Summer Club Track League Rnd 4

18/02/2014

By Paul Yeatman

On Saturday the 15 February, Warragul Cycling Club hosted round four of the Summer Club Track League.  This series comprises five rounds of racing and is held in combination with Carnegie Caulfield and Blackburn cycling clubs.  Round one was to be held at Warragul, but it was a rainy day.  For round four, the skies were occluded by smoke from nearby bush fires and the radar showed little rain.  The temperature was around the high 20’s, low 30’s and there was a mild westerly wind.

A total of 41 riders from several clubs made the trip to Warragul, comprising a large number of juniors.  It is great to see lots of the younger riders as they are the future stars of the sport, especially given some of the fast lap times they were riding on the day.

Originally, races were scheduled for J11/13, J15/17, D, B and A.  With the absence of any C graders and the large junior contingent, the U15 and U17 bunches were split into their own races.

Session 1

U11/13 – 5 lap scratch

Five under 11/13 riders would contest the first race of the day. A five lap scratch.  Here all the riders start from the fence and once they are together, the marshal blows a whistle indicating that the race is underway.  This means that the first lap is usually the slowest.

Heading across the line first after lap was Lachlan Jagoe.  Following him were Corby Merchant, Jonathon Marr, Raphael Brazier and Felicty Waddell.  The pace dropped off for lap two, with the average lap speed dropping from 30.5kph to 26.6kph.  An attack on the third lap by Marr saw the pace increase to a cracking 39.9kph.  This started to split the field with Waddell dropping off.

On the forth lap, he pace dropped to 36.1kph, but this was enough for Marr to continue to string the bunch out.  With a lap to go, only Merchant could go with Marr.  Two seconds back were Jagoe and Brazier, with Waddell 8 seconds in arrears.

The final lap saw Merchant come a close second to winner Marr.  Third placed Jagoe made up a second, forth placed Brazier dropped off the pace to finish 8 seconds down with Waddell coming in fifth 10 seconds down.

The finishing order was:

  1. Corby Merchant
  2. Jonathon Marr
  3. Lachlan Jagoe
  4. Rapahel Brazier
  5. Felicity Waddell
Jonathon Marr just edging out Corby Merchant for the win
Above: Jonathon Marr just edging out Corby Merchant for the win

U15 – 10 lap scratch

Nine riders competed in the U15 scratch race held over 10 laps of the velodrome.  After lap one ridden at an average of 35kph, it was Connall Murphy from Bill Simpson, followed by Ben Foster, Blackburn spin specialist Sam Gallagher and Oliver Booth in the top five positions.

The race continued at a sedate pace until lap five where a 37.4kph lap was lead by Austin Timmins.  Here Gallagher was next across the line chased by Shanelle Freeman, Murphy and Ben Foster.

With three laps to go, local rider Mitchell Jones hit the gas to push the pace for the second last lap up to 41kph.  The final lap was ridden at 51.7kph, which was the fastest lap of the day of racing.

The finishing order was:

  1. Mitchell Jones
  2. Bill Simpson
  3. Connall Murphy
  4. Oliver Booth
  5. Austin Timmins
  6. Sam Gallagher
  7. Ben Foster
  8. Shannelle Freeman
  9. Ryan Nichols
Jarryd Jones winning narrowly from a fast finishing Bill Simpson
Above: Jarryd Jones winning narrowly from a fast finishing Bill Simpson

U17 – 10 lap scratch

Seven riders started the 10 lap U17 scratch race.  The first lap was fairly laid back at 25.4kph.  The next lap was a little faster.  After three laps, the lead rider was Tylah Meunier followed by Alex Gibson, Lachlan Jordan, Matt Dutneal and Harry Sturt.

With 3 laps to go, Cameron Murphy lead a 41.3kph lap.  Dutneal was hot on his heals along with Jordan, Meunier and Lachlan Mushet.  Dutneal used the increase in pace take the lead which he would not relinquish.  He launched and attack and the next laps were ridden at 49.7, 47.8 and 44.4kph.  The local rider finished with a good gap over Murphy.  Third placed rider, Meunier came in about three seconds down from Sturt and Jordan.

The finishing order was:

  1. Matt Dutneal
  2. Cameron Murphy
  3. Tylah Meunier
  4. Harry Sturt
  5. Lachlan Jordan
  6. Lachlan Mushet
  7. Alex Gibson (DNF?)
Matt Dutneal winning from Cameron Murphy
Above: Matt Dutneal winning from Cameron Murphy

D Grade – 15 lap scratch

The 15 lap D grade scratch race was ridden by eight riders at an average of 39.5kph.  After a slow first lap. Doris Marr picked up the pace and lead into lap two.  She was followed by Zoe Veldaman, Wayne Tunks, wiley sprinter John Lewis and Grame Murphy.

With two laps to go, the rider of red Avanti was leading after a 38.5kph lap.  They lead from Marr, Veldaman, Tunks and Daniel Kurka.

Seven laps into proceedings (8 to go), Lewis was leading from Murphy, Veldaman, Kurka and Avanti.  The next lap saw a slight increase in pace and until two laps to go, the bunch was happy to roll along at between 37 and 38kph.  The fastest lap of the race at 45.7kph was clocked with two to go.  As the bell sounded it was Kurka from Murphy, Veldaman, Lewis and Marr.

Kurka would retain the lead position until the end of the race in what would be a tight bunch finish.  Murphy was second by abut 1/3 of a length with Veldaman half a wheel back.  Marr was about a length back in forth.

The finishing order was:

  1. Daniel Kurka
  2. Grame Murphy
  3. Zoe Veldaman
  4. Doris Marr
  5. John Lewis
  6. Damien Price
  7. Wayne Tunks
  8. “Red Avanti”
Daniel Kurka winning ahead of Graeme Murphy, Zoe Veldeman and Dorris Marr
Above: Daniel Kurka winning ahead of Graeme Murphy, Zoe Veldeman and Dorris Marr

B Grade – 20 lap scratch

The B Bgrade 20 lap scrach race was a mainly Warragul affair with track stalwart Trevor Rollinson, improving rider Andrew Gordon and Mariah Dastey, to name a few.

After the first lap, it was Eric Veldaman leading the bunch.  The next lap saw Veldaman still on the front.  He decided it would be a good time to have a rest and with three laps down, Gordon was in the lead.  Four laps into it, Kevin Murphy who had ridden well in B grade in round 2 and was riding strongly at the Christmas carnivals was in the lead.

With ten laps to go, Rollinson thought it would be a good time to attack and he pushed the pace up to 38.6kph.  This move was welcomed by Gordon who upped it to 41 for the next lap.  From here, the pace would stay high for all but the 17th lap, where there was a slight lull in pace which played into Gordon’s hands.  He rode a smashing lap at 50kph to get a gap on the field which he managed to extend all the way to the end.  Heading across the line, he eased up on the pedals as he was a number of meters ahead of the fast finishing Murphy (check out the video).   David Jordan finished in third leading in Dastey and Rollinson.

The finishing order was:

  1. Andrew Gordon
  2. Kevin Murphy
  3. David Jordan
  4. Mariah Dastey
  5. Trevor Rollinson
  6. Rob Waddell
  7. Eric Veldaman
Andrew Gordon winning after a late break away
Above: Andrew Gordon winning after a late break away

This video is not as fun as the camera man had a race to get ready for.

A Grade – 25 lap scratch

A grade saw some quality riders with former Giro d’Italia racer, Tom Leaper, Victorian Track GP gold medalist Martin Lama, sprint specialist Shannon McCurley, local speed demon Jayden Manintveld, and then Paul Yeatman making up the numbers.

The pace was on from lap three where things stayed above 44kph for the most part.  An early attack by Leaper dropped Yeatman who was lapped with 11 and three to go.  Manintveld, Lama and McCurley dropped off with about 10 laps to go when the lap average peaked at 50kph.  A few laps later McCurley had hand enough.  Yeaman saw this as a good opportunity to get some pursuit training in, despite it feeling like he was knifed in both glutes.

Manintveld would lead Lama over the start finish line for the rest of the race as the two riders tried in vain to bridge to Leaper.

The final lap saw Leaper while by 15 seconds from Lama who just edged out Manintveld.  Yeatman came in 40 seconds later.

The finishing order was:

  1. Tom Leaper
  2. Martin Lama
  3. Jayden Manitveld
  4. Paul Yeatman
  5. Shanon McCurley (DNF)
Tom Leaper warming up before his A grade win
Above: Tom Leaper warming up before his A grade win

This video is not as fun as the camera man had a race to get beaten in.

Once the A grade race concluded, the rain set in for a good 15 minutes, soaking the track.  The decision was made to pay out winning based on the single session of racing.

The Sufferfest donated videos for the 4th place winners in every race as they are the ones who need the edge to get onto the podium.

Back to Race List.

Photos from every race but A grade (as the photographer was racing) can be found in our club’s Facebook photo album.

Thanks to those who helped run the event and to the riders and their families who came along to support track racing.

The final round of the series is hosted by CCCC at Packer park on 22nd March.  Prior to that, the club is holding the second night of a two night track racing series on the evening of Friday February 28.