Masters, In this week’s Bleat
- Next Crit Race – Club Criterium Championships round 2 – Tuesday 12 March 5.50 PM
- Narrabundah Track Racing – Thursday 14 March, 5.30 PM
- Next Road Race – Dairy Road criterium – team points race – Sunday 17 March
- Crit club champs round 1 report 5 March – Steve Crispin
- Track Racing Report 7 March – Graeme O’Neill
- Membership message
- Race calendar can be found here for other race dates needing officials
UPCOMING RACING
Club Criterium Championships week 2 – Tuesday 12 March
Race director Rob Langridge, marshal Nick Boylan, first aid Simon Whitehead
| Age categories | Time | Age categories [ sunset @ 7:27 ] |
| M4 (45-49)/M5 (50-54) | 5:50 | 35mins + 2 laps |
| M1 (30-34)/M2 (35-39)/M3 (40-44) | 6:35 | 35 mins + 2 laps |
Race registration cut-off is 3:50pm. Cost is $10.
You need to register by looking up the calendar entry in the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar
You must wear your CRMCC assigned race number to race. Late registrations will be assessed by Race.committee@crmcc.org.au and if allowed, a late fee of $10 will be applied.
If you are unregistered and show up to the crit track, you must convince a committee member (not the Race Director) of your club member financial status for insurance purposes, before being allowed to participate.
NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING – THURSDAY 14 MARCH, 5.30 PM
The Program for Thursday is as follows:
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice.
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap graded scratch race.
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 200 Fly
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 4-lap Handicap
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit.
Please register and pay $10 for this session by looking up the calendar entry in the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar
As we have moved to online registration and payment, we no longer accept cash on the day.
NEXT ROAD RACE – TEAM POINTS RACE AT DAIRY FLAT ROAD FROM 8AM ON SUNDAY 17 MARCH
We require a race director, two marshals and a van driver for the event to be run.
Please contact race.committee@crmcc.org.au if you can help the club.
0800 E/F/G 30 mins plus 1 lap
0840 A/B 50 mins plus 1 lap
0940 C/D 40 mins plus 1 lap
Riders will race in their criterium grades.
This format involves the race committee selecting evenly matched teams for each grade. Prior to the start, the teams will form together and any obvious imbalances will be corrected. The best mix would be at least three teams of three or more members. Once the teams are settled the teams will have a few minutes to discuss roles such as sprinter, lead-out and chase-down. Timing of the sprints will be determined by the race director. Riders will compete for points for their designated team. The points will be: 1st, 3 points; 2nd, 2 points; 3rd, 1 point; and double points for the final lap.
Rob Langridge Race Committee
RACING REPORTS
Club criterium championships round 1 Tuesday 5 March
Race report Tuesday 5th March
Perfect conditions setup the showdown for medals in the Criterium Age Championship, which saw good sized fields for the M6-10 and all Women’s categories.
First cab off the rank were our M8/9 and 10 age groups, and they largely stayed together for most of the race with the exception of Lindsay Graham, who valiantly soloed on in his own personal TT championship as sole competitor in his category. With about 10 minutes to go, the field started splintering due to the attritional nature of the racing, and riders were left dangling off the back of the main group, with gaps opening up slowly towards the finish. In the end, it was Eoin Rothery taking the bikkies in front of Dale Kleeman and Russell Marston in M8, while in M9 Bruce McMillan got the gong ahead of Brian Peak and Rico Fitch.
After a briefing at the start line, the women’s field opted to race in one large group in spirit of sisters doing it for themselves, but the solidarity was left on the sidelines once their formation lap had finished as they attacked relentlessly for the remainder of the race with periodic social laps thrown in randomly, no doubt to check on each others welfare.
Riders in our more experienced categories were left to solo their way through the race while Vanessa Judge and Claire Aubrey took turns in lighting up the pace on the front, leading to a long and strung out line of racers down the finish straight most laps. They managed to get separation a few times, but the tenacity of the chase in the larger group brought them back together. With 6 laps to go, the pace heated up again and riders started to lose the bunch. In the final, it was an exciting sprint between the main protagonists with Claire Aubrey taking the final kick.
In the end, Poupee Lam took out F1, while Lucy Stuart won F2. Claire edged out Jill Lugg and Vanessa Judge in F3, while Sarah Stephens won F4. The largest field of the night was F5, where Kirsty Cummin won over Peta Brill and Alison Hale. In F6, Shirley Taylor won over Linda Stals, while F7 saw a victory to Terry Moore ahead of Liz Lowe. FInally, in F10, Robyn Smallwood soloed in ahead of Gai Monahan, with both winning admiration for their determination for their TT like efforts.
The final races of the night belonged to M6 and M7, with action aplenty in both. In M6, Darren Blackhurst rearly didn’t bother waiting before launching an early solo attack, which was brought back two laps later. Several attacks from many of the field were short lived as riders were kept on a tight leash to control the race. Finally a break was established comprising Christophe Barberet, Ed Pellegrino, Conan Liu and John Brotherton. This group would stay away, but never really settled into a cohesive comfortable pack, with attacks being launched every couple of laps. In the final, Christophe managed to get the kick ahead of Conan and John, with Ed the unfortunate break member just off the podium.
M7 provided the biggest drama of the night, but I’ll get to that shortly. Early aggressors were Ian Preston and John Stockman, who established a clear break over the field in the early part of the race, only to have Marc Harris bridge across to them, creating a strong trio that continued to open up the gap to pursuers. Sadly, the pace was too high for John, and he was swallowed up by the chase again a few laps later, leaving Ian and Marc lapping comfortably quicker than the main group, which at that point was broken into groups of 2’s and 3’s. At the 15 minute mark, the decisive moment occurred, with Marc dropping Ian and going on to solo away for the win. This left Ian in no mans land with a sizable lead, but a group of three in hot, albeit inconsistent, pursuit. The spectators offered enthusiastic support to Ian as they drew ever closer in the final laps. In the end, a valiant Ian was caught in the final straight by his pursuers with no legs left to defend, and Steve Jones sprinted away from his companions to take second ahead of Warwick Wilson. Ian may have lost the race, but he won many hearts, and got this Race Directors coveted but not redeemable ride of the night award.
I’d like to thank Kevin for his hard work in support on the night, and the race committee members that came out to lend a hand and officiate presentations. I’d also like to thank all the riders that came out to race. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the action from the sidelines, and in getting so much back from our interactions for my small investment of time. It was a great fun evening, and an honour to give back to the community.
Race director – Steve Crispin
Links to photos of the medallists here https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2102114460158938/ and
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTVets/permalink/2102107223492995/
TRACK RACING REPORT- THURSDAY 7 MARCH
Thursday 7 March was the ninth track session for 2024. There are only two more competitive sessions before track racing concludes with a presentation evening on 28 March. It was another warm evening. The wind was quite strong and blowing mostly across the track. Attendance was 11 riders, 7 in A grade and 5 in B grade.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race started with Kerry Knowler leading out at an easy pace. The next four laps saw the pace ramp up with riders doing part lap turns on the front. On lap 5 Conan Liu raised the pace a notch before handing off to Warwick Wilson. Warwick held a solid pace up to the entry to lap 7. At this point, the bunch were splayed up the banking, primed for an attack. Kerry Knowler was the first to accelerate. However, Kerry only gained around 5 metres gap before the remaining bunch activated. The final sprint was a close contest between Conan Liu and Steve Jones. Conan was flat out over the final 50 metres and managed to just hold off Steve for the win. John Paul De Sousa was not far back for third place.
The 8-lap B grade race had five starters. The first five laps were orderly with riders taking one lap turns on the front. Graeme O’Neill led out for lap five. At the changeover, Phil Coulton, Sarah Stephens and Alison Hale ramped up the pace and dropped Graeme and Ben Davis. Ben pursued the trio over the final laps and managed to pass Phil Coulton for third place. The win was a close contest between Sarah Stephens and Alison Hale with Sarah taking the honours.
The next scheduled event was a 2-lap handicap. This race was final event of the four event Omnium Championship. Unfortunately, Hamish Anderson who was leading the Omnium point score, was absent for this event. The race was a good contest. Phil Coulton led out from limit and put in a great effort to hold out for second place. Ben Davis took the win and was the only rider able to pass Phil. The remaining bunch were hot on the heals of Ben and Phil. Alison Hale took out third place and Conan Liu snaffled fourth place. The two points gained by Conan was just enough to take out the Omnium Championship by a single point over Hamish Anderson.
The third programmed events were 6-lap graded Snowballs. These are points races with escalating points for successive sprints. There were sprints every two laps. In A grade the result was Conan Liu (12pts), Steve Jones (9pts) and Tony Bishop (6pts). B grade results were Alison Hale (10pts), Sarah Stephens (9pts), Ben Davis (7pts).
The session’s final event was the usual Italian pursuit. The teams had 5 riders. As usual, Team 2’s Phil Coulton established a small, early lead. However, Team 2 were slightly off form in their changeovers while Team 2 were exemplary. The end result was close with the win to Team 1.
Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A grade) Conan Liu, Steve Jones, John Paul De Sousa (B grade) Sarah Stephens, Alison Hale, Ben Davis.
2-Lap Handicap (Omnium Event 4): Ben Davis, Phil Coulton, Aison Hale, Conan Liu, Sarah Stephens.
6-lap Snowball: (A grade) Conan Liu (12pts), Steve Jones (9pts), Tony Bishop (6pts). (B grade) Alison Hale (10pts), Sarah Stephens (9pts), Ben Davis (7pts).
Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Conan Liu, Tony Bishop, Warwick Wilson, Alison Hale, Graeme O’Neill).
Final Omnium Points Score
Conan Liu (16), Hamish Anderson (15), Ben Davis (14), Graeme O’Neill (11), John Paul De Sousa, (10), Phil Coulton (10), Warwick Wilson (9), Steve Jones (8), Alison Hale (8), Kerry Knowler (7), Sarah Stephens (5), Gavin Stephens (4).
Season Point Score Update:
Conan Liu (317), John Paul De Sousa (298), Hamish Anderson (214), Graeme O’Neill (213), Alison Hale (208), Sarah Stephens (168), Craig Kentwell (152), Steve Jones (144), Phil Coulton (144), Warwick Wilson (143), Kerry Knowler (122), Ben Davis (103), Martin Graham (86), Wayne Benham (73), Ed Garnett (70).
Graeme O’Neill
MEMBERSHIP MESSAGE
To renew your financial membership for 2024
Please carefully follow the instructions below to renew your racing membership for 2024 with the Capital Region Masters Cycling Club of the Australian Veteran Cycling Council Inc.
As previously stated, the annual racing licence for 2024 is $140, comprising $120 for the national component, and $20 club component for running races.
• To start the $140 race licence process click here https://amc.helloclub.com/register?membership=657ed9ff637993bde7bcf446. This is for both new and renewing members
• The membership system has moved to Hello Club from SportsTG, and your previous account credentials will NOT work with this system. You will need to create a new membership account, irrespective of how many years you have been a member of the club.
• Do NOT sign in using a previous AVCC account, click CONTINUE.
• Read and agree to the terms and conditions.
• Sign up with email, Google or Facebook. Follow the prompts to enter your contact details and emergency contact details.
• Pay $140 via credit card.
• If successful, you will receive an email from ‘Australian Veteran Cycling Council reply+australian-veteran-cycling-council@helloclub.com’ to inform you that your registration has been completed.
• Contact membership@crmcc.org.au if you have questions or if you encounter any issues.
Conan
CRMCC Club Membership Officer
The Bleat
If you would like to contribute to the Club and put the Bleat together each week, please contact us!
