Hello CRMCCers,
For this week’s Bleat –
- Upcoming changes to crits from 4 Feb
- Next Crit Race – Tues 21 Jan from 5.50pm
- Narrabundah Track Racing – Thurs 23 Jan, 5.30pm
- Crits race report for 14 Jan – Mark Vardy
- Track race report for 16 Jan – Graeme O’Neill
- Handicapper’s hammer – Rob Langridge
- Upcoming 2025 road season
- Notice of CRMCC Annual General Meeting on Mon 10 Feb 2025
- Upcoming races requiring volunteers – race calendar can be found here
Upcoming changes to CRMCC crits from 4 Febuary
- We will be implementing a clipboard check-in before each crit race from Tuesday 4th February 2025.
- Grades E, F and G will always start in time slot 1 – 5.50 pm at SFP from this date. The only exception could be when we run the club crit championships.
The calendar in RMS will be updated for the second and third time slots for the remaining crits of the 2024/4 summer evening season.
Summer evening criterium series – Tuesday 21 January – week 14
*****The club will be implementing some extra checks to ensure that everyone on the crit track is a financial member before the race. This will involve the use of an entry chute before the start of each race.*****
Race director Boyd Statton, marshal Andrew Hislop, first aid Ryan Fawke
Bell for the final lap.
Direction anti-clockwise
Grades Time Race Duration [sunset 2018]
B/D 17:50 B 45 mins + 2L, D 40mins + 2L
E/F/G 18:40 30 mins + 2L
A/C 19:15 A 45 mins + 2L, C 40mins + 2L
Race registration cut-off is Tuesday 21st January at 12.50pm.
Cost is $10.
You need to register by looking up the calendar entry in the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar?5021187
Late registration will be assessed by race.committee@crmcc.org.au and if allowed, a late fee of an extra $10 will be applied.
If you are unregistered and show up to the event, you must convince a committee member (not the Race Director) of your club member financial status for insurance purposes, before being allowed to participate.
You must wear your CRMCC assigned number to race. No number on the day, no race.
Switch race entry:
In the event of rain or another event, the members who have paid $10 to enter and decide to not race, those riders have to send an email to committee@crmcc.org.au before their race starts, where they would like to transfer their $10 with their name and race number, and the date to which they want the credit transferred.
Such requests via Facebook will be ignored.
Race Committee
Member Chris Filiatraut taking a pic of the club’s wonderful photographer Ian Hutchings on 7 Jan 25.
Narrabundah Track Racing – 23 January
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: 200m fly.
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 2-lap paired match races
7.10pm – 7.30pm: Italian pursuit.
Spare Track Bikes
We have several spare track bikes if you wish to try track racing.
Note that you will need to either be a financial member, or have a trial membership to participate. Please see capitalregionmasterscyclingclub.org.au/membership .
Riders will need to bring their own pedals. You may need to pump up tyres (we will have a pump available) and adjust saddle / bar position.
You will need to check over the bike for safety purposes. Although we will assist as far as practical, equipment safety and providing tools for fitting / adjustments is your responsibility.
Attendance
Please register your attendance at https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar?5021918 , where each race will cost $10.
New or returning members who wish to ease their way into track racing may do the just the warm-up and single event at nil cost for the session. Just show up at the Narrabundah track by 5.30pm.
Graeme O’Neill
Crits race report – 14 January – Mark Vardy
D grade correction from 7 January 2025:
Liz Lowe (287) took third, not Ian Morton (278)
E grade
A breezy afternoon to start proceedings with a three rider group of E graders taking to the circuit. The three stayed together and shared turns for the 30 minutes, with Rob Langridge taking windy home straight numerous times during the race. With two laps to go Chris Copeland took to the front up the finishing straight to hold off Mick Donaldson and Rob.
A grade
The crit began with fireworks as Dennis (make sure you take a photo of me) Mungoven launched a bold attack right from the gun, setting the tone for an aggressive race. By the third lap, Ben Morrison made a strong move to bridge across, forming a two-man breakaway, while the rest of the peloton worked together to bring them back. A determined chase reeled them in 10 minutes into the race.
For the next few laps, the pace steadied, allowing the field a brief respite. Various attempts were made to form another break but nothing stuck. Amid the flurry of action, Matt Rizzuto was seen fueling up with a mid-race gel, preparing for the latter stages.
As the race clock ticked down, Michael Tolhurst and Mark Harris made a decisive move with 28 minutes remaining, breaking away and quickly establishing a gap that stretched the length of the straight. Their effort was short-lived as the peloton, keen to keep things together, brought them back soon after.
The attacks continued to come thick and fast, with Andrew Foster and Matt Darling taking their turn off the front, each trying to escape the relentless pursuit of the pack. As the race entered its final stages, it was a series of fierce attacks and equally determined chases.
In the closing moments, it all came down to a bunch sprint. Stu Griffiths, positioned well into the last couple of corners timed his effort perfectly, surging ahead to take the win, followed closely by Ben Morrison in second and Jeremy Gillman-Wells in third. The race was a true test of strategy, strength, and endurance, with plenty of aggressive moves and tactical plays that kept everyone on their toes until the very end.
C grade
Warm and blustery conditions continued for the start of A and C grade, with the C graders getting underway with the usual suspects of Mick Hanbury and Ian Preston driving hard for the first couple of laps before being brought back to the fold. With 30 minutes to go the splits started forming with the pressure being exerted by Ed Logue – the pressure almost had C catch the back of A grade until A exerted a strong turn of speed to pull away. By 15 minutes to go the lead group had put half a lap into the chasers. In the end the sprint was taken out by Ian Mongan from Wes Pendlebury and John Stokman.
B grade
By the time B grade took to the course the wind had dropped off to be barely noticeable and the long shadows covering most of the road. Early pace was pushed by Geoff Hinchcliffe, but was quickly brought back into the group. Ten minutes in Nathan Rickerby and Mark Terracini took to the front up the finishing straight, before being joined a couple of minutes later by Rowan McMurray and Leonard Pooley. At the half way mark the bunch was all back together. At 15 minutes to go second time racer Blake Fretwell took a turn at the front before succumbing to the speed of the group. At two laps to go the pressure came on again from Nathan and Geoff with Nathan taking out the win over Mark Terracini.
Thanks to the club committee attending tonight, along with the first aider Matt Sainsbury.
D Grade
From the outset, the bunch moved around dynamically, with the back of the pack getting low and aero to make the most of the freewheeling opportunities down the back straight.
Several riders tested the waters with attacks throughout the race, the most notable being from Elizabeth Lowe, whose aggressive riding kept the pace high and forced several riders to chase. Martin Boyd was a consistent presence at the front, driving the tempo and ensuring that any breakaways were reeled in quickly. His efforts kept the peloton together but also contributed to the attrition that saw several riders struggling to hold on as the laps wore on.
Among the casualties was David Gunther, who suffered a mechanical with a broken gear cable, forcing him to retire from the race in the latter stages. A few other casualties highlighted the toll the relentless pace and conditions took on the field.
As the race neared its climax, the pack held together, setting the stage for a thrilling finish. Elizabeth Lowe, who had been active throughout, timed her run well, edging out Eddie Humeniuk with Dale Dummett rounding out the podium in third, capping off a hard-fought race.
Race director – Mark Vardy
Thanks to Ian Hutchings for the pics from last week’s regular crits – (E, A&C) https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19r24Aei4A/, (A&C) https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17kKUTLpbE/ , (A&C) https://www.facebook.com/share/p/188hNDYPuf/ , (A&C, B&D) https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15dHk66uwX/ and (B&D) https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19rv4BMYom/ .
“Dad…this needs tinkering” – pic courtesy of Ian Hutchings before B grade on 7 Jan 25
Narrabundah track racing report – Thursday 9 January – Graeme O’Neill
Thursday 16 January saw the eleventh track racing session for 2024-25. The temperature at the Bundadome was cool with a very strong, gusty headwind in the front straight. Attendance (nine riders) was low, but on par for this season.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race had a field of six starters. The race commenced with Hamish Anderson leading out at an easy pace. Craig Kentwell took the lead on lap 2 and held a long turn on the front before handing off to Paul Connor. Paul cranked up the pace on lap five and soon had the group really motoring. Conan Liu took over on lap six before handing off the Ben Davis. On lap seven, Conan attacked with Hamish Anderson and Paul Connor in pursuit. The pack strung out over the final sprint lap with Conan taking the win from Hamish Anderson and Paul Connor in that order. After a hectic sprint, Craig Kentwell just pipped Alison Hale by a tire width for fourth place.
The 8-lap B grade scratch race had a field of three starters. As usual, the race was orderly with Phil Coulton, Graeme O’Neill and Ken Birch doing one lap turns on the front. Graeme tried to attack at the bell entry, but Phil Coulton quickly gained his wheel. In the final turn, Phil put on a surge and outpaced Graeme for the win. Ken Birch came in third.
The evening’s second events were graded points races. A Grade did 20 laps with a sprint every five laps. Conan Liu took the first sprint from Paul Connor and proceeded to garner all the sprints by gaining a 50 metre lead on the pack. Similarly, Paul Connor stayed ahead of the pack by doggedly pursuing Conan. The rest of the bunch held on with various riders taking minor placings in the sprints.
The points wash up was Conan Liu (25), Paul Connor (20), Ben Davis (13) and Hamish Anderson (8).
The B grade points race was shortened to 12 laps with three sprints. Phil Coulton took all the sprints and managed to gap the field over the latter half of the race. Graeme O’Neill pursued doggedly to take second in each sprint. The points washup was Phil Coulton (20), Graeme O’Neill (12), Ken Birch (9).
The final event for the evening was the usual Italian Pursuit. The event had teams of four riders and was quite satisfying for the handicapper as the final margin was a mere half metre. Team 2 had a shaky start but, as expected, managed a good lead before their anchor rider, Hamish Anderson, started the final lap. This left Team 1’s anchor, Conan Liu with a big challenge. However, Conan was up to the task and closed quickly with blistering pace to take a close win for the team.
Major placegetters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu, Paul Connor. (A2 Grade) Hamish Anderson, Craig Kentwell,
Alison Hale.
(B Grade) Phil Coulton, Graeme O’Neill, Ken Birch.
20-Lap Points Race: (A1 Grade) Conan Liu (25), Paul Connor (20) (A2 Grade) Ben Davis (13), Hamish Anderson (8), Craig Kentwell (5), Alison Hale (2).
12-Lap Points Race: (B Grade) Phil Coulton (20), Graeme O’Neill (16), Ken Birch (12).
Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (Conan Liu, Craig Kentwell, Alison Hale, Graeme O’Neill).
Season Point Score:
Hamish Anderson (197), Conan Liu (178), Graeme O’Neill (153), Phil Coulton (149), Ian Drayton (147), Craig Kentwell (127), Steve Jones (124), Sarah Stephens (101), Ben Davis (78), John Paul De Sousa (72), Warwick Wilson (67), Alison Hale (64), Wayne Benham (59), Ken Birch (31), Dave Buckley (16), Paul Connor (16).
Handicapper’s hammer
Upgrades:
Neil Skipper C to B
Ian Mongan C to B
Upcoming 2025 road season
The club’s first road event for 2025 is a graded scratch race on Sunday, 2nd February from 0900 AET on the Lookout Hill course.
We require a race director, 2 ETCs, a van driver and first aid for this event to be run.
Email race.committee@crmcc.org.au if you can help the club.
****We need 20 riders for the race to go ahead.****
Format: A lap starts at Lookout Hill, ride 1.5km north to U-turn near Point Hut intersection, 5km south to Tharwa turn point, 3.5km back to the start line. Finish will be an extra half lap from the Point Hut end up the punch of Lookout Hill.
A/B/C/D 4.5 laps for approx. 43km.
E/F/G 3.5 laps for 33 km.
D Grade can do 3.5 laps if that is preferred.
Registration is $10, which closes at 1700 AET on Saturday, 1st February, https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar?5024987
Notice of CRMCC Annual General Meeting – Monday 10 February 2025 at 7pm (via Google Meet)
The 2025 AGM for the Capital Region Masters Cycling Club will be held on Monday 10th February at 7:00pm via Google Meet:
https://meet.google.com/qnx-uion-ace?hs=224
All CRMCC Members are invited to attend and encouraged to consider joining the committee. There will be multiple vacant positions declared open.
In contrast to previous years, we will not be offering an in-person AGM; if the online mode of attendance is a problem for you, please contact the committee via email (committee@crmcc.or.au).
The Committee membership nomination form is at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tt7NK_6jAoJRclpWUiMxWRqO1aaT_5pH
Please direct any questions about membership to the Club Secretary (secretary@crmcc.or.au).
If you have specific questions about vacant committee roles and responsibilities, please contact president@crmcc.org.au .
Upcoming races needing volunteers:
2 Feb 2025 – Lookout Hill graded scratch road race
Race director, 2 ETCs, marshal, van driver, first aid.
16 Feb 2025 – Dairy Road criterium
Race director, marshal, van driver, first aid
25 Feb 2025 – SFP crit
Race director
11 Mar 2025 – SFP crit
Race director
16 Mar 2025 – Dairy Road criterium – points race
Race director, marshal, van driver, first aid
25 Mar 2025 – SFP crit
Race director
Please contact race.committee@crmcc.org.au if you can fill any of these roles for the club. https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar
Thank you to those members who have offered their services to fill roles so our races are run.
