Capital Region Masters – Weekly Bleat, Monday 11 December, 2023

Masters, In this week’s Bleat

• Next Crit Race – Summer Series Evening Criterium Tuesday 12 December. 5.50 PM
• Narrabundah Track Racing – Thursday 14 December, 5:30 PM
• Next Road Race – Sunday 17 December, 9AM
• From the Committee
• Race calendar can be found here for other race dates needing Officials

RACING – Summer Series Evening Criterium Tuesday 05 December

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

Crits Race Report – Tuesday 05 December

E Grade got underway with Ross Heazlewood setting tempo on the front and stringing the riders out behind. After a few minutes, the leaders had been whittled down to a bunch of four comprised on Ross, Chris Copeland, Bruce Griffin, and Rico Fitch. Having established the decisive break, the quartet worked constructively to deny the chasers any opportunity to return. Chris put in several decent accelerations down the back straight but wasn’t able to snap the elastic, the surge in pace nonetheless proving too much for Bruce who slipped out the back with just two laps remaining. Chris took the leaders across on the bell with Rico well positioned in second. Down to the final dash to the line and Rico proved the fastest, rounding the bend out wide and holding his charge to the line to edge out Chris, Ross holding on for third. Lindsay Graham, meanwhile, took home the honours in F Grade ahead of Robert Miller and Paul Robey.

A Grade saw Tristan Dimmock testing the bunch with an early attack before Dan Lekhac brought things back together. With splits appearing left, right, and centre, 6 riders found themselves out front; Dan, Tristan, Matt Corby, Stu Griffith, Ben Morrison, and Stephen Blackburn. Sensing the danger, Jason Irwin got stuck into the chase ably supported by the Team Tiffen duo of Gerard Tiffen and Mick Tollhurst. Up ahead, Moshy was looking in ominous form as he almost accidentally rolled off the front on more than one occasion, the pace and the oppressive heat proving too much for Tristo and Matt who looked to return to the relative safety of the chase. As Moshy and Stu drove the break, GT and Mick Tollhurst were relentless in their pursuit, the pace proving too much for many with several riders retiring early. Into the closing stages and two huge pulls from Mark Harris and GT down the home straight brought it all back together, before Jason Irwin immediately countered with an attack of his own, GT offering succinct if not audible commentary as he astutely noted ‘oh, f#@king hell Jason…’ before promptly blowing up. With just six riders left in contention at the 2-minute mark, Dan looked to try his luck with a late escape but wasn’t given much rope, Moshy drilling it back together. Round the final bend, the pundits were left debating whether it would be Stu or Moshy to reign supreme for the fast men, before Moshy put it beyond any doubt with a dominant display of speed going clear by several bike lengths for what proved a comfortable victory. Stu held on for second as Mick T nabbed third in typically determined fashion.  

By comparison with A Grade, C Grade was considerably more civilised (and sensible given the forty degree track temperature…) to begin with, before Claire Aubrey through caution to the wind with a well-timed attack. Taking Mark Bauer with her for company, Clare extended her lead to good 100m before the duo evidently reasoned 30 minutes out front might be a bridge too far, opting for a tactical retreat to the bunch. For the next 15 minutes, relative order prevailed, with Andrew Hislop and Michael Hanbury regular fixtures up front. With around 10 minutes to go, Claire was off again but couldn’t quite establish a decisive gap, the bunch strung out single file behind. Down to the final lap, Duncan McDonald lit the jets coming onto the back straight, quickly going clear and holding his advantage all the way across the line. Claire was a deserving second place after animating the race throughout, Simon Porombka best of the rest in third. 

Rounding out the night, B Grade saw Andrew Chamberlain quickly to the fore as the bunch were lined out behind, before the My Ride mafia put their stamp of control on proceedings, Krusty Bryant setting a steady tempo that saw several riders pop out behind. Gregory Harris was also prominent during the early stages, Kate Vandenberg showing great race craft as she surfed wheels near the front. Rowan McMurray put pay to the relative order My Ride had established with a blistering attack around the 20 minutes mark, before Krusty steadily mowed him back down. Ben Healy was next to try his luck alongside Craig but once again, Krusty was up to the task of chasing them both down. With around 5 minutes left on the clock, Ben was at it again as Nathan Monck and Darren Blackhurst looked to bridge. With the trio giving their all, it took a huge effort for the bunch to ride them down with David Roberts leading a much-reduced bunch across the line on the bell. Andy Yates looked to steal a march with a long range attack up the back straight but in the end, it was Nathan Monck who timed his run best, crossing the line a bike length ahead of Gregory H, Andy Yates managing to hold on for third.

D Grade meanwhile followed a more consistent script with a steady pace that kept the bunch largely intact throughout much of the night. Tony Sheehan, Ian Morton, and Greg Mitchell were all early contributors, with Wayne Shippley an occasional disruptor as he looked to get away. With around 5 minutes to go, Liz Lowe put in a full throttle attack but couldn’t get the gap she needed, the pace once again settling as the riders resigned themselves to the sprint finish to come. Poupee Lam lit the fuse early on the bell lap but couldn’t sustain the frenetic pace, Wayne Shippley using the surge as a springboard to mount his own escape and staying clear to snatch victory. Greg Mitchell led the chasers’ home, with Liz Lowe rewarded for her earlier efforts in third.       

Brad Peppinck

NARRABUNDAH TRACK SESSION – THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER 5:30 PM

The Program for Thursday is as follows:
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice.
6.00pm – 6.20pm: Christmas Wheel Race (6-lap handicap, trophy race).
6.20pm – 6.50pm: 200 fly.
There is no charge for this event and riders are not required to register. The racing will be followed by the
usual drinks and nibbles to celebrate the festive season. All welcome!
This will be the final track event for 2023. Track racing will resume in the new year on 4 January.

Graeme O’Neill – Chief Commissaire

TRACK RACING REPORT- THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER
Thursday 7 December was another track day with uncertain weather. By the start of the warm-up at
5.30pm, it was warm with little wind. There was rain in the distance, though it seemed to just hang there
stationary and did not seem threatening. Attendance was low (9 riders) as expected given the uncertain
conditions.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race commenced with Steve Jones leading out for a full lap at an easy pace.
The bunch stayed together for the next 5 laps with the pace picking up as riders rotated to the front,
mostly doing half lap turns. By lap 6, the bunch was compressed with riders clearly looking to launch off
the banking. Kerry Knowler was the first to attack, surging out to a 15m lead on lap 7. Initially Martin
Graham pursued with Steve Jones and Conan Liu starting to accelerate. The catch came on the final lap.
As soon as Martin caught Kerry, Steve Jones and Conan Liu came barrelling around the outside at terrific
speed. Steve and Conan contested a close sprint with Conan slipping past for a narrow win. John Paul
De Sousa came in third. Kerry was overtaken by Martin Graham. However, as the sole representative of
A2 grade, Kerry had the consolation of earning maximum points.
The B Grade scratch race had 4 riders and was quite orderly up until lap 7 with riders doing full lap turns.
Sarah Stephen found herself leading out at a good pace on lap 7. However, Sarah could sense that
something was about to happen, so she climbed the banking to prepare a launch around half lap. At this
point, the whole bunch accelerated to contest a very long sprint. Sarah, Hamish Anderson and Alison
Hale surged around three quarters of a lap with a momentary pause before accelerating into the final half
lap sprint. Hamish took the win from Sarah with Alison a close third.
Just as riders were preparing for the evening’s second event (200m fly) a short cloud burst completely
wet the track. Fortunately, there was enough stored heat in the concrete track, to dry it within 20 minutes.
The 200m fly requires a completely dry track for a safe launch from the high banking. Consequently, the
2-lap handicap was moved up to the second event. This was an all-in event with both A and B grade
riders equalised by handicaps. Sarah Stephens started this event with an incredible surge over the initial
lap. She passed the limit rider within three quarters of a lap and went on to a significant lead. However,
Hamish Anderson and John Paul De Sousa ran Sarah down in the final lap with John Paul taking the win
from Hamish. Sarah hung on for a creditable third place.
The 200m fly event was abandoned with riders electing to finish the evening with the usual Italian Pursuit.
This race had teams of 4 riders. On paper, Team 2 looked stronger. However, Team 1 were not fazed,
as anything can happen in a pursuit. In the event, both teams rode with exemplary teamwork. However,
as expected, Team 2 had gained a small margin by the time the anchor rider took over. Conan Liu was
anchor for Team 2. Conan is an enthusiastic rider who has so far been impossible to catch with a head
start. Conan took the win for Team 2, with Team 1’s anchor, Steve Jones, a few metres adrift.
Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu, Steve Jones, John Paul De Sousa (A2 Grade) Kerry Knowler (B
Grade) Hamish Anderson, Sarah Stephens, Alison Hale.
2-Lap Handicap: Hamish Anderson, John Paul De Sousa, Sarah Stephens, Conan Liu, Kerry Knowler.
Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Conan Liu, Joh Paul De Sousa, Hamish Anderson, Alison Hale).
Season Point Score Update:
Conan Liu (126), John Paul De Sousa (118), Alison Hale (80), Graeme O’Neill (79), Warwick Wilson (61),
Wayne Benham (58), Phil Coulton (57), Craig Kentwell (53), Hamish Anderson (49), Ben Davis (47), Ian
Drayton (45), Martin Graham (39), Ed Garnett (36), Steve Jones (35), Kerry Knowler (34).

Next Road Race – Sunday 17 December

Format: Uriarra Homestead
Uriarra Homestead – Uphill to Short turn before the climb – downhill to top of Uriarra Crossing – back up to Homestead. 3 laps for a handicap.
Directions: Assemble at Uriarra Rd / Brindabella Rd, T-Junction. From North Canberra slightly faster Coppins crossing & right onto Uriarra Road. From Sth Canberra follow Cotter Road down to bridge crossing, turn right onto Brindabella Road.

The 30^th Anniversary Bleat has been posted on the Club Website.

Please see the following link:

The Bleat

If you would like to contribute to the Club and put the Bleat together each week, please reach our to us!

thebleat@actvets.cc