06/06/2009

A Grade Results

1st: Kane Walker, 2nd: Paul Richards, 3rd: Nick Aitken

KOM: Kane Walker leads, Sprint King: Kane Walker Leads

Kane Walker leads race in 2:23:40

How B grade unfolded (told from webmaster’s perspective).

65.29km / 1:46:58 / 36.6kph

1st: Michael O’Connor, 2nd Brett Van Berkel, 3rd Chris Halley

KOM: Brett Van Berkel  leads, Sprint King: Michael O’Connor leads

Brett Van Berkel leads race in 1:51:32

David Shanahan took off shortly after we the race turned into the Fernbank Lindenow South Road and the other LaTrobe guys did not chase. I chased him down then nearly got dropped after an attack as soon as we turned north Fernbank Glenaladale Road.   Shanhan took off before the KOM and was caught.  After this another LCCC rider, Brett Van Berkel took off along the Fernbank Lindenow South Road and this time no-one chased (besides me again, but after slowing to let someone else take over, no help).

The best place to chase was after the downhill section along Dargo Road, but everyone sat up as the road flattened.  This was the perfect spot to maintain over 50kph and make a catch.  Alas, it was not to be.  I felt good in final sprint but had to settle for a bunch place (poor positioning).

Tomorrow I’m not letting anyone get away.

How C grade unfolded (by Winner Rob Monk)

1st: Jarryd Jones, 2nd: Shannon McCurley, 3rd: Simon Baxter

KOM: Simon Baxter leads, Sprint King: Jarryd Jones leads

Jarryd Jones leads the race on 16 points

There was great team feeling before the race. First time tour riders like big Jayman and Justin were as keen as mustard. Simon and I thought we were a chance to win it all and young guns Jarryd Jones and James Lalor were looking hungry and fit. Even Steve Muggeridge had a steely look in his eye as he finished his pre race cigarette 30 minutes before the start.

Jayman gave me a perfect leadout for the first sprint which I won easily. I don’t think anyone was expecting us to go so early. I rode near the front for the next part of the race as the attacks always come after the sprint. The Leongatha boys were keen to set a solid pace. The field cracked to bits pretty early and Dave Bailey was an early casualty. Jayman also lost contact early but I thanked him after the race for the leadout. I don’t think he’ll do that again.  Simon looked strong and took second in the first hill climb. I spent a fair bit of energy to get fourth and no points. I hate that.

Leongatha sent Kevin Feely up the road to try and steal the second sprint which he succeeded in doing. Jarryd showed he was just a little quicker than Shannon McCurly from Latrobe to take second in the sprint. I realized at this point they were quicker than me as I spent a fair bit of energy to get fourth and no points. I hate that.

After this sprint the bunch which was thirty at the beginning of the race was down to 11 riders. We still had James Lalor, Simon Baxter, Jarryd Jones and myself at the business end of the race. I told Jarryd to sit on and save everything for the final sprint.

Simon took the final KOM of the day and I managed second. We had a reasonable break going over the top of the hill so we went for home. A three kilometre time-trial followed. We swapped turns nearly to the finish and had the stage shot to bits with 100 meters to go. Then we blew up.

Within twenty meters of the line Shannon McCurly and Jarryd Jones flew by to take first and second. Simon finished third and I spent a fair bit of energy to get fourth and four points.

Stage 1 Map

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Tags: 3 day tour, bairnsdale cc

25/04/2008

Anzac day for Gippsland Cyclists a race to Bairnsdale. Traditionally it has been the Sale to Bairnsdale race but for the last 2 years the race has left from Stratford and headed north to loop around to Bairnsdale via some quiet roads and rolling hills. The race is over 70 km and is generally completed in lightning quick time.

Warragul Cycling Club was well represented in both A and B grade. The A grade race quickly evolved into a two man show. Shane Stiles decided to put the pace on right away. He attacked as soon as the controlled section to start the race ended. A few riders tried to jump across to him but Charles Howlett from the Latrobe Valley was the only one who would make it. Charles has some experience as a professional bike rider and has won B grade in the Melbourne to Warrnabool race so when he and Stiles started to work together it was always going to be a tough race for the chasing peleton. Despite working together the bunch could not reel in Howlett and Stiles. Warragul young guns James Henry and Kane Walker jumped from the chasing pack with 20km to finish, bringing Big Jim Timmer-Arends from LCCC with them. The trio  set out in search of the leaders. They had them in site at the finish but Howlett and Stiles refused to be caught. Howlett first, Stiles second and next came Walker and Henry, giving Warragul 4 of the first five riders. The bunch sprint for 6^th resulted in a ugly crash which saw 2 Wellington CC riders taken to hospital with collar bone damage.

In B grade the big field stayed largely intact for the whole race. Warragul riders Rob Monk, Neil Walker, Matt Kennelly and Darren Williams road a conservative race and were happy to cover any moves that went up the road. When the sprint for home started they moved to the pointy end of the bunch for the first time. Matt took out the sprint with Darren in second spot. Warragul riders first and second. Rob and Neil finished strongly as well being well inside the top ten placegetters.

Local racing finally returns next week with a Handicap at Cloverlea.

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Tags: bairnsdale cc, combine, scratch, wellington cc

10/06 – 12/06/2006

By Monique Hanley

The annual Gippy 3 Day Tour was once again held over the June long weekend, featuring four stages of racing hosted by Bairnsdale & Riviera, Latrobe City and Leongatha Cycling Clubs.

Despite gloomy weather predictions all racing was held in dry conditions, albeit a bit cold.  The Warragul Cycling Club was represented by seven of its members: Luke Hanley, Dave Salton, Ben Serpell, Geoff Thomson, Chris Beales, Kane Walker and Monique Hanley.  The weekend was once again a pleasure to be a part of: friendly racing and inter-club rivalry, great organisation and a laid back attitude befitting the tradition of the Tour.  If you have never ridden the Three Day Tour, pencil it in for next year as it is a great winter motivator with well-sized bunch racing and prize money often going down to 10th place (or further) for each grade!

In A grade, Warragul got off to a flying start with Dave Salton attacking early into Stage 1 at Lindenow and establishing a short break before the bunch eventually tracked down his effort.

He recovered enough to go on to win the punchy uphill sprint and the coveted time bonuses on offer for an A grade stage win.  Stages 2 & 3 were held at Yinnar, with Stage 2 consisting of a 5km individual time trial effort.  Despite the parcours dominated by the local Latrobe riders, Luke Hanley was well placed to record the 6th fastest time of the day.   In the afternoon it was another case of breakaway attempts, this time a four-man break succeeding in the crosswinds, but without a Warragul presence.  Luke Hanley formed a chase group in the final half of the circuit to limit some of the time damage caused by the breakaways, and in doing so secured 5th place on the overall standings.  Monday morning was held at the Leongatha Golf Course on a circuit unknown to many.  The promise of a few hills did little to break up the bunch and in a conservative race, all leaders protected their standings with Dave Salton finishing well and earning both sprint and finish bonuses.

Overall Results A grade
5th Luke Hanley
10th Dave Salton
21st Ben Serpell

B grade
From the first turn it seemed Warragul was always going to feature at the pointy end of the B grade bunch as Chris Beales kicked off with an offensive attack.  He was followed by Geoff Thomson who proved there is still a sprint in those legs of his by claiming the first intermediate sprint.  Despite some frustrated attempts at breaking up the bunch, all efforts were to no avail as every KOM, sprint and finish came down to the bunch kick.  Thommo proved to have the greatest acceleration this side of the Valley by claiming full points in all bar one contested title, including the claim of stage win.  Sunday’s stage 2 time trial proved the first chance to test Thommo’s mettle, and gave an opportunity for Warragul members Chris Beales and Kane Walker to shine, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively and pushing Beales significantly up the ladder on the overall tally.  Bealesy further improved on this during the stage 3 circuit, going solo over the first lap to score the maximum intermediate sprint points.  But disaster struck on the KOM challenge as the narrow roads caused a few riders to bump shoulders.  With the momentum suddenly shifting sideways, Kane Walker was unable to control his ship and he took a nasty tumble.  It was a double blow for Warragul as his bike landed curbside and right into the sprint path of Bealesy.  Amazingly the remainder of the pack avoided the carnage but with two Warragul riders down, and a suspected serious shoulder injury for Bealesy, it was left to Thommo and Monique Hanley to carry the Warragul flag.  Shortly after the bell for the final lap, Hanley managed to bridge across to a breakaway consisting of nine-time 3 Day Tour winner Dave McFarlane and fellow Leongatha rider Peter Laws.  As the bunch struggled to organise a chase in the cross wind, the three worked together but couldn’t make any distance towards solo breakaway, Eurobodella rider John Marion.  Hanley finished 3rd and was very happy to get onto the leaders board with some points at last!  Stage 4 at Leongatha was another bunch affair as tired legs limited the kick of break away attempts.  Thommo once again featured in every sprint on offer and in doing so left no question as to the deserving overall leader.  On the final hills into the finish, local Leongatha rider Tony Smith escaped along with Wellington’s Shane Dove to battle out for 1-2, but Thommo showed his true colours by leading the bunch home for third with Monique Hanley 7th.

Overall Results B grade
1st Geoff Thomson
7th Monique Hanley
DNF Chris Beales
DNF Kane Walker

The weekend finished with the traditional luncheon and awards presentation, which gives an opportunity to let the stories of the weekend take even greater shape over a couple of ales, and for everyone involved to acknowledge the efforts of organisers, marshalls and riders in all grades, including the juniors.

Here’s hoping Bealesy’s injuries don’t keep him off the bike for too long, and we also hope the tumble doesn’t dissuade Kane Walker from gaining valuable racing experience.

Until next year.

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Tags: 3 day tour, bairnsdale cc, combine, latrobe city cc, leongatha cc, time trial

11/06 – 13/06/2005

The Gippsland 3 Day Tour, was run for the 31st time over the June long weekend.  Jointly hosted by the cycling clubs of Gippsland, including Bairnsdale, Latrobe City, Leongatha and Warragul, it is an opportunity for the clubs to compete in friendly rivalry and a rare opportunity for team tactics to be used to protect leaders or assist the top riders from your club collect bonus points on offer across the weekend.  The event is renowned for its brutal racing conditions, and this year’s first stage, hosted by Bairnsdale, seemed to live up to its reputation.  Rain poured from midday onwards, with cyclists huddled in the Lindenow Public Hall hoping the start delay would allow the storm to pass over.  It was not to be, as the marshals finally arrived and racing commenced with soaked cycle booties weighing down all riders.

Warragul’s B grade team took a flying start with Chris Beales collecting the first sprint points, who then continued on solo for a break which lasted almost 50km.  His run finally ended in the final kilometres, allowing his fresh-legged teammates to make their mark in the bunch finish.  Geoff Thomson took the stage win.

In C grade, Rob Monk was the early aggressor, collecting both sprint points up for grabs, and Nicole Whitburn collecting the first KOM.  David Baillie took advantage of a lull in the race to break clear with Latrobe City rider, Greg Hunt.  With few riders from the Leongatha and Bairnsdale clubs to pull back the break, the two stayed away, with Baillie collecting the stage win.  In the bunch finish behind, Rob Monk sprinted into 3rd place, followed by Nicole Whitburn.  In the women’s division, a hypothermic Lawrence Maskill worked on some solo time trialling before accepting a ride back into town.

Sunday’s stage was hosted by Warragul at the Shady Creek circuit.  With the skies clear and a good turnout to see the riders off, spirits were soaring. The bunches were all now aware of who to watch, with many calculating the differences in the points tables and estimating the values of securing a KOM or intermediate sprint point on offer.

In B grade, Chris Beales’ good run ended with two punctures.  This allowed Chris Hunt to fly the Warragul flag, attacking the pack on the descent of the Shady Creek climb and continuing along the Nilma North flats.  He was not seen by the field again for the rest of the day, collecting a well earned stage win, with Geoff Thomson collecting more points and Luke Hanley sixth.

In C grade Dave Baillie was again the man to watch, who quickly made it the man to chase after attacking 3km into the race on the first climb of the Shady Creek hill.  By the second lap his effort again forced the peloton into chase mode, but this time only four riders could stay with him.  Together they put distance on the chase packs behind, but on the final ascent of Shady Creek only three remained, with Monique Hanley a casualty from the sprint for the KOM points.  Leongatha’s Neil White took the stage win, with Dave Baillie third and Monique Hanley fourth.

Monday’s final stage was held in Leongatha and included the infamous Marden circuit featuring a leg sapping 6km climb.  B and C grade and the womens section were scheduled to complete one lap of the 38km circuit, with A grade completing two.  With only KOM and finish line points on offer, the challenge of mid-race points calculations was significantly reduced.

In B grade, Geoff Thomson was the man to protect and with Tim Lee, Chris Beales, Pete Bailey, Ross Henry and Luke Hanley providing the necessary support, Thomo was able to save his legs for the final sprint, which netted him 2nd place and the overall Tour win.

Thanks to Neil White’s efforts at Shady Creek in C grade where he collected all intermediate points on offer as
well as the stage win, some significant riding from Baillie would be required to reclaim the overall lead.  However, the first two stages took their toll on Baillie, and despite the best efforts of support from Rob Monk and Nicole Whitburn, it was not to be.  In a bunch sprint on the uphill finish Rob Monk put the gear into the 11 and roared across the line to take out the stage win over White, with Whitburn fourth and Baillie fifth.  In A grade, Warragl riders Dave Salton and Ben Serpell put in some serious turns to bring back the unassailable lead of Latrobe City ride John
MacKenzie.  In the end, MacKenzie was too strong for the field, winning the Tour with a one minute margin to Melbourne’s Mark Howard.

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Tags: 3 day tour, bairnsdale cc, latrobe city cc, leongatha cc

12/06 – 16/06/2004

The best Gippsland has to offer: strong riders, good weather, friendly atmosphere, and exciting competition on great racing circuits emerged for the Queens Birthday weekend annual 3 Days of Gippsland Tour.

Warragul Cycling Club was well represented in all men’s, women’s and junior racing grades, with their riders providing many highlights across the weekend for brave riding, outstanding performances and a small amount of cycling luck. With a stage held each day over the long weekend, the Tour graced the racing locales of a flat course through Lindenow near Bairnsdale on Saturday, hills and wind at Willow Grove on Sunday and finished at the all-rounders delight, the Darnum/Shady Creek circuit, which was hosted by the Warragul Cycling Club on Monday.

The Senior A grade field lacked the stand-out talents of past winners such as Warragul’s Joel Pearson, keeping the field and times on the General Classification close each day. Only six seconds separated first and second place by the end of stage two, although given the close field, any of the top five on overall standings were within grasp of an outright win by the end of the weekend. The third and final stage at Darnum saw fifth-placed and by far the oldest competitor, Warragul’s Thomas Sandner, embark on a gutsy and determined breakaway alongside Latrobe Valley rider Darren Spiteri, St Kilda’s Chris Lee and Bairnsdale’s Jim Peachey to be virtual on-road leader throughout the race.

The time gap on the chase bunch blew out to over one minute fifty seconds with 21km remaining, putting Thomas in the overall winner’s jersey had the race stopped at this point. However, over the remaining kilometres this was slowly reduced by a hard chasing peloton containing the overall top four tour leaders who collaborated together to effectively protect their standings.

The chase group did just enough work to reduce the time gap and hang onto their placings from the previous day. Overall winner, 17-yr old talented track rider Gerard Murphy from Leongatha, claimed victory from Mark Howard of Caulfield Carnegie by six seconds, with the winner decided by intermediate sprint time bonus’ accumulated on stage two. In third place, and a further six seconds down was Warragul’s John Mackenzie, who has shown some fantastic racing form in recent weeks including victory at the Gippsland championships at Leongatha last weekend. But it was combative Thomas Sandner’s courageous effort that was the talk of the onlookers and which was rewarded with a second place in the final stage and fifth place in the overall standings. He was also joint winner of the King of the Mountain climbing competition.

The Senior B grade field was also well represented by Warragul riders, including Geoff Thompson, Ross Henry, Tim Lee, Chris Beales, Brett Rollinson, Peter Bailey and Steven Sandner. Leongatha’s Tony Smith was the standout rider for B grade as he took out the stage win on day one and never looked back, accumulating more points across the sprint, climbs and finish on the windy Willow Grove circuit and at Darnum. Steve Sandner was the highest placed Warragul rider, finishing in fifth overall after some solid placings at Willow Grove and Darnum, as well as third in the King of the Mountain. Geoff Thompson finished in sixth.

Having lost team captain Glenn Fisher, suffering from some serious side effects of over-zealous race preparations, C grade was represented by Rob Monk, Dean Logan and Luke Hanley. The trio performed well across the entire weekend, with first time tour entrant Dean cleaning up the points on Saturday with a stage win on the difficult uphill finish at Lindenow, and collecting a share of the climbing points available.

Rob Monk rode strongly to pick up intermediate sprint bonuses. Sunday at Willow Grove, and under the tutelage of a watching Fisher, saw Warragul dominate in all points categories throughout the race, with Dean finishing the stage in second after getting caught leading the bunch sprint to the finish into the strong headwind. The Darnum stage was well executed by the trio with Dean securing his overall race lead, Rob Monk collecting more climbing points and Luke Hanley clenching the stage win after an impressive breakaway with Rob on the Nilma-Shady Creek climb.

Local knowledge of the course was put to good use as the duo worked together over the remaining 10km, taking advantage of the chase groups indecision. Dean Logan’s weekend performance, including a stage win, King of the Mountain and overall tour winner was a terrific effort for the newcomer to Warragul and racing.

The small women’s field was run alongside men’s C grade, and was dominated by Warragul’s Monique Hanley who collected all points available at the Lindenow and Willow Grove circuits, ahead of Bairnsdale’s Jenny Mcconnell and Latrobe Valley’s Emma Beveridge. Emma rode strongly on the final stage to collect the King of the Mountain and intermediate sprint points, but Monique held on to secure the final stage win on her home circuit.

James Henry was the sole Warragul representative in the Junior A field, but Saturday held no luck for the tough youngster as he struggled with gear problems before being forced to retire with a puncture. He returned to race the remaining stages, ineligible for any overall awards but hopeful of a stage win. He secured this on the Willow Grove circuit with an impressive solo breakaway left unchecked by the chase bunch. A break alongside Nick Aitkin of Leongatha paid off for the twosome on the final day, with the stage win awarded to Nick.

Next week’s racing is a club combine event with Caulfield Carnegie based at Picnic Point. Racing begins at 2pm and will be a mixture of Jindivick and Fishers Road circuits. It will also be the last race for club points in the autumn racing season, where final C and D grade places will be sorted on the tough climbs. Season presentations are scheduled to follow the race, and will include a BBQ and drinks.

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Tags: 3 day tour, bairnsdale cc, combine, hills, latrobe city cc, shady creek