Capital Region Masters – Weekly Bleat, Monday 6th March, 2023

Masters, In this week’s Bleat;

• CRuMbs+ Out and About

• Season Points Score

• From the Committee

• From the Desk of the Handicapper

• From the Race Committee

• Racing this Week

• Race Reports

“One of the most important days of my life, was when I learned to ride a bicycle.” — Michael Palin, British actor

Michael Langdon
thebleat@actvets.cc

CRuMbs+ Out and About

Kerrie Muir – 3rd in Gravel n Granite

The Gravel and Granite race was held in Tenterfield on Saturday 4 March. Congratulations to Kerrie Muir placing 3rd in M7 for this 105km event and 16th overall.

Tolland Open Handicaps 

The Saturday race out Wagga way was a 95km handicap with over a 100 starters. The handicapper did a great job on this occasion, as a group of 12 riders from bunches 4 and 5 managed to hold off scratch by 27 seconds, with the legendary Mark Harris coming in 3rd! Fantastic ride Mark.

Marc Vroomans is another regular at Opens and he bagged 17th in a bunch of 27 riders that held off scratch by a minute in the slightly shorter 78km handicap held on Sunday.

Mansfield Hotel Tour

When hearing the words ‘hotel tour’, a steak in the bistro and a schooner in the bar comes to mind but not for two intrepid club members who went all the way to Mansfield, Victoria, to contest a ITT and two road races as part of the Mansfield Hotel Tour. Young Dan Lekhac finished 5th on GC for Masters A, while race committee star Chris Short was 14th in Masters C. 

Season Points Score

The season poinst score ends on the last race (criterium / road race) of the daylight saving period. Medals go into production…and are awarded @ the Xmas wheel race end of 2023 – for places 1st, 2nd & 3rd (male/female). Current points score:

Women – Kerrie Muir 90; Linda Stals 79; Elizabeth Lowe 69; Cat Riley 55; Theresa McLachlan 50
Men – Steve Crispin 130; Kevin Newhouse 93; Brian Peak 93; Brian Chugg 88; Michael Hanbury 85

From the Race Committee

Gunning road race is delayed to later in the year…expected around October 2023.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 7 March: Stromlo Club Championship Criterium

Note: Registration required by 7 March 2023 3:50pm.
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

Race Director: Michael Hanbury Contact: Ph: 0430515896
Marshals: Kerrie Muir
Medals: will be presented at the end of each race…

Thursday, 9 March – 6pm: Narrabundah 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 – 6.40pm:  2-lap Handicap (Omnium Event).
6.40pm – 7.10pm:  8-lap Snowball 7.10pm– 7.30pm:  Italian Pursuit.

Graeme O’Neill – Race Director

This is timely reminder that all track riders need to be 2023 financial members before setting foot on the track, and this includes if you are officiating (for insurance coverage purposes). The track program will move to online registration and payment for next season. As many track riders are already using the RMS registration and online payment system for criterium and/or road race entry, we will be offering this rego and payment method for the remaining 5 track sessions this year. We will still be accepting cash on the day, and Square payment during this transition period. Please see the calendar entry for Thursdays https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar.

You will need to know your Club-assigned race number (not your TG number when you made your annual payment), which you can look up by doing a name search in the Results section of the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/index, and a credit card for making the $10 payment. If you are encountering issues, please contact Conan, the Club Membership Officer via membership@actvets.cc.  Should there be a track cancellation due to weather or personal circumstances, we will roll your entry fee over to the next session. 

Conan Liu – Club membership Secretary

Sunday 12th March – no road race scheduled

Next road race: is the 19th of March, 9am at Uriarra Homestead

RACE REPORTS:

Lookout Hill – 5 March

32 riders toed the start line for what was an amazing Autumn Day atop of Lookout Hill. Riders across A through D were facing 46.0 kilometres while the E and F grade had 36.0 kilometres.

A grade was sent away first, with a strong, relatively even nine rider field. Through the first half lap the group came past Lookout Hill all together, down to the Point Hut turn around. On the way up (to no surprise) Steve Crispin was just off the saddle dancing on the pedals a little to see who’s legs he could sting. No real effect was had as the re-group happened and down towards Tharwa they went. Lap two was unchanged, and as we watched from the start line, the group was all pretty comfortable. It was lap three where a leap off the front occurred, Cartel’s Callum Henshaw threw it up the road. By this stage marshal Karen and I had relocated and were now watching proceedings from the finish line. Callum came back up the hill (with two laps to go) still maintaining a 20 to 25 sec margin. With a very visual display of team Tiffen colours at the front, we were not really sure if they were chasing or just maintaining the gap, either way, fellow Cartel rider Steve Crispin was breathing easy nowhere near the wind. With a lap to go Callum was still holding the gap and we were thinking he may be onto something here however, as they crested the hill for the final half lap things had changed. Callum had been caught and there was a split in the group. Coming up the hill towards the finish line the group was bunched and spread wide. With 75 metres to go Gerard Tiffen had the slightest of gaps back to Callum Henshaw and this was how it finished, GT in first, Callum in second and Steve Crispin coming in for third.

B Grade field of six rolled off about 40 seconds after the A grade crew and coming back past the start line we thought they might actually catch the A grade boys as the gap had dropped to about 20 seconds. They were all working well together to maintain the cohesion. Newly crowned CRMCC rider Jonathon Glover and second time racer Dimi Dojcinoski were looking comfortable in the B grade pack. Everyone was still clipping along at good pace as they came through lap two. From an onlookers point of view, there seemed to be a healthy respect within the group, with everyone seeming content to see this one to the finish line. Observing from the finish line, with a lap and half to go Dimi appeared to want the pace to pick up a bit as he and a couple of others had the slightest of gaps. This little manoeuvre wasn’t to be however and as they approached the finish line for the bell lap they were all back together. As the group came past, we couldn’t help but observe, that both Conan Liu and Dimi appeared to be under no pressure at all, this was going to come down to a sprint now for sure. Well, a sprint it was, as they approach the line a bright orange jersey was seen stepping out to the right, power was being transfered through the pedal and a scared expression was to be seen on the second timers face. They hit the line with Dimi in front just nudging out Conan and a fast finishing Craig Lindenmayer taking out third.

C Grade were next off the line. Seven riders in total all facing the 4.5 laps. These guys also appeared very content to keep everyone together, at least for the first lap anyway. They were also clipping along at a nice pace not losing any time to the B grade group in front. Past the finish line with two laps to go the seven had become six with Ed Logue calling it a day. As the sun continued to shine down at the finish line, a depleted group came past with a lap to go, the six had become four and looked like they would remain for the final lap. Communications from the Tharwa turn around confirmed this to be the case and as they approached the finish line another sprint ensued. John Paul De Sousa was just just just too strong for James Tonkin (who may have sat up early) and Ian Preston rounding out the third podium step.

D Grade has a grand total of three riders roll off the start line. The format of which was maintained throughout the whole 46km. All three riders were appearing to take equal turns and the smiles on their faces were infectious. The downside of this well-oiled machine was that there isn’t much to report. The three remained the three until the finish and even then there was a attempt made to all cross the line together. The final results with show however, that Michael Hanbury crossed in first with John Stockman taking second and Brian Chugg rounding out third place.

E/F Grade were sent away together, with a couple of late scratchings from the E grade field. Seven riders in total (six from E and one from F) were completing the 3.5 lap, 36km course. Attempts to help Lindsay Graham not have to ride the whole course on his own were thwarted by the E grade crew as, after the first half a lap Lindsay was indeed off the back. Cresting towards lookout Hill for the first time, it looked as if another victim may be taken with Cat Riley being dropped  off the back. However, her tenacity saw her chase back along the flat and the group was once again back together. Cat wasn’t going to get caught like that again and after the second, and bell lap, the group still remained together. Down the long straight towards Tharwa the group was unchanged with Russell Marston taking the front position. Figures came into view as they approached the finish and in the end it was Russell Marston from Cat Riley and Ashely Sked.

Lindsay Graham maintained the rage representing the F troop, riding the whole 36km on his own and crossing the line in first place in an impressive 1:26min.

Big thanks to Tony, Darren, Ben and Karen for their help on the day. As always, the races cannot go ahead without the help of our volunteers. Thanks also to the David Parker and the race committee for their assistance in the lead up. Long live road races.

Nathan Spillane – Race Director

SFP Criterium – 28 Feb

Perfect conditions greeted riders with warm and largely still conditions setting the scene for some exciting racing.

E,F and G Grade:

E,F and G Grades all rolled off together and kept things social for the opening lap or two with Theresa McLachlan setting a comfortable tempo on the front of the bunch. Lindy Hou and Colin Calderwood on the tandem was also contributing to the pace making but it wasn’t until Jim Veal put in a big dig coming down the home straight that the various bunches split apart. With seven riders away, Ricco Fitch took up the role of ‘el tractor’ driving the pace and stringing the bunch out behind. Around the halfway mark, Jim tried to go solo again but was swiftly joined by Poupee Lam before the two escapees were swallowed up by the chase. With less then ten minutes on the clock, Theresa tried once more but Jim was having none of it and welded the bunch back together. Two laps to go and Ricco was back on the front drilling it hard, before Theresa baking on ‘third time lucky’ put in another audacious attack on the bell. Through collarbone, it looked like Theresa had it with a gap of several bike lengths to Jim. But as they hit the back straight, new club member Graeme Townsend sought to make his presence felt, surging forward to latch onto Theresa’s wheel as they rounded the final bend. Strung out across the road in the dash to the line, it was Poupee Lam who had enough power to take a classy victory, Graeme holding on for second with the tandem of Lindy Hou and Collin Calderwood taking third after being spurred along by Jim in the final sprint.

Having rolled home near the head of proceedings, Jim took a comfortable victory for G Grade ahead of Gai Monahan and Bernard Crowe while in F Grade, Lindsay Graham rode a tactically astute race to capitalise on the hard work of Mijo Spoljaric, who set tempo throughout much of the race, with Dennis Puniard in third. And lest anyone bat an eyelid at the tactical nous Lindsay showed in the final, worth reflecting on the fact that this was Lindsay’s 400^th – yes, 400^th – race for CRMCC so doubtless he’s probably picked up a thing or two in the several hundred hours he has clocked up in the saddle racing with Vets! 

A and C Grade:

A Grade rolled away with Stu Griffith in a clearly unsociable mood attacking on lap one. Concerned for his wellbeing, Steve Crispin and Jeremy Gillman-Wells rode across to what looked like a dangerous early break. Ben Morrison must have agreed, and worked hard at the head of the chasing bunch to neutralise the threat. Dennis Mungoven was next to try his luck but couldn’t make the move stick, before Steve C casually clipped off the front once again and slipped into the familiar TT mode. JGW was steadfast as always in shouldering the chase for Team Tiffen. Michael Davies and Paul Scherl were also contributing to the chase with even the odd cameo from GT himself and around the halfway mark it was all back together. Not one for crowds, Steve attacked again through collarbone with Ben attentive in bridging the gap, Stu G anchored on his wheel as JGW was put to work once again leading the chase behind. With the clock ticking down, the gap to the leaders continued to grow as the three up front rolled turns like a well-oiled unit. Tiffen through everything into the chase behind but even with the help of Connan Liu and Mark Vroomens, it was quickly apparent the podium would be decided amongst the escapees. With two laps to go, the call no rider wants to hear – ‘ducks, ducks, ducks’ –  sang out through the peleton as said ducks orchestrated a pitch invasion, but it wasn’t enough to slow our leaders or change the inevitable results. Having taken a lap out for a mechanical, chapeau to Ben Morrison who opted not to contest the sprint finish leaving the Cartel duo to their own drag race for bragging rights. True to form, Stu G went clear by a bike length on the line, Steve in second and Ben comfortably rolling home in third. 

C Grade saw Michael Hanbury trying his luck early on but with Matt Dunstall chasing, discretion got the better part of valour and Michael returned to the fold. Mark Vardy put in a big dig down the home straight which quickly had the peleton strung out single file, before Damien Copeland put in the first of what would turn out to be several attacks for the night. The elastic still unbroken around the halfway mark, Anthony Dick came to the front to restore some order, but Michael H and Damien C were having none of it, off once again in a bid for glory. As the chasing bunch disintegrated, a leading group of six emerged but with the clock ticking down, watchfulness among the escapees got the better of group cohesion. Terry More tried to go solo but was quickly reeled in, before Dimitar Dojcinoski decided the time was ripe to fly the coop, quickly establishing a decisive lead. Indeed, so well was Dimitar riding that after a merging of the grades, it wasn’t entirely clear whether Dimitar was out front of A Grade or C Grade as both bunches failed to make up much ground on the solo escapee. So it was that Dimitar stayed clear to win by half a lap, Paul Clare winning the ‘best of the rest’ sprint for second with Michael Hanbury collecting third after being active all night.

B and D:

With light fading, B Grade got underway with a sense of purpose albeit a collegiate one as the bunch stayed together through the opening laps. Martin Graham and Andrew Chamberlain were prominent at the head of affairs, but it took an attack by Paul Angelatos down the back straight to signal a new phase of the battle. All strung out, Nathan Edwards rode the bunch back together with some help from Tom Stewart-Moore. Further attacks saw a group of six riders away briefly before the bunch regrouped but no sooner said and done, had Chambo taken off on a solo bid for glory. After swiftly establishing a lead of several bike lengths and settling into his tempo, Chambo looked to be away before Michael Foulds put in a monster turn to drag the chase back into contention, and then went on the offensive himself together with two or three other riders. But as the clock ticked down and the bell lap approached, the field was once again together, BOAs being ratcheted up for the inevitable sprint to come. So it was that Tom Stewart-Moore proved the fastest in the dash to the line, coming home ahead of Michael Foulds and Ben Zeller although not before another contender was kind enough to give the spectators a running commentary on his sprint, which looked to be going well until ‘nah, f@#k it’ bellowed out and the legs appeared to seize up. Kudos also to a rider in green who rode aggressively all night – yes, not very descriptive I realise but given said rider wasn’t wearing a number, it’s the best I can offer and a subtle reminder to wear your numbers if you want to (a) race and (b) be remembered. 

And lastly to D Grade, who kindly made the job of putting together the race report much easier by sticking together throughout the night. Jonathan Chowns and Michael Whyte were regulars on the front while Vanessa Judge also contributed to the pace setting and hurting the legs of those strung out behind. Despite one concerted effort by Michael W to get away around the halfway mark, it was a night for the sprinters. In the downhill run to the line, made all the more complicated by the overlap of B and D bunches, Michael W held his nerve and proved the quickest taking the win ahead of Kevin Newhouse and Vanessa Judge.

All in all, a fun night of racing and good spectating to be had. A big thanks to Kerrie Muir – aka ‘Duck Lady’ – who was a fabulous co-conspirator in the marshalling arena and earned universal praise for her tireless efforts to rid the track of the pesky Anatide envoys. 

Brad Peppinck – Race Director

Track Racing – Thursday 2 March

Thursday 2 March provided excellent conditions for track racing.  It was a warm with a light headwind in the back straight.  Attendance (9 riders) was, again, below par.  However, the group had a good evening’s racing.

A Grade Scratch (8 laps)
Tim Jolly led off at an easy pace and did two laps, raising the pace in the second lap before handing off to Martin Graham.  Martin must have been conserving energy as he handed off to Conan Liu after half a lap.  Conan can be relied on to stir the pot and, sure enough, he kicked up the pace as lap 4 commenced.  John Paul De Sousa and Tim Jolly brought the pack along with Conan.  After the pair completed turns on the front, the race was getting quite pacy.  However, the bunch was soon quite compact and slowing as Martin Graham again rolled to the front on lap 6.  Martin took a short turn before Conan Liu again stirred up the bunch.  This was the cue for Martin to put in a solid attack, that initially looked quite promising, if a tad premature.  After Martin gained 20m on the bunch, Tim Jolly began one of the furious pursuits that are becoming his trademark.  Tim accelerated past Martin on the final lap, accompanied by a pursuing bunch including John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu and Wayne Benham.  Tim was uncatchable and took
the win, followed by Conan Liu (2^nd) a fraction ahead of John Paul De Sousa (3^rd).  Another interesting contest!

B Grade Scratch (8 laps)
B Grade had 4 riders racing with the return of Alison Hale from Canada and seemingly unaffected by any Poutine intake.  The riders took conservative turns on the front.  Alison Hale controlled the race awaiting James Newhouse’s attack to plunder yet more season points.  Graeme O’Neill with one lap to go tried to stay on Alison’s wheel.  However, as the bell went so did Alison launching a devastating attack with James Newhouse in pursuit.  James closed the gap substantially, however over the line it was Alison Hale 1^st, James Newhouse 2^nd and Graeme O’Neill 3^rd.

Paired Match Races (2 laps)
The match racing was an Omnium championship event so all riders we keyed up to perform well. James Newhouse was paired with Alison Hale for the first event. The race was quite tactical for the first 1.5 laps with Alison trying to temp James into the lead, without success. The final half lap sprint commenced with Alison in the lead. James overtook in the final turn but could not gain the sprinter’s lane. This allowed Alison a second surge that almost succeeded. James took a close win. 

Next up Conan Liu just held off John Paul De Sousa for a win. 

Due to uneven numbers, Tim Jolly, Martin Graham and Wayne Benham competed as a threesome. Tim Jolly was the favourite. Although Tim was ultimately the winner, Wayne Benham rode a great tactical race and made it a close-run thing for Tim.

The final pairing was Phil Coulton against Graeme O’Neill. Phil took the lead coming off turn 1 and looked a comfortable winner. However, Graeme put on a desperate spurt rounding the final bend and almost caught Phil unawares. A panicked final burst from Phil, as Graeme drew level, was sufficient for a win by the closest margin.

2-Lap Handicap
The limit riders got excellent starts. In particular, James Newhouse flew down the back straight with 1.5 laps to go. The limit riders were way too fast for the scratch riders. A great race by James Newhouse got him home 1^st, Wayne Benham 2^nd, and John Paul De Sousa 3^rd.

Italian Pursuit
8 riders again for this week’s Italian Pursuit.  The amore pairing were completely absent – no love in this contest!  Warm and still conditions had the teams keen to get it on. Team 2 got a fantastic start provided by Phil Coulton.  Team 1 also started well but the initial pace of Team 2 was the pivot point.  A nice start then allowed the Team 2 anchor riders of John Paul and Tim Jolly to maintain a solid pace. On paper Team 2 was a little stronger and this was reflected with the win over Team 1.

Major Placings:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa.  (A2 Grade) No entries.  (B Grade) Alison Hale, James Newhouse, Graeme O’Neill.
Match Race Winners: (A Grade) Tim Jolly, Conan Liu.  (B Grade) James Newhouse, Phil Coulton.
2-Lap Handicap: (A&B Grades) James Newhouse, Wayne Benham, John Paul De Sousa, Martin Graham, Phil Coulton.
Combined Italian Pursuit:  Winner Team 2 (John Paul De Sousa, Wayne Benham, Tim Jolly, Phil Coulton).

Omnium Points Score:
Conan Liu (15), James Newhouse (14), Tim Jolly (13), Graeme O’Neill (11), Phil Coulton (10), Gavin Stephens, Craig Kentwell, John Paul De Sousa, Wayne Benham, Martin Graham (8).

Season Point Score:
Tim Jolly (348), James Newhouse (307), Conan Liu (258), Alison Hale (256), Craig Kentwell (229), John Paul De Sousa (197), Wayne Benham (158), Steve Jones (148), Ed Garnett (134), Warwick Wilson (127), Ian Drayton (119), Graeme O’Neill (116), Gavin Stephens (113), Hamish Anderson (103).

Michael Langdon’s commentary on the Italian Pursuit here.

Graeme O’Neill and Michael Langdon