Capital Region Masters – Weekly Bleat, Monday 13 November, 2023

Masters, In this week’s Bleat

• From the Race Committee
• Come celebrate the CRMCC’s 30^th Anniversary
• Next Crit Race – Summer Series Evening Criterium Tuesday 14 November. 5.50 PM
• Next Road Race – Smiths Rd-Naas Rd – 19 November
• Narrabundah Track Racing – Thursday 16 November, 5:30 PM
• From the Committee
• Race calendar can be found here for other race dates needing Officials

From the Race Committee

Over the past fortnight, some members have been experiencing payment issues (unrelated to Optus-fail) when trying to pay online through RMS for either criterium, road or track races. For the affected users, they have loaded the payment form in the calendar, they have entered their payment details and clicked Pay, have received a receipt, but their name has not been added to the registration list. In some cases, they have attempted this work flow again, and again, unwittingly racking up multiple payment transactions. There appears to be a combination of a Chrome browser with either Android or Windows which exacerbates the problem. Please note that the security of your transaction information has not been compromised with this issue. We are working on repairing the interoperability between a payment and the software code to create the registration list, and until a fix is implemented, the $10 race will be waived for criterium and track races this week. We will Bleat when these normal services are restored.

If you have attempted to register and pay for a race since around 28 October 2023 and experienced the issues above, please check your credit card transactions for multiple payment entries for the same event from VISA[or MC]-SQ *CAPITAL REGION MASTER1800595310.  Please send race.committee@actvets.cc a screenshot of these multiple transactions with your name, race number, and your preferred means of reconciliation (credit or refund). We apologise for this inconvenience and are confident in restoring order soon.

Come celebrate the CRMCC’s 30^th Anniversary

To mark the club’s 30^th anniversary, the committee invites all members to join us for dinner and a few drinks from 1900 at Policy in the Statesman Hotel in Curtin on Monday 27 November. The first two drinks will be courtesy of the club and members can order meals at their own expense (see menu).

To help with planning, please RSVP to handicapper@actvets.cc by 24 November. Apologies are not required.

Details

When: 1900, Monday 27 November

Place: Policy, Statesman Hotel, Strangeways St, Curtin

Dress: Preferably not cycling wear; name tag if never seen without a helmet

RSVP: By 24 November to handicapper@actvets.cc

Rob Langridge

Committee member

RACING – Summer Series Evening Criterium Tuesday 14 November

Grade	Time Week 01	Race Duration [ sunset @ 7:14 ]
E/F/G	5:50	20mins +2 laps
A/C	6:25	A 38min+2laps, C 33min+2laps
B/D	7:05	B 38min+2laps, D 33min+2laps

(Volunteers are needed for various sessions so please check dates at the link)

NARRABUNDAH TRACK SESSION – THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 5:30 PM

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 – 7.00pm: 2-lap SS time trial.
7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian pursuit.

We have waived the $10 for this session but you still need to register by looking up the calendar entry in the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar

We also offer an annual season pass of $140 for a theoretical 20 racing sessions until 21 March 2024 (weather permitting), or $7 per session, and you would need to attend 14 of the 20 sessions remaining to break even.

As we have moved to online registration and payment, we no longer accept cash on the day. You must be registered to participate for insurance purposes.

Graeme O’Neill – Chief Commissaire

ROAD RACE – SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 9:00AM

Format: Mt Tennent Terror
Course is laps over Mt Tennant spur to Apollo Road and return.
A,B,C 3 laps. Approx 54km. D,E,F,G 2laps. Approx 36km.

CRIT RACING REPORT TUESDAY 07 NOVEMBER

The evening was looking balmy and windless as we pulled up in preperation for the opening race. Some access issues meant that we needed to revert back to old school methods with manual ‘shout-out’ timing ran off hand held devices. No worries, everyone pitched in and we had the start line prepared and ready to go. 

My usual attention to detail on the happenings within the race were thrwart by the pressure I was feeling to maintain the timing and relay this to the riders. Based on this I am unable to provide my usual sollileque. The reporting will be brief.

A Grade rolled off first in their 38 minutes plus two laps race. In general it was a race that had various efforts off the front by various teams. Of note was proabably the one that included Michael Tolhurst, Stu Griffiths and Jason Irwin. With Michael dropping off and Steve Crispin doing his best to chase down his team mate, the pair were caught. Aside from Trent Smyth launching himself up the road again and again the group stayed relatively together. They rounded the top turn for the downhill sprint as one big group and in the end it was Jeremy Gillman-Wells taking the honours from Toby McLenaghan in second and Denis Mungoven in third. 

After too much talking from the race director on the start line, C grades 33 minute endeavour rolled off with urgency. Like the A graders, this group also remained generally togehter with the occasional rider trying their luck up the road but to no avail. In the end it was Claire Aubrey taking out the sprint finish by a bike and half from Andrew Buick ahead of Michael Hanbury.

The B Grade bunch was definately the biggest of the night. They also had 38 minutes to content with and rolled away on the downhill with little no no urgency. The usual suspects appeared up from looking for TV time, none for prominent than Mr Andrew Yates. After wahat appeared to be many fruitless attempts to organise a breakaway, Craig Lindenmayer decided to go up the road on his own and he was making a fair effort of it. Around the top turn before the bell lap he still had a small margin but the bunch were gaining. That is until an accident at the top of the straight disrupted the momentum. As the bell rang for the chase group the marshalls sprang into action, shortening the course at the top end to remove the accident zone. This played into the hands very nicely of Craig who hooked into the tight turn up the back straight and powered on to victory. Second place was taken by  rider 387 (sorry no record of name) and third was Ben McDuff.

D Grades 33 minute race was far less eventful from a spectors point of view. After having found his big chain ring after many years of looking, David Johnson could be seen driving the pace up the back straight handing over to others for the downward run to the start finish line. Again the group generally maintain their size and lucky having a few less minutes meant they did fall foul of a shortened track. The sprint finish say Russell Marston take victory from Alison Hale and then Steven Simms. 

With the clouds looming and the sun setting quicker than anticipated, E/F/G Grade rolled away for their shortened 20 minute race. The group split quickly with five riders off the front that soon became four as the drops of rain pettered the track. The lightning off in the Brindabellas created an urgency within the field to get this thing done. This helped the average speed I am sure.  Robert Solomon took out the E grade win from Bruce Griffin followed by Rico Fitch. Lindsay Graham took the win for F grade and Robyn Smallwood took home the chocolates in G.

Big fields again this week and good racing. It was great to see the injured B grade rider back up on his bike and riding to the pavilion. Heal up well, and thanks to Simon Whitehead for first aid duties. Thanks also to Moshy and Ian Hutchings for their assistance on the night. 

Nathan Spillane

Photos thanks to Ian Hutchings.

TRACK RACING REPORT- THURSDAY 09 NOVEMBER

Solid rain arrived in Canberra on the track day morning and, by mid-day, the prospects for track racing
looked grim. However, fine weather arrived around 3.00pm with sufficient time to dry the track and allow
racing to proceed. By track time it was sunny, slightly cool and with a light head wind in the back straight
at the velodrome. Attendance was moderate (10 riders), though it could have been worse if the weather
had not cleared early.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race commenced with Warwick Wilson leading out a small bunch (4 riders) at a
moderate pace. John Paul De Sousa took over for lap 2, keeping the pace easy. Wayne Benham rolled
to the front and raised the pace for lap 3. When Conan Liu took the lead on lap 4, he was expected to
raise the pace. However, Conan was happy to cruise with the bunch this time. The action started on lap
7 with John Paul De Sousa taking an outside line to gain the high banking. John Paul waited until the
bunch entered the back straight on lap 7 before launching an attack. Initially, John Paul gained around
10 metres on the pack. However, Conan Liu soon launched a pursuit that brought him on equal terms
with John Paul as they rounded the bend into the finish straight. Conan Liu snatched the win by half-a-
wheel at the line. John Paul was a safe second and Wayne Benham soon surged over the line for third
place.
The B Grade scratch race had 5 riders with Ben Davis again making up the numbers. The race was
routine over the first 6 laps with riders rolling over the lead. Ed Garnett attacked with the bunch rolling
into lap 7. Alison Hale reacted quickly and raced out in pursuit of Ed. The rest of the bunch also reacted
but could not match the pace of Alison and Ed. Phil Coulton doggedly pursued Alison but began to tire on
the last lap, allowing Bruce Griffin to pass with Graeme O’Neill in tow. Alison closed quickly on Ed over
the final lap and surged past to take the win by a comfortable 8 – 9 metes. Ed took second place with
Bruce Griffin making a final surge to ensure third placing.
The evening’s second event was the 200 fly (200m flying start time trial). This is a favourite event for
many trackies. It requires good technique to set up and accelerate from the banking, plus an exhausting
200 metre flat-out sprint. A grade times were grouped within 0.6 seconds with Conan Liu (13.89s), John
Paul De Sousa (13.92s) and Warwick Wilson (14.28s). Best times in B grade were Ed Garnett (13.95s),
Alison Hale (15.00s) and Ben Davis (15.50s).
A 2-lap, all-in (A & B Grades) handicap followed the 200 fly. Graeme O’Neill led out the handicap and
managed to keep all the B grade riders at bay except for Ed Garnett who took a flyer and passed Graeme
in the back straight on lap 1. The A grade riders were on song, with Warwick Wilson, John Paul De
Sousa and Conan Liu accelerating past the B graders and then pursuing and passing Ed Garnett to fight
out the win. The result was Warwick Wilson 1 st , John Paul De Sousa 2 nd and Conan Liu 3 rd .
The evening’s racing closed with the usual Italian Pursuit. Team1 had 5 riders and Team 2 had 4 riders
with anchor Conan Liu agreeing to do two final laps. The teams looked evenly matched. However, things
unravelled immediately after the start for Team 1, when John Paul De Sousa pulled his leg from a pedal.
It is virtually impossible to recover from this set back, so Team 2 had a comfortable win. However, both
teams rolled through their riders normally. It was good team riding practice, so the race was not a total
loss.
Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu, John Paul De Sousa, Wayne Benham. (A2 Grade) Warwick
Wilson (B Grade) Alison Hale, Ed Garnett, Bruce Griffin.
200m Fly: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu (13.89s), John Paul De Sousa (13.92s), Wayne Benham (14.50s) (A2
Grade) Warwick Wilson (14.28s) (B Grade) Ed Garnett (13.95s), Alison Hale (15.00s), Ben Davis
(15.50s).
2-Lap Handicap: Warwick Wilson, John Paul De Sousa, Conan Liu, Ed Garnett, Wayne Benham.
Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Conan Liu, Warwick Wilson, Ed Garnett, Phil Coulton).
Season Point Score Update:
Conan Liu (68), Alison Hale (67), John Paul De Sousa (61), Graeme O’Neill (44), Warwick Wilson (43),
Wayne Benham (39), Ben Davis (34), Craig Kentwell (33), Hamish Anderson (31), Martin Graham (29),
Ian Drayton (28), Phil Coulton (25).

From the Committee

Update your membership details

In preparation for the early December announcement of the 2024 annual fees and online renewal, please take a moment to verify that your membership details (email address, emergency contact details) are current and up to date. This information is collated in the national body’s database SportsTG, from which we receive incremental updates to our RMS system. If you are reading this Bleat via email, then it is likely that we have a functional email address for you. To check your membership details go to https://memberdesq.sportstg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main&OrgID=10244 >Login > Enter your username (which is often a randomly generated string of letters like 0FrWUyp unless you have changed it).  Please contact membership@actvets.cc if you need help finding your username as it is understandable that you may only use it once a year for annual fee renewal.

The Bleat

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thebleat@actvets.cc