27/04/2013

By Rob Monk

Warragul Cycling Club riders dominated the ANZAC day Autumn Classic, the Stratford to Bairnsdale race. A big field of 58 riders from all over Gippsland contested the race. Warragul Riders took the win in 3 out of the 4 grades.

In A grade Warragul Riders filled the entire Podium. A break formed early in the race featuring Warragul Trio, Brenton Jones, Cy Monk and Jayden Manintveld. With them were Tom Deller from Bairnsdale, Craig Kean and Chris Webb from Wellington and Brett Van Berkel from Latrobe Valley. This group took time out the large chasing field. Cy launched a few attacks near the finish but Jones was able to shut them down each time. In the sprint BJ was too strong. Cy was second with Jayden in third.

In B grade Warragul riders Rob Monk, Pete Whelan and Matt Parkinson were in the winning break of 8 riders who got away on the hills mid race. Monk and Whelan lost contact in the run to the finish and Parkinson was just passed near the line when he led out the final sprint. He finished third.

Col Brown took out C grade by nearly 5 minutes in a very strong ride. Roger Bell won the bunch sprint for second from Shane Wakker.

Ben Stein was too strong for the D graders in the bunch sprint and also took the win. Viki Bell was the first female finisher in D grade.

Thirty five riders turned out for the club race on Saturday. A grade was strengthened by the arrival of 5 riders from the Zoom Video team. Team leader Nick Young showed the locals how to ride a breakaway. He took off on Sturs Rd on lap 3 and soloed for a lap and a half to take the win. Jayden Manintveld is getting stronger each race and finished second from an exhausted Graeme Parker.

A field of 13 contested B Grade. Jason Dastey and Pete Whelan escaped for nearly all of lap one before being reeled in. Jayman Prestidge was allowed to dangle off the front and tire himself out on lap two. The crucial break of the race happed in lap 3 when Pete Finlayson and Jason Dastey got away on the hill. Ross Henry and Stuart Battly did the initial chasing but could reel them back in. Rob Monk tried to get some organisation in the bunch in the finishing straight and managed to get Roland Elstrom, Pete Whelan and George Tambassis to do a few turns. With 3k to go Dastey and Finlayson were within sight. After some subtle encouragement Jayman Prestidge tried to jump over the gap towing most of the field with him. Whelan crossed the gap then Rob Monk bridged using George Tambassis up in the process. Monk went past the leaders with 400meters to go and looked good until he blew up completely. Dastey still had enough left to sprint over the top to take a well-deserved win. Monk was second with Finlayson third. Then followed Pete Whelan and Ross Henry.

The C grade bunch stayed together for most of the race. Only Mick Blackwood and Andrew Gordon were dropped. Roger Bell decided to see who could sprint from 500 meters out. He strung out the field and the experienced Ray Rhodes was the only rider to time his run to the line perfectly. He wove his way through the tiring riders passing all just in time to take the victory. The consistent Bruce Staben was second, James Blyth third, Roger Bell forth and Col Brown Fifth.

D Grade did 2 laps and Rob Waddel won again earning promotion to C grade. Lou Clark was second, Pete O’Donnel third and Sue Elsdon fourth. In E grade Fran Bensted took the win from Adele Whelan.

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Tags: scratch, shady creek

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

30/03/2013

By Rob Monk

Warragul Cycling Club race was ruined last week by a dog. This week race director Neil Walker was the wrecker. He decided to move the finish line to the top of the hill ruining the chances of half the field. The sprinters would have no hope today.

The D grade field of 6 didn’t stay together for long. Louise Clark and Pete O’Donnell didn’t give the others a chance. In a WASP (Warragul Anti Social Peddlers) display they rode away from the others. For the next two laps, Pete O’Donnell tried to shake Lou on the flat but hold onto her on the hill. Lou was able to sit behind the human tonka truck on the flats. O’Donnell sat on a constant 18km/h up the hill but Lou average 18.1km/h. Lou took the victory from Pete with Adele in third. Robyn Baker was forth. Sue Elsdon did her usual trick and took a wrong turn.

The C grade race was dominated by Kate Prestidge who did most of the work on the front. She would have won if she’d just saved her energy for the final climb. In the end the final ascent saw visitor John Broeren surprised the locals by riding away. Paul Rowse climbed well for second place with Kate in third. Then followed Greame Patrick and Charlie Pragnell.

The B grade race was always going to come down to a sprint up the final climb between Roland Elsdon and Pete Finlayson. This didn’t stop Paul Yeatman from continually trying to jump off the front only to be reeled in by Stuart Battley and visitor Warren Howe. Ross Henry was never far from the front. The most promising break of the race was instigated by Brett Miller. He was joined off the front by Ross Henry and Stuart Battley. They held an advantage for half a lap but were reeled in on the hill. Jason Dastey launched his usual “death or glory” attack on the final lap. The field was all together on the bottom of the final climb. Dastey, Battley, Prestidge, Howe, Miller and Yeatman had all burnt too many matches to feature in the finish. – the men who were fresh would dominate.*

Roland Elstrom started the attacks on the final climb Pete Finlayson was next to go launching off the front. He established a 50 meter gap and looked the winner. Pete Whelan and George Tambassis dug deep and started the chase down. Roland was not done with either through and rode across to Finlayson and kept going. Roland went away to take the victory. Ross Henry was still strong and took out second. Finlayson weakened badly and took third. Then followed Pete Whelan and George Tambassis.

The A grade bunch of 9 rolled through strongly on the first 3 laps setting a cracking pace. Glen Marriott cracked as he could not go with them. James Henry tried to get away a couple of times on the final lap but Cy  Monk and Graeme Parker were able to reel him in. The battle on the final climb was slow to develop. Everyone was waiting for James Henry to go but he was waiting for someone else. Greame Parker played his hand first. James and Cy were boxed in as he jumped and he established a small break. James got out and closed it down late. Cy was on his wheel and sprinted away to victory. Graeme Parker held on for second with Leigh Hauxwell making a welcome return to A grade taking third place.

Next week is the club Hill Climb Championship to be held on the Yarragon Hill course.

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* I still had plenty of matches left.  A pothole on the final lap took out my back wheel so I got to watch from the passenger seat of Shane Stiles’ car.  Paul – Webmaster.

Tags: hills, scratch, shady creek

16/03/2013

The first scratch race of 2013 ended with some messy sprints and a pile up in C grade. The wind, weather and mixed race tempo made for some gnarly sprints at the end of races. 39 Riders competed in four grades.

First to finish was D grade. Despite instructions from race chaperone Geoff Thompson the field split up on the first ascent of the Shady Creek hill. Pete O’Donnell, Adele Whelan and Bec Whelan were tailed off going over the top. The girls could not hold Pete on the decent but when he punctured Pete retired to the coffee machine for the rest of the day. Adele, Bec and Thommo chased hard, laughing at punctured Pete on the side of the road as they went past him, but could not catch the leaders. Lou Clark and Andrew Jackson dropped Michelle on the climb on lap two. Lou let Andrew do the majority of the work on the way home then sprinted past him to take the win. He won’t do that again. Michelle Scurr was third. Adele Whelan was forth and Bec Whelan fifth.

The B grade race was a stop start affair. Rob Monk, George Tambassis, Jack Walk and Pete Finlayson were not keen to do much pacemaking so this was left to Paul Yeatman, Ross Henry and Shane Pettingill. Yeatman spent most of lap one off the front but when Finlayson and Leigh Hauxwell decided to see if they could drop some sprinters on the way up the hill he was always going to struggle.  They got rid of Yeatman but the rest hung on – just. Prestidge rolled off the front on the decent and soloed for half of lap 2. The third time up the hill was uneventful and some short lived attacks were all reeled in before the finish. The sprint got messy when Jack Walk pulled his foot and wobbled all over the road. He managed to baulk Jayman Prestidge and create a break for George Tambassis. Tambassis used the confusion to his advantage and sprinted to victory. Walk clipped back in and flew home for second. Prestidge took up half the road making it impossible for anyone else to come from behind. He was third.

C Grade nearly caught B grade on Lap 1  but the rapid B grade ascent on lap 2 opened the gap so only Yeatman was caught (within 200m of the finish). Only Mick Blackwood, Col Manintveld and Shane Wakker were detached from the bunch. At the finish a bunch of 12 riders started the sprint together. Neil Edwards clipped a wheel falling heavily. Graeme Patrick also came down. In front of the fall Col Brown was going for home but Zvonko Maric put in a huge effort and just got over the top of him. Grant Neilson was finishing fast in third spot.

The A grade finish had to be rearranged as damaged C graders still lay on the road. Shane Stiles had grown bored of racing by lap 2 so he turned back spectate the B grade race. Cy Monk took off at the bottom of the hill on the final lap and managed to establish a good break. He stayed away until Sturs Rd. before the concerted chase of Brett Rollinson, Justin Gravett and Graeme Parker dragged him back. Now the weather was truly foul and the rain was driving in horizontally. Rollinson strung out the field as the approached the finish and through the gloom the new finish line appeared quickly. Aaron Vague took out the win from Cy Monk and Justin Gravett but the A graders were just keen to get out of the rain.

Next week there is a team’s race at Cloverlea at 2.00pm.

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Tags: scratch, shady creek

08/12/2012

By Rob Monk

Hot conditions and strong winds didn’t deter cyclists from taking on the Shady Creek Circuit on Saturday. A prize for the most attacking rider of the day was on offer to spice up the racing. In the end the prize was taken by an unlikely winner.

A and B grade combined and before the end of the neutral Zone, last week’s winner Jayman Prestidge had attacked off the front.  Paul Yeatman attacked as the bunch took their first left and caught Prestidge before the base of the climb. By the top of the Shady Creek hill Prestidge was dropped and his race was over. A week is a long time in Cycling; too long for Prestidge. Manintveld was the only one to catch Yeatman on the climb and he kept the pace high.  At the top, Yeatman attacked again and had a handy lead along the back straight.  He was joined by Shane Stiles and they stayed away intil the end of Sthurs Road.

The second time up the hill, Jayeden Maninitvel kept the pace up which dropped Whelan and Elstrom.  With the help of a push from Stiles, Yeatman appeared to attack over the top, but a sustained 197bpm in the later half of the climb cooked him and he was dropped on the downward end.  Despite getting within 10 meters of the bunch, Stiles urged them on and  Yeatman watched the bunch ride away from him

On the third time up the hill Stiles, Rollinson and Maniteld have everyone in trouble. Tambassis was just holding on near the top of the and Battley was in trouble. The Stiles, hand of god, helped Tambassis back on but Battley had seen the last of the leaders. Yeatman spied Batterly as a distant speck at when he got off the hill and had got a sniff.

In the pointy end of the race, Stiles led out the sprint giving his competitors plenty of cover from the strong cross wind. Rollinson and Tambassis gave it everything but Stiles was too strong. Brett just beat George on the line for second. Jayden finished fourth with Yeatman edging out Battley for fifth.

C grade started with 5 riders and for the first lap it looked like they would stay together. Shane Pettingill was strong on the flat but recently promoted D graders Col Manintveld and Shane Wakker were up to the task. On lap two Zvondo Maric put the pace on going up the hill and Col and Shane were in trouble. Maric, Pettingill and Peter Sorenson worked together on lap two to put a gap in the chasers. Pettingill punctured leaving Sorenson and Maric to fight out the finish. These two had other ideas though. They decided that “sharing the victory” was the noble thing to do. They were wrong. In the manufactured run to the line Maric grabbed Sorenson by arm earning him disqualification and losing his chance at the most aggressive rider of the day prize. Sorenson was first and Maric is finding new ways to lose every week. Will he ever win one?

D grade had the largest field of the day but they didn’t stay together long. The first time up the hill Andrew Jackson and Mick Blackwood cleared out from the rest. They would work together for the remainder of the two laps. Frank Benstead, Lou Clarke, Adele Whelan and Michelle Scurr chased hard but Michelle was dropped on Sthurs Rd. On the second time up the climb Lou Clarke cleared out, Adele Whelan chased and Frank grovelled. The trio of chasers split up completely by the top of the climb. Andrew and Mick sprinted for home from 300 meters out they were still neck and neck 100 meters from the finish but Mick was just too strong in the end. Lou finished third, Adele fourth and Frank fifth.

Adele Whelan was awarded most aggressive rider of the day prize. After the race while waiting for Frank to finish Adele was asked if she was concerned about his whereabouts. Adele’s response. “No, when I was looking back it wasn’t because I was worried about him.  I didn’t want to see him. I wanted to ride away from him. I wanted to make sure I’d dropped him for good.” The smiling assassin Adele Whelan is not to be messed with.

The last race before christmas is on next week at our new Gypsy Creek criterium circuit. Race starts at the Labertouche Hall at 2.00pm. Register by 1.45.

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Tags: scratch, shady creek

27/10/2012

By Rob Monk

When Handicapper Pete Finlayson had a final look at the handicaps before Saturday’s Tim McArdle Memorial Handicap he toyed with the idea of moving Scott Keeble up a group. Scratch were short on numbers so he’d already moved Matt Malacarne up from the chopping block group. He was going to move Keeble into the chopping block group to compensate but decided to leave it. This proved to be a race changing decision.

Thirty four riders turned out for the club’s handicap championship. First away were Adele Whelan and Louise Clarke. They had 18 minutes on scratch. Five minutes later Dave Bailey, Colin Manintveld, James Golding and Terry Kelly set off in pursuit. They would not catch the girls on lap one.

With 10 minutes head start on scratch the group of Greg Horowitz, Andrew Gordon, Ray York, Harley Bondini and Kate Prestidge would have to work well together to stay away from the chasers. Only one minute later Chris Henne, Pete Davine, Zvonko Maric, Trudy Gallagher and Graeme Patrick set off in pursuit. These groups came together on lap one and looked good. Only Ray York struggled to hold on.

Five minutes later the favourites started. Jayman Prestidge, Charlie Davine, Paul Yeatman and Stuart Battley lacked cohesion but it was a deliberate ploy by Prestidge to cause disorder. He wanted to wait for Scott Keeble, Jayden Manintveld, Brett Rollinson, Pete Whealan, Thomas Sandner and Paul Makepeace who stated a minute and a half later. When this group of 6 merged with Prestidge’s group of 4 midway through lap 1 the chasers were in trouble. Rollinson and Keeble soon had the group working flawlessly and the looking solid.

The chopping block group of Clem Fries, Dave Salton, Graeme Parker and Pete Finlayson wanted to make up the gap to the group in front before the scratch trio of Shane Stiles, Matt Malacarne and Jarryd Jones got to them. Their plan failed. The scratch trio caught them near the end of lap one but they were still a minute and 50 seconds behind the bunch in front.

With a lap to go it was clear the outmarkers were going to be caught. Terry Kelly, Colin Manintveld and Lou Clarke were caught by the group behind at the bell. But only 50 seconds back the 10 strong Prestidge/Keeble bunch were on a mission. They caught all the outmarkers on the hill the third time up and kept the pressure on going down the other side. The combined scratch chopping block group only made up 15 seconds on the group in front on lap 2 and were still 1minute 35 down at the bell.

The lead group forged on dropping most to the “hangers on” along the way. Brett Rollinson put in a huge turn near the finish setting up the sprint for Keeble. Keeble hit the front a long way from home but hugging the center line, he used the crosswind to his advantage. Prestidge had positioned himself well in the sprint. He had Keeble’s wheel but just wasn’t good enough to hold it. Keeble went on to win by 6 bike lengths from Prestidge with Pete Whelan in third. Then followed Stuart Battley, Paul Makepeace, Thomas Sandner, Jayden Manintveld and Greame Patrick.

Next week’s race is at Willow Grove where Warragul takes on the Latrobe Valley club in a combine.

Club President Jayman Presitdge presents Scott Keeble with the Tim McArdle Perpetual Trophy

Previous winners.

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Tags: handicap, photos, shady creek