First Handicap of 2019 – 10th February

Mount Misery Handicap

Mt Misery – 45 km

Age old story

‘Good triumphs over Evil’

- Stuart Brien

It is a story as old as time itself.
It has been captured in writing as far back as the bible.
It has been celebrated in the operas and of course, Hollywood has immortalised it on celluloid.
We see it everyday…the fight of…Good versus Evil.

In the world of veterans cycling, Limit and the Middle-markers are but small parts.
For in this tale, Scratch is the Evil and Second Scratch is the Good.

The summer heat had been swept away by the storm of the previous morning.  The winds softened and the clouds had cleared.  It was a glorious day for a bicycle race!
Thirty six entries for a short 45 kilometre handicap made for a compressed race.  The venue was apt for this battle – Mount Misery…

The bold and the beautiful set off from Limit at 24 minutes.
Mal Rock promised to look after Marika Ley who is still learning the ropes.  Off into the light headwind they went, Marika all nerves, Mal all smiles.

Graeme Parker, Robert Young and trial rider Darryl Brown were next away at 18 minutes.  Brown quickly proving just that little bit faster than his mates.

At 14 minutes, James Gretton, Roger McMillan and Jakkii Dawson were sent off.  The tiny Jakkii would be sure to use the bulk of her fellow riders to shield from that fair breeze…

Bob Morley and reigning (also dual) Aggregate winner made his much heralded return to racing in the 9 minute group.  Danny Whelan and Dan Crook were also making their 2019 debuts.  Tim Tyler and Mark O’Callaghan made up the bunch.

The 7 minute group was full of journeymen – Shaun Martin, Steve Biram, James Knipe and Brian Ure – oh the adventures they have each had over the past six months.
The most journeyed of them all – Jim Crumpler – had forgotten an important piece of kit and missed the start whilst dashing home.
For the others, there fate was sealed with so few to carry the flame.

As gallant as those in the front part of the race were, this story is not about them.  For this story is about Good and Evil.

At 5 minutes rode Peter Canny, Ash Burke, Grant Dawson, Geoff Martin, Jeremy Humber, Matt Angus and seventy two year old – Bob Braszell.
A large bunch, yet just one minute to spare over the 4 minute group of Stu Brien, Peter Kiel, Andrew Rushton, Richard Taylor, Dean Wells and trial rider Darryn Reed.
Such a small margin meant the 5 minute bunch was always in the crosshairs of the chasers.
Humber was lost early and Martin was dislodged climbing out of Addington.  For the chasers, they lost Rushton early and Taylor as they caught their target less than a quarter into the race.

The most formidable 2 minute bunch (technically Second Scratch, however it doesn’t count when there is a solo Scratch rider!) consisted of Craig Lee, Andrew Sullivan, Dave Ogilvie and Greg Ley.
They enjoyed a two minute advantage over Tim Canny who was keen for a solid hit out.
Ogilvie was lost early and that made the task that much harder for the 2 minute crew.  They picked up Rushton, however the juggernaut that is Tim Canny would steamroll them by the 20 kilometres mark.
Play time is over boys – jump aboard the train, you’re all Scratch men now!

A supergroup of eleven riders had formed out on the road with the 4, 5 and 7 minute groups all combining.  Better still, everyone was contributing!
Brien, Kiel, Reed and Wells, Braszell, Burke, Peter Canny and Dawson, Knipe, Shaun Martin and Ure.
They closed in on the 9 minute group, then an attack as soon as the merge occurred, had riders scrambling for wheels left, right and centre.
A brief lull before turning onto Black Bottom Road, then another attack had riders strung out in a long line.
Plenty of targets ahead as the Out-marker groups came into view, ensured the pace stayed high.  The group staying tight on the left side of the road to try and whittle the “hangers on” away, however the group kept enlarging as bunch after bunch was caught.
One final effort before turning off Black Bottom Road could not shake anyone free, however now this mega-group had the race lead.

The hunters and had just become the hunted!

Cameo pace making efforts from McMillan are noted, however the bulk of the pace work is shouldered by Brien, Wells, Kiel, Reed, Braszell, Burke, Canny and Dawson.

Group Canny (Tim) was chasing hard.  Even though Lee, Ley and Sullivan contributed, the leader of the pack was evident…it’s Tim Canny…always was, always will be…

Fast forward to Weatherboard and even though the mega-group has kept a high pace, many passengers are still clinging.
Brien leads the bunch off Ercildoune Road and onto the Weatherboard climb.  Wells is on the far side of the road.  Canny is present and even moves into the lead.
A select group is forming.  The climb, the crosswind and the pace all take their toll as the mega-bunch explodes. Nearing the top, Wells rides clear and opens a gap – maybe fifty metres.
Brien and Canny lead the chase group.  Kiel and Braszell are present.  Dawson and Reed recover and join the chase.

The seven at the front of the race have worked hard for this chance to win the race…sometimes Good wins.
They race inside the final two kilometres…however a dark shadow has emerged behind them.  The Evil have crested the Weatherboard climb and can see the Good.
The Evil can almost taste victory and they pour down the road in pursuit of the Good.

Wells is still clear as he rides down and out of the dip. Just one kilometre between him and victory.
The rest of the Good is close behind.
Dawson and Reed leap out in one last effort for glory.
Brien and Canny slingshot off that attack.
Kiel and Braszell launch late in a final bid.
They all sweep past Wells.

Canny has the lead in the shadow of the big tree, he eases enough and Brien takes the win.  Kiel is third and the outstanding Braszell takes fourth.

The Good has prevailed over the Evil!

Moments later the Evil arrive…
They seethe.
They promise revenge.
And, they are reminded at the race presentations
‘Good triumphs over Evil’

Maybe, there will be a sequel…

Race Results:
1st – Stu Brien (4 min)
2nd – Peter Canny (5 min)
3rd – Peter Kiel (4 min)
4th – Bob Braszell (5 min)
5th – Grant Dawson (5 min)

Fastest Time – Time Canny (Scratch) in 1h 4m 45s, ave. 41.3 Kph

 

 

OSCAR’S Hotel & Cafe Criteriums 1
3rd February 2019

2019 CRITERIUM SERIES

Victoria Park criterium circuit, Ballarat

 

Ready, set, go!

Round and round it goes
And oh don’t you know
This is the game that we came here for
Round and round it goes
And don’t you know

Round and round it goes

- Spandau Ballet

Forty two riders contested criteriums across four divisions on a gusty Sunday morning at Victoria Park.
The wind helped keep the temperature down as the record number of entries scorched around the circuit.
Seven riders were having trial rides with the club.
Two of the trial riders won their race, whilst the other two events were taken out
by members returning to the club after a few years away from veterans racing.

Rob Kinna proved too good in Division 4, winning over “crit monster” Brad Eppingstall and trial rider – Pete Harvey.

Darren Reid is new to town and won Division 3 as a trial rider.

New member – Geoff Martin – continued his good form and finished second ahead of Mark O’Callaghan (on his way back from injury).

Mick Carter was another trial rider to taste success.  Carter found the smooth, flat and fast criterium circuit much more to his liking than the the previous week’s up and down circuit.  New member – Matthew Angus – was back on the podium and James Knipe collected third place, narrowly holding trial rider Alan Cureton at bay.

An impressive line-up in Division 1 was all business after the neutral lap was out of the way.  The speed barely dropped below 40 Kph for the next three laps as the likes of Matt Bowman, Andrew Sullivan and Stu Brien tore around the circuit.
With that out of the way, trial rider Matt Elken instigated some attacks and the race developed into a surge and sit affair.

Twelve riders remained in contention at the bell lap with big hitters such as Jason Birch, Greg Ley, Jason Hendry, Tony Mirabella and Peter Gunston amongst those present; however Damien Keirl blew the opposition away in the sprint finish, winning by many lengths over Craig Lee and Elkan.
Huge kudos to Bob Braszell staying with the bunch until the fireworks on the last lap!

Division 1 (16 riders) 45 minutes:
1 – Damien Keirl
2 – Craig Lee
3 – Matt Elkan (trial)

Division 2 (13 riders) 40 minutes:
1 – Mick Carter (trial)
2 – Matthew Angus
3 – James Knipe

Division 3 (7 riders) 35 minutes:
1 – Darren Reid (trial)
2 – Geoff Martin
3 – Mark O’Callaghan

Division 4 (6 riders) 30 minutes:
1 – Rob Kinna
2 – Brad Eppingstall
3 – Peter Harvey (trial)

Season Opener – 27 February 2019

Kermesse

Burrumbeet – 51.5 km

Blame it on Tony

“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”

The EUREKA Cycling 2019 racing season started with a kermesse on a new circuit near Burrumbeet.
29 riders raced in four divisions, with results a mix of new and seasoned faces.
Eight laps of the undulating 6.4 Km circuit gave riders ample opportunities to attack in 51 kilometres of racing.
Most divisions ripped apart with the long uphill drag to the finish line (complete with headwind)
making everyone earn their post race cuppa – where tales of glory and misfortune were heard…

Division 1 

Nine riders faced the starter in a line up for the ages.  Unlike the other grades, no new faces, but uncertainty around the new course and the form that their competition would bring back from the summer “break”.
A neutral lap allowed a sighter of the new course, with Rob Phillips, Matt Bowman and Andrew Rushton doing the majority of the pace-making which was solid enough to bring Division 2 back to only a couple of hundred meters in front.

Once the race proper started, a pattern of sorts took place over the next four laps. ? Rob Ellis setting tempo with the occasional surge, while Rushton and Bowman attacked and Jason Birch and Craig Lee (united in their efforts) counter attacked.
The action was mainly over the first half of the course – the second half was a little more benign, although it included the gradual climb to the finish.  That climb was proving tough going into the moderate, but strengthening headwind.  The question before the start was where could you attack on this course?
The answer it seemed was “everywhere”.

It was toward the end of this tough start that the bunch lost Phillips and soon after Peter Gunston, who had seemingly got through the hard stuff and earned a spot into the last couple of laps.  Unfortunately, Gunston had run over something along the course and a slowly deflating tire ended his day.
It was also around this time that the race started to change pattern, with Jason Hendry taking over some of the bullocking work.  Richard Taylor had been riding a smart race up to this point, now he started closing down attacks and putting some pressure of his own on the front.
This extra power started to pick the overall pace up and claimed its next victim, with Bowman dropping off the back.  Birch took a look back and decided it was time to get rid of the always dangerous Bowman and the pace picked up again in the cross-winds down the avenue.

10 km to go, six riders left.  At this point, self-preservation or the desire to finally put the Division 2 bunch behind them (also, to maintain the natural pecking order) was enough to persuade Ellis to go to the front and head for home.  Would the hard pace would discourage any more attacks?

Ellis led through the final corner and was surprised to see the bunch had sat up.  Head down, he emptied the tank and stretched his lead out to fifty metres.
Birch, Lee and Hendry were stalking their prey before the inevitable sprint cresting the hill.
Birch and Lee had the race finish planned.  Lee leading Birch out and trying to drop Hendry.
The uphill headwind sprint was proving hard work.  Birch was able to hold his power and come up with the win over his lead out man Lee (who capitulated at exactly the correct moment).

Post race discussions centred around Birch’s consistent summer of training and Lee’s disappearance off the Strava training platform.

Division 1 (9 riders):
1st – Jason Birch
2nd – Craig Lee
3rd – Jason Hendry

Division 2

The largest field of the day belonged to Division 2 and included some trial riders and a new member.  All experienced racers, how would the event unfold?

After the neutral lap, the race plan was revealed as four training partners set about blowing the field apart.  Gradually, Craig Lightfoot, Ash Burke, Bob Braszell and Alan Cureton applied the blowtorch.
Early days, saw Tim Wright, Jeremy Humber, Mick Carter and Steve Linane in forward positions, whilst Tim Tyler, Noel Said and Mark O’Callaghan were slotted in comfortably as well.

Cureton fell foul to a flat tyre just two laps in.  The climbing and crosswinds quickly started to take their toll and the field stretched then started to crumble.

Halfway through the race and just six remained at the head of the field, the others trying to hold together as a bunch before finally being strewn around the circuit…
Lightfoot, Braszell, Burke and Humber eventually cast off Wright and Carter.

Two laps remain when Lightfoot observes that they are being hunted by a group of discarded riders.
A pact is discussed – keep working, share the prize money.
The gap is closing on the leaders, Lightfoot calls they are just 500 metres behind.  Keep working!
Will all their hard work be lost?

The chase bunch gets closer to the four leaders who are getting quite desperate as they climb the hill for the bell…
Whoosh, there goes Division 1…oops!
Burke correctly chastises Lightfoot, who by this stage has blown himself up and can barely hang on to the other three.

Home straight – Burke and Braszell are wary of the canny Humber as they approach the climb.  Humber has track speed to burn.
Over the crest and Burke launches early which splits Braszell off.  Humber is quickly onto Burke’s wheel though and the result is a formality.

Division 2 (11 riders):
1st – Jeremy Humber
2nd – Ash Burke
3rd – Bob Braszell

Division 3 

In just his third season, Phil McLennan was the seasoned rider in an interesting grade.
2018 sensation – Jakkii Dawson – was among the numbers, along with three new members all lining up for their first race with Eureka.
Matthew Angus gave the others a bit of a head start at the line and spent the first half of the neutral lap chasing them.
Non-relations Geoff Martin and Shaun Martin made up the field.

The pace lifted after the neutral lap with most of the riders swapping turns.  On the climb Geoff lifted the pace again to test everyone’s legs.  The field spread apart, then regrouped on the downhill section along the Avenue.
This tactic continued through the next few laps and eventually led to the new members breaking away and leaving McLennan and Dawson to both wonder who invited those guys along.

Whilst the “old campaigners” settled down into individual time trials, the three amigos up front were swapping turns and having a blast – all great practise for when they are off the same mark in handicap…

With just the finishing order to be decided, the kid gloves were off during the final laps and the race began in earnest.
Coming up to receive the bell and Shaun got off the front – though he soon had Division 1 tacking on for a free ride.
Not to be outdone, Matthew and Geoff were towing the Division 2 leaders along.

Actually there were so many riders congregated together it was difficult to work out which division was being naughty and which division was being nice.

The final lap saw a shake down and the two Martins were suddenly free and able to watch each other.
Angus, Dawson and McLennan were still chasing, however their battles were of an individual nature.

To the final straight and one last time up the hill.  The two Martins being cagey with each other.  No attack on the hill, just a long sprint on the dead flat.
Head to head all the way to the line with just a half wheel separating them at the end.

Division 3 (5 riders):
1st – Geoff Martin
2nd – Shaun Martin
3rd – Matthew Angus

Division 4 

An eventful race even before it started, with Graeme Parker puncturing on the way to the start line.  A quick repair and a lift from Ian Nunn saw Graeme take his place.
Soon enough they were away on their neutral lap.

Contenders on this day included Mal Rock, who plans to race himself into fitness after limited racing the past few seasons.  Five laps shouldn’t be too difficult…actually it’s eight Mal…
Brad Eppingstall was also back for a rare race along with Robert Young who missed a lot of riding last season.
New member – winner of the Commodores Cup in the last race of 2018 – Emma Goodall was also lining up for just her second ever road race.

Neutral lap out of the way and Emma was soon on the front, then a little bit off the front, then a long way off the front.
In triathlete mode, Emma had blown the field apart.

Graeme was chasing Emma, Robert was chasing Graeme, Brad was chasing Robert, Mal was chasing Brad.  At times Emma may have even been chasing Mal, such was the spread of the field.

Past midway in the race and Emma had a sizeable gap.  Could she take this all the way?
Graeme and Robert had united in the chase of the newbie.  Brad and Mal were still in their own time trials…

Disaster for Emma as a flat tyre ruins her winning chance.  A quick repair and she is back into time trial mode, albeit at the rear of the field.

Bell lap and Graeme is getting over the hill quite well.  He has a small break on Robert.  Brad comes through, then Mal who pulls up and is quite happy with seven laps of that difficult circuit, Emma is close behind.

Over the hill the final time and Graeme takes a comfortable win, with Robert not too far behind.

Division 4 (5 riders):
1st – Graeme Parker
2nd – Robert Young
3rd – Brad Eppingstall