- From the Desk of the President
- Next Race – Stromlo Crits
- NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING
- Race Report – Stromlo Crits
- Race Report – Track Racing
- Upcoming races requiring volunteers – race calendar can be found here
From the Desk of the President
Hi members
This will be my last Bleat contribution for the year. Please watch out for these things:
- If you are contesting the Christmas Wheel Race qualifier, and you are a crit pass holder, you must manually enter, which helps us plan for the numbers, and accelerates the entry chute on the night. If you choose the “Pay by Individual Race $10” option, you will be prompted with ‘Race entry made using your season pass. Entry added to RMS.”
- For current financial members, perhaps by the end of this week, you will receive an email from Australian Veteran Cycling Council reply+australian-veteran-cycling-council@helloclub.com’, informing you that it’s time to renew your racing membership for 2026. Please follow the links using your existing HelloClub profile and registered email address. If you don’t know what it is, please contact membership@crmcc.org.au
- You must have renewed your 2026 membership before you step foot on SFP or the velodrome from Tuesday 6 January 2026, otherwise you and the club will not be covered by insurance. Please allow at least 48hrs between the time you renew in HelloClub, and before you can register in our RMS, because each one of the 250 member records must be transferred from the national payment database to our own RMS system. The membership office will not be staffed by me 24/7 over the holiday period.
I hope you have a festive and peaceful holiday break and look forward to seeing many of you in 2026.
Conan
CRMCC President and Membership Officer
Next Race – Crits at Stromlo Forest Park – Tuesday 16 December 2025
Please note, 5:40PM also holds the Women’s specific criterium grade (20mins) to foster participation and confidence in riding on the Stromlo Forest Park criterium track. Perfect for women and non-binary riders who are looking for an introductory ride or those that prefer cycling in a smaller group.
Race registration cut-off is 12:40pm. 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 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.
All riders are required to sign on before their race start.
We will be running an entry chute, where riders are called 1 by 1 onto the circuit in numerical order of sign-on.
Please remember to check the RMS Calendar for race times each week now that we are back to rotating all 3 time slots.
NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING – THURSDAY 18 December, 5.30 PM
Christmas Program
Thursday 18 December will be a free track practice session. Depending on numbers and rider
preferences, there may be two timed events.
Please register your attendance at https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar?5021932 ,
New Year’s Program
Don’t forget to renew your club membership before the new year. Track events will resume on 15
January 2026.
Spare Track Bikes
We have several spare track bikes if you wish to try track racing. Note that you will need to bring your
own pedals. You may need to pump up tyres (we will have a pump available) and adjust saddle / bar
position. You will need to check over the bike for safety purposes. Although we will assist as far as
practical, equipment safety and providing tools for fitting / adjustments is your responsibility.
Race Report – Stromlo Crits – 09 December 2025
Thanks to all the volunteers and first aid who make racing possible.
35 Degree heat greeted riders for the nights crit racing.
The downshifter race kicked off the night with 20 mins on the clock, including 2
ceremonial laps. Paul Scherl decided he would open to race speed, Jeremy suffering
from a front flat and requiring a spare wheel. The pace was steady for a while, riders
battling the heat and wind. A few riders undeterred by the conditions pushed the
pace, Paul Scherl, Jeremy Gillman Wells and Nathan Rickerby in his 90’s look
shorts, formed the breakaway and worked well together. Jeremy would go on to take
the win.
1 st Jeremy Gillman Wells
2 nd Nathan Rickerby
3 rd Paul Scherl
A Grade – with the wind temporarily on hold, A grade had a fast start, Strung out in
single file for multiple laps. Ross Goggin found himself off the front after collarbone
and did a lonely effort up the back straight. Ayden Toovey put in a solid attack in front
of the pavilion raising the pace again. The first pass of C grade was messy but both
grades got it done. 12 mins in the Easterly winds rolled in, this lowered the temps,
but it was gusty. With 19 mins to go A grade split into 2, Jason Irwin nearly lost
contact with the front group a few times, somehow finding the power to bridge the
gap in windy conditions. The front group working like a team to power away from the
second group, the group spent 15 mins rolling turns, on the last lap Tristan Dimmock
made a solid attack out of collarbone, holding off the chasers to take the win.
1 St Tristan Dimmock
2 nd Ayden Toovey
3 rd Steve Crispen
B Grade – Paul Scherl used his DS bike for the whole night, attacking early with
Dominic Romano, Kim Pederson was not letting anyone get away and made the
catch. Mick Rose hit collarbone corner at full speed and gapped the bunch. In his
first CRMCC race, Blake Wooster made himself known and attempted multiple
attacks. No one stayed away until Aaron Thompson, Kim, Paul and Conan Liu made
a solid break with 30mins to go. Lots of DNF’s as the heat took its toll on riders. The remaining bunch attacked at 10 mins to go, but Kim and Paul remained strong in front, working together until Kim attacked Paul in the top corner, sprinting for the win.
1 St Kim Pederson
2 nd Paul Scherl
3 rd Alan Reitsma
C Grade – On track with A grade and great weather to start, Dave Buckley was the
first to attack, the bunch leaving Dave to hang out in front for a while. Once the
Easterly hit, it became a tight bunch, everyone looking for shelter from the wind. With
10 mins to go Dave attacked again, staying out until 2 laps to go. The pace really got
going with 2 to go and Clair Aubrey sprinted the bunch for the win.
1 St Clair Aubrey
2 nd Eoin Rothery
3 rd Chris Nolan
D Grade – The wind was building as D grade rolled away, Elizabeth Lowe went for a
break away early and got a full lap out in front. After 15 mins the heat started to hurt
riders, the first riders falling off the back. David Gunther pushing the bunch hard on
the back straight. The bunch stayed together until 10 mins to go when Tony Sheehan
attacked, countered by Elizabeth Lowe, Elizabeths attack would stick and be the
deciding move winning the race by a good margin.
1 St Elizabeth Lowe
2 nd Timothy Moore
3 rd Tony Sheehan
E grade – It sounded like a great night on track for Robyn and Rico, they could be
heard chatting as the passed the pavilion many times. Robyn pushed in the final
meters to take the win.
1 St Robyn Smallwood
2 nd Rico Fitch
3 rd
Scott Bird – Race Director
Photos thanks to Ian Hutchings
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FdFQrJqqc
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17hfGWoTjm
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1YnVQGrunE
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17TzHmFpxg
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FVZQJNV1c
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AyoGgBJSb
Race Report – Track Racing – 11 December
Thursday 11 December saw the nineth track racing session for the 2025-26 season. The weather looked
very threatening with dark clouds and a strong headwind in the back straight. However, rain held off to
provide a satisfactory evening for the Christmas trophy race and post-race celebration. Race attendance
(9 riders) was the best this season. In addition, several non-riders attended for the Christmas celebration.
The session races and place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa, Jess Laws. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell,
Chris Chant, Ben Davis. (B Grade) Phil Coulton, Ian Drayton, Graeme O’Neill.
6-Lap (Handicap) Christmas Wheel Race: Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa, Ben Davis, Chris Chant, Jess
Laws.
Congratulations to Conan Liu for taking out the Christmas Wheel Race. Also, thanks to Michael Langdon
for running this and other events. For Michael’s commentary on the scratch race, click the following link.
Unfortunately, Michael was too busy keeping track of the wheel race to provide a commentary.
A&B Scratch
Best wishes to all club members for the Christmas season.
Season Point Score:
Graeme O’Neill (134), Phil Coulton (126), John Paul De Sousa (124), Alison Hale (119), Ben Davis (109),
Chris Chant (103), Jess Laws (85), Dave Buckley (75), Ken Birch (72), Sarah Stephens (68), Ian Drayton
(63), Paul Angelatos (18), Conan Liu (15), Craig Kentwell (10).
Upcoming races needing volunteers
We have multiple vacancies for race directors for SFP crits.
Please self-register as a volunteer, where you can put your name down against those roles marked ‘Vacant’ in this Google spreadsheet. We will follow-up and confirm your volunteering with an email from committee@crmcc.org.au
Thank you to those members who have offered their services to fill roles so our races can run.
