19/05/2013

By Rob Monk

Warragul Cyclists made the long trip to Harcourt to contest the Victorian Country Road Championships on Sunday.

The main prize on offer was the Elite Men’s Title and it was Warragul’s Brenton Jones who took the prize. A dangerous two man break got away from the field of fourty riders near the end of the race and Brenton rode solo across to them then showed them how to sprint taking a well earned Gold Medal.

In the under 19 boys race Warragul riders Cy Monk and Jayden Manintveld did well to stay with the field that included state and national champions. Cy finished 4th and Jayden finished 5th.

In the Masters divisions Michelle Scurr rode well to take gold in the Women’s Masters 2 Category. Rob Monk won Bronze in the Masters 4 Men’s division.

Next week is the Warragul Club Championship Race on Saturday at Lardner Park and the Gippsland Road Championships at Willow Grove on Sunday.  A number of our masters riders will be participating in round 2 of the State Time Trial series in Geelong on Saturday.  Good luck to all.

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Tags: championships, scratch

20/04/2013

By Rob Monk

A disappointing showing of only 25 riders turned out for scratch races at Cloverlea on Saturday.

Due to the low number A and B grade were combined. They didn’t stay together long as after an initial attack by Paul Yeatman at the start, Chris Beales and Jayden Manitveld took off immediately after the first corner on lap one and were not seen again. The chase was disorganised as usual in a mixed race as the B graders wanted the A graders to do all the chasing. Graeme Parker, Col Brown and Glen Marriot did most of the work to chase the break down but had little help from the rest. Pete Finlayson tried hard to get others organised but Geoff Thompson, Rob Monk and especially George Tambassis were reluctant to go near the front. Tambassis didn’t do a single turn for the whole race.

Beales out muscled young Jayden in the run to the line to take the win. In the sprint for third Monk led out but was passed by the fresh legs of Tambassis and Thompson. Pete Bailey finished well in his comeback race. Zvonko Maric was not out of his depth in his first B grade start.

The C grade field dawdled around their four laps and were caught by D grade. New rider Georgina Beech showed the men how to do some work on the front. At the finish a close sprint was contested between Bruce Staben and James Blyth. Bruce just prevailed to bring up his first race victory. Well done Bruce. James was second with Georgina in third, Mark Oakley Browne was fouth and Roger Bell fifth.

Mick Blackwood, for the last time, told the sob story that he had not ridden for 4 weeks and wanted to be in D grade. He then proceeded to push the pace and he, Rob Waddel and Col Manintveld were on the back of C grade after one lap. Eventually C grade got a move on and left this trio of bandits behind. Col won the sprint at the end of the race to take victory from Rob with “C Grade for Ever” Blackwood in third. Michelle Scurr was fouth and Pete O’Donnell a close fifth.  Note that if you race and can sit on the grade above you, the handicapper will promote you to that grade.

Warragul’s climbing specialists headed for the Gippsland Hill Climb Championships on Sunday. The race started at Loy Yang and headed up Mt Tassie. Rob Monk, Cy Monk and Jayden Manintveld did the club proud. A race of attrition up the 9 km finishing climb saw an elite group of 5 riders left to contest the finish. Cy Monk dominated the sprint to take victory and the crown of Gippsland Hill Climb Champion. Jayden was a creditable 5th after having some mechanical difficulties in the sprint.

Next week’s race is a scratch race Shady Creek.

A number of riders will be contesting the Stratford to Bairnesdale race on ANZAC day, and a couple of our members will be racing the Tour of the South West in Warnambool next weekend.

Congratulations to Sharon Gordon, who last week ventured over to the Masters  Track Nationals in Perth and came home with a bronze in the 500m WMAS1 ITT.

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Tags: championships, cloverlea, scratch, velodrome

Sunday saw a reduced contingent of Warragul riders contest the state team time trial championships.

Our team of 4 elite riders consisting of Brenton Jones, Kane Walker, Jarryd Jones and James Henry took out gold, 0:2:18.0 ahead of a team from CCCC.  Third place was taken out by a team from Ballarat Sebastapool who where 0:6:44.5 off the winning time.

A team of three Junior 17 men comprising Cy Monk, Joe Patrick and Jayden Manintveld came in 5th, 0:6:51 off the pace.

A few teams were penalized between $150 and $200 for wearing incorrect apparell during the event.  At state level events, riders are supposed to wear club kit or plain clothing.  Our elite team sported Torq, African Wildlife Safaris and Genesys Wealth Advisors gear.

TTT Results

(L-R) Kane Walker, James Henry, Brenton Jones, Jarryd Jones

Tags: championships, time trial

23/06/2012

By Rob Monk

Warragul Cycling Club members contested the club time trial championship on Saturday. The Time trial is referred to as “the Race of Truth” in cycling circles. There is no-one to draft off, no wheel to follow, few tactics and the strongest rider will win. Some love the time trial. For others it is a boring torture fest.

The time trial attracts the “gear freaks” of the cycling fraternity. Disk wheels, skin suits, shoe covers, tear drop helmets and exotic time trial rigs come out of the garage.

A time trial also seems to attract visitors who love the spectacle of this unique event.

The fastest time of the day was recorded by visitor Justin Gravatt from Latrobe City. He completed the 22.8 km course in 32 minutes 30 seconds at an average speed of 42.09kph.

James Henry was the open TT champion. He flew around the 22.8 km course averaging 41.23kph

Paul Yeatman was the fastest in the Masters 123 category with 38.07kph (up on 37.75 in 2010 and 36.7 in 2009). Second was Scott Keeble with Jason Dastey in third.

Peter Finlayson was the Masters 4+ champion with 36kph . Second was Col Brown and Geoff Thompson was third.

In the women’s section Michelle Scurr was first (31.69kph) with Adele Whelan second.

Xavier Prescott claimed first in the J19 race averaging 32kph.

The J17 race was closely contested. Joe Patrick (35.73kph, up from 33.28 in 2011) was too quick for Cy Monk with Jayden Manitveld in third.  Jayden and Cy also improved on their 2011 times.

Real racing returns next week at Darnum with a team’s race.

Four riders produced negative splits (lap 2 faster than lap 1) which is a sign of good pacing.  They were Yeatman, Dastey, Thommo and Scurr.

Race results and times.

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Tags: championships, cloverlea, time trial

26/05/2012

By Rob Monk

In what was a huge weekend for Warragul cyclists not even the freezing horizontal rain could dampen the spirits or discourage riders who turned out the club championships on Saturday then the Victorian Country Road Championships on Sunday.

There were 5 separate races on Saturday to determine club champions in the different divisions. Thirty five riders turned out in what could only be described as miserable conditions.

First away was the open field. The race would be dominated by the Jones boys, Jarryd and Brenton. They managed to shake Charlie Davine and went on to cross the line locked together. Brenton finished just in front of Jarryd to take out his third consecutive open club Championship. Jarryd was second with Charlie third.

The largest field of the day was in the Masters 123 race. Paul Yeatman rode off the front at the start and was caught along Sthurs Road where Shane Stiles and Scott Keeble rode off the front.  They sat up going over the hills and the bunch reformed, but not for long.  A Stiles led attack heading into the second lap took Keeble and Yeatman with him. This trio powered away.  As the chase group initially worked together, with four laps to go, it was looking like a catch would be made.  An increase in speed along the main straight buckled the chasers and they splintered. The leaders continued their consistent track turns and only slowed with a lap to go.

At the finish Stiles rode away and eased down on the line nearly allowing a fast finishing Yeatman to grab the win, whose lunge saw him miss out by a tyre. Nearly is not enough though. Stiles first, Yeatman second and Keeble finished third. Glen Marriot smashed the strong but not fast Leigh Hauxwell in the sprint for fouth.

Masters 4+ was a tactical battle. As usual Thomas Sandner was allowed to roll off the front and timetrial for much of the race off the front. For the first 2 laps he had Graeme Parker for company. Parko grew tired on lap 3 and rolled back to the bunch. Thomas powered on alone. Pete Finlayson put in some surges but only managed to dislodge Frank Benstead, Graham Patrick and John Davine from the chase pack. There were some stunned looks on lap 6 when Geoff Thompson rode up the road on his own. Thommo has not attempted a solo break since 1978 so the rest of the field could not work out what was happening. He was eventually reeled in at the bell and a sprint was looking inevitable. Ross Henry gently rolled off the front with 3km to go to the finish. Everyone looked at each other. “You chase him”, “No you chase him” was all that could be heard. In the end no-one chased hard enough or early enough and Ross rode away to victory. In cycling, fortune favours the brave. Great win Ross. Pete Finlayson was second with Thommo third.

The women’s race was a tightly contested affair. The field was together for the first 3 laps until Adele Whelan lost contact. Kate Prestige did everything she could to shake the rapidly improving Rachel Dawson. Rachel was struggling on the hills but was able to power back to Kate on the flats. Kate led out the sprint but Rachel was just too strong in the sprint taking out her first club championship. Kate was second with Adele in third.

The Juniors battled it out over 6 laps. Jayden Manintveld decided an attack on lap 1 was a good way to win the race. Joe Patrick, Cy Monk and James Blyth were happy to let him dangle while they worked turns to keep him in sight. By lap 5 he’d been caught and passed by Cy and Joe who went on to contest the finish. Cy tried to shake Joe on the hills in the final lap and managed to gap him but not drop him. Joe was still on his wheel rounding the final turn. Cy put the brakes on, made Joe lead out the sprint and went past him nearing the line to take the win. Joe was second with Jayden in third.

Mitch Jones was the J13 champion.

Summary

Elite – Brenton, Jarryd, Charlie.

Mast 1,2,3 – Shane, Paul Y, Scott, K.

Mast 4,5,6 – Ross H, Pete F, Geoff T.

Women – Rachael D, Kate P, Adele W.

U17- Cy, Joe, Jayden

U13 – Mitch J

Victorian Championships

27/05/2012

Eight Warragul Riders made their way to Harcourt on Sunday for the Victorian Country Road Championships.  Due to road works, the larger lap was modified to an out and back loop.  This made the racing a little less hilly.  The weather was chilly, but sunny -  a perfect day after Saturday’s horror.

Mitch Jones made it two from two for the weekend taking a gold medal in the J13 race.

Brenton Jones finished a very close second in the main event of the day, the Victorian Open Country Road Championship.

In the Masters 3 race Paul Yeatman finished 4th in a tight bunch finish.

Rob Monk won a bronze medal in the Masters 4 race.

Cy Monk, Joe Patrick, Jayden Manitveld and Jack Walk represented the club well in a field of 30 riders in the J17 race. Cy and Joe recorded top 10 finishes.

Cy Monk, Joe Patrick, Jack Walk, Rob Monk and Jayden Manintveld at the Victorian Country Road Championships in Harcourt

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Tags: championships, darnum, harcourt

13/04/2012

This year’s club track championships were an entertaining show with a few lappings and also some close racing.

Thanks to Steve Muggeridge and co. for organising this exciting evening of racing.

The following riders are the club’s 2012 track champions.Under 11: Lauchlan Jagoe

• Under 13: Mitchell Jones
• Under 17: Jack Walk
• Elite Men: Jarryd Jones
• Women: Mariah Dastey
• Master 1-3: Paul Yeatman
• Master 4+: Colin Brown

Fulll details of the points follow:

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Tags: championships, points, velodrome