Masters,
In this week’s Bleat;
• Rosemary Robinson – Reflecting on 500 Races
• From the Committee
• Racing this Week
• Race Report
Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc
Rosemary Robinson – Reflecting on 500 Races
Reflecting on 500 races with the Club brings so many memories of camaraderie and friendship.
Warm summer evenings at Mount Stromlo crits or chatting between efforts at the track at Queanbeyan town Park. Rolling with the bunch up hill and down dale. Racing at times through wind and rain. Highs like winning one of the perpetual trophies and exceeding my own expectations.
Lows like two falls in races and Peter McClennan’s funeral. But in those lows so many of you were there. A dozen Vets friends visited me in hospital after my accident in 2009.
Back in the day when we first had tandems racing with the club in a segregated tandem grade, it was a bit of a challenge trying to shuffle the same 6-10 bums around on the 6-10 tandem seats to make a plausible bunch. If, in a vain attempt to hang on in the tandem grade with the A grade likes of Ashley Carruthers and Robert Bleeker; I may have smuggled an underaged man on the back of my tandem once or twice, I hope I will be forgiven.
Where to from here? Ross and I still ride regularly, sometimes with my grandson in the bike trailer. I joined the Port Macquarie Triathlon club in June and race and train with them regularly. I tried a couple of crits with the Port Macquarie Cycling club, but I’m not sure I’ll join up. Maybe 500 races is enough.
Rosemary Robinson
From the Committee
Race Numbers
All members are required to wear race numbers during the event to ensure that the race officials can identify riders, particularly during events like points races.
Access to temporary numbers is available at events if you forget to bring your number.
Registration for 2023
The National Body is yet to confirm the Insurance costs for next year but at this stage it appears there will be no increase. The Committee voted to not charge any additional fees so this will result in no increase in Membership fees.
We will advise once Registration for next year is open.
RACING THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, 6th December: Stromlo Criterium
Note: Registration required by 6 Dec 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 28 min 2 laps
A/C 6:25 A 42m 2, C 38m 2
B/D 7:15 B 42m 2, D 38m 2
Sunset @ 8:07
Race Director: Simon Junakovic Contact: Email: admin@simeco.com.au Ph 0418 431 903
Marshals: Frank Zeller
ps For those members riding home after the race, don’t forget your lights. It will be getting dark soon after the racing.
Thursday, 8th 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 – 6.50pm: 1-lap screamer (flying start TT).
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 2-lap handicap.
7.10pm– 7.30pm: Italian Pursuit.
Sunday, 11th December – No Scheduled Race
RACE REPORTS:
SFP Criterium – 29th November
With seemingly perfect race conditions and the prospect of long race times, the start lists were showing good numbers for this week’s racing. The 10min mega hailstorm earlier in the week had washed plenty of Stromlo clay across the crit track which would be great for a mixed surface gravel racing event had it not been diligently swept away by the marshalling team.
First up was A grade who muttered and groaned at the mention of a 42min race then rolled away with lacking enthusiasm so much so that the C grade bunch almost made the catch despite being held back on the line for an extra 10 seconds. It wasn’t long before the attacks started with recently promoted Julian Singson getting amongst it after arriving late and taking a lap out. He and Marc Harris went off the front for a lap or two hoping that others would be up for an early dig but alas, there were no takers this time. Singson’s early efforts combined with a surging bunch would put him out the back shortly after and see him riding out the remainder of race in the C grade bunch. Not to be outdone by Julian’s antics, the other newcomer to A Grade Ed Meeuwissen, went up the road with Jeremy Gillman-Wells, Michael Davies and one other, proving that 1200kms and a greater or equal number of frothy beverages for the year is all you need to mix it up with the big boys. Ed soon realised that 35mins at full gas might be a bit much on his current training program and so took the ‘easy’ option to roll back to the bunch and grab the nearest wheel available. Despite JGW’s efforts in road captaining the break they were caught shortly after in another bunch surge. With 30mins to go, give or take 6mins, the winning break was formed with Jimmy Carroll, Seb Muller, Paul Scherl and one other getting clear and working cohesively in the wind. The soul-destroying headwind going up the main straight discouraged any organised chase from the main bunch which allowed the break to quickly distance themselves. The strength of the men in pink was too much for Paul who put in a huge effort to stay in the break and didn’t miss a turn, then exploded in spectacular fashion and spent the rest of the race recovering somewhere in the bunch. Once they had dispatched their other breakaway companion, the Cartel pair worked seamlessly swapping turns in an almost robotic fashion into the increasing wind. The disorganised chase from the bunch, possibly helped along by another pink jersey or two, never looked like catching them as the gap quickly grew to 35 seconds and stayed that way for several laps. With the bunch firmly pegged, the only thing left was to see who had legs left for the final. In the end it was Jimmy Carroll who despite looking like he was wavering during the final couple of laps, managed to come around Seb Mueller for the win. One can only imagine the Cartel chat group following this result with talks of w/kg, relative effort and world domination. Hats off to them though, it was a dominant win and who doesn’t love a long breakaway in the wind.
The C grade bunch set a more moderate pace with only a few brave souls daring to attack into the blustery conditions. Several solo riders had a dig off the front of the bunch early on but thought better of it when they encountered the swirling breeze from all angles. Later in the race, the ever-present Ian Preston went solo to celebrate clocking up kilometre number 29,000 for the calendar year and will surely be asking Santa for a new classic retro steel single speed bike come the 25th of December. Stephen Terracini who was keen to get the Quon’s latest kit some tv time, went up the road for a stint which will keep the sponsers happy. Paul Smith also looking splendid in mottled MyRide green and blue drove the bunch for a few laps spurred on by the promise of icy cold Coronas just past the finish line. In the end there were 5 off the front who battled it out for line honours with Simon Costello taking the win and the chasing bunch not far behind.
The people’s grade, aka B grade, was next away and the pace was hot from the start. Seymour Savell-Boss was forcing the pace early and looking splendid while doing so in coordinated colours of orange and blue on his bike, bike shoes, sunnies and CRMCC kit. If there was an award for fashions on the track, Seymour would have been hard to beat. Never afraid of a bit of solo time off the front Daniel Crocker, who has been known to continuously attack all race started out his race in the usual fashion. In fact, he rode most of the race that way especially when the pace lulled, or a turn on the front was missed. Peter Young, Krusty and the Dominator were allowed a bit of free time early on but thought wiser of it. Ben McDuff went on a solo mission giving Dominator the opportunity to sit back and mark every viable move. At the 20min mark Mother Nature threw in a curve ball in the form of a solid easterly change. Taking advantage of the deteriorating situation, Dominator, Peter Young, Daniel Croker, Todd Sowter and Michael Foulds decided that now would be the time to get off the front. Behind them, the already strung-out bunch blew to pieces with riders ducking and diving for cover all around the circuit. The pavilion side gutter soon became a favourite option on the now crosswind main straight. The two riders swapping on the front of the chasing bunch decided that they didn’t want to give any aero advantage to the following riders and managed to put each other into the grass by the septic tank overflow culvert. Luckily, the tanks weren’t full and the riders got out of the way in time so as not to bring the whole chasing bunch down. The first aid team sprung into place, the race was neutralised, and no bikes or riders were injured. With the race resumed and the 2 lap board finally out, the pace was back on. Dominator, who is in career best form, took the win from the breakaway group and must surely be looking at a promotion after his second win of the season.
The D grade race report follows a similar storyline, not many riders willing to get out in the wind with the majority finding the rear wheel of the tandem the best place to be in the blustery conditions. Unfortunately, for the D grade bunch, the tandem team were having bike issues in the form of a rubbing rear brake. Upon closer inspection it was apparent that the bike could do with a full overhaul and clean and is surely deserving of a Big Daddy service at Crankys. Perhaps the rest of the bunch could fundraise to ensure they have a motor pacer for the remainder of the season? Russell Marston and Elizabeth Lowe spent a good chunk of the race off the front but the bunch never gave them more than half the main straight. They eventually succumbed to the cold Easterly wind and spent the remainder of the race in damage control on the back of the bunch. The crash in B grade meant that both groups got an extra few laps at neutral pace and the race was eventually decided by a bunch sprint with Andrew Peel taking the win.
E/F/G grades raced together in the fading light and decreasing temperature. It was decided on the start line to cut the race short by 8mins much to the delight of the racers and the marshalling crew. All riders lapped around consistently with a few attacks coming later in the race. The stiff easterly muted most efforts and the ringing of the bell was welcomed by all.
Aaron Thomson
Track Racing – 1st December
Thursday 1st of December saw the seventh track racing session for the 2022-23 season. For the first day of summer, the weather was basically cold! A strong northeaster dropped the temperature – the Commissaires (in the absence of the Algorithm master) even pulled a race from the program, so we could cut away early. Attendance was good with 13 riders, 5 in A grade and 8 in B grade.
A Grade Scratch (8 laps)
Only five riders in the cold wind? Riders stayed on the front to warm up – unusually completing a couple of laps on the front. The 5 riders stayed clumped together. John Paul De Sousa lifted the speed with 3 laps to go and then Conan Liu attacked on the back of that – Tim Jolly then pounced with 2 laps to go and pulled ahead of the riders – seemingly some riders on the wrong gearing to stay with Tim’s surge. Tim Jolly 1st, 2nd Conan Liu, and 3rd Craig Kentwell.
B Grade Scratch (8 laps)
B Grade had 8 riders – good numbers and as with A Grade the B Graders stayed together – the lead our by Bruce Griffin picked the pace up however this was neutralized on the back straight into the headwind and the bunch became a bit uncoordinated. With 2 laps to go Garnetti upped the pace and then on the bell – Hamish Anderson attacked. However, Alison Hale (1st) rode impeccably to conserve energy and time her attack to take out the B Grade sprint, 2nd Hamish Anderson and 3rd James Newhouse, also timing his race well.
Snowball A Grade
This race has a sprint each second lap – in this iteration the rider first over the line gets the points – no other places are awarded and the points on offer increase with each sprint. So, with an 8-lap race if you can hang on for the final sprint for the 4 points this may win you the Snowball! Indeed, for first A Grade sprint everyone seemed very keen for the 1 point on offer – it was fast…very. (Phil did remark 1 point is better than none). Tim Jolly took the first two sprints and had 3 points mid race. Conan Liu then attacked for the 3rd sprint and gained 3 points – he went on with the race and tried to stay away from the other riders – however Conan had an energy depletion and noticeably slowed. Steve Jones, smelling blood in the water, had Conan in his sights sprinting into the wind he pulled off an amazing effort to ride high on the track around Conan to take the 4 points for the win! Conan and Tim placed equal on 3 points.
Snowball B Grade
As with A Grade – B grade had done the maths. A very fast first sprint gained 1 point for Ian Drayton – Hamish Anderson was well tucked into the bunch out of the head wind on his new Fuji Pro. Ed Garnett took the second sprint with a flyer which surprised the other riders. The Trackies then hid behind Ed out of the wind. Alison Hale strategically took the third sprint, but the other riders didn’t ride around her – leaving Alison on the front – not ideal. On the final sprint whistle Hamish Anderson overtook the other riders, got out of the saddle, and sprinted down the back straight to gain 4 points for the Snowball win. Alison Hale 3 points, Ed Garnett 2 points and Ian Drayton 1 point.
Italian Pursuit – jolly well right
Once again, the wind was the tricky factor for the Italian Pursuit riders. The lead out riders for both Teams executed good starts. The win came down to the final riders in the team, all other team riders consistently increasing the pace for their turn and covering any gaps and compensating for the wind. On lap 5 Tim Jolly, anchor Team 1, and Conan Liu, anchor Team 2, pulled out big sprints. Tim Jolly’s blistering final lap made up ground for Team 1 and got the win by about a wheel length – it turned out to be the closet Italian race of the season.
For Italian Pursuit commentary CLICK HERE.
Results Summary:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, Steve Jones. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell. (B Grade) Alison Hale, Hamish Anderson, James Newhouse.
8-Lap Snowball: (A Grade) Steve Jones (4pts), Tim Jolly (3pts), Conan Liu (3pts, equal second). (B Grade) Hamish Anderson (4pts), Alison Hale (3 pts), Ed Garnett (2pts).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (John Paul De Sousa, Tim Jolly, Craig Kentwell, James Newhouse, Ed Garnett, Ian Drayton).
Season Point Score Update:
Tim Jolly (121), Conan Liu (109), James Newhouse (107), Craig Kentwell (107), Alison Hale (107), John Paul De Sousa (86), Ed Garnett (71), Hamish Anderson (64), Mark Canaider (60), Steve Jones (59), Bruce Griffin (56), Graeme O’Neill (50), Ian Drayton (49).
Michael Langdon
Sutton Driver Training Centre – 4th December
We were blessed with fine weather and warm temperatures for our very first reverse direction Sutton Driver Training Center Criterium, 43 riders turned up to race in their road grade. As we had not raced the SDTC in the anticlockwise direction before, some riders requested a neutral lap to familiarise the riders to the course, every second lap was a sprint lap, the reverse direction has a short but steep climb at the end of the straight with pitches of 8.5%, this sorted out a few riders.
The overall consensus was that the reverse direction was quite liked and most riders enjoyed themselves.
First up was E and F-grades with 5 riders in each grade, they were racing 30 minutes plus one lap. One rider in E-grade Rosemary Robinson, was competing in her 500th race for the club.
E-grade were first away with F-grade 30 seconds later, the intermediate sprints were hotly contested with Kevin Newhouse taking out the first 2 intermediate sprints followed by Rosemary Robinson and Cat Reily 3rd, in the final sprint double points were available, Kevin took it out, Cat 2nd with Rosemary 3rd, Kevin was the winner with 12 points, Rosemary and Cat equal 2nd on 6 points.
F-grade mostly held together for the first half of the race with Elizabeth taking out the first intermediate sprint from Brent Fraser and Chris Copeland, before Elizabeth and Chris broke away, Elizabeth won the second intermediate, Chris was second and Brent a distant third, Chris took the final double points sprint, Elizabeth was second and Brent third. Elizabeth Lowe took out F-grade with 10 points, closely followed by Chris Copeland on 9 points and Brent Fraser third on 5 points.
C and D grade raced 40 minutes plus 1 lap, first away were C-grade with 9 riders, followed 30 seconds later by 5 riders in D-grade.
C-grade racing was the most competitive of the day with most of the riders staying together, 5 riders scoring points in the 5 sprints, 1st place went to Kevin Wells with a total of 13 points, a very close 2nd place went to Ed Logue with a total of 12 points, Darren Blackhurst came 3rd with 5 points, 4th went to Simon Costello with 4 points and 5th place went to Davis Buckley with 2 points.
The D-grade pack stayed together for the whole race and the 5 sprints were hotly contested, in 1st place was Michael Hanbury with14 points, 2nd place went to Craig O’Niell with 11 points and third went to Brian Chugg with 6 points, David Hennessy was 4th on 4 points.
Last on the course were A and B grades with A-grade having 12 riders compete and B-grade 7 riders, A and B raced 50 minutes plus 1 lap, by this time the temperature was starting to get hot. A-grade off first with D-grade 30 second behind.
The A-grade race was most interesting with 4 of the 12 riders not wearing race numbers and 3 of those 4 were wearing the same team kit, turning up with no race number might work in a scratch race but for a points race where the marshals have to read riders number while the riders are passing in a bunch at 60 KPH made things very difficult. With the very kind help of Conan who contacted some of the A grade riders, I have tried to piece together some results, fortunately most of the points went to just 2 riders.
A-grade stayed together for the neutral lap before Steve Crispin and Callum Henshaw took off, A-grade managed 7 sprints all up, Steve and Callum traded blows until Steve hit a pothole and got a slow puncture, Steve still managed to limp to the line claiming 2nd on the last intermediate and final sprint, Callum claimed 1st place with 21 points, Steve was a close 2nd with 19 points, then there were the rest, in 3rd place was Paul Sherl on 3 points, Jason Irwin was 4th on 2 points and Mark Vroomans and Jimmy Carroll were equal 5th on 1 point.
B-grade saw some very hard racing with the pack mostly staying together for the first half before fracturing, Michael Rowland and Conan Liu shared the early spoils with Craig Tozer coming second before Conan was dropped when three riders Michael, Craig and Daniel Croker made a break, Michael then dominated for 1st place with 20 points, Craig came 2nd in every sprint for second place with 16 points and Daniel came in 3rd with 8 points, Conan was not able to score further points and came in 4th on 6 points.
I would like to thank race day marshal, Mark Taylor, Van driver Chris Copeland and first aid officer Simon Whitehead, for without these helpers this race would not have been possible. A special thanks to Conan Liu who helped me sort out some of the A and B-grade results and Club Vice President, David Parker with his assistance.
Tony Beasley
