Hello Vets,
In the Bleat this week;
• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• Racing this Week
Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc
From the Desk of the Handicapper
Vetz shift to Zwift
Around 50 vets and others participated in the Vetz inaugural Zwift race last weekend. I’d like to thank Jimmy Carrol and Steve Crispin for organising this gruelling event. While most Canberrans were contemplating what to do on a rainy Saturday morning, some Vets were flogging themselves between about 90 minutes to over two hours in a 60km handicap race. Those who finished reported being ‘shattered’ but satisfied they’d got in such a hard effort with one rider claiming wattage PBs all over the place. Who were these Zwifters you may ask? Of course, there were about five of the club’s hard core members, a crowd of the October to May group plus a few new members. I’m in the don’t-have-the-equipment group, but certainly was an interested onlooker. There will be more races and we will be taking on board your feedback to improve the event. Check out the ACT Vets Cycling Club Facebook page for all the event preparation, results and feedback communications. Thanks once again to Steve and Jimmy for getting the event off the ground.
Vuelta Espana
Those who followed the Spanish grand tour this year certainly wouldn’t have been disappointed as we had Jack Haig on the podium, only the second Aussie to do so after the great Cadel (and he should have won had it not been for a dodgy neutral spares wheel change), and Michael Storer winning stages and getting the King of the Mountains jersey–only the second Aussie after Simon Clarke. Every stage was a drama with breakaway wins, a fantastic GC battle, the return of Fabio Jacobson and the implosion by Lopez on the penultimate stage. As mentioned in The Bleat, Canberra rider Jay Vine was tackling his first grand tour and wasn’t he amazing! Surely he’ll be an inspiration to all those national level riders that it is possible to not even win from scratch at the Haycarters handicap in Cootamundra in 2019 and yet be matching it with the world tour pros just over two years later.
Rob Langridge
Handicapper
