Post date: Feb 17, 2014 8:50:22 PM

Hello Vets,

A big issue of the Bleat this week;

· Annual General Meeting

· Wedding Bells for Simon and Natasha

· Cyclocross Series

· Masterclass Sessions

· Marshal Roster

· Marshal Swap Requests

· Racing this Week

· Race Report

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

Ian Morton.

Annual General Meeting

A number of committee positions will be coming vacant this year and we are looking for members who would be willing to fill these positions.

The club cannot continue to function without an effective committee so please consider making a contribution to the smooth running of the club.

Refer to nominations form on web: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=YWN0dmV0cy5jY3x3d3d8Z3g6MTI4MDg0MTU5MDA0YTEzMw

and please forward to the Secretary, Phill Coulton: phillcou@bigpond.net.au

Wedding Bells for Simon and Natasha

Congratulations to Simon Junakovic and Natasha who got married on Saturday. While the weather wasn't the best, I'm sure it was a great day.

CycloCross series

Cyclocross racing is coming to Canberra. There are events on 8th March and 29th of March. CORC members can race with their normal licence. The event is also open to rider with either CA or MTBA licences. Courses will be suitable for all types of bikes.

See more at: http://corc.asn.au/riding-racing/cyclo-cross/#sthash.486UcbXF.dpuf

Masterclass Sessions

February will see two masterclass sessions, both held on Sunday 23rd. The first will cover Handicap Racing, while the second will focus on Sprinting.

Session information

These masterclass sessions will be slightly shorter than usual, each running at 1.5hrs rather then the normal 2hrs. The first session (Handicap Racing) will start at 11:30am, while the sprinting one will commence at 1:15pm.

With February marking the start of the handicap racing season this session is perfect for anyone looking to hit up their first handicap race or for more seasoned racers looking for that edge to get them into contention for a better result. There will be a small section on sprinting in the handicap session but for anyone serious about improving their sprinting the second session is the one for you.

When: Sunday 23rd February 2014.

Time:

Handicap Racing session => 11:30am – 1:00pm

Sprinting Session => 1:15pm - 2:45pm.

Location: Stromlo Forest Park Criterium Circuit

These sessions are open to all CA affiliated club members and Australian Vets Cycling club members. Junior riders with skills at the U15 and above are welcome.

Each session will run for 1.5 hours and cost $20 per rider. A discount is available for riders who want to participate in both sessions with the total cost being $30 per rider (i.e. 2 x $15).

To register for or obtain full details on the Handicap Racing Masterclass session please visits the Handicap Racing Masterclass page of the website

To register for or obtain full details on the Sprinting Masterclass session or to view more information please visits the Sprinting Masterclass page of the website

Marshal Roster

As you are aware the club operates with a reliance on its members to contribute to the running of the various races. As such it is expected that each member should attend at least two races a year and assist by acting as a marshal. These duties are not particularly onerous and normally consist of manning a turn point or assisting at the start finish.

Unfortunately not all members have met this commitment in the past couple of years and it keeps falling on the same small number to provide assistance.

As such the Race Committee has decided to instigate a roster of members and assign them a race. Marshals assigned to the further NSW regional races can still request a payment to cover fuel costs if they undertake lead and follow car duties.

This roster will be found on the website under the Referees & Marshals Tab.

If you unable to make the date that you have been rostered the obligation is on you to find a replacement. It is recommended that you look at the roster and make your plans accordingly.

Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

James Jordan

Vice President

vice.president@actvets.cc

Marshal Swap Request

Susan Belton can’t make Sundays. If there is anyone who would be prepared to swap for a Tuesday night please advisesuebelton@hotmail.com

Mick Langdon can’t make this Sunday at Uriarra Homestead. Can anyone prepared to swap please contact Mick at micklan.ml@gmail.com

RACING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, 18^th February: 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 - 22min + 2 laps; A/B Grade@ 6:37 - 33min + 2 laps; C/D Grade@ 7:11 - 26min + 2 laps

Race Director: James Jordan

Contact: Email: jcjordan@internode.on.net Ph 0400 966 695

Assigned Marshals

The nominated marshals for this event are;

· Richard HEDLEY

· Kerry KNOWLER

Please confirm with the Race Director that you are available. If you unable to make the date that you have been rostered please find a replacement.

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, 20^th February: 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, 23^rd February – Uriarra Homestead Time Trial

Where: Uriarra Homestead.

When: 9:00am

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

Race Description:

Uriarra Homestead Time Trial Start Uriarra homestead –Condor Creek side of T junction Finish As per start Course Start – short turn – top of crossing – Mt McDonald turn – short turn – top of crossing - Finish

Race Director: Rohan Verco

Contact: Email rohan.verco@gmail.com Ph 0419730555

Assigned Marshals

The nominated marshals for this event are;

· Michael LANGDON

· Mark K TAYLOR

· Phil ANDERSON

· Andrew HISLOP

Please confirm with the Race Director that you are available. If you unable to make the date that you have been rostered please find a replacement.

RACE REPORTS:

STROMLO CRITERIUM – 11^th February

Good day all, last night saw over 100 riders battling the heat and a strong wind to perform some exciting Vets racing.

‘G’ grade started the action for the evening and a newcomer stretched the field early before breaking away solo. Both Stjepan and Bruce combined their efforts to chase him and nearly caught him. They ended up battling each other for second place, while Rad valiantly finished behind them in 4th place.

The next race saw a welcome wind change midway through, the cooler Easterly eventually taking over from the hot afternoon Westerly.

‘A’ grade was an attacking race; Mark Harris was on a mission from the start and his multiple attacks dictated proceeding. The field eventually broke up and with 10’ to go Mark, Paul Scherl and Ian Downing went away from the bunch for what was the winning break. A hard fought sprint saw Mark take a well-deserved win in front of Ian and Paul with the remainder of ‘A’ grade following closely.

‘B’ Grade was more of a tactical bunch race. Nick Boyland did try to shake things up with a few attacks but to no avail. In the end the bunch sprint was dominantly won by Damien Pollard with Peter Young and Dale Kleeman taking the minor placings.

‘C’ grade was a tight affair. Early in the race a few attacks from Ian Potts, Duane Tooley and Scott Tozer tried to make things happen but to no avail. The race eventually finished in a bunch sprint won by Craig Kentwell, followed by Tim Minihan and Duane Toohey.

‘D’ grade was shaken by a few escapees early in the race. Most of the moves had Liz Lowe, Elizabeth Da Silva, David Gunther and Glenn Williams in them. After 15’ it all settled and a compact bunch eventually fought it out for line honours with Stephen Cusack taking the win from Glenn Williams and Bob Perkins.

‘E’ grade was shaken by a few attacks in the first 2/3 of the race with Andrew Welsh, Michael Golding and Rosemary Robinson trying their luck. Eventually the bunch reformed and fought a sprint to the line won by Phil Coulton in front of Phil Anderson and Linda Stals.

‘F’ grade had a slightly different race to the other grades. There weren’t any major attacks as such but more a strong constant pace at the front that reduced the main bunch to 6 riders with 10’ to go. The sprint to the line was hotly contested and won by Dennis Puniard in front of Barbara Bayliss and Mick Donaldson.

I would also like to apologise to ‘C’ and ‘D’ grade as they had to deal with a messy last 2 laps sprint! Prior to the last laps, ‘C’ was 200 metres behind ‘D’. Both bunches had been going roughly at the same speed for the past 10’ and I decided to give the 2 laps to go to ‘D’ only (bunch in front) in the hope that it would speed ‘D’ up and make the finish clean and safe. It didn’t work out that way and both grades mixed up during ‘D’ last lap which caused a difficult sprint for ‘D’. In hindsight it might have been better to neutralise ’D’ for a lap and oblige ‘C’ to overtake them.

Just as a footnote, please make sure you attach your racing number properly by using 4 pins (using only two pins to attach the top of the number is not effective, the wind and speed means that it’s nearly impossible to read the number during the race).

Many thanks to last night marshals Janet Facey and Trevor Rix, and to the ever-reliable Henry Beaverstock and Graham Hendrie..

Thanks to Christophe Barberet for Race Directing.

Track Point Score

You can find season point scores at http://www.actvets.cc/track/tracknews

Lookout Hill – 15^th February

Unfortunately the elements were against us and despite the fact that a few hardy souls turned up, the racing didn’t go ahead/

Thanks to the marshals who turned up Graham Lindsay, Reinhard Mauch, Ross Robinson, Jeff Irving as well as the ever reliable Henry.

Thanks to Bob Miller for turning up to Referee.