z11.5 November 25 Bleat

Post date: Nov 25, 2013 11:46:19 AM

Hello Vets,

In this week’s Bleat;

· From the desk of the Handicapper

· Crit Master Class

· Chris Simpson - Amy’s Share the Road Tour

· Upcoming Events

· Racing this Week

· Race Reports

Please send me your contributions at: TheBleat@actvets.cc

Ian Morton.

From the desk of the Handicapper

(R) – Road Grade

Crit Master Class

This weekend we had the first of 12 eager riders came out on Saturday to learn the in’s and out’s of Criterium racing at Stromlo park in what I hope is an ongoing program of education for the members of the club.

Jason (Argonaut Coaching) put everyone through a number of drills such as cornering, moving in a peloton and race tactics. An interesting exercise was to practice cornering with only one hand;

He then finished up the session with three intervals that will help building on the strength needed to improve your racing. The feedback was very positive from those who attended and all are looking forward to this week’s racing so that they can put their new skills to the test.

There is a significant number of members of the club who would have benefited from this training, both those new to racing and those who have been at it for quite a few years.

The club is hoping to run sessions like this in the future in regards to suit a variety of different skills sets so keep your eyes on the bleat. That being said if there is an aspect of racing you would like to improve in suggestions are always welcome.

James Jordan

Vice President

I attended the coaching course on Saturday at Stromlo Forest Park run by Jason. I am reluctant to comment on how valuable I found it as I am afraid if I sing its praises too highly then everyone will be rushing to sign up for the next course they run and they will learn all the secrets and tips that we learnt on Saturday that I am sure will be invaluable for crit racing on Tuesday. It was an excellent session, we learnt cornering, racing tactics, how to start the race and lots of little drills that we can now practice on our training rides as well as putting into practice in races. It was a great course, Jason’s delivery was excellent and learnt invaluable skills.

Sue Frost

If you are interested in attending a future class, please Email vice.president@actvets.cc and James will look at organising another class.

Chris Simpson - Amy’s Share the Road Tour

Introducing Chris Simpson (rider #343) who is supporting the Share the Road Tour as well as using the opportunity to promote The Journey To Recognition - an epic relay across our country, designed to add the vibrant indigenous story to the version of history that omits much of this impressive first chapter of Australia's story

Full link to the article……

http://strt2013.gofundraise.com.au/cms/ridernews7

Upcoming Events

The Classic Adelaide Veterans Series – January 2014

· Sat 18th Road Race - Graded at The Range Willunga

· Mon 20th Time Trial - 5 yr age div – Woodchester to Langhorne Creek return

· Wed 22nd Hill Climb – 6 kms - 5 yr age div – bike track Mt Barker Rd Glen Osmond

· Thurs 23rd Criterium – Graded – Victoria Park Criterium track Adelaide city

Registration including an early-bird incentive will be on the www.savca.org.au website soon.

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 26^th November: Stromlo Criterium

Where: Stromlo Forrest Park

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description:

G Grade@ 5:45 - 13min + 2 laps; E/F Grade@ 6:07 - 24min + 2 laps; A/B Grade@ 6:39 - 36min + 2 laps; C/D Grade@ 7:21 - 29min + 2 laps

Race Director: Mick Donaldson

Contact: Email: mdonaldson@netspeed.com.au Ph 0418486367 or 62418294

Crit Marshals and Helpers needed

Mick will need a couple of helpers on the night. If you are racing you can still get there early or stay after your race to help out.

Important Information: Late Arrivals

It is a condition of our Insurance that all riders receive a referee’s briefing before the commencement of racing to ensure that they are aware of racing conditions.

All riders need to ensure that they arrive in sufficient time to sign-on and be briefed before the commencement of racing.

Thursday, 28^th November: Track Racing

Where: Queanbeyan Track

When: 6:00 pm

Details: 3 – 4 short events per session with a mixture of scratch, handicap, sprinting and team events;

Sunday, 1^st December – Club Championship Lookout Hill

Where: Lookout Hill

When: 9:00am

Sign on: 15 mins before scheduled start time wearing your registered number.

Race Description:

Club Championships Men Divs 1-5 - 49km Pt Hut - Apollo Rd - Pt Hut - Finish. Men Divs 6-8 and Women - 39km Tharwa carpark, Pt Hut, Tharwa carpark, Pt Hut, Finish.

Race Director: Malcolm Paterson

Contact: Email hhim@tpg.com.au Ph 0478 225 350

Help Needed on Sunday: Malcolm will need 4 turn marshals and a couple of finish line helpers. Anyone who can assist please let Malcolm know before the weekend.

RACE REPORTS:

Stromlo Criterium – 19^th November

Racing at the crit on Tuesday got underway with 6 G graders heading out under increasingly ominous skies to the South West. With little wind the bunch stayed together for the entire race with Bruce Jones making a decisive move at the top end of the track which provided him a comfortable win with Susan Belton and Antonia Bolschelarski taking the minor places.

The clouds continued to build as A and B grades lined up for their race. A grade set off in a cracking pace and whilst there were a couple of game efforts to break off the front, each breakaway was quickly reeled back in. The pace was so high that B grade was overtaken before the race was half over. Around this time a couple of large spots of rain appeared on the track and it wasn’t long before the skies opened up and steady rain soaked the track. To riders credit, there were only a small number of DNFs which was surprising given the poor conditions. In A grade, Matt Kinch proved to be the strong man emerging from the pack at the top of the finish straight. With Tom Hartley following closely they managed to reel in Robert Bleeker comfortably before the line. A look at Strava after the race showed A grade averaged over 43km/h for the race. In B grade, Simon Junakovic sprinted strongly to take the win comfortably in the end. Simon was followed home by Christophe Barbaret and Michael Munro-Mobbs.

The rain was still coming down when C and D grades made their way to the line. The increasing amount of water on the track made managing speed into the corners a tricky job. Some managed to do this better than others and we soon had riders all over the track with strong breakaways in both grades. Christopher Simpson had the most impressive ride of the night winning the C grade race by over half a track from the chasing pack. The Handicapper was keeping a keen eye on this performance and I expect Christopher will be in B grade very shortly. Bringing up the minor places in C grade were Claire Aubrey who put in a great sprint to hold off Ian Langstaff. In D grade, Jeff Irving produced a very strong performance to break away and ride home solo for a comfortable win. Craig Kentwell led in the chasing pack with Gary Waldron taking third.

The rain had subsided by the time E and F grade took to the track although there was still a lot of surface water about. E grade still had a strong turnout considering the weather but F grade had been seriously whittled down to four hardy souls. The racing was tight in F grade and it came down to a tight sprint with Brendan Chadwick taking the win from Michael Golding and Liz Lowe. F grade rode in a gentle manner with each rider taking turns on the front before a final sprint in fading light. Fergus Nelson took the win followed home by John Ignatius and Andre Swenson.

Thanks to those who helped with the marshalling. The ever reliable Henry Beaverstock (provider of umbrellas), Michael Reppion, and Marc Roberts (who made a welcome return to the track after some time off the bike with back surgery).

Thanks to Rohan Verco for Race Refereeing

Track Racing – 21^st November

Track results can be found at;

http://www.actvets.cc/track/tracknews

Dog Trap Road Handicap– 24^th November

We had 51 competitors enjoying good safe racing under warmish conditions with a gentle cross breeze springing up late in the race. The biggest field was in B-Grade with 12 riders, and A-Grade, while they had only 7 riders, had the advantage of the Tandem of Mankewich and Carruthers. The race was over 45km and starting handicaps were G +29mins, F +19mins, E +14mins, D + 8mins, C + 4mins, B +2mins, A on scratch.

For a long time it looked like F-Grade with a good compliment of 9 riders, and working together well may hold on to steal the race. With 16km to go F-Grade was looking strong with 2 minutes gap to E-Grade and a further minute to a mixed group. The mixed group, however, contained A riders and was powering with Fabian Cancellara on the front. F-Grade eventually held on until just a couple of kilometres from home when they were swamped by Christophe Barberet(B), Tom Hartley(A), Matthew Kinch(A) and Jens Voight(pro). These guys went on to sprint out the finish and Christophe took the win. Not far behind was CameronErmert, suffering mightily, who must have thought a few minutes earlier that he might just make it(damn you Fabian Cancellara).

Fastest time was Tom Hartley in 1:08:04, which is a pretty snappy average of 40.1 kph…woo-ee. Disqualified was Fabian Cancellara(tiny hidden electric motor found in front tube, ingenious) and Jens Voight(one too many break-away attempts, Vets limit is 3).

It looks like the handicapper(Rob L) got it pretty right with 3 As, 2 Bs and 5 Fs in the top 10 finishers, and if we go back to 23rd a representative of every grade. Handicaps may be hard work to ride as they are essentially a Teams Time-Trial, but they are the most exciting event to watch.

Thanks to the six marshals Russell Reid, Andy Boyd, Pete Marshall, Craig Kentwell, Terry Merrigan and Charlie Nichol who volunteered early and all did a great job and along with Henry and James and First Aid Person Stu made my job easy.

Thanks to Steve Schwenke for Race Refereeing.

Report from F Grade

Our roving reporter Cameron Ermert reports this week from F Grade.

Today was a handicap race so it was going to be an all out slog for the whole way. I must have been flying under the handicapper's radar a bit because I was still showing up in F grade. Today it suited me to ride in my appointed grade and make a meaningful contribution, rather than to cling desperately onto the back of E grade with a strong likelihood of getting dropped. It was a tough choice because Rosemary and Lindy were on a tandem in E grade which may have made it easier for me to stay with the bunch, since historically they don't climb or descend any better than me, although they'd be faster on the flats where I could happily sit in their draft.

There were 8 starters in F grade a few old hands like Graham, Phil, Bob and Ian, who I've had the pleasure of racing with before, as well as John, Frank and Polly who I didn't know much about. The 3 G grade riders started with 10 minutes on us, and A grade were to start 20 minutes behind. From the start we quickly settled into a good pace overall but not quite as smooth as ideal. We lost Polly some time after the first turn and possibly before we got back to the start. The 7 of us kept pushing on and managed to negotiate the hillier second leg still as a bunch, and still sharing the load pretty well. By the second turn we could see that we were clearly going to catch G grade who were starting to break up into groups of one. After the turn I took note of where E grade was and was pleased that they hadn't gained too much on us. It was looking good for our chances. Things were still looking good around the next turn when we almost had the leader (Bruce) in sight, and a rough calculation had us still 10min in front of A grade, although by that stage it was a little confused as to who were still racing, and who had been dropped. We passed Bruce with about 10km to go, but we had lost Ian and later Frank. The remaining 5 still kept good pace down to the last turn, with lots of empty road back up the climb. E grade had only gained a little on us and were greatly reduced in number (perhaps I wouldn't have stayed with them), they were no threat. The scratch bunch wasn't far behind them though and they were being chased by the other, faster tandem with Ashley and Don aboard.

The surviving five of us continued to work away until with 2km to go the remaining three from the scratch bunch caught us. I looked back at just the right time and was able to shout out 'Bunch' before making the jump to try to get on their wheel. They happened to catch us at the top of the descent which is the perfect place for me and Phil, who don't go uphill so well, but can go downhill as fast as anyone. Phil got on their wheel first and when I peeked back to see who else was there I could only see John. At this stage I had no idea who else might be right on our tail so the key would be how long we could stay with the three of them. Into the sweeper Phil started to lose ground so I went around and buried myself to get up the climb. I knew that Phil and John weren't on my wheel so that every second I could hold the pace would take me further away from them. Strava says that on the first lap I slowed to 18km/h up this hill, the second lap I only dipped to 26 which is about 44% faster. Naturally I couldn't last long at that level of output, but it was enough to get me to the flatter part at the top, leaving only the gully and the finish rise to go. My lungs were well and truly screaming by this stage, and I rode the rest of the distance on auto-pilot but the others had brought me well clear of John and Phil.

In the end there were another two bikes, a single and Ashley and Don that were able to get past Graham and Bob so in the final results a B grader held off two A graders for the win, I came fourth and there were 5 F graders in the top 10.

I was pleased with both my result, and also that I was able to significantly contribute to making F grade ride fast as a group, which brought a good result for all of us. Sadly however I suspect that the handicapper will see fit to reward my efforts by promoting me to E grade again. However, it looks as if I'll be back racing the tandem in a fortnight in the Orroral Valley which rewards fast descending, so I'm looking forward to that.

Cheers,

Cameron