23/04/1994

The Anzac weekend saw Warragul’s riders spread amongst one of the most hectic weekends of racing this year.

Wayne Kestle and many of Australia’s best raced in the Canberra milk race whilst Warragul’s junior riders participated with many other under seventeen riders in the development camp held at the velodrome.

Development Camp

The junior development camp held at the velodrome was aimed at riders under the age of seventeen with prospects for a cycling future.

The camp was run by the Victorian Institute of Sport.

Racing and training tips, skin fold and heart rate analysis were all part of the weekend.

Warragul now has a very strong number of juniors and anyone wishing to par­ticipate is more than welcome.

Club Time Trial

Saturday’s club racing left with small fields for the relay time trial event.

The teams were made up of three riders with a combination of talent in each group.

Each team member rode a ten kilometer time trial with the combined results giving the winning team.

Results were team:

1)  T. Plozza 17.06, P. Yeatman 17.15, J. Boxall 19.26.

2) M. Fenwick 15.23, D. Spiteri 17.18, A. Vogrig 19.33.

3)  S. Corkran 15.49, S. Twinning 17.53, V. Spunner 18.25.

4) G. Thomson 16.27, R. Henry 17.03, T. Dunn 20.03.

The total times resulted in team three winning in 52.08 followed by team two in 52.12, team four 53.33 and team one in 53.48.

Back to race list

Tags: nilma north, time trial

18/09/1993

The stakes were high as the Warragul Cycling club double header event of the season commenced.  The riders were to be tested against the clock both individually in the time trail and in a bunch in the handicap.  Often referred to as the race of truth, the time trail was to be battled out over undulating kilometres in blustery conditions.  The big surprise of the day came from the junior riders with Stephen Fenwick coming home in 20.32 and Daniel Dilger who clocked 20.44.  Both, covered the distance faster than many of the higher ranked C grade riders.  Another great effort was that of Paul Yeatman who has come of age in the lead up to the club championships when he rode 17.15.

The placings were:

1) Murray Fenwick 15.55, 2) Aaron Nobelius 16.18, 3) Stuart Corkran 16.29, 4) Geoff Thomson 16.38, 5) Paul Yeatman 17.15, 6) David Cairns 17.18, 7) Anthony Radcliffe 17.21.

The second stage was a gruelling 50 km handicap which left many short of reserves after the time trail. The handicap is designed to give riders an equal opportunity of winning through time advantages but after the time trail many riders had little left to chase the frontrunners.  More than a quarter of the field were to retire early in the race due to fatigue and strong riding from those who had it left in them.

Marion Ophof was the first to start with 30 minutes over the scratch men, she rode an excellent first lap but the tough Christies Rd circuit was soon to take its toll.

The following bunch of John Salton, Jason Boxall, Anthony Vogrig, Ian De Byrne and Brian Mason off 2 minutes worked well together through the experience of Salton and made good running over the first 20km.

However chasing hard like a man possessed was Dale Grant who had chosen not to ride the time trail so that he had a fresh pair of legs.  And fresh they were, four of the six men in his bunch retired under the pressure with only Russ Walker managing to keep him in site.

The six minute markers of David Cairns, Ross Henry. Paul Yeatman and Graeme Hanks fought hard but gained little time on the disintegrated field in front.  They only took four minutes out of the storming Grant after 40km.

The scratch men weren’t to fare any better.  After losing Corkran early on, Geoff Thomson, Murray Fenwick and Aaron Nobelius failed to roll through in tight formation and gained little.

In the final kilometres Grant surged past the tiring 22 minute markers to steal the race after riding alone for nearly 40 km, his time was 1.30.34.  A further minute back Boxall ended up out sprint­ing Vogrig for the line fol­lowed by an exhausted Sal­ton who finished fourth.  Mason came in a further minute back in a great first ride.  Russ Walker couldn’t quite catch these riders and had to be content with sixth place also after a long solo effort.  Cairns beat Henry to the line for seventh to become the first triathlete in living memory to win a sprint in a road race!  His time was 1.27.50, Yeatman came through for ninth with Hanks in 10th.

The scratchies rolled through a further minute back with Nobelius taking out fastest time in 1.22.57.  He was closely followed by Thomson with Fenwick just off the pace.  Ian De Byrne battled on to come through in 13th followed by Marion Ophof in 14th who rode well to covet the entire distance alone.

Back to race list

Tags: bullico, hanidcap, nilma north, time trial

11/09/1993

By Murray Fenwick

Arguably the best junior road rider in Victoria, Warragul’s Wayne Kestle took on the best Australia had to offer in the junior Australian road championships held in Devenport on the weekend.  Kestle who finished fourth was unlucky not to place when he punctured in the final kilometre in the lead up to the sprint of the gruelling 104km event.  The three place getters were dragged clear as Kestle powered over one of the many climbs on the 26km circuit.  The Institute of Sport rider kept the pace high aided by team-mates who were blocking the main field.  His puncture robbed the pursuit champion of a much-deserved medal in the race.  Wayne also placed sixth in the individual time trial and third in the team’s event.

Aaron Nobelius finished in the top 20 in the road race in an excellent effort for a first year junior rider.

Back on the home front, a typically windy and icy day greeted Warragul’s 50km scratch race contenders. The large A grade field of eight riders took some time to thaw out in the wintery conditions but it wasn’t long before Anthony Radcliffe and veteran Dave Redman split the field. Geoff Thomson, Graeme Hanks, Ross Henry and Murray Fenwick were forced to give chase followed by Paul Yeatman, and David Cairns not far behind.

The field quickly reorganized and another attack was soon to follow. A small group was dragged away consisting of Thomson. Redman, Fenwick and a surprise inclusion in Radcliffe who hasn’t been on the bike in quite some time.  The chasing riders couldn’t close this gap due to the field being strung out behind the front-runners.  Cairns slowly reeled in Yeatman and Hanks but then suffered from a blown tube in the final lap.  This left Yeatman with a wheel to work with and was to take him on the line much to Hanks bemusement.

The four riders out in front didn’t work in well together and were lucky to hold their lead.

Constant attacking and a lack of willingness to work in turns resulted in cat and mouse style tactics coming into play.  In the final climb before the finish Fenwick managed to slip clear and hold off his opponents to take the event in 1.26.10.  Thomson also broke clear on the climb and powered through for second 12 seconds behind the winner Radcliffe, in the ride of the day, came over Redman for third despite having broken a spoke and pacing the bunch with some lengthy turns in the final kilometres.

Another great ride was that of Ross Henry who battled on alone for much of the race and came through only a minute behind Redman.

The B grade sprint finish was a pearler with Dale Grant inching Peter Finlayson to the line in 1.36.35 with an excellent third to Bruce Mason.  It was early in the race that Grant set up the win when he forced the pace and dropped Rohan Watts and later on Stuart Cuckson.  Again Grant and Finlayson broke clear with Mason chasing hard to hold the leaders, this move dropped Brett Williams off the back.  The three then eased up somewhat in the lead-up to the great finish, Cuckson battled on well to take fourth in 1.43.33.

Six riders started off the C grade event joined by junior riders Stephen Fenwick and Daniel Dilger.  Scott Keeble took out the event after having dropped the rest of the field when chasing after Jason Boxall who had rolled off the front.  Keeble’s time was 1.21.22 with Boxall a further 16 seconds back.  Mellisa Arts finished third in 1.23.50 after having lost contact in the second lap.  Anthony Vogrig and Marion Ophof failed to finish after also losing contact in the same lap.  Fenwick and Dilger completed their 20km with Fenwick again holding off Dilger to the line.

Riders and supporters are reminded that the winter season will culminate next Saturday with the running of the club’s 1993 road championships.  Senior and junior under 19s are to cover 78km with the junior under 17s to ride 39 and the women, if sufficient starters, 49kms.  Presentations for the road series will be made at a get together in the clubrooms beginning at 6.30pm – attendees are asked to bring a casserole and/or sweets.

Back to race list

Tags: championships, nilma north, scratch

07/08/1993

By Stuart Cuckson

The 57 kilometre handicap held by Warragul Cycling Club on Saturday saw the scratch markers once again overpower the remainder of a big field.  Twenty-five senior riders turned out in the cold and gusty weather to tackle three laps of the tough Christies Rd circuit.

As the sole limit rider in the senior event, Marion Ophof went around the first lap in 44 mins after starting eight mins up on the next bunch and thirty rains ahead of the two scratch men, Phil Gallagher and Geoff Thomson.  Behind her, Anthony Vogrig and Debbie Williams clocked 40:57 for the first 19 km after working at a steady pace with newcomer Paul Kennedy.

The seven man 18 minute bunch split in the early stages with Jason Boxall and Ian De Bruyne leading through Scott Keeble, Ted Dunn and a returning Peter Finlayson by almost two minutes.  Also on the comeback trail, Vic Spunner, another from that bunch rode through well behind the leader whilst Ben Fleming was forced to pull out due to illness.

Thirteen-minute markers Dale Grant, David Caims, Russ Walker, Matt Hall and Kim Spunner also split early with Cairns and Hall rolling away in the chase for the front.  The hardest working group over the first lap was the second scratch bunch who had five minutes on the back markers.

Anthony Radcliffe, Ian Fromholtz, Ross Henry and Stuart Pharoah after losing Travis Fromholtz and Paul Yeatman took ten minutes out of the limit and lost only one to the two chasers.  Their momentum may well have been even greater had Graeme Hanks not had the misfortune of puncturing on the starting line and losing almost five minutes with the change.  Gallagher and Thomson found the going hard but experience and class helped them to consistent lap times as they gradually reeled in the leader.  Behind them, Walker had picked up Dunn as the second scratch, with a much slower lap, loomed up be hind them.

Thomson, on his own admission, had struggled to stay with the brilliant Gallagher, but in the final circuit was able to put in some hard turns to reel in the front markers one by one.  Cairns went to the front with 15 to ride with the gutsy De Bruyne and tough little Boxall hanging on for dear life.  Thomson and Gallagher dropped Radcliffe and Pharoah but could not shake the determined Henry as they went past all remaining riders in the charge for the line.

It was not until over the rise with 300 to ride that experience told as the two back markers opened a small gap and settled for the sprint home.  Despite a desperate lunge, Thomson was yet again unable to grab Gallagher whose time for his third consecutive victory was clocked at a net 1 hour 37 minutes.  Henry turned in a tremendous effort to come in five seconds away third.

Boxall wore Cairns like a glove for most of the lap until out sprinting him again to take a very creditable fourth place 30 second only from the winner. De Bruyne continued his improvement to finish 45 secs further back and some 15 secs ahead of a close sprint which saw Radcliffe edge out Hall and Pharoah.  Vogrig also put in a determined and improved effort to finish tenth, four minutes behind the winner and ahead of Walker, Ophof, Dunn and Hanks.  Marion held on gamely in front for 43 km before battling on over the hilly course at an average speed of around 25 kph.

The most unfortunate rider was probably Hanks, who, once passed by the back markers, rode a virtual time trail on his own.

Although a total of eleven riders registered DNFs after covering varying distances, it was great to see so many competitors and supporters again in attendance.

Stephen Fenwick and Daniel Dilger again had a close tussle in a 19 km junior event with Stephen kicking clear in the final 50 meters to score.  Both boys again improved on their best times over the journey and are starting to show the benefit of consistent efforts.  John Dent was a welcome returning junior and he put in two good s prints over a short course – bettering his time as he went.

In the weekends 120 km Junior test races Aaron Nobelius fought gamely to take fourth place over some of Victoria’s best riders.

Riders are advised that the venue for next week’s racing changes to Cloverlea Primary School with the finish being up the Yarragon hill.

Back to race list

Tags: handicap, nilma north

31/07/1993

By Murray Fenwick

Increased distances, testing weather conditions and a reshuffling of grades resulted in breakaway efforts splitting all the bunches and only the most aggressive riders being left in the hunt for line honors in the weekend’s scratch racing.

Stuart Corkran dominated the 50km A grade event with some strong turns off the front and had put 400 meters into the main field by the top of the first major climb with only Geoff Thomson and Murray Fenwick managing to hold his wheel.

Promoted riders Ross Henry, Graeme Hanks, Stuart Pharoah, Paul Yeatman, Grub Melnyk and Ian Fromholtz were all eager to impress and fought hard to close the gap Corkran had created.  After losing the unwell Henry these riders continued to gain time on the breakaway riders until Travis and Yeatman withdrew.

This left the other four short of manpower and was left to fight it out for the minor placings.  Corkran continued to set the pace with Thomson and Fenwick just holding the surging rider who by now had stamped his authority on the race.  However it was not until the final two kilometers that Corkran broke clear in a final bid for victory.  The other two riders were forced to dig deep and took some time to reel in the rider.

Corkran was now left out in front to lead out the sprint and took off with 300 meters to go with Thomson running right along side.  Sensing all was lost Corkran sat up at the crucial moment allowing Fenwick to roll through ahead of Thomson with Corkran third in a time of 1.24.04.

Melnyk also attacked in the final two kilometers and proved to be too strong to hold off the others to take fourth in 1.27.02.  Pharoah finished fifth followed in by Fromholtz and Hanks.

B and C grades both started off over the 44 km circuit together with Alan McMinn and new rider Peter Ryan joining the ranks.  It was David Cairns who split the field closely marked by Russ Walker and C grader Ben Fleming. Scott Keeble. Ian De Bryne, McMinn and an incredibly fit Ted Dunn gave chase with Anthony Vogrig and Peter Ryan left just on the pace.  Mall Hall and Kevin Ware were both forced to retire due to mechanical problems. Jason Boxall also failed to finish.

Cairns proved too strong in the second lap leaving Walker and then Fleming in his wake, he then went on to convincingly win in 1.24.28.  Walker didn’t lose hope and slowly gained on Fleming eventually taking second in a gutsy effort just over a minute behind Cairns.

Fleming easily won the C grade event and finished third overall in what will surely be his last C grade race after his performance.  The sprint for the minor placings was a nail-biter with McMinn finally triumphing over B grader De Bryne and Dunn with less than a meter separating them in the closest sprint for a while.  The two riders were lucky to hold off Dunn after some superb climbing and some strong work off the front.  Vogrig finished third in C grade three minutes ahead of Keeble who couldn’t keep up with the pace.  Ryan came through for fourth in a great first ride.

Stephen Fenwick and Danial Dilger who had over eight minutes lead by the half way mark again dominated the junior race over 20km.  Fenwick again beat Dilger to the line in 43.41.  Damian Brideland and Mick Delaney rode well after losing contact with the other two and battling on alone for much of the race.  Shane Boxall rode 10km in a great time of 35.55.

Moe cyclist Stuart Corkran stormed home to take out the Wagga 115km handicap     held     last weekend.  Corkran off second limit won the event after breaking away from his tiring bunch with just over 20km to go to set up the win.  He managed to hold off some of Australia’s top riders to take home the $800 purse in an incredible display.

Forte Nox Junior Tour

Aaron Nobelius suffered a horror crash in the Forte Knox junior tour held on the weekend.  He crashed with just 14 laps to go in the grueling points score Criterium.  However, not even broken spokes and bent handlebars could stop him.  After a quick wheel change and nursing a bleeding arm he managed to hold on for 14th in the race and maintained his ninth position overall.

Back to race list

Tags: nilma north, scratch

24/07/1993

By Murray Fenwick

Phil Gallagher again proved too strong in the Warragul Cycling Club sprint to take out the weekend’s 50km scratch race after an aggressive breakaway that cut the field to pieces and set up a great win after weeks off the bike.  Once again an excellent turnout contested the event with many returning riders and a few first timers putting in some strong performances.  The A graders of Geoff Thomson, Phil Gallagher, Aaron Nobelius and Murray Fenwick set the pace early on with B grade riders Travis Fromholtz, Kevin Piercy, Ross Henry, Paul Yeatman, Ian Fromholtz, Grub Melnyk and Stuart Cuckson working in well until the super fit Thomson split the field at the 15km mark.  The other three A grade riders managed to hold his wheel but were constantly, struggling to hold the surging rider.  It was during one of these surges that Gallagher attacked and created a gap that only Thomson could close.

Nobelius and Fenwick were forced to give chase but couldn’t catch Warragul’s new De Ablo. However it was only in the final sprint to the line that Gallagher was able to shake the veteran racer in a time of 1.21.05.

The remaining B grade field had been left stretched out far behind and it was every man for himself to reform working groups.  Travis and Piercy set the pace and put time into the others with a lead of one minute over their nearest rivals.  Travis eventually took line honours in a gutsy effort finishing three seconds in front of Piercy in a time of 1.27.01.  Henry finished third at 1.28.01 with Yeatman fourth in 1:31:38.  Both riders rode strongly and consolidated little time to the eventual winner.

Melnyk and Ian Fromholtz both retired with Fromholtz staring in disbelief at a cracked frame!

The C grade peleton was also split early on over the Christie’s Road circuit as newcomer Matt Hall powered along assisted by Dale Grant.  Russ Walker gave chase but was left in no mans land between the breakaway riders and the chase group of Ian De Bryne, Tedd Dunn and Jason Boxall.  Ben Fleming, Kevin Mills, Melissa Aarts and Debbie Williams lost contact and retired.  Hall, in an effort worthy of a champion clinched the race narrowly beating Grant to the line in a time of 1.12.35.  Russ Walker rode in at 1.13.15 with De Bryne and Dunn coming in at 1.15.56 with Boxall just off the pace.

Junior riders Stephen Fenwick and Daniel Dilger both equipped with new bikes rode 19km after losing the C grade bunch. Fenwick improved his previous best time by over 2.30 with the assistance of Dilger. New rider Damien Bridgeland and Shane a Boxall rode 10km with Bridgeland winning by over five minutes in an excellent first ride.

Victorian 100K Title

Warragul’s Aaron Nobelius. Debbie Williams and Marion Ophof competed in the Victorian 100km title with Debbie placing an excellent fourth in the ladies B grade division on her new Giant.  Nobelius finished a well deserved 14th in the men’s race and again showed that he can mix it with Victoria’s best.

Back to race list

Tags: nilma north, scratch