Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

  • COVID-19 Update
  • Gunning Marshals
  • Racing this Week
  • From the Race Committee
  • Race Reports

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton

COVID-19 Update

With the Government’s recent announcement about the current Coronavirus outbreak, the Committee would like to update members on steps we are taking in response.

Road, Crit and Track racing will continue as planned. To ensure we can continue to race safely, members should observe the following conduct;

  • Members who show signs of illness (flu like symptoms, fever or cough) are asked not to participate in club events.
  • During the race, riders should not cough, sneeze or spit while in a bunch. If required, riders should drop to the back of the bunch.
  • Members should minimise contact with each other, especially do not shake hands after a race.

 

Tea and Coffee will continue to be served. Members who are concerned about the use of shared cups should bring their own.

How can we help prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Practicing good hand hygiene and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence against most viruses:

  • Wash hands frequently with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet,
  • Cover coughs and sneezes, dispose of tissues, and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser, and
  • If unwell, avoid contact with others (touching, kissing, hugging, and other intimate contact).

More information can be found on the Australian Government web site at: https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert#current-status

Gunning Marshals

The Gunning 2 Day event will held on the weekend of the 2/3 May 2020. To be able to run the event, we need the assistance of marshals, lead and tail drivers and general helpers.

All helpers are reimbursed for this event. We need 6 each day to run the event.

Family members and friends are OK to come and assist as volunteers. If you are willing to assist, please contact the race committee (race.committee@actvets.cc).

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 17th March: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
A/C 5:50 A 28m+2, C 25m+2
B/D 6:25 B 28m+2, D 25m+2
E/F/G 7:00 E/F/G 20 m + 2

Race Director:  Paul Ledbrook Contact: Email: pl.actled@gmail.com    Ph  0414 914 438

Marshal: Nick Boylan

Wednesday, 18th March: Track Racing

The Program for Wednesday is;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap Graded Scratch;
6.20pm – 6.40pm: 2-Lap Handicap (Omnium Event);
6.40pm – 7.00pm: 6 Lap Snowball;
7.10pm – 7.20pm: Italian Pursuit.

Road Racing

Sunday, 22nd March: Uriarra Roubaix – combined bitumen and dirt race

Where: Intersection of Uriarra Rd and Mtn Creek Rd.
When: 9:00 am.
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number
Race Description:
Start at crn Mtn Creek Rd and Uriarra Rd. To top of crossing, return and turn right onto Mtn Creek Rd to Swamp Crk. Return to intersection for 1 lap.
ABCD – 3 laps, EFG – 2 laps

Race Director:  Robin Mules Contact: Email: robin@lincolngis.com    Ph: 0415 265 386

Marshals: Robert Brunato ETC, Wayne Donchi, Howard Moffat ETC, Elizabeth Lowe ETC

From the Race Committee

Upcoming Race Officials Roster

Rostered race officials are shown against each race in the Race Calendar http://rms.actvets.cc/calendar.

If your name is followed by TBC (To Be Confirmed) you need to contact the race committee as soon as possible to either confirm your attendance or to request a swap.

Empty race directors and marshal positions are denoted as Vacant. Some marshals for races in the ACT need to be Events Traffic Controllers (ETC) and appear as Vacant ETC.

Please review the vacancies for upcoming races and email the race committee with events you would like to help out at, rather than wait and be asked to help at a race you wanted to do.

Races cannot happen without members contributing to make them happen.

Ian McVay
Race Committee

RACE REPORTS:

Christmas Wheel Race – 3rd March

3rd March saw the re-running of the Xmas Wheel race. This new improved version was run as a smoke free event. Despite the free entry, the threat of rain saw the field for the qualifying races limited to 64 riders. E grade started with 5 riders who were all guaranteed a spot in the wheel race. Despite this, they gave each other a good flogging, much to the consternation of the watching crowd. F and G grades started together with Mike having sneakily downgraded himself to G. With one rider to miss out from F grade, the bunch marked each other until the final lap.

A grade started next and it was clear from the start that riders were pulling out all stops to grab a spot in the final. C grade and D grades in comparison looked like they were doing warm-up laps, perhaps more sensibly saving themselves. B grade, riding with shortened race time, also had fierce competition for a finals place.

The final saw a couple of grades short of 5 riders, with some very poor excuses for riders not staying, being offered to the Race Director. G grade, i.e. Mike, started well and waved to A grade as he rode past after his 1st lap while A grade sat on the start line. This must have inspired A grade and they inevitably started passing the other grades which either disintegrated or failed to match the quickening pace. The final lap saw a trial rider from F grade out by himself coming into the bottom turn. The crowd could hear his hopes being crushed as A grade swarmed past into the finish straight. A grade finished ‘under a blanket’, with Rainer 3rd, Gerard 2nd and Steve 1st to take out the medals.

Thanks to Rosemary Robinson for marshalling and Phill Coulton for opening up. The Handicapper has been sent back to handicapping school.

The winners: Steve Crispin (1st), Gerard Tiffen (2nd), Rainer Wilton (3rd)

Ian McVay
Race Referee

Track Racing – 11th March

Weather for Wednesday’s track racing session was reasonable. There was some overcast and a fairly stiff headwind in the back straight. However, conditions were stable for the evening and, as expected, the wind moderated slightly. Attendance was odd with just 2 riders from A grade and a good role up of 9 riders from B grade. The season’s disruptions with bushfires and rain seem to have had a big impact on A grade attendance.

The first race was an 8-lap scratch that was combined A and B grades. A grade might have been a bit overconfident, as they conceded one lap start to B grade. B grade started at moderate pace with lead outs by Ian Drayton and Graeme O’Neill. However, B grade riders were soon positioned high on the banking ready to kick up the pace. The pace kicked up on lap 4 with turns by Phil Coulton, Warwick Wilson, James Newhouse and Steve Hirsler. By lap 6, the pace was too hot for two B grade riders and A grade’s prospects were dimming fast. Lap 7 saw Tony Beasley leading a fast B grade paceline into the bell lap. Initially Tony and Ross Scutts lead out from the bell. However, the final lap was hotly contested with Warwick Wilson streaming past Tony Beasley and Ian Drayton accelerating onto Tony’s wheel to resolve the first three placings. All in all, it was a very competitive race.

The second event was a series of two-lap, paired match races. The race between Tony Beasley and James Newhouse was disrupted almost immediately, when James had a glued single roll of off his front rim. Fortunately, James was low on the banking and just leading out at a slow pace, when he fell. James suffered minor abrasions and counted himself lucky that the tire did not give way in a more serious circumstance. The match race winners were John Paul DeSousa, Warwick Wilson, Ian Drayton, Ken Birch and Graeme O’Neill, all garnering handy points for the Omnium championship.

The third race was a 2-lap handicap run all-in, with 11 riders. Phil Coulton surged out of the blocks and past the limit rider in no time. He held a very solid pace for 1.5 laps and did not look like being caught. However, his pace dropped slightly as he pushed into the final half lap, giving the pursuers some hope. Ultimately, Phil held on for the win, with Ross Scutts closing fast for second. The limit rider, Graeme O’Neill, managed to recover from Phil’s initial surge and made up enough lost ground to finish third. The rest of the pack, led by Steve Hirsler, were hot on the heels of the placegetters.

The final event, an Italian pursuit, started with 4 riders per team. However, Ian Drayton discovered a flat tyre just before the start, leaving Team 1 with only 3 riders. This was resolved by Graeme O’Neill and Phil Coulton doing 1.5 laps each to even up the laps with Team 2. Both teams made good starts. However, the extra distance in the initial turns took its toll on team 1. Team 2 rode flawlessly for a comfortable win.

Major place getters for the session were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A&B Grades) Warwick Wilson, Tony Beasley, Ian Drayton.
2-Lap Match Race Winners: John Paul DeSousa, Warwick Wilson, Ian Drayton, Ken Birch, Graeme O’Neill.
2-Lap Handicap: (A&B Grades) Phil Coulton, Ross Scutts, Graeme O’Neill.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Ross Scutts, Warwick Wilson, Tony Beasley, Steve Hirsler).

Omnium Championship Points:
John Paul De Sousa (12), Graeme O’Neill (10), James Newhouse (8), Steve Hirsler (8), Phil Coulton (8), Ben Davis (5), Warwick Wilson (5), Ian Drayton (5), Dougal Torrance (4), Rowan McMurray (4), Ken Birch (3), Hamish Anderson (3), Ross Scutts (3).

Season Point Score:
Ross Scutts (192), Tony Beasley (177), John Paul De Sousa (160), Ken Birch (156), James Newhouse (153), Hamish Anderson (139), Martin Graham (137), Dougal Torrance (131), Phil Coulton (127), Warwick Wilson (123), Graeme O’Neill (94).

Graeme O’Neill

Old Federal Highway handicap – 15th March

First and foremost I would like to thank the following club members that made this race possible, Jeremy Drape, James Newhouse, Lance Purdon & Nick Boylan (marshals), Simon Whitehead (1st aider) Graham Hendrie (van driver, sign-on overseer, time keeper and manager of multiple tasks) and Ian Morton (signage).

Sign-on was very slow to start however we started the race with 25 riders. Even though there were only 25 riders the pace was really strong from the get-go. With 2 laps down the A grade bunch were only 2.51mins behind the leader on the road Russell Marston. However when it came to the time where it really counts A grader Rainer Wilton was able to outsprint Christopher Barberet followed by Mathew Corby (both A graders).Daniel Ward and Gavin Drury were next to cross the line, both B graders. Grant Shaw and Kate Vandenberg performed very well (normally C graders) and let’s not forget Russell Marston had a great ride and who normally rides in E grade (maybe not for much longer). Congratulations to all riders.

Mark K Taylor
Race Referee