• Criterium Championships
  • A message from the Secretary
  • A Call for Potential Traffic Controllers
  • Crit Reminder – Membership and Regrading
  • International Women’s Day
  • Next Race – Stromlo Crits
  • NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING
  • Race Report – Crits
  • Upcoming races requiring volunteers – race calendar can be found here

Criterium Championships

The Crit Champs are fast approaching! They will take place on Tuesday 17th February at Stromlo Forest Park when the usual Crits take place. These are age-based championships rather than graded. We have removed all season pass holders from this event so we can get accurate numbers for the evening. Can everyone please enter this event individually? Please note, season pass holders will not be charged. There will be prizes on offer as well as light refreshments.

A Message from the Secretary

As many will know, we had a substantial crash on Tuesday night that put a member into hospital.  While many will think of this as just “an accident”, there is no such thing as an accident.  All outcomes, good and bad, are either intentional or the result of an unforeseen circumstance. 

In this case, a person or persons has made a poor decision that has resulted in a rider being placed in a position where they were unable to avoid going down while being passed by other riders. While people in their 20’s might bounce, by the time you are considering hanging up the racing shoes, most riders will be long past bouncing.  

I would ask strongly that riders give each other substantial racing room and properly check before changing direction after passing another rider.  None of us here are getting paid to win.  None of us here can afford to crash. No-one cares if you placed in the finish when another rider is lying on the ground somewhere behind you.

Michael Fawke

Secretary

A Call for Potential Traffic Controllers

Are you interested in helping the Club run Road Races? We are looking for people who are interested in becoming qualified Traffic Controllers. This would involve completing a course of up to 3 days, depending on prior experience. If you are interested and would like to know more, please email committee@crmcc.org.au

Crit Reminder – Membership and Regrading

If you are planning on racing Crits in 2026, please note the following updates on membership and grading:

Membership renewal

This is a reminder that you will need to renew your club membership before you will be able to race.

To renew membership online, please go to https://capitalregionmasterscyclingclub.org.au/membership/ and follow the instructions under: “Steps for renewing your annual membership”.

Once you have renewed, a member of the committee must manually update the RMS to make you active, so please note the following time cut-offs to allow this to happen:

  • If you are a Crit Season Pass holder, please ensure that you renew your membership before 12:40 tomorrow. You will not immediately be shown as an entrant, but this will be updated by us before the race.
  • If you enter races individually, please ensure that you renew your membership before 10am tomorrow. This is to allow us to update you in the system and get back to you in time to be able to enter before the normal 12:40 cut-off.

Criterium Regrading

As previously communicated in the Bleat (https://capitalregionmasterscyclingclub.org.au/2025/12/crmcc-weekly-bleat-08-december-2025/), we have completed a regrading exercise that is intended to improve the spread of racers across the grades.

Before racing, please check to see if your grade has changed and if so ensure that you attend the correct race.

New grades can be found at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Phf94jPvGo7OA_4nG71MfhY8oj5ePTz4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102624606282391619796&rtpof=true&sd=true

Note: We will not be able to make any changes to individual grades on the day. Going forward, grades can be discussed with Rob our handicapper at: handicapper@crmcc.org.au

International Women’s Day – 8th March 2026

We’re looking for volunteers to help organise a club event to celebrate International Women’s Day. This would be a great opportunity for someone who’s passionate about inclusion, community, and cycling to shape an event that highlights and supports the women in our club. Support will be available from the committee, and the scope can be tailored to suit your time and ideas—whether that’s coordinating a ride, a social gathering, or something a bit different.

If you’re interested in getting involved or would like to know more, we’d love to hear from you. Just speak to one of the committee members or mail us at: committee@crmcc.org.au

Next Race – Crits at Stromlo Forest Park – Tuesday 10 February 2026

Please note, the D/E/F/G timeslot also holds the Women’s specific criterium grade (20mins) to foster participation and confidence in riding on the Stromlo Forest Park criterium track. Perfect for women and non-binary riders who are looking for an introductory ride or those that prefer cycling in a smaller group.

Race registration cut-off is 12:40pm. Cost is $10.
You need to register by looking up the calendar entry in the RMS https://rms.crmcc.org.au/calendar
You must wear your CRMCC assigned race number to race.
Late registrations will be assessed by committee@crmcc.org.au and if allowed, a late fee of $10 will be applied.
If you are unregistered and show up to the crit track, you must convince a committee member (not the Race Director) of your club member financial status for insurance purposes, before being allowed to participate.

All riders are required to sign on before their race start.

We will be running an entry chute, where riders are called 1 by 1 onto the circuit in numerical order of sign-on.

Please remember to check the RMS Calendar for race times each week now that we are back to rotating all 3 time slots.

NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING – THURSDAY 12 February, 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 – 6.50pm: 1-lap SS time trial (Omnium event 1).
6.50pm – 7.10pm: 2-lap handicap.
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 bring your
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?5021932
Each race will cost $10, or purchase the season track pass at $80.

NARRABUNDAH TRACK RACING RESULTS – THURSDAY 05 FEBRUARY
The session races and place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) John Paul De Sousa. (A2 Grade) Ben Davis, Craig Kentwell. Alison Hale. (B
Grade) Phil Coulton, Ken Birch.
200m Fly (Flying Start TT): (A1 Grade) John Paul De Sousa (13.81s). (A2 Grade) Chris Chant (14.15s),
Craig Kentwell (15.02s), Ben Davis (15.09s). (B Grade) Ken Birch (16.13s).
Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 2 (Ben Davis, Craig Kentwell, Chris Chant, Ken Birch).
For Michael Langdon’s race commentary, click the links following.
A&B Scratch race
Italian Pursuit
Season Point Score:
Alison Hale (196), John Paul De Sousa (187), Phil Coulton (159), Ken Birch (154), Ben Davis (147),
Graeme O’Neill (134), Chris Chant (120), Jess Laws (85), Dave Buckley (75), Craig Kentwell (69), Sarah
Stephens (68), Ian Drayton (63), Paul Angelatos (18), Conan Liu (15).

Race Report – SFP Crits 03 February 2026

In contrast to the heat wave last week, the weather was ideal for racing. All grades raced hard with many competitors commenting on the high average speeds. By the end of the night there were plenty of stems that had been chewed as riders struggled to stay with their bunch.

A Grade

There was plenty of speed but the group stayed together. Attacks were contained and it came down to a bunch sprint. Chris Murphy unleashed an impressive sprint to win the grade.

B Grade

There was a lot of action in B and this grade delivered some quality racing. Again, speeds were high but with multiple attacks to keep things interesting. No one could make it stick and the finish came down to a mass sprint. Mark Harris won by the width of a tyre.

C Grade

A few brave riders attacked throughout the race with no success. By the final lap the intensity was taking its toll. A blistering last lap put most riders to the sword. Charles Black won a fast three-up sprint.

D Grade

The attackers attacked. While a few racers hurt their legs closing the gaps, Roger Wheatly proved to be the canniest racer and won by several bike lengths.

E Grade

The grade rode a smooth race and stayed together. Jonathan Chowns outdistanced the bunch around the final bend and down the straight and rolled across for the win.

Andrew Remely

Race Director

Photos thanks to Ian Hutchings

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Upcoming races needing volunteers

We have vacancies for race directors for SFP crits.

Please self-register as a volunteer, where you can put your name down against those roles marked ‘Vacant’ in this Google spreadsheet. We will follow-up and confirm your volunteering with an email from committee@crmcc.org.au
Thank you to those members who have offered their services to fill roles so our races can run.