06/04/2013

By Rob Monk

Warragul Cycling Club contested their “annual” Hill Climb Championship on Saturday. This year was the first time since 2009 that the club has held this race.  Lots of rain in 2010 resulted in land slips and the race was not held.  The 2011 and 2012 editions of the race were held up Mt. Tassie as part of the Gippsland Hill Climb Championships.

This year saw the return of the race to a local hill with a different format.  Rather than the mass start seen in previous years, the format was that of a time trial.  Riders were started at 30 second intervals, with the slower riders starting first and the fastest starting last. This means there is always someone in front you should be able to catch, but someone behind chasing you.  Unlike a regular time trial where raw power is the determining factor, the addition of a slope means the rider who is lighter tends to triumph as power to weight really comes into play.

The climb up the Yarragon – Leongatha Road is 7.2km long with an average gradient of 4.9%.  A good time is anything under 20 minutes.

First off was Cathy Cooper who would complete the climb at an average of 13.4kph.  The fastest time was posted by James Henry who completed the climb in 18:16 (23.6kph).  Cyrus Monl gean 30 seconds ahead of James and just managed to stay in front by the end of the climb.  Jack Walk was third in the open category with an average speed of 19.3kph.

Third fastest overall up the hill was a tie between Glen Marriott and Brett Rollinson who both clocked 20:26 (21.1kph).  They share the Masters123 Championship. Scott Keeble was third in the Masters 123 category averaging 19.9kph.

In the Masters 456 Category Ross Henry showed his form by posting a time of 20:30 (21.1kph) . Pete Whelan (20.4kph) was second and Pete Finlayson (20.3kph) was third in this category.

Kate Prestidge won the women’s section in a time of 21:55 (19.7). Louise Clark (17.0kph) was second with Adele Whelan (14.9kph) third.  Breaking the women’s race into age group categories, Louise Clarke came first in the Elite category, Kate Prestidge in WM123 and Robyn Baker (14.2kph) was first in  WM456.

Bill Frew (12.6kph) was the masters 7+ Champion.

Quite a few riders were passed by those behind them, while others failed to be caught.

Next weekend there is a scratch race at Shady Creek on Saturday at 2.00pm and many club members are doing the Baw Baw Classic on Sunday.

Our next championship race will our road race to be held on 25th May at our Larner Park couse.

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Tags: hills, time trial, yarragon hill

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

25/06/2011

The placings here do not match the spreadsheet…

Elite Mens

1st- Stuart Smith (Leongatha), 2nd – Brenton Jones (Warragul), 3rd – Sam Beveridge (Latrobe)

Masters 1/2/3

1st – David Arnup (Wellington), 2nd – Darren Spiteri (Latrobe), 3rd – Lachlan Matthews (Leongatha)

Masters 4/5/6

1st – Jim Timmer-Arends (Latrobe), 2nd – Clem Fries (Leongatha), 3rd – Peter Finlayson (Warragul)

U19/17

1st – Elliott Gin (Leongatha), 2nd – James Lalor (Warragul), 3rd – Jerome Bechaz (Latrobe)

Gippy TT Champs 2011 Spreadsheet

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Tags: championships, cloverlea, time trial

05/06/2010

A respectable twenty riders showed up to race against the clock at Cloverlea this afternoon. As soon as the first rider was away, the rain began and did not let up until much of the race was ridden. Today’s race was an opportunity for some to test out new gear and others to get an idea of their form in the lead up to next week’s Three Day Tour.

Riders began in assumed slowest to fastest order. This meant recently crowned club road Champ, Brenton Jones would be the one to start last and the man to beat. No gradings were assigned so perhaps the handicapper will be repositioning a rider or two after today.

Brenton Jones passed Thomas Sander shortly after Sander passed Paul Yeatman after about 5 minutes of racing. Next to fall was Thommo who started 30 seconds ahead of Yeatman. Thommo stayed close to Sander for a short while and was passed by Yeatman up the sort rise just after the turn into Parker’s Road.

During lap two, the faster riders took many scalps with riders such as Tammy Patrick surviving until the final trip up Parker’s Road. None of the podium finishers were able to negative split, though they were fairly consistent such as Yeatman taking and extra 4 seconds for lap 2.

The best positive splits were put in by Muggeridge who increased his pace by almost 7kph on lap 2. Prestidge managed to find an extra 3kph and Tammy Patrick almost 3kph for their seconds laps.

The most consistent laps were put in by Thommo who’s laps differed by 0.07kph and Manintveld who’s laps differed by 0.05kph.

Two or three cyclists decided that a ITT would be a good race to be their first. Welcome to racing – we hope to see you back for more.

A more detailed report is expected to be posted in the next day or two. Apologies for any mangled names, the time keeper had pen troubles.

The club ITT championships is in two weeks. Who will improve? Who will surprise? Based on last year’s championships, a number of riders are riding quicker with Joe Patrick showing the best improvement being 5kph faster than the same period last year.

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Tags: cloverlea, time trial

06/09/2009

TThree Warragul riders made the journey to Wangaratta to contest the Victorian Masters Individual Time Trial Championships.

Thomas Sandner took the Masters 5 gold in a time of 0:29:35.34 for 20.5km, edging out Gerard Donnelly of Caulfield Carnegie (0:29:35.34) and James Timmer-Arends of the LaTrobe Valley Cycling Club (0:30:13.05).

Both Shane Stiles and Paul Yeatman contested the Masters 2 event.  Paul began 1 minute ahead of Shane was was passed at the 20 minute mark.  Shane rode a time of 0:29:56.52 which was good enough for 7th place.  Paul rode his best ever ITT in a time of 31:36.65 which was good enough for 10th.  The winning time was 0:28:38.54 and was ridden by Martin Lama of Blackburn Cycling Club.

Thomas Sandner takes gold

Victorian Masters ITT Sept 5 2009

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Tags: championships, time trial