Hello Masters,
In the Bleat this week;
• From the Race Committee
• From the Desk of the Handicapper
• Racing this Week
• Race Reports
Ian Morton
thebleat@actvets.cc
From the Race Committee
Stromlo Car Park
The main car park at Stromlo is closed for sealing.
Recommend riding to crit tomorrow or turning up early.
Do not park inconsiderately along the road, as we need to remain on good terms with park management.
Race 28 Nov relocated to Tidbinbilla
Due to the bridge at Naas not being completed and the poor road condition south of the visitors’ centre, the race on the 28th is relocated to Tidbinbilla.
See RMS for details.
Ian McVay
Race Committee
race.committe@actvets.cc
From the Desk of the Handicapper
On-line registrations and handicaps
There were a few frantic emails on Tuesday afternoon but in the end everyone who wanted to race was able to. Please get your grade requests in early to handicapper@actvets.cc to avoid disappointment.
Racing
The races were fast and furious with good numbers for all grades. The grades will start to sort themselves out with promotions and demotions over the next few weeks. Some riders found their form lacking and were quickly off the back while others were pushing the pace and causing gaps through the bunches. There was plenty of exciting racing to enjoy from the peanut gallery.
Promotions
Vanessa Judge D to C
Jeremy Schieb C to B
CRMs out and about
This weekend AusCycling NSW will be holding its TT and RR champs at Gunning. The forecast for the area is rain and winds up to 50km/h—so pretty normal for that course.
Best of luck to: Marc Vroomans, Anthony Beasley, Michael Carr, Stephen Blackburn, Vanessa Judge, Brendan Byatt, Peter Zygadlo, Paul Hollings, Nick Stewart, Chris Short, Michael Payne, Daniel Lekhac, Des Brown, Owain Tilly, Callum Henshaw, Terry Moore, Mark Harris, Brian Peak, Nathan Spillane and Keith Harris our Newcastle-based member.
Rob Langridge
Handicapper
RACING THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, 9th November: Stromlo Criterium
Note: Pre-registration required by 9 Nov 2021 3:50 pm.
Where: Stromlo Forest Park
Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.
Race Description:
A/C 5:50 A 38m+2, C 33m+2
B/D 6:35 B 38m+2, D 33m+2
E/F/G 7:15 25 min + 2 laps
Race Director: Bruce Griffin Contact: Email: griffy996@gmail.com Ph 0402 000 619
Marshals: Ross Heazlewood
Wednesday, 10th November: Track Racing
The Program for Wednesday is;
5.30pm – 6.00pm: Warm-up and free practice;
6.00pm – 6.20pm: 8-lap graded scratch race;
6.20pm – 7.00pm: 200m fly;
7.00pm – 7.20pm: Italian pursuit.
Sunday, 14th November
No Race
RACE REPORTS:
SFP Criterium – 2nd November
Tuesday was the perfect afternoon for some post lockdown crit racing and we had 110 riders sign up.
B Grade saw Ben Healy and Joshua Bolton get off the front for about 10 minutes before they were joined by four others. The bunch chased them down and it was all back together with 20 minutes to go. Josh got off the front again and was joined by Daniel Crocker, they lasted around 5 mins before the bunch brought them back with 11 minutes to go. The bunch splintered a bit over the next 5 minutes before it all came back together for a bunch sprint. Dale Riley took the win ahead of Conan Liu and Andrew Cullens.
D Grade stayed together for the first 10 minutes before Vanessa Judge and Mark Taylor got away from the bunch. Their gap grew to about half of the back straight before a third rider bridged and they extended their gap. The leaders rode a very strong race to hold off the bunch for the majority of the race. Vanessa was solo as she passed the 2 laps to go board and held her gap for an impressive win. Al Bontjer finished with a strong sprint for a clear second place followed by Craig O’Neall in third.
E grade stayed together for much of the race but there were some solid turns from multiple riders. At 7 minutes to go Chris Reis put in a big effort and got away from the group. The move caused a split, but it was all back together after a lap. Cat Riley went all out in the last lap and managed to take the win with a decent gap as she crossed the line. Second was Chris Reis ahead of Geoff Ellacott.
F and G grade rolled out together and it stayed that way until the bunch sprint. There were some long turns from Robert Miller and Dennis Puniard throughout the race but it was Robert who won the sprint. Susan Frost came in second ahead of David Witteveen.
C Grade saw the familiar Quon kit shoot off the front from the very start. DOMinator was out in the wind solo for several laps before the bunch brought him back. Shortly after, fellow Quonner Ed Pellegrino was seen riding the front for multiple laps. With about 16 minutes to go Ben Neal put in a monster turn that caused a split of 8 riders to establish. The bunch was chasing hard for the next few laps but the leaders were working really well together and the gap grew. Jeremy Schieb’s sprint was too strong and he took the win ahead of Ed Pellegrino and Dale Kleeman.
A Grade started much like C grade. The blue Quon kit of Mark Terracini flew off the front from the gun. A lap or two later Tiffen rider Nicholas Stewart bridged the gap to join Mark. In the bunch Tiffen and Quon controlled the bunch marking moves from the rest of A grade. Cristophe Barberet managed to get off the front for a while but fell short of bridging the gap to the two leaders. The lead grew to the length of the back straight with 14 minutes to go and grew further after that. The bunch started to share the chase a bit more, but it wasn’t bringing the leaders back. Mat Corby attacked and caused a split. A group of four, including Gerard Tiffen, Stephen Blackburn, Mat Corby and Jeremy Gillman Wells formed behind the two leaders. They chased hard and brought the lead back to roughly half of the front straight but they ran out of time. Kudos to Mark and Nicholas who rode flat out from start to finish. Mark was able to take out the sprint finish ahead of Nicholas. Gerard won the sprint for third.
Lewis Cressy
Track Racing – 3rd November
With track racing delayed by Covid restrictions, Wednesday 3 November saw the first track racing session for the 2021-22 season. Weather conditions were good for racing. It was overcast but warm, with a slight breeze creating a headwind in the back straight. Attendance was encouraging with 18 riders, 9 in A grade and 9 in B grade. This season saw the introduction of a split A grade with A1 and A2 groupings. The intent is that both groups will be integrated for racing. However, results and track points will be separately calculated, for scratch events. This arrangement should provide better point scoring opportunities for a group of riders that might otherwise be disadvantaged by their grading.
The 8-lap A grade scratch race started at a steady pace with Ben Robey leading out. The first race likely encouraged a bit of conservatism among the riders as the first 6 laps saw an orderly paceline with Tony Beasley, Ian Drayton, Mark Vroomans, Ben Davis and Craig Kentwell taking turns at the front. The pace varied a little over the initial six laps. On lap 7, John Paul De Sousa rotated into the lead and began to hot up the pace. This soon established a lead group of 4 riders with Michael Langdon, Warwick Wilson, and Mark Vroomans pursuing John Paul. John Paul looks like the current form rider in A grade as he dominated over the final lap for a clear win. Michael Langdon pursued for second place and Warwick Wilson, from the A2 group, took a very creditable third place.
The B Grade scratch race was stirred up quite early as James Newhouse took off like a scalded cat. The paceline scrambled to stay in touch, with Graeme O’Neill and Pat Rooke initially gapped off the back. James held a solid pace for the initial laps. The pace then began to yoyo as different rider took over in what developed as a quite tactical contest. The paceline consolidated for the final two laps, but the respite was short lived as the lead riders accelerated into the closing laps. The female contingent showed great form with Alison Hale outsprinting Karen Clutson for the win. Colin Calderwood took a creditable third placing with James Newhouse relegated to fourth, likely having expended energy too early.
The evening’s second event was a 2-lap, standing start, time trial. This is a hard event requiring a high initial acceleration and just the right, solid pacing for an optimum result. In A grade, John Paul De Sousa confirmed his good form by posting the winning time of 53.72 seconds. Michael Langdon was a close second at 53.98 seconds. Mark Vroomans, who is reacquainting himself with track riding, posted the third best time at 54.28 seconds. James Newhouse posted the stand out time in B grade with 57.05 seconds. Karen Clutson took second spot at 58.12 seconds and confirmed that she will be a contender in B grade. Bruce Griffin posted an excellent 58.85 seconds for third placing.
The track session closed with the usual, all-in, Italian pursuit. The teams were quite large at 8 riders each, requiring a big effort from the later riders. Both teams had good starts and held good form through the event. Team 1 began to assert itself in the latter part of the pursuit and looked good for the win. Craig Kentwell and Warwick Wilson put in good later turns for team 2. However, Team 1 with John Paul De Sousa and Michael Langdon seemed likely to have the stronger closing group. Team 2’s Mark Vroomans commenced the final lap with a 20m deficit. Mark put in a big effort and initially pegged back several metres. However, the gap was just too big to overcome, so that Team 1 cruised in for a comfortable victory.
Major place getters were as follows:
8-Lap Scratch: (A1 Grade) John Paul De Sousa, Michael Langdon, Mark Vroomans. (A2 Grade) Warwick Wilson, Tony Beasley, Craig Kentwell. (B Grade) Alison Hale, Karen Clutson, Colin Calderwood.
2-Lap SS Time Trail: (A1 Grade) John Paul De Sousa (53.72s), Michael Langdon (53.98s), Mark Vroomans (54.28s). (A2 Grade) Warwick Wilson (56.20s), Tony Beasley (59.42s), Craig Kentwell (58.62s). (B Grade) James Newhouse (57.05s), Karen Clutson (58.12s) Bruce Griffin (58.85s).
Combined Italian Pursuit: Winner Team 1 (John Paul De Sousa, Ken Birch, Michael Langdon, Tony Beasley, Ben Robey, Colin Calderwood, Karen Clutson, Graeme O’Neill).
Season Point Score after Round 1:
John Paul De Sousa (20), Warwick Wilson (18), Tony Beasley (18), Karen Clutson (18), Michael Langdon (18), James Newhouse (15), Alison Hale (14), Craig Kentwell (14), Mark Vroomans (14), Colin Calderwood (13), Ben Robey (13), Ian Drayton (12), Ken Birch (12), Bruce Griffin (11).
Graeme O’Neill
Capital Region Masters Cycling Club 