- Winter Racing Season
- Traffic Controller Training
- Points Winners for the Summer Road Season
- Next Race – Apollo Road Graded Scratch Race
- Race Report – SFP Crits
- Track Season Summary
- Upcoming races requiring volunteers – race calendar can be found here
Winter Racing Season
We hope everyone has enjoyed the Easter long weekend. As a little present, we have used the time to update our racing calendar for 2026. All of these races are subject to road approvals and course availability. Please feel free to provide feedback on the calendar by emailing committee@crmcc.org.au. If you like seeing certain road races and/or formats on the calendar, let us know! We will take all feedback into account when developing both this year’s and future year’s calendars.
Traffic Controller Training
We have some dates for you! Please be advised that the next opportunity to undertake the nationally recognised Traffic Controller/Implement Traffic Control Guidance Plan course will be from Wed-Fri 22-24 April 2026. The course will be administered by the Master Builder’s Association with training conducted by a contractor named Admire Pty Ltd. The course will be conducted during business hours at the Kangaroos Leagues Club in Queanbeyan, 33 Stuart Street, Crestwood, NSW 2620. Further details and joining instructions will be provided on enrolment.
If you are interested in being trained to help us run Road Races, please respond to committee@crmcc.org.au. Thanks to those who have already responded.
Points Winners for the Summer Road Season
Congratulations to the following riders for taking out the top spot in the Summer Road Racing Season:
| Women | ||
| Taylor | Shirley-Anne | 56 |
| Pedersen | Kim | 44 |
| Harper | Ros | 36 |
| Hale | Alison | 35 |
| Brill | Peta | 35 |
| Men | ||
| Morrison | Ben | 131 |
| Chowns | Jonathan | 92 |
| Simms | Steven | 92 |
| Murrell | Andrew | 87 |
| Newhouse | Kevin | 82 |
Next Race – Apollo Road Graded Scratch Race
Start time 1:30PM 18 April 2026. Entry Fee: $10. Entry Cutoff: 17/04/2026 6:30 PM. All Grades 28km with mountain-top finish. Enter via the Calendar.
Race start is at Apollo Road T junction with Naas Road. Finish is at Honeysuckle Creek campground. Riders who come by car should park at the campground then ride to the start.
All grades U turn before aero model club near Tharwa and return for a summit finish.
Riders are to be mindful of other campground users when parking and using the facilities so that ACT Parks continue to allow our use of this venue. Please ensure no rubbish is left in the car park or any flora damaged when parking.
To get there, travel to Tharwa and follow Naas Rd south. Go past Namadgi visitors centre, over Tennent hill, and turn Right onto Apollo road. Park on top of the hill at the camping area, then ride back down to the T junction for the start. Extra clothing worn for the ride down to the start will be collected and brought to the finish.
Race Report – SFP Crits 31 March 2026
A big thank you to our volunteers who made the night possible. Andrew Hislop, Matt Sainsbery, Michael Fawke, and Ian Hutchings all gave their time to ensure the racing ran smoothly and safely.
E Grade
Cool northerly winds greeted riders, making the home straight a stiff test for everyone. In E grade, Jonathan Chowns and Michael Reppion made an early statement, slipping away from the bunch on the opening lap. David Johnson tried to follow, but the pace was too hot, leaving him to ride in no man’s land for much of the race.
After four laps, the status quo had settled: Jonathan and Michael holding a clear lead, David on a solo TT effort, while the remainder of the bunch splintered behind. A chasing group of four, including Rae Rogers, coalesced and worked hard to close the gap but were unable to reel in the leaders.
In the final sprint, Jonathan timed his effort perfectly, crossing the line with clear air ahead of Michael. David held on for a well-earned third. Such was the strength of Jonathan and Michael that they have clearly caught the eye of the handicapper and may well start next season in D grade.
D Grade
D grade was a completely different affair, with the bunch staying largely together but kept honest by a series of probing attacks. Craig O’Neil, Peta Brill, Nick Boylan, and Steven Simms were all active throughout the race, sharing turns, testing the pace, and stretching the field. Partway through, Craig and Nick launched a sharp attack on the back straight, with Peta and Kevin Newhouse joining to form a small leading group. The rest of the bunch were having none of it and reeled them back in, with Greg Mitchell emerging at the front on the home straight to keep the pace in check.
The repeated surges ensured the race remained tense, with no break able to gain a clear advantage. With two laps to go, the pace eased just enough for the field to regroup, heads on swivels as everyone sized each other up and waited for the kick. The final lap saw a bunch sprint, with Craig O’Neil timing his effort perfectly to take the win, Steven Simms crossing in second, and Peta Brill rounding out the podium in third.
A Grade
The race was on from the first lap, with a promising break of five riders—Daniel Lekhac, Brad Peppinck, Chris Murphy, Jeremy Gillman-Wells, and Matthew Darling—pulling away to establish a 5-second lead over the rest of the field.
Ben Morrison was having none of it, pulling hard turns on the front of the chase. Jason Irwin helped with the work, and the break of five was soon shut down.
This was Matthew Rizzuto’s signal to attack, opening a 7-second gap on the field. Jason and Daniel took turns at the front, leading the chase, with Chris Murphy doing work to keep the momentum going. Ben put the nail in the coffin for Rizzuto’s move, successfully reeling him back in after two laps off the front.
As the clock wore on, the pace stayed high, with Toby McLenaghan stretching the bunch with a hard turn. Daniel capitalised on this on the back straight, gaining a small gap before being joined by Glen Goggin and Chris Murphy. As the chase organised, the field splintered briefly, but everyone was back together on the next lap, danger averted.
With two laps to go, Ben, Matthew, and Jeremy Gillman-Wells attacked out of collarbone, but were kept on a short leash, the move coming to nothing. Glen attacked next, with Matthew and Daniel in pursuit. On the bell lap, the field began to split, with Matthew and Chris driving the pace. The finish was the closest of the night, with a field sprint seeing Ben, Chris, and Matthew make up the podium in that order.
C Grade
C grade was a more controlled affair, with the field largely staying together and no significant attacks breaking up the race. Several riders shared turns at the front, keeping the pace honest throughout. Mark Vardy, Josh Quilliam, Simon Prombka, Ian Preston, and David Buckley all took turns in the wind, ensuring the bunch remained stretched but cohesive.
On the final lap, Simon Prombka took the front, keeping the pace high and testing the riders around him. It was a bunch sprint to the line, with Mark Vardy timing his effort perfectly to take the win. David Buckley crossed in second, with Simon Junakovic rounding out the podium in third.
B Grade
B grade started with a bang, Paul Scherl attacking from the gun and establishing a sizeable gap on the field. Gareth Downey led the chase, the danger of Paul’s move apparent as the bunch looked to avoid letting him slip too far down the road. Kim Pedersen came to the front, and she, along with others, worked to bridge across. In the wash-up, a breakaway of seven riders formed, with Dougal Robertson attempting to cross the divide, only to be swept up by the chasing bunch behind.
Ben Carmody’s pull on the front of the chase signalled the beginning of the end for the break, with the field all back together soon after.
The attacks then came thick and fast, with Nathan Rickerby leading a group of three would-be escapees only to be chased down by Krusty Bryant. Dougal Robertson launched a move, briefly establishing a gap before being shut down. Alexander Gorridge was the next to try, putting the bunch under pressure and stretching the field, but the elastic never quite snapped.
The last laps saw Dougal and Krusty continue to probe, but patience proved the winning move. In the final, it came down to a bunch sprint, with Andrew Murrell taking the win, followed by Nathan Rickerby and Mick Rose.
Rainer Wilton – Race Director.
Photos thanks to Ian Hutchings
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Track Season Summary
The 2025-26 track racing season concluded on Thursday 26 March with a trophy presentation
and celebratory drinks. The final track event was originally scheduled for the Bundadome.
However, bad weather forced a change of venue. Phil Coulton kindly volunteered to host the
event at his home in Isabella Plains. Many thanks to Phil!
The track season had generally good weather. Excluding the presentation event, only two
race session were disrupted by rain and one session was cancelled due to extreme heat. A
comfortable, warm spell held on until the end of the racing season. A total of 16 riders
participated in one or more of the track racing sessions. Since the transfer of the track
program to the Bundadome venue in 2014, 86 riders from the club have participated in track
racing. This season’s attendance continued a downtrend, with around 5 – 8 riders per session
being the norm. The decline over the past few years seems to be characteristic of masters
cycling, at present. However, a core group of trackies kept the enjoyment level high.
There were 18 evening track sessions with around 70 races for the season. The season
provided a variety of race formats including scratch races, handicaps, pursuits, match races,
points races, sprints and short time trials. All races contributed points to an overall Track
Championship. This year John Paul De Sousa took out the Track Championship. John Paul
is a most deserving winner as he was a regular racer and our fastest track rider this season.
The track championship was a very close contest with Alison Hale being only a single point
adrift from John Paul for second place. Alison had much success (3 gold medals) in the
recent master’s national track championships. Third place in the championship was taken out
by Ken Birch who was another consistent performer.
The track season included a handicap Wheel Race just prior to Christmas, with the trophy
taken by Conan Liu. 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 Ben Davis took
out the Omnium Championship by one point over Ken Birch.
The standard of riding was high and most of the regular track riders improved considerably
over the season. This year it was not difficult to select the most improved rider. Ken Birch
did a full season and just kept lifting his form over the season. By late season, Ken was
consistently challenging Phil Coulton for the win in B grade.
The track season was almost injury free. There were one or two minor spills, but fortunately
nothing serious. Track racing still averages just over one (mostly minor) accident per year.
Despite the speed, close quarters racing and lack of brakes, track racing is consistently the
safest race discipline offered by the club.
This summary would not be complete without acknowledging and thanking all the parties
who contributed to the track season. Michael Langdon acted as track co-convenor and
talented race commentator for the majority of the season. Phil Coulton and John-Paul De
Sousa kindly took over the running of race sessions while Graeme O’Neill was holidaying in
South Australia. Members of the club and committee including David Parker, Dave Buckley,
Michael Fawke and Mark Vardy provided great support by booking and paying for the venue,
maintaining the rider payment system, preparing trophies and publishing results in The Bleat.
Matt Sainsbury kept the racing viable with sports medicine support and assistance starting races. Finally, the riding group assisted in myriad ways over the season and, as importantly,
were a very agreeable and fun group to be around.
Graeme O’Neill
Track Convenor
Final 25-26 Track Season Results
Xmax Handicap (1 st – 5 th )
Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa, Ben Davis, Chris Chant, Jess Laws
Final Omnium Championship Scores:
Ben Davis (19), Ken Birch (18), John Paul De Sousa (15), Chris Chant (10), Frank
O’Sullivan (9), Phil Coulton (9), Alison Hale (7), Sarah Stephens (6), Craig Kentwell (5),
Graeme O’Neill (4).
Final Track Championship Point Scores:
John Paul De Sousa (273), Alison Hale (272), Ken Birch (245), Ben Davis (231), Phil
Coulton (228), Graeme O’Neill (180), Chris Chant (178), Sarah Stephens (143), Craig
Kentwell (89), Jess Laws (85), Dave Buckley (75), Ian Drayton (63), Frank O’Sullivan (61),
Gavin Stephens (32), Paul Angelatos (18), Conan Liu (15).
Season’s Most Improved Rider
Ken Birch
Upcoming races needing volunteers
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.
CRMCC Committee
President – David Parker
Vice President – Dave Buckley
Secretary – Michael Fawke
Treasurer – Mark Vardy
Handicapper – Rob Langridge
E-mail committee@crmcc.org.au
