14/04/2013

By Rob Monk

It was a huge weekend of cycling for the Warragul Club Club.

Members contested a scratch race at Shady Creek on Saturday and the annual Baw Baw Classic Road Race on the Sunday.

With many A graders racing on Sunday and choosing to rest on Saturday A and B grade were combined. Doing 4 laps of Shady Creek was always going to take something out of the legs for the next day. On lap 1, Paul Yeatman tested his legs  heading out of Sthurs Road and soon had a break with Jayman Prestidge.  Yeatman was not keen on working due to riding in the Baw Baw Classic the next day and the two were caught by the top of the Shady Creek hill on lap 2.

The race then stayed together until it split up on lap 3 going up the climb. Leigh Hauxwell and Jason Laird took off and established a 500 meter gap going over the top. A muddling chase resulted as Shane Stiles continually let riders roll of the front. When Stu Battley and Brett Rollinson were allowed to roll clear Rob Monk jumped across to them and all of a sudden it was race on. Stiles refused to chase. Finlayson hesitated wanting Jack Walk to go. Jack looked at Jayman to chase meanwhile Monk, Rollinson and Battley were charging away. Rollinson drove the break hard then attacked and bridged to Hauxwell and Laird. Stiles rode over the gap with him but decided to let them go, preferring to see what was happening back down the road. Battley and Monk worked in tandem to distance the rest of the field.

Rollinson led out Hauxwell and Laird in the final sprint. Hauxwell took the victory in a sprint. It was his first win beyond C grade but Glen Marriott made comment that the field lacked quality (he was resting for BawBaw) and the victory was a hollow one. Laird was second and Rollinson third.

Rob Monk sat on Battley for most of the final lap then sprinted him to take 4^th place. Battley was 5^th and clearly the 4^th strongest rider in the race.

In C grade the bunch stayed together for most of the 4 laps. Col Brown tried to push the pace on the Hill didn’t manage to shake too many of them. In the sprint Zvonko Maric was on Col’s wheel. In the strong cross wind riders needed to hug the centre line but Col didn’t seem to understand this. He opened the door and let Zvondo ride up shielded from the wind. Zvonko made sure a fast finishing Paul Rowse had to cross the white line and be disqualified to pass him. Zvonko was first with Col second, Peter Sorenson third, James Blyth forth and Bruce Staben fifth.

D grade raced over 3 laps. They were evenly matched on the flat but on the hill each time Andrew Jackson and Rob Waddel were able to get a slight break on Pete O’Donnell, Ben Stein, Con Mitropoulos and Louise Clarke. The dropped riders would work together to get back on. The third time up Waddel, Clark and Jackson made the decisive break. Rob won the bunch sprint from Louise and Andrew. Ben Stein rode well for fourth and Con Mitropoulos took out 5^th in his first race start.

The newly formed E grade bunch rode 3 laps the first of which was under control. Pete Whelan rode acted as chaperone as he was competing in the Baw baw Classic.

Adele Whelan welcomed the longer race distance as the extra lap allowed her more time to rid her body of the excesses of the night before.

At the start of lap 2, Michelle Scurr powered away over the hill.  Frank Benstead used his descending skills to give chase and the bunch reformed.   On lap 3, Michelle Scurr showed her strength and rode off the front, figuring she would ride a time trial. Frank Bensted, Adele Whelan and Robyn Baker chased hard but they could not catch Michelle. Kristen Theile rode strongly in her first start in a road race and will be better for the experience. Michelle rode away to take the victory. Frank finished well to take second from Adele in third, Robyn fourth and Kristen fifth.

The Baw Baw Classic Race was contested on Sunday. It starts in Warragul and finishes at the Baw Baw Alpine Village. This takes in the toughest climb in Australia. Warragul riders did well. Cy Monk finished second in C grade mens and Kate Prestidge 3^rd in C Grade Womens. Just completing this race is a significant achievement. Congratulation the following WCC members who finished BawBaw in 2013.

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Tags: Baw Baw Classic, hills, scratch, shady creek

The club is again looking for sponsors to ensure we can deliver a quality race.  The linked document compiled by our club president provides details of sponsorship packages.

The Baw Baw Classic is now in it’s 13th year and receives a 5 minute spot on SBS each year.  This year there is also a chance that the race will form part of Waterbyrds Filmz’ 75 minute documentaty on grass roots cycling which will be shown at a major international film festival and expected to be aired on ABC or SBS in 2014.

Tags: Baw Baw Classic, committee notification

15/04/201

A record number of riders contested the 2012 ANZ Baw Baw Classic road race. The mild conditions resulted in some fast times. Official results can be found here. A race report can be found here. A summary of the 2012 race is provided below.

A grade sponsored by Baw Baw Resort

Nathan Earle (Hobart Wheelers CC) racked up his 3rd win in a time of 03:20:23 – a record for the current course. Blake Hose (Geelong CC) was second (+1:32) and Jason Spencer, third (+1:33).

Women sponsored by Baw Baw Resort

In the women’s race, Miranda Griffith (St Kilda CC) made it two in a row in a time of 03:58:02. Heidi Buntrock (st Kilda CC) and Elizabeth Hall (Hawthorn CC) were next across the line.

B Grade sponsored by Blackwoods Garden Supplies

Edward Powell (Melbourne Univerisity CC) claimed first place in 03:39:43, followed by Aaron Blomeley (Ballarat/Sebastapol CC) and Mark Kelly (Horsham CC).

C Grade sponsored by Wakefield and Vogrig Lawers

C Grade saw James Gray (Hawthorn CC) cross the line after 03:53:56 in the saddle. Second was James Rickard (Coburg CC) six seconds behind and Greg Castelow (St Kilda CC) a few minutes back.

MMAS123 sponsored by WHK Accoutants

Tom Leaper (Blackburn CC) took out first place in masters 123 in a time of 03:44:41. Michael Tolhurst (Canberra CC) came in second a minte back with the 2010 winner, Ciaran Jones (Carnegie Caufield CC) another minute back in third.

MMAS4+ sponsored by ANZ

Masters 4+ was won by Danny Kah (Carnegie Caufield CC) in 03:51:38. David Sturt (Carnegie Caufield CC) came in next and was followed by Anthony Chandler (Blackburn CC) who had won the previous three years.

Well done to everyone who competed and a big thanks to the volunteers who run this event. Official results will be posted this evening.

Tags: Baw Baw Classic, scratch

15/04/2011

Cycling Victoria Media Release

195 starters took to the 11th annual Baw Baw Classic on April 10th. Riders were had tough and cold conditions all day with fantastic racing taking place.

Miranda Griffiths (St Kilda CC) was too strong on the day taking home the victory in the Women’s race in 4:06:19 with Elizabeth Hall (Hawthorn CC) and Kristy Glover (Wellington CC) rounding out the podium.

In the Men’s A grade Calvin Watson (Carnegie Caulfield CC), last year’s B grade winner, went one better this year and claimed first place in the A grade elite race in a time of 3:25:59. Nathan Haas (Viking CC) was next and Floris Goesinnen followed him.

In the B Grade event Luke James (St. Kilda CC) was too strong for the field pulling away for Victory in 3:44:24 with James Randall (Albury Wodonga CC) taking second 47 seconds later and Jake Klajnblat (Carnegie Caulfield CC).

In C Grade Callum Freyer (Carnegie Caulfield CC) was too strong for Fergus Sully (Blackburn CC) in one of the tightest finish of the day by winning by only 4 seconds.

The Masters 1-2-3 saw a tight fought contest which became a climbing battle with Andrew Ward (Bendigo CC) narrowly taking home the win over Jason Laird (Coburg CC) and Christian McDonald (Cobram CC).

Riders were greeted by the trademark snow on the top of one of the toughest climbs in Australia.

The April 17 broadcast of Cycling Central on SBS will include a 5 minute re-cap of this year’s event.

The April 17 broadcast of Cycling Central on SBS had the following re-cap of this year’s event.

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Tags: Baw Baw Classic, video

18/04/2009

Warragul Cycling Club hosted the start of the 9th Annual Baw Baw Cycle Classic on Saturday. This race is rapidly developing into one of Victoria’s premier cycling challenges. This year a record 220 riders entered in the race. The race starts in Warragul then heads to Shady Creek, Neerim South via Mizpab- Settlement Road, Neerim Junction, Noojee and then up to Mt Baw Baw; A total distance of 103 km.The final 6 km from the ticket box at Baw Baw to the top of the Mountain is rated as one on the toughest climbs in the world. The average gradient is 13% with some sections as steep as 20%. This is lung busting, leg sapping terrain that tests even the fittest riders.
Warragul Cycling Club was well represented with Kane Walker riding in A grade, James Henry in B grade, Callan Barker in C grade, Shane Stiles in the Masters 1 category and Geoff Thompson and Thomas Sander in the Masters 5 category.

Kane rode well in A grade joining a group of 4 riders who broke away from the peloton on the run up to Neerim Junction. These four managed to stay away until 5km from the finish. At this point the true mountain climbers took over. The road is so steep here that riders struggle to keep their speed above 12 km/h. Crossing the line first was Nathan EARLE from the Hobart wheelers cycling club.
Geoff Thompson and Shane Stiles also finished in the top 5 in their respective masters age groups. Callan Barker was looking good in C grade, until a broken spoke down Vespers Hill saw an extended wait for a spare.

The Warragul cycling club would like to thank all club members who supported the race. Particular thanks go to Club President Neil Walker and race director Karen Jones. It was also great to see local businesses like Warragul Nissan and the Baw Baw Shire provides some financial support for the race.

Next year will be the 10th running of the race and judging by the feedback from this year’s participants the race will continue to grow in popularity and status.

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Tags: Baw Baw Classic

19/04/2008

It was a great day for the 2008 Mt Baw Baw cycling classic but the weather did not ease the pain of the final 6 km on the mountain. Over 190 riders left Warragul and most made it to the top but even the elite A grade riders slowed to less than 10km per hour as the murderous 20% gradient of some sections of the climb took their toll.

In A grade it was promising Under 23 rider Daniel BRAUNSTEINS from Hawthorn Cycling Club who took the title. He rode the 97 km in 3:12:29. This is an average of just over 30km per hour. Second was David PELL from Bendigo & District CC and third was Daniel FURMSTON from Hobart. This shows how far cyclists are prepared to travel to take on Mt BawBaw. Carlee TAYLOR from the Norwood Cycling Club took out the open womens race.

Local Warragul CC riders were well represented as well. In B grade James Henry finished a creditable 7^th of 34 riders and Kane Walker came in 10^th.

In the Masters categories Warragul riders also excelled. Tim Lee came in third in the Masters 1 classification. Luke Hanley finished second and Shane Stiles third in the Masters 2 category. Geoff Thompson finished second to Latrobe Valley rider Roland Elsdon in the Masters 5 classification.

Congratulations to all riders who made it to the top. Just completing the race is a tremendous achievement

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Tags: Baw Baw Classic, combine