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

22/03/2013

By Rob Monk

The team’s race at Cloverlea on Saturday was dominated not by a cyclist but a dog. Bringing a dog to a bike race is like bringing a shark to a swim meet. The runaway Jack Russel caused havoc for all.

The teams race format works by cyclists being divided into teams of 7 riders. Each team had 4 A and B grade riders, 2 C grade riders and 1 D Grader. The D graders started 15 minutes in front of the AB group with the C graders 10 minutes in front. The group of 10 C graders were organised into a smooth rolling group by Geoff Thompson. They were also assisted when the group of 23 AB graders had to slow down after rounding the corner onto Hazeldean Road on lap one to avoid a Jack Russel Terrier. The dog chased the group along weaving dangerously close.

The C graders rolled on catching the fragmented D grade bunch on lap 2. As the A and B grade bunch rounded the Hazeldean corner on lap 2 Glen Marriott (Black), Brett Rollinson (Orange) and Dave McClean (Black) were off the front. The dog still on the loose again appeared. This time the bunch had to break suddenly and Jack Walk fell heavily. Nick Jehu also was forced to withdraw with mechanical damage. The AB grade bunch had a lap out and rolled back to the start finish line.

The restart was fast and immediately multiple riders were in the red zone. Lalor, Sorenson, Brown and Rob Monk were dropped. This meant the black team was the only team with all their numbers still in the lead group. That is besides Paul Yeatman who thanks to head down, bum up, ran into a ditch.

Thommo kept the C graders rolling along they were not caught. In the sprint for individual victory Zvonko Maric(Black) took the win from Terry Kelly (Orange). Then followed Mark Oakley Brown (Red) and Mariah Dastey (Green), Roger Bell (Blue), Andew Gordon (Green), and Shane Wakker (Black).

The chasing AB group had broken up more on the final lap. Cy Monk (Blue) put it in the gutter going past the start finish line and rode across to Brett Rollinson (Orange) who had remained off the front since lap 2. Peter Dennis (Mixtures) was the only rider who could go with Cy so a group of three formed and they took out placing’s 7, 8 and 9. Shane Stiles (Red) won the bunch sprint for 10^th from Dan McClean (Black), Glen Marriot (Black), Tom Dekker (Blue), and Graeme Parker (Green).

Final points were Black 31, Green 23, Blue 21, Orange 20 and the Shane Stiles led Red team came in last with 18 points.

The black team owed their victory to Zvonko’s strong win, Scott Keeble’s non-appearance and super subs David McLane stepping in for him.

Next week we race at Shady Creek on Easter Saturday. 2.00pm start.

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Tags: cloverlea, teams

01/12/2012

By Rob Monk

The flat Cloverlea circuit leads to close racing. The hills of Poowong last week favoured the antisocial workhorses and loners of the cycling world; the breakaway specialists and climbers.  Cloverlea favours the fast men who like to keep the race together until the final sprint. While the climbers are workhorses and loaners the sprinters tend to be the extroverts of the cycling world. Sometimes the sprinters get a little carried away; especially with themselves.

D grade had the smallest field of the day. A couple of weeks in Bali certainly had not done Col Manintveld’s form any harm. He set off at a solid clip, having all in the red zone before the halfway point of the first lap. He flew around the bend into Parkers Rd and gapped Bill Frew and Adele Whelan. Try as they might they were unable to close the gap into the strong head wind. Pete O’Donnell made it across and Frew and Whelan were doomed to a long chase. After another lap they conceded the chase was in vain and gave up. Pete and Col continued on lapping at good speed. In the final sprint Michelle Scurr who was a lap down led the boys out and got in the way. O’Donnell had just enough left to pass Col near the line and take the win. Col had done the majority of the work but had to be content with second.

In C grade Graeme Patrick worked hard all race to rid himself of the chasing bunch. Sprinting is not Graeme’s forte so a breakaway was his only hope. The bunch was encouraged to let him dangle by the experienced sprinter Andy Nichols. Andy knew that keeping him just off the front was ideal for his chances of victory. Terry Kelly tried to jump over to Graeme near the turn into Hazeldean Rd but Bruce Staben and Matt Kennelly chased him down. At the bell the bunch was back together. Patrick was cooked and Nichols was looking good. In the sprint Zvonko Maric would not make it easy for Andy. Zvonko sprinted for home with his knees and elbows out making it impossible for anyone to pass easily. The crowd at the line held their breath as Andy braved the inside line and lunged at the line to take victory by a tyre from Zvonko. Matt finished third.

B grade followed a similar pattern to C grade. This time Paul Yeatman took on the role of breakaway artist. Yeatman spent the first three laps off the front in time trial mode and was finally caught at the turn into Hazeldean Rd on lap four. Sprinters like Tambassis, Walker and Jayman Prestidge were happy enough to share the work for the majority race. Jayman was going so easily he was able to take a phone call mid race, earning the first of his three $50 fines for the race. In a rare show of unity the chasing bunch stopped at the end of lap 3 while Tambassis changed his front wheel due to a flat. They caught Yeatman by the bell and from then on a sprint finish was inevitable. The Prestidge boys then unleashed their team tactics. Justin would win in a breakaway or Jayman would be fresh for the sprint. Jayman didn’t get near the front of the race for the whole of the final lap. Justin rolled off the front on Parkers Rd then again in the finishing straight. Yeatman and Ross Henry towed the bunch back to him each time. With 400 meters to go Jayman sprinted for home and caught Tambassis and Walker napping. He surged clear and in an indecorous display seldom seen at the Warragul Cycling Club he screamed taunts at his rivals (fined $50 for unseemly behaviour) and crossed the line shaking his fist in the air (fined $50 for victory salute). Tambassis took second narrowly from Walker and Yeatman. The way Prestidge celebrated victory you could be excused for thinking he’d just won a world championship not a B grade scratch race at Cloverlea. Gracious in victory he was not.

The A grade field started with 8 riders but after 600 meters Pete Finlayson decided today was not going to be his day and decided to roll around with B grade. By lap 3 of 6 Jack Walk was off the back. Shane Stiles was on a new bike and was seeing what it could do on the attack. He’d continually surged to put the others into the red zone. Brett Rollinson was after some interval training for the track so was pleased to bring the bunch back to Stiles each time.  When Stiles put it in the gutter at the end of lap 4 Scott Keeble was separated from the bunch. The remaining five riders remained together until the final sprint. Parker went from a long way out and Stiles, in a Prestidge like display of arrogance, waited until the last few meters to flick him on the line. “I just wanted it to be close”, he was heard to comment post-race. Parker took second with Marrott third and daylight fourth.

Stiles and Jayman were still stroking each other’s egos hours after the race.

Racing is at Shady Creek next week at 2.00pm. It would be much appreciated by everybody if someone could turn up and beat Stiles and Prestidge.

Video of the grades finishing

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Tags: cloverlea, scratch, video

29/09/2012

By Rob Monk

Twenty nine riders braved freezing wind and the threat of rain on Saturday morning for the final race of the Warragul Cycling Club’s spring handicap series.

It would always be a tough day for the limit riders. First off with 12 minutes on scratch was Ray York, Colin Manintveld, Michelle Scurr and Andrew Jackson. Michelle struggled early thanks to starting the race with a spongy front tyre.  A pit stop after lap 1 fixed that and she finished the race. Ray, Colin and Andrew were the last group caught by the eventual winners.

With 10 minutes on scratch Peter Sorenson, Graeme Patrick, Andrew Gordon, Zvonko Maric and Shane Pettingill struggled to stay together from the start. Graeme was first to lose contact with the bunch.

Justin Prestidge and Col Brown were the smallest group of the day.

They made a wise decision to not waste too much energy battling the strong head wind on Parker’s Rd and waited for the 5 minute bunch of Jason Dastey, George Tambassis, Stuart Battley and Ewen Williams. Williams and Battley were determined to stay away from the chasers and were stronger than the rest of the group.

The 3 minute bunch looked the likely winners before the race. They had numbers on their side which would be crucial in the windy conditions. Scott Keeble, Rob Monk, Geoff Thompson, Jayden Manintveld, Jayman Prestidge, Pete Whelan, Dave Salton and Jimmy Lalor teamed well early.

After a lap and a half it was clear they would catch the bunches in front. Lalor was an early casualty of the relentless pacemaking mainly carried out by Keeble, Manintveld and Salton.

The chopping block group, with 1.5 minutes on scratch was made up of Pete Finlayson, Graeme Parker and Jack Walk.

The scratch trio of Cy  Monk, Justin Gravett and Jarryd Jones caught them on lap one. They would chase the 3 minute bunch all race but in the end finish less than a minute behind.

The 3 minute group picked up all those in front by lap 3. A group of nearly twenty riders was together as the bell sounded to indicate one lap to go. Keeble, Manintveld and Thompson put it in the gutter on the way up to the top turn.  The gradual climb, strong crosswind and increase in tempo saw the lead group cut to 10 riders by the corner. Manintveld, Keeble, Williams and Salton kept the pressure on form most of the final lap to ensure the groups behind would not catch.

It was clear by this stage that the group would not be caught so some riders began to conserve energy for the final sprint.

Rounding the final bend a bunch sprint looked likely. The run to the line was sedate with no-one wanting to lead out the sprint in the strong crosswind. With 300m to go Rob Monk took a fly around the field and in the process was momentarily forced across the centre line. Race director Yeatman was quick to note the infraction.

Monk sprinted for home with only Dave Salton a chance to catch him. Salton went for an inside line but Monk managed to close that option near the line forcing Dave into the gravel. Rob was first over the finish line but was subsequently DQ’d. This meant Salton was awarded the win. Scott Keeble finished powerfully to take a well earned second place from Geoff Thompson and George Tambasis.

Thommo and Tambasis were effectively fighting out the series but by finishing within one place of Thommo, George did enough to take the series prize. Then followed Pete Whelan, Jayden Mantiveld, Jason Dastey, Ewan Williams and Col Brown. Cy Monk took out fastest time about a minute later.

Next Saturday there is a team’s race at Darnum on Saturday and the Morwell to Glenmaggie Handicap on Sunday.
Podium

1. David Salton
2. Scott Keeble
3. Geoff Thompson

• Fastest time Cyrus Monk
• Photos from today.  Thanks to Jenn Davies.

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The music is the webmaster’s own creation circa 1995 (so turn the volume down!).

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Tags: cloverlea, handicap, photos, video

22/09/2012

By Rob Monk

The Final Lap

Thirty Eight riders turned out for the 5th race of the spring Handicap series in perfect conditions.  The limit group were given a start of 16 minutes on scratch. Sue Eldston, Lou Clark, Adele Whelan and Frank Benstead set a good pace and completed their first lap at 30.6 km/h.

Limit – off 16 minutes

With 12 minutes on scratch Harley Bondini, Ray York and Michelle Scurr didn’t stay together long. Michelle punctured early on lap one and Ray and Harley completed the lap averaging 33.5 km/h.

The +10 Mins Bunch

The 7 minute bunch also had numbers on their side. Handicapper Pete Finlayson must be enjoying his complimentary Gym membership as George Tambassis was still in the 7 minute bunch despite being in 3rd place in the series prior to the race. Tambassis was cruising with the group of Andrew Nicholls, Murray Campbell, Col Brown, and Shane Pettingall. They completed lap one at 36.5 km/h but could have gone harder.

The +7 Mins Bunch

With 5 minutes on scratch Paul Yeatman, Ross Henry, Neil Walker, Stuart Battley, Jason Dastey, Pete Whelan and Brett Rollinson teamed perfectly right from the start. When Yeatman actually does a turn in the first kilometer, you know the bunch is going to ride well.  They would catch the 7 minute group just after the half-way mark of the race and from that moment on it was all over for the chasers. They completed lap 1 averaging 37.3km/h and by the end of lap 3 have averaged 38km/h for the race, with each lap getting faster.  The Strava junkies can check their ride out here.

The +5 Mins Bunch

The 3 minute group has been caught before half race distance in all races of the series. This was the case again as Roland Elston, Rob Monk, Geoff Thompson, Scott Keeble and Paul Makepeace completed lap one averaging 37.8 km/h. When will these guys be given a chance? They clearly need more time.

A numerical advantage of  5 on 3 would again favour the Chopping block group over scratch. With 1.5 minutes on scratch Leigh Hauxwell, Pete Finlayson, Graeme Parker, Phil Gallagher and Matt Malacarne flew around lap one averaging 40 km/h.

The + 3 Mins Bunch combined with +1.5mins

The scratch trio of Cy Monk, Justin Gravitt and Jarryd Jones took time out of chopping block on lap one averaging 41.6 km/h but were unable to sustain that on lap 2 eventually losing ground to chopping block by the finish.

The Scrachies

The limit riders were caught by the 10 minute bunch on lap 3. Adele Whelan and Lou Clarke did well managing to hang on until the finish. The five and seven minute groups came together just after the start of lap 3 and actually took time out of the chasers. They had the 10 minute bunch in their sights along Parkers Rd on the final lap.

The Final Catch is Imminent

John Davine, Luke Gallagher and Graeme Patrick were contemplating victory rounding  the final bend but the were quickly swamped by the large chasing pack. In the run to the line Jason Dastey tried the oldest trick in the book, “The scratchies are coming!!” he bellowed and Col Brown and Murray Campbell fell for it, driving off the front and spreading the bunch out. In the sprint for the line Pete Whelan got a clear run through the traffic and took the win easily from George Tambassis with Paul Yeatman in third.  The winner had averaged 38.3km/h for the race. Then followed Ross Henry and Dastey by a tyre over Andy Nicholls, Murray Campbell and Stuart Battley

One minute and 43 seconds later Leigh Hauxwell dominated the sprint for fastest time. In a rare show of speed he bettered Matt Malacarne and Phil Gallagher and Pete Finlayson to secure fasted time on the day averaging 39.2 km/h.

The final race of the series is on next Saturday morning at 9.00am at Cloverlea.

Today’s Podium

1. Pete Whelan
2. George Tambassis
3. Paul Yeatman

• Fastest time Leigh Hauxwell.

Tambassis moves to first place in the series.

The Final Sprint

Series top 10 going into the final race.

• TAMBASSIS    George    32
• THOMSON    Geoffrey    29
• MONK    Cyrus    28
• BATTLEY    Stuart    22
• MARRIOT    Glen    21
• MONK    Rob    20
• WHELAN    Peter    20
• STILES    Shane    19
• YEATMAN    Paul    19
• NICOLLS    Andrew    17

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Tags: cloverlea, handicap, photos, video

01/09/2012

By Rob Monk

Saturday’s Handicap at Cloverlea was contested in near perfect conditions for cycling. When conditions are benign the hard men of the scratch bunch are often doomed. They want it is tough as possible. Alas the scratchmen were disappointed as they could not catch the C grade bunch.

Handicapper Pete Finlayson had given the out-markers a little more time this week but they’d need it. Scratch had a bunch of seven and would chase hard. They flew around the first two laps at over 40km/h. Shane Stiles and Cy Monk were helped by some Melbourne visitors from the Zoom Video Cycling team. Justin Gravitt was his powerful best as well. The scratch men caught the group of Graeme Parker, Glen Marriot, Matt Malacarne, Pete Finlayson, Phil Gallagher and Leigh Hauxwell on lap 3.

They also mowed down the 3 minute group of Jayden Maniveld, Jack Walk, Scott Keeble, Rob Monk, Paul Yeatman, James Lalor and Geoff Thompson. This group had worked well for two laps but for some unknown reason Jack Walk and Thommo decided to stop working and “sat on” from the start of the third lap.

Jayman Prestidge, Pete Whelan and Ross Henry started in “no man’s land”, five minute in front of scratch but two minutes behind the large C grade group in front. Prestidge ran up the white flag after lap one leaving Whelan and Henry to slog it out on their own.

By midway through lap 3, scratch had rounded up the 3 groups in front and a bunch of over 20 riders was charging along Parkers Rd in search of the out-markers.

The C grade group had 7 mins on scratch. Dave Salton, with three weeks of training under his belt was able to drive this group around so they would not be caught. He was ably assisted by experienced handicap riders Trev Rollinson, Andy Nicolls and John Batten. George Tambassis was strong and new comer Stuart Battley, while lacking some polish was keen to do his turns. Simon Baxter found the going too quick and was dropped by the end of lap 2.

The C graders had to catch three groups of outmarkers. The limit bunch of Adele Whelan, Michelle Scur, Matt Williamson, Frank Bensted, Colin Manitveld and first time racer Peter O’Donnell worked together well for the first two laps. They were reeled in by the 11 minute bunch of Ray York, Andrew Gordon, Peter Sorenson, Kate Prestidge, Trudi Gallagher, Graeme Patrick and Grant Neilson but they took some catching.

The C grade crew had nearly caught the outmarkers before the end of lap 3. They charged though the field with only Trudi Gallagher, Andrew Gordon and Graeme Patrick able to hang on.

The scratch bunch were within 500 meters at the end of Parkers Rd but the Salton led leaders were not going to be caught.

Tambassis and Nicholls jockeyed for position and sprinted for victory but Dave Salton had them covered easily. He took the win easily and won’t get 7 minutes head start on scratch again for a long time. Tambassis bettered Nicholls for the sprint for second. Then followed Graeme Patrick, Trudi Gallagher, Andrew Gordon, Stuart Battley, Peter Sorenson and John Batten.

Cy Monk took out fastest time of the day in the scratch bunch.

Next week’s race is at Shady Creek.

1. Dave Salton
2. George Tambassis
3. Andy Nicholls

• Fastest time Cyrus Monk.

Thanks to Jen Davies for today’s race photos.

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Tags: cloverlea, handicap