and set off in pursuit of Tim. However, by then Tim had too big a lead, allowing him an emphatic win. Conan, John Paul and Steve jinked it out for the placings and finished in that order.

The B Grade scratch was quite orderly with riders taking one lap turns until just before the bell lap. To that point, the pace was solid, but not sufficient to dislodge any riders. As the bell lap approached, the bunch was compact and splayed up the banking at the turn into the front straight. Graeme O’Neill kicked first, on the outside. However, this triggered furious accelerations from the bunch, so that Graeme was soon barely hanging on out the back. Up front, Alison Hale and Ian Drayton were dicing ahead of James Newhouse and Frank O’Sullivan. As usual, Alison proved strongest, taking a good win ahead of Frank O’Sullivan and the rapidly improving Ian Drayton.

The second events were points races, 20-lap (5 sprints) for A grade and 16 laps (4 sprints) for B grade. Conan Liu dominated the A grade race taking all the sprints for a maximal 30 points. The placings were an interesting tussle with the outcome not immediately obvious. Ultimately it was John Paul De Sousa (17 points) who took second place ahead of Tim Jolly on 15 points.

The B grade points race was dominated by Alison Hale who won 3 of the 4 sprints and accumulated 23 points for the overall win. Ian Drayton put in a good initial effort, winning sprint one. This win was sufficient for an overall third placing (13 points) despite the cost to him for the remaining sprints. James Newhouse performed very consistently, taking second or third placing in every sprint, to accumulate the second highest point score of 19 points.

The final event for the evening was the usual Italian Pursuit. On paper, the teams looked quite even. However, Team 1 had a bad start when Graeme O’Neill pulled out of a cleat. Graeme soldiered on, but Phil Coulton made the most of this setback by providing Team 2 with a significant early advantage. From this point, the teams performed similarly with a few minor flaws in teamwork. However, Team 1 could not peg back the initial setback, handing Team 2 an emphatic win.

Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa. (B Grade) Alison Hale, Frank O’Sullivan, Ian Drayton.
Points Race: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu (30 pts), John Paul De Sousa (17pts), Tim Jolly (15 pts) (B Grade) Alison Hale (23pts), James Newhouse (19pts), Ian Drayton (13pts).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (John Paul De Sousa, Tim Jolly, Alison Hale, Ben Davis, Phil Coulton, Ian Drayton).

Season Point Score Update:
Tim Jolly (55), Alison Hale (53), Conan Liu (45), James Newhouse (43), Craig Kentwell (34), John Paul De Sousa (33), Hamish Anderson (31), Ed Garnett (30), Mark Canaider (28), Bruce Griffin (25), Colin Calderwood (23), Phil Coulton (22).

Graeme O’Neill

Sutton Driver Training Centre – 6^th November

After the average weather experienced lately, there were plenty of smiles on the start line as Sunday turned on near perfect conditions for racing on the Sutton Driver Training Course. The sun was shining, there was very little wind and even the water across the concrete causeway around the back of the circuit wasn’t as deep as you might have expected given the amount of rain recently.

E Grade was first away and were all together until Karen Klutson was unfortunate enough to drop a chain on the first corner rise on lap 2. Karen was able to quickly get underway again and seemed to be slowly closing the gap to the bunch. However, she decided that she didn’t want to ride alone anymore and pulled over to watch the rest of the field battle it out.

Rob Langridge was conspicuous in his presence on the front of the remaining bunch by leading, at least as they went past the start/finish line, during the early laps. It was hard to pick who was doing the bulk of the work on the front once the bunch disappeared around the back of the course.

At the conclusion, Alison Hale put on a well-timed sprint down the long finishing straight to take first place with a clear gap to Russell Marston in second, with Rosemary Robinson coming in third.

F Grade set off behind E Grade at a steady rate but it wasn’t long before the pace started to increase. Paul Robey elected to sit off the back of the small bunch, perhaps to get a better view of the unfolding action. The final sprint saw Elizabeth Lowe take line honours from Chris Copeland in second and Lindsay Graham in third.

A Grade was next away with 11 starters. The bunch was all together at the end of the first lap, but this was to be no easy Sunday morning cruise as multiple attacks soon started to launch. By lap 3, there were three off the front with a handy gap of about 30 m as they crossed the start/finish line. Three soon became seven as others bridged the gap, only to see the group split again. Daniel Lekhac was in the leading bunch but had disappeared from view when they next came down the finishing straight, only to reappear soon after on foot having suffered a puncture.

The pace being set by the leaders meant that the A Grade field was spread around the course, with small chasing groups and individuals fighting to stay in touch. A very entertaining race ended with a powerful sprint by Steve Crispin to take first, closely followed by Sebastian Mueller, with Bradley Peppinck in third. A few of us watching on were left wondering what it would be like to be as fit as an A Grader!

Like A Grade, B Grade were still together at the end of the first lap but soon after, an increase in pace saw the bunch split up with a group of 5 riders out front. After a punishing burst of speed down the finish straight, Mark Harris took first place from Michael Rowland in second and Conan Liu in third.

C Grade, with the largest number of starters. was next away. Darren Blackhurst wasn’t hanging around and at the end of the first lap had a handy little break on the rest of the field. He was reeled back in by the bunch that then mostly stayed together until the last lap. Gareth Downey prevailed over Andrew Yates in second and Matt Hinchcliffe in third.

D Grade were last away and the small bunch seemed happy to stay together and rotate the lead. Eventually the red mist descended and any camaraderie that had been on display earlier was forgotten as the final sprint started. John Stokman seemed to be heading for a clear victory but a fast finishing Terry Moore came ever so close to snatching it away on the line. In what was the closest finish of the day, John just held on by half a wheel from Terry, with Eoin Rothery completing the top three.

Thanks go to Simon Whitehead for standing by to render first aid, which thankfully wasn’t required, Steve Sims for driving the van and assisting with comms, and Greg Mitchell and a hobbling Matt for their marshalling expertise.

Kevin Newhouse