Masters,
In this week’s Bleat;
• Vale Bruce Jones
• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• From the Committee
• From the Race Committee
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports
I will be retiring as editor of The Bleat. Michael Langdon has kindly volunteered to take over editorial duties.
Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc
Vale Bruce Jones
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of one of the founding members of the CRMCC.
Many Club members from the 90’s and 2000’s would know of Bruce. After a long battle with cancer and pneumonia Bruce died at the Canberra hospital on Monday 13 Feb.
Bruce was a member of the Canberra Cycling Club since the mid 80’s and was a founding member of the ACT Vets club in 1993.
His grades ranged from G grade to D grade.
Bruce personified the spirit of a true club stalwart as not only was he a consistent competitor every season from 1993 to 2019, racking up an impressive 840 events, when he wasn’t racing because of ill health or other circumstances, he, since 2010, marshalled over 30 times. He medaled in several trophy and club age championship events.
His legendary cat-and-mouse criterium battles with Bernie Crowe in his latter years didn’t quite result in many wins, as Bernie tended to get a great advantage from drafting Bruce’s tall frame. Nonetheless, he’d be back the next week for another battle. Even though ill health put an end to his racing career, he would still come to races for a chat and to help out.
He was know to have ridden a few Great Victorian bike rides, many Adelaide TDU community challenges and many Alpine classics at Bright.
Bruce was known as an affable character and always up for a chat provided you had the time to hear him out. He had a slow, deliberate and dry delivery often punctuated with the phrase “and this and that” throughout his commentary. He was also known for often succumbing to the dreaded cycling “death rattles” whilst riding/racing. However, he wasn’t alone with that problem.
Farewell Bruce. May the wind always be at your back.
He will be sadly missed by all his cycling colleagues.
From the Committee
Annual General Meeting
Last Monday the Committee met for the 2023 AGM where all positions were spilled, nominations received and voted on. Not a lot of change with Kim Malcolm continuing as President and AVCC President David Parker as Vice President. Craig Tozer continuing as Secretary and Kevin Woods as Treasurer.
With the Membership Secretary position vacant we welcome Conan Liu into the role, and Michael Langdon taking on the Bleat, bring on the Liggitisms! Chris Short, Rob Langridge, Ian Morton, and welcoming newcomer Ed Logue are our general committee members.
If you are interested in going ons at the AGM, you can access the minutes and Exec Reports via the website by following ‘About > Documents and Committee Meeting Minutes > Member documents shared drive’ and in Google Docs selecting the 2023 AGM folder.
202300213 – Minutes – February/AGM 2023 (DRAFT)
Good news is, you don’t need to be a committee member to come along to meetings which you can now Zoom into. Conan does a great job as our ears on the ground getting member feedback but it’s always great to have members come along and share their thoughts, provide input to discussions, raise concerns etc.
We also hope to establish some sub-groups to take care of improvements we as a committee struggle to action while we manage the running of the club. Last year we were generously assisted by Mark Taylor and Matt Hinchcliffe with skills clinics so if you are interested in being involved, giving back without signing up as a full time committee member please let us know via the Secretary@actvets.cc mailbox.
From the Desk of the Handicapper
Promotions
Brenton Clark B to A road
Greg Mitchell E to D road
Krusty Bryant B to A
Alex Sommariva D to C
Krusty’s B grade half-lap screamer was particularly impressive, as he took off from the middle of the back straight, got a 20m gap immediately, extended it around the bend and was able to cruise in with daylight second.
Downtube Race
Tomorrow’s race will go ahead unless there’s a threat of lightning. The rules have changed a little to include pre-downtube shifter technology, as Peter Taylor will be riding a rod-festooned contraption. A barrel draw of small prizes will be held for riders so please hang around afterwards to enjoy a soft drink and a chance to wax lyrical with your competitors about the advantages/disadvantages of racing on an old bike compared with a sleek, aerodynamic carbon machine. Please also enter early so that I can get an estimate of how many prizes I might want to buy.
Rob Langridge
Handicapper
From the Race Committee
Race Numbers
If your club assigned race number is torn and tattered, and you would like a re-issue of your race number, I’ll be at SFP on Tues from 5:15pm until close where you can receive a ‘fresh’ one. These are the older style, card-like material. Come and find me in the facility room office. If I am not there, please look for your own number, without disturbing the numerical order of the whole collection!
Thanks
Conan
Club Membership Officer.
Trial Rides
At the last committee meeting, the Committee agreed to reduce the number of permitted trial rides from two trial rides to one ride in any calendar year. This will make it easier for the Membership Secretary to monitor the number of trial rides that a rider has taken. The website and online trial membership form have been updated to reflect this change.
Road Races and Directors
We are still lacking a few Race Directors for upcoming races. Anyone able to assist, please advise the Race Committee (race.committe@actvets.cc).
RACING THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, 21st February: Stromlo Criterium
Note: Registration required by 21 Feb 2023 3:30 pm.
Any requests for Grade changes should be sorted out with the Handicapper prior to registration.
Late entries may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please email race.committee@actvets.cc
Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Race Description:
Downtube Shifter Criterium
This race will be a criterium for bikes with downtube shifters. Riders can also ride in their normal grades following the Derby. There will be some barrel prizes for entrants so stick around for the post-race celebrations.
Time: 5:30
Duration: 15 minutes plus one lap
Rules: Must ride bike with downtube shifters
*** Note: Riders need to register separately for the downshifter race and the regular Criterium event ***
Regular Criterium
| A/C | 5:50 | A 38m+2, C 35m+2 |
| B/D | 6:35 | B 38m+2, D 35m+2 |
| E/F/G | 7:15 | 28 min + 2 laps |
Race Director: Jeremy Gillman-Wells Contact: Email: jezgw@icloud.com Ph: 043 411 1172
Marshals: Kerrie Muir
Thursday, 23rd February: Track Racing
The Program for Thursday is as follows:
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice.
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap graded scratch race.
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 1-lap SS Time Trial (Omnium Event).
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 4-lap Handicap.
7.10pm– 7.30pm: Italian Pursuit.
Sunday, 26th February -No Scheduled Event
RACE REPORTS:
SFP Criterium – 14th February
With valentine prospects in the air, race numbers were down slightly this week, with 83 keen riders lining up in their respective grades for the weekly crit races. Weather was pretty good with a bit of a north easterly, but clearly not strong enough to cause too much carnage with the bunches generally staying together over the evening. The kangaroos mostly stayed away, with the main sighting being a group crossing the track at the top end during the final lap of the evening – fortunately they were off the track by the time the A graders came through!
First up on the track was B and D grade, with 27 riders starting in B grade, the largest of the evening, and 15 in D grade. D Grade generally kept it together for most of the race, with Alex Sommariva and Ashley Sked going off the front for a lap or so around the halfway point. This wasn’t enough to slow Alex down who came back and won the sprint in front of Russell Marston and Michael Golding.
B Grade was a little more animated with the wind potentially causing some major splits at various stages, only for these to be closed down. An initial group of Ben Healy, Michael Foulds and Tom Stewart-Moore had a go, then 5 minutes after they were caught, Darren Blackhurst, Craig Lindenmayer and Michael Foulds (again) were off the front for 3 or 4 laps. A bit further on Krusty Bryant and Rowan McMurray were joined by Darren (again) for a further 3 or 4 laps. Things settled down mostly for the last 15 minutes with the sprint won by Krusty Bryant, followed by Brendan Lakey, Tom Stweart-Moore and the ever present Michael Foulds.
Next up on the track was E, F and G grade with 6 riders starting in E grade and 1 in each of F and G grade. E grade was down to a group of 4 riders about half way through with Shirley-Anne Taylor taking out the win after doing quite a bit of work on the front. She was followed in by Mick Donaldson, Theresa McLachlin (same order as last week) and Poupee Lam, a new rider who hung on well until final sprint down the hill. Lindsay Graham rode well in F grade, keeping the E grade pack in sight for most of the race. And Gai Monahan finished strongly in G grade.
A and C grade finished off the evening’s races with 18 riders in A grade and 15 in C grade. C grade mostly stayed together, with an early attack by Mark Vardy and Mark Taylor that lasted about 3 laps. Mark Vardy also had another go on the bell lap, but was caught before the down hill sprint. My notes had the sprint being won by Wayne Benham followed by Duncan Macdonald, but there was a bit of confusion with the chute as some of the C graders went up to help with the kangaroos on A grade’s bell lap – Wayne seems to have missed out on the RMS. Simon Porombka and Ben Davis made up the remaining places. I decided to give the C graders 2 laps to go when it looked like they had a handy lead on the A graders, but the A graders upped the anti at this critical time and both grades crossed the line as I was ringing the bell for the C graders – not a good look, but fortunately the A graders got far enough ahead that the C grade finish was separated from the A grade antics.
A grade was also a bit more animated, as we have come to expect, although there was no obvious split into 2 groups as has happened a bit in recent weeks. However, there were plenty of attacks off the front with Daniel Lekhac featuring in a few of these. Other riders who also went off the front at times included Denis Mongoven, Michael Tolhurst, David Parker, Stuart Griffiths, and Ross Goggin. There were a few DNFs, but the remaining riders mostly finished in a bunch sprint won by Stuart Griffiths, followed by Michael Tolhurst and Christophe Barbaret.
My thanks to Kerrie for her excellent marshalling, Simon for medic support (thankfully not required) and Conan for opening/closing.
Dale Kleeman
Track Racing – 16th February
Thursday 16 February provided ideal conditions for track racing. It was warm, though not oppressive. The wind seemed to swirl around the Bundadome during practice. It dropped off, before racing commenced. Attendance (11 riders) was a bit below par. However, it was a good evening’s racing.
A Grade Scratch (8 laps)
Tim Jolly led off at an easy pace and did 2 laps on the front before handing off to Craig Kentwell. Unusually, Craig did only one lap before handing off to Conan Liu. Conan lifted the pace and enlivened the bunch. At the next lap changeover, Gavin Stephens launched an early attack, taking the most aggressive rider award. At first it looked like Gavin’s suicidal attack might just work, as he quickly gained at least 30m on the bunch. However, Tim Jolly soon stirred into action, scorched across the gap and left Gavin slightly demoralised. It did not help that the remaining bunch were now thoroughly aroused and in hot pursuit of Tim. The result was a thoroughly entertaining race with Tim Jolly 1st, Conan Liu 2nd and Craig Kentwell 3rd.
B Grade Scratch (8 laps)
B Grade had 5 riders – a very still and hot evening gave B grade excellent racing conditions. Ian Drayton lifted the pace on lap 4 and the other riders were onto his wheel. Ian handing over to Phil Coulton (most combative) who then really picked the pace up. James Newhouse did well to control much of the race. Sarah Stephens attacked James on the bell lap and really put in a solid sprint. James stuck to the black line and made the task very difficult for Sarah. With a close finish history was made at the Bundadome with James Newhouse 1st, Sarah Stephens 2nd and Ian Drayton 3rd.
200m Fly
An exciting and technical event for riders – the launch is from high on the banked turn at near maximum pace. The kick down the banking is followed by a flat-out sprint for 200 metres. It is amazing how exhausting such a short sprint can be.
Most track regulars are quite accomplished at this event, so the lines and pacing were fairly consistent. The A grade times were quite close with around a 1 second spread. Tim Jolly was impressive (12.62s, 59 km/hr). In B grade, Sarah Stephens also impressed by going under 14 seconds (13.98s, 53 km/hr).
2-Lap Handicap (A & B Combined)
The riders were counted down for take-off – and indeed Phil Coulton went like lightning and soon overtook the other riders off limit, before dying! All riders started well and were really flying – with half a lap to go the riders came together as a bunch with 3 riders up the track for a very fast finish. The scratch markers did not catch – a close finish had James Newhouse 1st, Wayne Benham 2nd and Sarah Stephens 3rd.
Italian Pursuit
Two teams – 10 riders – 5 laps. Graeme O’ Neill, (back from the Chinese balloon off Murray Bridge), got Team 1 off to a good start. Team 2 no gaps – looked good. Team 1 seemed to hold its initial lead and was able to build on it.
Amore conquers all – again! (This theme could go for a few weeks). That’s right – Team Amore (Team 1 with the Stephens partners) won again. And a close finish was denied Team 2 with a very fast final lap by the Team 1 anchor Conan Liu to seal the deal.
Michael Langdon’s commentary on the Italian Pursuit here.
Major Placings:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa. (A2 Grade) Craig Kentwell, Gavin Stephens. (B Grade) James Newhouse, Sarah Stephens, Ian Drayton.
200m Fly: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly (12.62s), John Paul De Sousa (13.73s), Conan Liu (13.78s). (A2 Grade) Gavin Stephens (13.03s), Craig Kentwell (13.67s). (B Grade) Sarah Stephens (13.98s), James Newhouse (14.65s), Ian Drayton (14.70s).
2-Lap Handicap: (A&B Grades) James Newhouse, Wayne Benham, Sarah Stephens, Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa.
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu, Gavin Stephens, Sarah Stephens, Graeme O’Neill).
Omnium Points Score:
Conan Liu, Craig Kentwell, Graeme O’Neill (5) James Newhouse, Gavin Stephens, Tim Jolly (4) John Paul De Sousa, Phil Coulton, Sarah Stephens, Ian Drayton (3) Wayne Benham (2)
Season Point Score:
Tim Jolly (307), James Newhouse (266), Alison Hale (243), Conan Liu (220), Craig Kentwell (213), John Paul De Sousa (162), Steve Jones (148), Ed Garnett (134), Warwick Wilson (127), Wayne Benham (124), Ian Drayton (106), Hamish Anderson (103), Gavin Stephens (94), Graeme O’Neill (90), Mark Canaider (89), Karen Clutson (86), Sarah Stephens (68).
Graeme O’Neill and Michael Langdon
Lookout Hill – 19th February
Was a nice start to the day, no wind but what felt like a humid morning. That was confirmed by all the sweat dripping from the competitors during and after the race.
Firstly, a big thank you to all the marshals’ and traffic controllers for there assistance today. Was a good day had by all i believe.
As for a race report I don’t have a lot to pass on as being at the start/finish line not a lot was seen. I did have a bit of a race report form Steve Crispin from A grade.
At the 4km mark an (apparent) accidental breakaway by Lekhac and Crispin. Pele sat up and allowed break to build a lead. Gap at first turn around 30s. Off the front of the Pele chasing was Griffiths and Irwin. They were reeled in shortly after, while the break committed to strengthening the time gap on the return with further assessment at the next turn. Sadly, mechanical took pre race fave Henshaw out. Gap at end of lap was bigger, so green light to go for it given in the break. Pele together at end of lap 1. Gap at turn 3 increased, but group of 4 – Wilton, Coles, Griffiths and Newman – about 30s off the front of the Pele. Up front, decisive move on the west side of Asthma hill distanced Lekhac and saw the leaders roll over the line with a small gap between, with Griffiths and Newman juking it out for the final podium. in 1st place Steve Cripin Followed by Daniel Lekhac and Stuart Griffiths.
Before A grade started it was agreed Steve Crispin was t do 3 laps, im still waiting for the results from that lap. Any word Steve?
B Grade was won by Brenton Clark followed by Dimitar Dojcinoski and Micahel Rowland. Sorry not a lot more to say as didnt see a lot.
C Grade was won by David Dickson followed by Ed Logue and Brain Peak.
D grade was won by Andrew Hislop followed by Alain Arbaut and Terry Moore.
E grade was won by Greg Mitchell followed by Cat Riley and Simon Milnes.
Sadly, the only rider in F grade was a DNF.
PS; sorry to those that wanted a cup of tea after the race as there was no gas in the gas bottle but I think blaming the possibility of a total fire ban was an easier reason to deliver to those disappointed riders.
Again, thank you to all the volunteers which made the day happen without fault.
Until next race stay safe.
Simon Porombka
