Hello Vets,

In the Bleat this week;

•  2020/2021 Summer Season – Places up for Grabs

•  From the Desk of the President

•  From the Desk of the Handicapper

•  Canberra Events

•  COVID-19 Restrictions

•  Racing this Week

•  Race Reports

Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc

2020/2021 Summer Season – Places up for Grabs

With only a few races left till the end of the 2020 2021 summer season there is still opportunities for a change in the order of the top three women and men riders.

For the women Penelope Anderson is in top spot with an unassailable lead of 75 points. 2nd and 3rd places will be a jostle between Pat Rooke (78), Rosemary Robinson (70), Terri Moore (65) and Linda Stals (52).

For the men top shot will be hard fought between Lance Pardon (152) and Gerard Tiffen (147). Third place is wide open. Marc Vroomans (114) and Alex Sommariva (104) in close contention with Christophe Barberet (99) and Kevin Newhouse (95) not far behind.

Members can follow the summer season standings on the Results page on the web site (select season and choose 2020-2021 Road Summer).

From the Desk of the President

Working Bee – Painting the interior of the club’s new shipping container – RESCHEDULED

The Committee recently purchased a 40ft shipping container to store the van, club signage and other race paraphernalia. It is located at Stromlo.

It is dark and gloomy inside – so we would like to organise a working bee to brighten up the internal walls.

We are seeking 6-8 people to help out at 9:30am, Saturday 27th March at Stromlo.

We estimate it will take approximately 2 hours of work. We can’t pay you but can reward you with a burger at the Handlebar afterwards!

No prior experience is required, and the Committee will organise the paint and supplies. There is currently no power to the location.

If you can help us out, please contact me at president@actvets.cc.

Dangerous Overtaking

There have been a number of complaints from lower grades of a dangerous situation that arises when being overtaken by higher grades.

As shown in the below diagram, there is a tendency in some situations, particularly on corners, for the lead riders of the overtaking bunch, once they have passed the lower grade to move across onto the racing line of the lower grade.

The remaining members of the overtaking bunch then tend to follow the racing line that the leaders have taken, resulting in the lower grade being cut-off.

To avoid this situation, the Lead Riders of the overtaking bunch are requested to remain on the opposite side of the Track Centre Line until the whole bunch has had the opportunity to pass (even if this means sacrificing some tactical advantage).

Your assistance in following this practice will help make racing safer for all competitors.

From the Desk of the Handicapper

Vets Out and About

If you think your weekly long ride on a Saturday is hard, spare a thought for the clubs own super distance rider Rowan Mcmurray who is competing in the Indian Pacific wheel ride from Perth to Sydney.

And at last check he was leading by a mere 180kms from the 2nd place rider. That’s like the length of the straight at crits in long distance speak.

You can check his progress here and yes he will be passing through Canberra on his way to the finish line in Sydney so members are welcome to get out and cheer him along.

indianpacificwheelride2021.maprogress.com/

Rob Langridge
Handicapper

Canberra Events

The Fathering Project

The Fathering Project – The ‘Big Push’ Charity Ride April 30 2021 Sydney to Canberra

Run over 3 days and covering 280kms, the Big Push is a fun-filled cycling event that brings fathers, father figures (and family members) together with one goal: celebrating their most important role – being a dad. Further details available from the web site https://thefatheringproject.org/event/the-big-push-charity-ride-2020/.

Rotary Rides Canberra – Five Peaks Challenge

COVID-19 Restrictions

There are conditions for travelers from other states.

Members should stay home if you have been feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19 or been in contact with someone who has felt unwell in the past 2 weeks.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 23rd March: Stromlo Criterium

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

Race Director:  Heath Chester Contact: Email: heathtracy@iinet.net.au    Ph  0419 162 193

Marshals: Jason Chalker

Wednesday, 24th March: Track Racing

The Track Presentation evening will be this Wednesday. There will be no charge for this session.

Warm up starts, as usual, at 5.30pm. There will be a single team race at 6.00pm.

Trophy presentation and season celebration will follow the racing. Drinks and nibbles provided. If you bring a plate, it will be appreciated.

All Club Members and Interested Parties Welcome! It would be great if as many track participants as possible could attend this session.

Sunday, 28th March: Uriarra Roubaix – combined bitumen and dirt race

Where: Intersection of Uriarra Rd and Mtn Creek Rd. Keep intersection clear when parking.
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: Andrew Chamberlain Contact: Email: achamberlain@blackshaw.com.au    Ph  0412 411 422

Marshals: Ashley Carruthers, Russell Marston ETC, Robert Langridge ETC, Paul Welsh ETC

RACE REPORTS:

SFP Criterium – 16th March

With warm up complete (albeit in the wrong direction) A and C were first to go. Conditions were a touch on the cold side with a moderate cross head wind coming down the main straight. That didn’t seem to concern the A graders with action right from the off. With only 28 minutes plus 2 laps to race, the race was action packed. 7 riders got out early until the bunch worked to pull them back. Then Gerrard Tiffen and Heath Wade pushed off the front with Gerrard continuing solo for a few laps after Heath dropped back to the bunch. After Gerrard was caught, Heath made another attack and this time it was Michael Payne who joined him. With 13 minutes left to race everyone was back together again. The pace must have been high as a number of riders were spat out the back. A couple more attacks went but nothing stuck. In the end it was Gerrard who won the sprint from the front, closely followed by Marc Vroomans and Christophe Barberet in third.

C grade by contrast held a steady rhythm for the first part of the race until 3 riders were are to jump free and work out to a lead of about 1/3 of a lap. By working well together, they held this gap for the entire race and it them came down to a 3 way sprint for the podium positions. Ben Neal took it on the line followed by James Tonkin and Brian Peak rounded out the podium.

B and D grades set of next and after a couple of laps to ease into the race, something came flying out of the B group towards the race officials area. Upon closer inspection it was the race number of the president Seymour Savell-Boss. Next time round Seymour apologised for the near miss, and there was talk within to race officials about what to do. It was agreed we would wait until the end of the race to decide his fate. With 10 minutes to go, Carmine Spagnoletti pushed hard and worked out to a 5 second gap. Was it the winning move? Despite the effort it was not and the bunch was spread out thin due to the high pace of the chase. A bunch sprint saw Seymour (sans race number) the winner followed by Colin Kelly and Ed Logue. It was decided that Seymour would not face any action for the lost number because he pointed out, if any sanction went to the committee, he would dismiss it. Perks of the position!

D grade saw Anthony Dick push his way off the front from lap 3 and soon after was joined by Josh Quilliam. They worked well as a third rider Frank O’Sullivan was able to bridge across. As with C grade, the trio were able to hold the bunch at bay for the rest of the race and it was the initial aggressor Anthony who took the win, with Josh in second and Frank in third.

With the light quickly fading, E, F and G grades set off. With no rider able to get away from their respective E and F grades, it was Geoff Ellacott, Linda Stals and Penelope Anderson in that order for the podium in E grade. F grade saw Ken Birch on top, with Robert Miller in second and Ross Heazlewood in third.

G grade riders Gai Monahan and Bernard Crowe stuck together until the half way point when Gai pushed on and was able to pull a significant gap by the end. G grade rider and race marshal Mijo (Mike) gave an inside scoop on Gai commenting that she likes to push a comparatively big gear. Was and is this the secret to her success?

Two safety concerns were raised on the night. The first was about close passing other grades. Please ensure that when you do pass another grade you call out which side you are passing and stay well clear from the other grade.

The second was about riding close to the edge of the track and allowing a safety margin. First Aider Simon made this observation and described some rather unpleasant outcomes from dropped wheels over the edge of the track.

Thanks to committee member Dougal and marshal Mike for their assistance on the night.

Mat Corby

Track Racing – 17th March

Weather was the crucial factor for the season’s last competitive track racing session. It was overcast and threatening all day. However, as no rain had fallen up to the start of the track session, it seemed likely that we were in luck. There was reasonable rider attendance in the circumstances and the warm up session was completed without drama.

Just prior to the first track event, a light rain shower soaked the track and passed on. Normally, the track would dry quickly from this event. However, because of the cool overcast day there was no heat in the track and little prospect that it would dry before we ran out of light. The situation was not helped by a light drizzle, falling sporadically. Given the circumstances, a decision was made, reluctantly, to abandon racing for the evening.

Note that a final (non-competitive) track session will be held on Wednesday 24. This session will include the normal warm up, limited racing, trophy presentations and a celebration of the completed track season. See Track Program herein for details.

Final Omnium Championship Points:
Ben Davis (16), Phil Coulton (13), Ken Birch (11), Steve Jones, Phil Anderson (10), Alison Hale, John Paul De Sousa, Tony Beasley (9), Bruce Griffin, James Newhouse (7), Rowan McMurray, Colin Calderwood (6).

Final 20/21 Track Championship Point Scores:
Steve Jones (278), Ian Drayton (264), James Newhouse (248), Phil Anderson (236), John Paul De Sousa (226), Ken Birch (203), Alison Hale (197), Phil Coulton (190), Tony Beasley (172), Wayne Benham (168), Craig Kentwell (160), Bruce Griffin (141).

Graeme O’Neill