2017 Road & Crit season

 Thursday, December 14

Best Western Motor Inn Crit series race 3

Wednesday, December 13

Supervets racing cancelled due to extreme heat

Sunday, December 10

Race report to follow.

Thursday, December 7

Crit racing cancelled due to wet weather

Wednesday, December 6

Supervets racing today! Jack Griffin graciously donated a massive Silver Trophy for the winner in true Jack style. Thank you Jack! Cecilia Digenis stole the show! Race report by Cecilia.
The Jack Griffin (very big) Trophy Race

With cloud cover keeping the temperature down and a brisk south easterly promising relief up misery lane 21 keen riders lined up on Wednesday for the penultimate Supervets race for 2017.

This week after the great help of her co-markers in the first two laps Cecilia Digenis raced to victory off the front and gave the slip to the 11 minute group of Tony Spark, Jeremy Tatchell and Neil Jeffs, who finished second, third and fourth respectively.

Dale Jennings off 25 minutes and Ken Mansfield at 23 minutes were followed out by the trio of John Watson, Don Stuart and Cecilia Digenis at 21 minutes. John and Don gave Cecilia a very helpful coaching session in track turns and caught Ken Mansfield and Dale Jennings in

the second lap. Ken jumped onto the group and John Watson retired as a result of a previous injury.

They were being chased by the 15 minute group of Murray Riggs, Ross West, Terry Robinson and Kent Fuller who had been sent off with the 11 minute group. Ross West and Terry Robinson worked together well to get themselves into fifth and sixth placings.

Tony Murrell had set a cracking pace for his 7 minute group co-markers Paul Bubb, Peter King, and Lew Targett and rode himself up into eighth position by the end of the third lap. The 2nd scratch group of Gordon Spargo, Graeme Wilson and Tina Stenos, sent off just a minute before scratch, stayed together but were caught early by the scratch group of Mark Cummings and Peter McWaters. Gordon and Tina made a great effort to work with the fast paced duo but it was not going to be possible to hang on. Scratch then went on to catch Paul and Lew with a lap and a half to go.

Don Stuart and Ken Mansfield took seventh and ninth positions respectively. Mark Cummings and Peter McWaters rode side by side across the finishing line sharing the fastest time honours with an excellent I hour 2 minutes and 10 seconds. The winning time was 1 hour 17 minutes and 16 seconds.

Cecilia was rather overawed by the size of the trophy and the honour of receiving it from Jack Griffin, veteran and hero of many amazing cycling exploits, so she would like now (better late than never) to thank her fellow riders, the marshalls and referee for making it all possible.

Sunday, December 3

Other than the light rain scratch started off well, Tony and I were thankful our counterparts this week, Brad and Robbo, weren’t trying to break the land speed record in the first 5km (although it still wasn’t easy). We past the race lead on their second lap as we went up the Forest Rd hill the first time and it wasn’t long before we caught Nick and Paul having a chinwag along Grays. Other than some dropped riders we didn’t see many for the remaining loops. Nick was being very anti-social sitting off the back of the group and jumping in for a few turns here and there.

Thursday, November 30

Crit racing cancelled due to wet weather

Wednesday, November 29

Maiden win for Peter McWaters.

Race Report, GSCC Super Vets, Wednesday 29th November 2017

Under hot conditions and with late help from Tina Stenos and Gordon Spargo, Peter McWaters was able to claim his first victory and fastest time over the 38km, 3 1/4 laps course, at Paraparap on Wednesday. With 28 degrees C at the start, rising to 34 degrees C during the race, it was tough going for all and too hot for some.

Many thanks to referee Dale Jennings, ably assisted by Ross West, and a bevy of ever-dependable marshals and timekeepers. Two more races to go this year on the Wednesday SuperVets calendar (50+ for women, 60+ for men). Racing starts at 10AM and, apart from time trials, are handicapped, giving everyone a chance for a race victory. But it’s the camaraderie that is equally important for most riders.

Sunday, November 26

KVA Design spring sash race.

On Sunday the quarterly KVA Design spring Sash race over 49 kilometres at Paraparap was held in relatively still, muggy but rain-free conditions.  Four riders from the third limit group worked well together to hold out the rapidly approaching groups in a somewhat reduced field of 41 riders after the earlier rain.  Danielle Bridger and Ken Mansfield started with a 35 minute lead over the three supermen off scratch and a 11 minute gap to 2nd limit. Danielle road away from Ken on the first lap holding a very relentless pace while the windy started to pick up. The majority of the groups were pushing a solid pace throughout the first 35 kilometres with a few pulling out and few unfortunate punctures.

While Danielle was soldering on out the front,  the scratch men of Xavier Coppock, David Newett and Robbie Southern were a well oiled machine catching the second scratch group on the second lap with Tony French and Josh Williams the only ones able to hang on over the Forest Rd hill. The 18 minute group of Steve McLachlan, Jamie Robinson, Gavin Gamble and Jenny Denouden were the team to beat today taking even and consistent turns staying away from all the other chasing bunches. Scratch were rolling in all the middle bunches along Nobles Rd keeping the pace high, when seeing Danielle on her own with the 18 minute group not far behind it was looking a bit too far for the fast chasing bunch. The 18 minute group caught Danielle at the final corner with 500 metres to go to the finish. Steve McLachlan, who was very pleased to win his first veteran’s handicap race, was closely followed in the sprint finish by “team-mates” Jamie Robinson (2^nd), Gavin Gamble (3^rd) and Jenny Denouden (4^th and fastest woman).

The remaining places were taken by Danielle Bridger (limit rider, 5th), followed by Robbie Southern (6^th/scratch) and Xavier Coppock (7^th/scratch).  Tony French (2^nd scratch) was 8^th, David Stacey, who was recovering from being sideswiped by a car on Tuesday, came 9^thand Johnny Parello was 10^th.  Johnny claimed after the race that when the scratch group whizzed past him, it was like getting sucked into a wind tunnel!  Xavier Coppock won the fastest time (1:12:06), just like his father Marcus used to do not that many years ago.  At the presentations afterward, it was announced that Robbie Southern has an unassailable lead in the Ray Aldridge Aggregate for 2017.

Many thanks to Kane Airey and KVA Design for sponsoring the race and to all the race officials without which the raced could not have taken place.

1st Steve McLachlan (18min 1:29:42, 32.8km/h), 2nd Jamie Robinson (18min), 3rd Gavin Gable (18min) 4th Jenny Denouden (18min), 5th Danielle Bridger (35min) 6th Xavier Coppock (scr) 7th Robbie Southern (scr), 8th Tony French (1:30), 9th David Stacey (4:00), 10th Johnny Parrello (11:30) Fastest Time, Xavier Coppock (1:12:06, 40.8km/h)

Thursday, November 23

Best Western Motor Inn Crit series race 2

Wednesday, November 22

A hot & humid morning greeted 18 riders at GSCC Supervets, who set off to complete the tough 40km Paraparap / Nobles circuit with an uphill finish in Larcombes Road. The event was won by Gordon Spargo, with a strong performance seeing his mid marker group take on all before them.

The race limit & second limit markers of Dale Jennings, Don Stuart & Ken Mansfield (off 25 & 23 mins) struggled early taking a wrong turn, from which they never recovered. Meanwhile off 13 minutes Kent Fuller & Murray Riggs rode consistently and managed to hold off the fast finishing winning bunch until late in the race. Off 11 minutes Richard Buckwell & Jeremy Tatchell were picked up by the 9 minute bunch of Gordon Spargo, Paul Bubb & Tony Spark in the first lap, joining forces and working well together to hold all comers at bay. The 3rd scratch group off 5 minutes, comprising Lew Targett, Graeme Wilson, Carl Judd & Peter Ladd had a chase on their hands, eventually being swept up by a well oiled 2nd scratch bunch up Misery Lane for the last time. This bunch of Mark Cummings, Mandy Hosking & the evergreen Roger Cronk had worked hard throughout the race to stay away from sole scratch man Graeme Walker, as they chased down the lead group. The final stages of the event seen Paul Bubb, Richard Buckwell & Gordon Spargo break away with the only mishap seeing Paul Bubb disqualified for cutting a corner before the race to the line.

Final placings, Gordon Spargo, Richard Buckwell, Jeremy Tatchell, Kent Fuller, Mark Cummings who also finished with fastest time of 1.04.50, Mandy Hosking, Roger Cronk, Carl Judd, Murray Riggs & Ken Mansfield.

Geelong Supervets  (part of the Geelong and Surfcoast Cycling Club)– men aged 60-plus and women 50-plus – meet each Wednesday by 9.30am at their clubrooms at Paraparap. Newcomers are welcome.

Sunday, November 19

Race report Jack Griffin race

It was a very warm morning and the sun was out for the 35^th edition of the Jack Griffin combine handicap, winds were light at around 10k/ph and at race start the temperature was already 26c. This year’s course had to be altered during the week due to poor road conditions along a section of Forest rd. The altered course took riders out Forest rd to Gundry’s turnaround back to Grays rd and back to the start line 2 times and then on the second lap onto to Nobles rd with a hill top finish at the end of Nobles rd for a total of 70 kms. A challenging enough course with the heat and humidity rising.

A total of 53 riders with 3 guest riders fronted up for this time honoured race with limit comprising of Ken Mansfield and Rob Lambeth setting off with a whopping 53min to scratch.  The remaining riders were split over 8 bunches and with a red not scratch group of six riders they were going to have to pull out all stops to reel in the front markers. Due to some last minute race scratching’s second scratch lost two riders and were always going to be fodder for the scratch men

On the first lap most bunches kept their numbers together but he warm conditions were slowly taking its toll with the odd rider splintering off.  The 29 and 24 min bunch were making good progress with riders doing rolling turns smooth and consistently. These two bunches eventually merging half way down Forrest rd for the second time, who then then joined in to keep the work rate going. Back further in the race the struggling second scratch were reeled in by the rampaging scratch at Grays rd outbound on the second lap.

The 29 & 24 min bunch now had control of the race and the bunch stayed together for the rest of the race until they turned into Nobel’s rd. With around 5km to go Jani led the charge with Damien close behind then Tony and Steve. Damien and Jani turned up the heat and kept swapping turns along Nobles rd.

Scratch and second scratch were making good progress and started to pick up the mid markers back along Forest. As this combined group grew the sting went out of the group along Grays rd with no one wanting to keep the pace on. At Jack’s corner the time gap to the leading riders took away any interest this chasing group had.

As the lead riders approached the last climb to the finish the tempo rose again with riders checking out as the road started to go up. Last year’s race winner Jani Dovjak sensing back to back victories started to accelerate again with Damien Letts reacting and following his wheel and Tony Murrell still in contention but with the finish line getting closer Damien was able to ride over the top of Tony and Jani and held both off to the finish. Damien recording his maiden road win for the club with Tony second and Jani fading for third Steve McLachlan rolling in fourth and Paul Bubb fifth. Xavier Coppock took out fastest time after riding away from his fellow scratch riders with 5 kms to go.

It was great to see five women contest this race and Tina Stenos finished 6^th and was first lady rider in and scored a trophy for her efforts and Jenny Denouden finished 8th.  Jack was also excited with the number of women competing.

1^st Damien Letts 2:04:39, 2^nd Tony Murell, 3^rd Jani Dovjack, 4^th Steve McLachlan, 5^th Paul Bubb, 6^th Tina Stenos, 7^th Richard Buckwell, 8^th Jenny Denouden, 9^th Gordon Spargo, 10^th Andrew Booth, Fastes time Xavier Coppock 1:45:04

It was a good close race enjoyed by all. Many thanks to Jack Griffin for sponsoring the race and the race officials and marshals

Thursday, November 16

Crit racing cancelled due to wet weather

Wednesday, November 15

Super Vets time trial Wednesday15 November 2017

Twelve very keen riders lined up for a 23k time trial, 2 laps around the Hendy Main Rd, Larcombes Rd, Forrest Rd and Grays Rd loop, starting and finishing on Larcombes Rd riding in an anti clockwise direction. Approximately half the riders used normal road bikes with the remainder having either clip on bars or full time trial bikes, some with disc rear wheels.

A westerly wind was building and increased in speed during the race. At least 3 of the field have been previous scratch riders with the Vets Sunday racing.

Riders left at 1 minute intervals in a handicap style seeding with the fastest riders chasing. Dale Jennings was first off followed by Ken Mansfield and then Brian Farrell with times expected to be very tight between the 3 with Brian finishing only 9 seconds faster than Ken. Dale was a DNF as the wind increased.

Ian Sumner, Ken Fuller and Cecilia Degenis were next to leave in 1 minute intervals. All three rode strongly with Cecilia showing recent very good form in handicap races resulting from increased training and kilometres taking out the 6th fastest time in 45 min 23 sec (30.5 kph).

Richard Buckwell, Murray Riggs and Lew Target were next to leave. All pushed hard into the wind then focused on the Forrest Rd climb.
Murray proved to be the strongest passing Richard finishing in a time of 43.25 (31.9kph) in 4th place. Lew held good form finishing 5th overall in 44 minutes.

The last 3 riders to leave were Carl Judd, Dave Jessup and Graeme Walker as the last to leave.
Carl, resplendent with a full TT bike and teardrop helmet was the bookies favourites to greet the chequered flag as first rider over the line and did not disappoint. Certainly his form is improving and will be a danger in future handicaps and near favourite for the next time trial.
Dave (3rd place) is returning from a recent break from training and is showing improvement with every race and should be back to his usual form in the near future.
Graeme caught all riders with the fastest time of 38.24 (36 kph) except Carl with 2 kilometres to go but was not able to make up the difference before the line.
Carl’s time of 39 min 45 sec (34.7 kph) secured line honours.

Sunday, November 12

Geelong Surfcoast Cycling Club Age group championships

Thursday, November 9

Best Western Motor Inn Crit series race 1

Tuesday, November 7

Geelong and Surfcoast Cycling Club Melbourne Cup on Wheels

The first Tuesday in November may be world famous for an equine race that stops a nation but it is also firmly etched in the calendar for the annual Geelong & Surfcoast Supervets Melbourne Cup on Wheels Race.

Whilst the thoroughbred namesake event is one for the stayers, this cycle race is more akin to a 1200 metre sprint up the Flemington Straight Six. Being only 38 km in distance, the pace is on from the start and rarely relents.

 A field of 34 riders – split into seven handicapped groups separated by 2 – 2½ minute gaps – each set off in a cool 12 degrees with 20 km SE winds.  Due to the frenetic fast starts, the mid to back marker groups all experienced some early attrition of riders within the first lap.

Groups started catching each other in the latter part of lap 2 with a large group ultimately forming on the Forrest Rd Hill of Lap 3.  After a chase down Grays Road the frontrunners were caught at Jack’s Corner with the back markers making the catch to the main bunch 100 metres later. The pace for the final 4 km was then controlled at the front by the Scratch markers, each appearing to be conserving energy up Misery Lane for the final sprint.

With the stiff wind having now swung to the south-west a headwind finish loomed. A game of “wait and see” of who would be first to jump ensued in the early section of Larcombes Rd with most hoping the pace might stay steady to within at least 300 metres of the line before having to crank it up to full power into the wind.  Alas, such hopes weren’t meant to be. Recent Geelong Open winner Peter Wynne made a burst for the line some 400 metres out however he was quickly covered by Kane Airey who was soon joined by Carl Leahy and Xavier Coppock for a three wheeled neck-and-neck 250 metre sprint to the line.  Unbeknown to these three, however, the forever-young scratchman Graeme Walker had built up a late turbo-charged thrust and, making up bike lengths in the dying metres, edged past all three right on the line. In his dash to the finish, however, Graeme was deemed by the referees to have crossed the centre-line of the road and was disqualified from the race. Graeme accepted the referee ruling and was gracious in defeat. Well done to Cecilia Digenis starting off limit on her own, Cecilia was caught by scratch at the club room corner with only a few kilometres to go.

Final results were 1st Carl Leahy (2min 59:45 38.1km/h), 2nd Kane Airey (2min) 3rd and fastest time Xavier Coppock (57:15 39.8km/h), 4th Andrew Baker (scr), 5th Peter Wynne (4:30) 6th Nigel Pearson (2min) 7th Daryl Suter (4:30) 8th Ian Amsden (scr) 9th Terry Collie (Eur 7:30) 10th and first lady Tina Stenos (7:30)

Each of the trophy winners’ speeches included a special mention and thank you to their fellow riders, the Referee’s, Marshall’s and the Supervets for hosting. An enjoyable and relaxing post-race BBQ was enjoyed by all. 

Sunday, November 5

Geelong Surfcoast Cycling Club 40th Anniversary handicap 60 km

Sponsored by Complete Rehab Care

Great conditions at Paraparap for the running of the clubs 40th Anniversary Race with 48 starters and a quality crowd watching on and enjoying the day. A less common south easterly wind was blowing pushing the riders up misery lane for a welcoming change.

With 42 minutes from limit to scratch with seven bunches in between there was plenty of action for the competitors and viewers over the 63 km course.

The 20 minute group of eight including Tina Stenos, Paul Bubb, Barry Primmer, Paul Bird, James Stuart, Damien Letts, Jamie Robinson and Lew Targett were the best working group of the day taking the lead of the race with about 11km to go combining with the 26 minute group at the front of the race.

The sprint was a hard fought one with Barry Primmer and Paul Bird fighting all the way to the finish line with Barry winning by a wheel and Lew Targett not far behind.

The scratch group of five fought hard all day with Xavier Coppock, Brad Haskett and Andrew Baker putting in big efforts firstly catching the second scratch group of Anthony Seipolt, Ian Amsden, Kane Airey and Mark Cummings then all the other bunches except for the winning front two remaining groups. Xavier finished off extremely well to take fastest time.

The BBQ afterwards was very well received with many past members and life members enjoying in the celebration with many old stories coming to life.

Thanks to Complete Rehab Care for the sponsorship, Ross West for refereeing, Kay Gibbons for the photography, Doug Wilson and Rick Buckwell for the timing, Dave Robinson for handicapping, Phil and Dave Robinson for their moto work on the circuit and all the other marshals for helping again to make another great day for the club. See the clubs facebook and webpage page for all the great photos. www.gscc.net.au

1st Barry Primmer (20min 1:50:24 34.2km/h) 2nd Paul Bird (20min), 3rd Lew Targett (20min), 4th James Stuart (20 min), 5th Paul Bubb (20min), 6th and first lady Corrine Rice (26min), 7th Jeremy Tatchell (C 26min), 8th Tina Stenos (20min) 9th Damien Letts (20min) 10th Jenny Denouden (26min) 1st Unplaced supervet Richard Buckwell Snr. Fastest Time Xavier Coppock (1:34:02 40.2km/h)

Thursday, November 2

Best Western Geelong Motor Inn criterium round 1 was cancelled due to wet weather

Wednesday, November 1

Super Vets race report

A sudden lull in the headwind up misery lane came just in time to help Supervet Cecilia Digenis hold on to her handicap advantage to win the 37 km race at Paraparap on Wednesday 1 November.

A field of 21 saw Cecilia and Ken Mansfield start at 25 minutes off scratch. Followed at 15 by Kent fuller, Ian Sumner and Murray Riggs. Terry Robinson, Jeremy Tatchell and John Faulkner were the 12 minute bunch. Then at 9 minutes came Carl Judd, Richard Buckwell, Ross West and Paul Bubb. Off 5 minutes were Barry Primmer, Lew Targett, Ray Clifford and John Hayden followed by the scratch group of Graeme Walker, David Jessop, Peter McWaters and Mandy Hosking.

The rain held off and fun was had by all with the tail wind down Greys Road but not so up misery lane.

Kent, Murray and Ian worked together and held off a combination of the survivors of the 9 and 12 minute bunches, Carl, Paul and Jeremy, to come into the finishing straight seven minutes behind Cecilia. Murray put in a strong sprint beating his personal record and his fellow markers to take second place followed closely by Kent and Ian with Carl, Paul ,and Jeremy taking out fifth sixth and seventh places.

Graeme Walker put in the fastest time at an excellent 1 hour 2 minutes

Sunday, October 29

Geelong Surfcoast Cycling Club ‘Layard Park’ Open 65 km

Great day had by all racing around Paraparap on a warm windy day. Despite it being hard going, the day went smoothly. Thanks to all who participated, the organisers, and volunteers.

The Geelong Surfcoast Cycling Club Open race is one of the most prestigious races in the VVCC racing calendar and lots of people work very hard to keep it that way. This years race was no exception with over 100 riders taking part in the 65km road race around the Paraparap course.

The sun was out and the wind was blowing like usual. The handicap sheet consisted of thirteen groups spread over 38 minutes.The race started well with the 22 minute group working hard until the turn around in Forest Rd. The group like most struggled with the wind on the return, Peter Wynne, Vincent Haveaux and Tina Stenos had to take charge and did the majority of the work pushing through the wind until the turn in to Grays Rd.

Thursday, October 19

no crit results

Wednesday, October 25

Super Vets race report, click to enlarge

Sunday, October 22

An attack over the Forest Road hill, some 8 kilometres, from the finish line assisted Marcus Coppock hold off a fast finishing “super bunch” to claim the win in Sunday’s 57 kilometre handicap at Paraparap.
For Coppock this was his first win after having both his right hip and right knee replaced in the last 14 months. In a field of 42, he rode off the 16 minute mark, chasing limit rider and new female club member Danielle Bridger on 40 minutes. Other Bunches set off at 27, 20, 16, 12, 9, 5, 2 minute mark, and the hard working scratch bunch consisting of Andrew Baker, Josh Williams, Robbie Southern, Tony French and Andrew Goodwin determined to catch all the riders ahead of them.

The course started in Moriac and proceeded to Blackgate Road past the club rooms and returned to continue out to Nobles Road and return and finished with two laps of the Paraparap circuit. The weather conditions were overcast with light rain falling during the last lap. Coppock was assisted from the start by Graeme Wilson, Peter McDonough, Tina Stenos, Darren Brayshaw and last start winner Mal Cole in the Camperdown to Warrnambool Open race. The bunch worked well out to the turnaround in Blackgate Rd and had the out markers in sight. On returning and heading towards Noble Road two riders found the pace a little too hard and dropped off.

Going up Forest Road Hill the first time the 16 and 20 minute bunch combined with Paul Bubb, Jenny Denouden, Gavin Gamble and Jani Dovjak who were working well in the bunch. All the bunches were moving well with a slight tail wind down Grays Road with speeds in excess of 45 km/h The strong scratch group lost two riders after a uncharacteristic contact which resulted in the riders taking no further part in the race.

With a lap to go the combined 20 and 16 minute bunch passed the lone limit rider, Bridger, and continued up the Forest Road Hill. As the bunch crested the hill Coppock attacked and once into Gray’s Road, with a handy tail breeze, he opened up a 40 to 50 metre gap which he held onto the chequered flag. The sprint for second place saw Tina Stenos win out in front of Paul Bubb 3rd and Darren Brayshaw 4th. Next was Jani Dovjak, Ross West, Jenny Denouden, Gavin Gamble, Peter Wynne all from the super bunch with the fast finishing Peter Wynne for 10th from the 12 minute bunch. The handicapper had prepared a close race with a number of bunches not far behind.

The winners time was 2.04.41 with Fastest Time honours going to Andrew Goodman at 1.26.19
1st Marcus Coppock ( 2:04:41 27.4km/h 16 min) 2nd Tina Stenos (16min) 3rd Paul Bubb (20min) 4th Darren Brayshaw (16min) 5th Jani Dovjak ((20min) 6th Ross West (27min) 7th Jenny Denouden (20min) 8th Gavin Gamble (20min) 9th Peter McDonough (16min) 10th Peter Wynne (12min) Fastest Time Andrew Goodwin (scratch 1:26:19 39.6km/h)

Thursday, October 19

Crit results

click to enlarge

Wednesday, October 18

Supervets

no report submitted

Saturday, October 14

VVCC Camperdown to Warrnambool 2017

click to read write up – www.gscc.net.au/riding-on-the-wings-of-an-angel/

Read riders comments about the race – www.gscc.net.au/camperdown-to-warrnambool-riders-comments/

Thursday, October 12

Crit results

click on to enlarge

Wednesday, October 11

Supervets

Memo to self- “write up a race report before you forget what you did on Wednesday”.

Under grey skies and the odd spot of rain the 3 lap Supervets race on Wednesday saw Terry Collie have enough in the legs to get over Peter Mc Waters and Barry Primmer.  Fourteen starters meant bunches of two or three i.e. no place to hide.

When the referee said “Go” Don Stuart and Ken Mansfield set off up Misery.  Their task, to use their 22 minute handicap to hold off all the chasers.  Next off 15 min. the pairing of John Faulkner and David O’Dwyer began their toil for the day.  Murray Riggs had the in form Kent fuller for company from 10 min.,  the latter looking to continue his recent good form and do a double.

The 6 min. group of Terry Collie, Richard Buckwell and Ross West had ridden smoothly last week and were looking to do the same this week.

They were pursued by John Hayden and Barry Primmer acting as the rabbits for the scratch group of Mark Cummings, Graeme Wilson and Peter McWaters.  To overcome his monophobia ( no that’s not the fear of riding on one wheel) Mark had apparently promised to “be gentle”.

The early laps as usual involve closing the gaps prior to the last lap assault.  John Faulkner however found himself alone after turning into Grays in the second lap as David is handling the hills at this stage of his return but has not yet got the punch for Grays rd..  And so it came to pass with a lap to go the combined scratch and second scratch bunch caught Buckwell/West/Collie and not long after disposed of Riggs and Fuller.  The combination of the three back bunches was not exactly a well oiled machine and going down Grays plans were being hatched to reduce the bunch size but a couple of surges failed to split the group.

Faulkner was passed heading toward the clubrooms leaving only the two limit riders and Misery to decide the race.  Cummings attacked up Misery, McWaters goes along, Primmer also makes the junction and Collie just makes it as the pace eases _ “groupo compacto” as the bunch sweeps up Stuart and Mansfield (brave ride from both), this will be decided in a sprint.

There is still one surprise to come as Cummings steps aside in favour of fellow scratch rider McWaters who is followed by Primmer and Collie with the latter having enough left in the legs to snatch an unexpected win.

The handicapper could be pleased with a close race that was only decided in the last few kilometres.

1st.    T. Collie, 2nd.  P. McWaters, 3rd.   B. Primmer, 4th.   J. Hayden, 5th.   M. Cummings.

Sunday, October 8

Wednesday, October 4

Supervets

Sunday, October 1

Wednesday, September 27

No SuperVets report submitted

Sunday, September 24

Wednesday, September 20

No SuperVets report submitted

Sunday, September 17

Wednesday, September 13

The full aftermath of Hurricane Irma was felt at the Supervets World Championships today…..howling winds and lashing rain battered the normally sub tropical grazing pastures of Paraparap. As a result spectator attendance was an all time low, with just 3 cows, one angry Forest Rd based magpie and a very cold yabbie observing the otherwise riveting, world class SV cycling action.In fact the best way to report on this prestigious event is to categorise it within the title of the 1966 Clint Eastwood starring film “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”:

THE GOOD:
* M Cummings win and FTD.
*Fellow Scratchwoman…the uber strong and smooth peddling Mandy Hosking.
*Post race pizza….that’s the stuff guys!
*Tax Free winnings
*No drug testing or motor doping detectors at SV World Championships as yet.
*Catching Carl Judd who had 4 mins on scratch.
*Carl Judd getting 3rd.
*Passing fellow Swampies Lew and Jeremy up Misery…they were seen with yellow pansies in their jersey pockets and holding hands at the time. It’s well known their relationship goes way beyond cycling.

THE BAD:
*The atrocious weather (duh)
*Rider numbers…only 12 (refer above point)
*Post Race coffee….Robert Timms sub standard brew compared to the usual barista’s coffee of choice, Nescafe 43 beans.
*Scratch catching Ken Mansfield the last time up Misery….he really deserved more than 4th.
*No prize money for 5th
*No prize money for FTD

THE UGLY:
*Still without his drivers licence and sadly missed at the weekly SV Worlds.
*Our ride time of 1.09 or 32kph average is slow.
*A dirty bike

RESULTS: 1st Mark Cummings
2nd Mandy Hosking
3rd Carl Judd
4th Ken Mansfield
Time 1.09:20 Mark Cummings

Sunday, September 10

Wednesday, September 6

No Supervets results submitted

Sunday, September 3

Wednesday, August 30

No Supervets results submitted

Sunday, August 27

Wednesday, August 23

No Supervets results submitted

Sunday, August 20

The lumpy course of two trips down Noble’s plus two laps ensured all riders felt the pinch of the fast paced race. The limit riders gave scratch 34 minutes and with small groups in between. The first return along Nobles Rd Ken Mansfield still had a handy lead with Rod Lambeth chasing and Ian Sumner and Ross West working well together. Scratch and second scratch were riding well and making up good ground on the middle bunches half way through the race. 

Wednesday, August 16

No results submitted

Sunday, August 13

2017 ROAD RACE – State Championships

https://www.facebook.com/EurekaVeteransCyclingClub/posts/1424042271027548

Wednesday, August 9

Supervets held a time trial,

Sunday, August 6

GSCC Rocket Ascent Handicap – 62 km

The Rocket Ascent is a tough race, throw in a bit of icy chill factor goodness, wind, rain, chattering teeth, frozen toes, 500 metres of climbing over 62 kilometres at race pace, a steep hill top finish and you have a race of attrition.
Of the 35 to front ref Keith Dorling for the race brief at the start line, only 20 ‘hardcore riders’ crossed the finish line!

Wednesday, August 2

17 riders greeted the starter on a cool but sunny Wednesday morning for a 37k race involving 3 laps of the usual course. Unlike last week there had been no overnight rain and the course was dry, with a slight easterly breeze to push the riders up Misery Lane – an unusual but welcome assistance.

Starters for the race were:

26 mins: G Smith

22 mins: D Jennings, K Mansfield

17 mins: K Fuller, A Kennan

11 mins: M Cole, T Collie

9 mins: J Tatchell, R West, L Targett

5 mins: T Stenos, C Judd, B Primmer

Scratch: P Ladd, D Jessup, M Hosking, R Cronk

The favourable weather conditions augured for a fast race, and the final groups would have to work hard if they were going to reel in the front markers. This prediction was reinforced at the start line when our referee, Dennis, declared that there was no speed limit for the race – all riders could ride as fast as they wished. A tough day in the office lay ahead for all!!

All groups worked well in the good conditions, and with Longy’s astute handicapping they only started coming together during the final lap. The scratch group managed to reel in Stenos, Judd and Primmer just after Jack’s corner. This group had earlier picked up Tatchell, Targett and Mansfield.

Whilst the other riders either trailed this group, or retired early; Cole and Collie rode resolutely ahead up the road, with a good lead as they turned up Misery for the final time. The chasing peloton of 10 riders work

ed hard down to the club corner, pulled along once again by the strong efforts of Pete (the Locomotive) Ladd.

Just through the corner Hosking and Jessup gained a small break on the group and worked to consolidate their advantage. Primmer dug deep and bridged across the gap just at the slight flat on Misery, but no others followed him.  The increased speed up Misery had also closed the gap to Cole and Collie, but they remained tantalisingly clear as they turned into Larcombes. On the final rise up Misery Hosking and Jessup pushed clear of Primmer and turned into Larcombes with a 50m lead to the chasing bunch.

In the final 250m Cole rode clear of Collie to take a fine win, crossing the line a good 100m clear of the chasing riders. Hard work from the chasing peloton was rewarded with 2^nd to 7^th places for the scratch and second scratch riders. A strong surge at the line saw Hosking take the fastest time.

Placings:

1^st M Cole, 2^nd M Hosking – fastest time 1:02:17, 3^rd D Jessup, 4^th C Judd, 5^th R Cronk, 6^th T Stenos

7^th P Ladd, 8^th T Collie, 9^th B Primmer, 10^th L Targett, 11^th J Tatchell, 12^th K Mansfield

David Jessup

Sunday, July 30

Race report for J. K. Lambeth 57 km Memoriam Interclub Handicap Race.

When we say “Wind is our friend.” What we really mean is…why do we do this to ourselves, wind is not our friend, legs hurt, the bike is being blown around so much. The weather was atrocious today, but what a magnificent turnout for the JK Lambeth memoriam race. Out of the 44 entered we had 40 race with visitors from Warrnambool, Northern and Colac. The course, out and back Nobles rd, out and back Forest rd, to Grays, Hendy Main plus one lap, finish at Larcombes rd (A) – 57 km had riders being smashed by the ferocious West North Westerly, leaving little room for error. Those who neglected to check the wind conditions and chose to ride on their deep dish rims, where tossed around by the swirling gusts. Where’s Korthy when you need him! After scrutinising the handicap sheet, it was deemed scratch would be a shoo-in to win today…but 2nd scratch were more organised for the whole

giving them more fire power.

The 9 minute group of Mandy Hosking, a very strong Ian Amsden, Chris Fenech, Peter Hunt and Darren Williams were surprisingly caught very quickly on Forest Rd by the 7 minute bunch, containing Frank ‘The Tank’ Gasperic, Mark Purdie (C), Craig Van Dort, a firing fast Dave Coventry (C) and Nigel Pearson. Frank just kept fanging it up Forest rd like the hill wasn’t even there! Stand out rides were from Dave, Nigel and Mark. Gary Blick (13min) had an outstanding ride,

getting in the mix with the strong men. Craig and Frank wore themselves out with solid turns, but dropped when we hit Jack’s corner and were halted to watch a procession of cars from a car club drive by. Dave took off like a cut cat leaving Craig and Frank in his wake. Nigel, Mark, Gary and Johnny ‘Road Captain’ Parrello and Mandy managed to sprint onto his wheel. The pace was too hot for some, and soon after that, Nick Brown, Paul Rettke, Andrew Baker, and Josh Williams came flying past, they rode very strong and well organised all race staying away from scratch.

Andrew Bakers sprint training has finally paid off when he crossed the line first for his first handicap win after many years of trying, congratulations Andy. He finish only 0.4sec in front of Nick Brown, and Gary Blick showing his real riding strength finishing third giving the handicapper something to think about. The scratch group finished two minutes later, with Tim Reddick (W), Josh McMinn (W), Andy Goodwin and Greg Hosking, and Robbie Southern fighting it out for Fastest…Greg taking the spoils again by 0.13sec over Tim Reddick (W). Fantastic job by GSCC officials and marshals again. It was also awesome to see the newly recruited girls turn up and participate in a large bunch ride escorted by Tina, Jess and Kim. 1st Andrew Baker (4min) 2nd Nick Brown (4min) 3rd Gary Blick (13min) 4th David Coventry (C)(7min) 5th Paul Rettke (4min) 6th Nigel Pearson (7min) 7th Josh Williams (4min) 8th Kelvin Dyson (4min) 9th Mandy Hosking (9min) 10th Marc Purdie (C) (7min) Faster time Greg Hosking (scr)

Wednesday, July 26

11 riders greeted the starter on a cool and windy Wednesday morning for a 38k race involving 2 laps of the usual course, then out along Nobles Rd and back, finishing in Larcombes Rd just before the Brown Magpie winery. Rain threatened, but held off for the duration after earlier showers had left the roads a little damp.

Starters for the race were:

25 mins: T Collie, G Smith

15 mins: M Riggs, I Sumner, K Fuller

10 mins: J Tatchell, R West

4 mins: M Hosking, L Targett

Scratch: P Ladd, D Jessup

There was a strengthening westerly blowing directly down Hendy Main & Larcombes roads, which  combined with the small bunches and slightly longer course to work in favour of the scratch group catching the limit riders.

Ladd and Jessup gathered in Hosking and Targett on the second push up Misery, and with Mandy joining forces set about chasing down the front groups. West & Tatchell were picked up just after Jack’s corner, with Hosking, Ladd and Jessup combining well.

At the head of the race Collie was joined by Riggs, Sumner and Fuller and the 4 pushed on down Nobles, and were not seen by the chasing scratch bunch until they were 300 metres heading back  from having made the turn-around.

A final push from the scratch group saw the front 4 caught at the top of the final rise coming back along Nobles, and with Ladd pushing a big gear all the way to Larcombes, the scratch group of 3 came through the corner with a clear break, and positioned themselves for the surge to the line. After a little bit of soft-pedalling and warily watching each other, Hosking, Ladd and Jessup all ‘kicked’ at the same time and sprinted the final 100 metres to take the first 3 places – a fitting end for the combined efforts of this bunch throughout the ride.

Placings:

1^st and fastest time – D Jessup   1:07:28

2^nd M Hosking, 3^rd P Ladd, 4^th M Riggs, 5^th I Sumner, 6^th T Collie

Sunday, July 23

Race report for Scratch series race 2

A Grade

It was another mild winter day. The wind was higher than last week, but wasn’t a big factor. The day started well. I got to the race on time. I’d also remembered the black electrician’s tape to put the transponder on my bike.

Robbo had noticed how much time I’ve spent riding by myself in recent weeks and had took it upon himself to drop me to B grade. After a bit of groveling and pointing out that my poor performances had more to do with bad decision making rather than bad legs, he was kind enough to give me one last chance in A grade. I needed to concentrate this time.

I was also glad that big Xavier, who had dropped me like a stone last week, had chosen not to turn up, however, Brad and Andrew Goodwin were there and I knew they were very strong. Plus I had no idea what the other 5 riders could do.

The course was 60km of flatness with a cross-tailwind sprint about 500m after a corner. My goal for the day was to make it to the sprint so I didn’t get dropped to B grade. No heroics mid race (aka doing stupid stuff).

The pace was strong, but variable, and not deadly. I think all the riders in A grade made it to the sprint. The most decisive point in the race was a break from Brad and Goodie with about 15km to go. They managed to get about 500m ahead and I was thinking “that’s it. We’re racing for third”. Then in a remarkable display of efficient and effective riding that I contributed to in no way whatsoever, the remaining five riders swapped turns and reigned them in in less than half a lap.

The 2000m leading into the sprint was the usual everybody looking at each other. Brad at one point invited me to take a turn. To which I thought really loud “you have an FTP about 100 watts higher than mine – just no”. Then he pointed out that Rick Buckwell had snuck away in a really smart move and if we didn’t work together we’d be sprinting for second (not his exact words). A few non-soft turns later and we were back to a bunch.

As I’d said, the sprint was cross-tailwind and really quick. I got lucky and found a rider who gave me a lead out on the leeward side of the road that dropped me about a bike-length ahead of everyone with better momentum with only 100m to go. I took a Michael Matthews-esque line that gently closed the door on anyone trying to take the short way around me, but didn’t get me disqualified, and it was over in a flash.

Brad came second to cement his position for the overall with one stage to go, and Andrew Goodie came third.

Good race overall in great spirit (as always at the GSCC), and no crashes. Thanks to Robbo for not dropping me. by Andrew Cox

B GRADE

8 keen riders contested B Grade in difficult windy conditions. The pace for the first 3 laps was good for a scratch race given the conditions averaging around 34 kph. Rolling turns were evenly shared between riders.

Kane Airey kept everyone alert and entertained with a series of fast breaks off the front. Carl Leahy joined him for a more serious break down Greys Road but it was always going to be difficult to stay away and the group didn’t have too much trouble bringing riders back to the bunch on each occasion. The pace slowed on the last lap and fewer riders took turns on the front while others took a rest. In a great effort heading out Nobles road Jess Douglas went forward and lifted the pace considerably but with no one prepared to assist she stayed on the front all the way to the turnaround. The extra speed pushed a couple of riders past their limits on the day and they were dropped off the bunch. Coming back up Nobles Road it was a safe bet we were heading for a sprint finish as no riders appeared interested in a last second breakaway attempt. Turning onto Larcombes Road the tailwind helped the remaining 6 riders build speed quickly. With 300 metres to go the bunch was already over 50kph reaching close to 60kph before the line. The final placings were 1st Kelvin Dyson  2nd Carl Leahy  3rd Frank Gasperic. by Kelvin Dyson

C GRADE

Ten riders lined up for the second stage of the three stage scratch series. The first lap seemed to be the warm up lap as the pace was quite friendly and no real attacks were mounted. In the second lap things started to warm up with a few surges at strategic points, however nothing really eventuated, and the group stayed pretty tight – although there were some small cracks emerging. It was late in the second lap – early in the third, when riders started to be dropped.

Juddy, Brian, Geoff, Peter Ladd and Laurie rode hard until the elastic band went TWANG and they were out the back. That left Chris, Peter Hunt, Vince, Brad and Johnny Parrello to soldier on. The General (Johnny) was
mixing it up with the pace to make sure no-one could get into a rhythm. Chris and Peter put in some turns and tested the group with some small attacks, however to everyone’s credit they were able to stick to a wheel. It wasn’t until we were faced with Nobles Rd that things got serious. Chris increased the pace heading up the rise on Larcombes and legs were starting to feel the pinch. A short reprieve and then as we turned the corner into Nobles he was at it again. A long surge saw Brad and Vince lose contact. That left Chris, Peter and the crafty Johnny to start plotting on the demise of the next weak link. Not surprisingly no-one was prepared to show a kink in their armour.

Chris got away for a short spell on his own but Peter and Johnny worked together to reel him back in. It looked like it was going to come down to a sprint. Peter turned into Larcombes leading the group, followed by Johnny and then Chris. You could sense the tension mounting as we were 800m out. Who was going to go first? Would there be a long or short sprint? The sounds of gears changing could be heard as we prepared for an all-out assault on the finish line. In the end Chris went first and with nerves of steel Johnny followed; Peter jumped as well but seemed to have missed his chance. Chris looked like he was going to hold on until Johnny dug deep and found something extra. Johnny’s secret training sessions almost got him there, but he couldn’t quite close the gap. Rumour has it that Johnny didn’t want to do the write up so eased up on the line. Only Johnny knows the answer to that !!!!!!!,

Well done to everyone in the group! by Chris Fenech

D grade

We started out as a group of five, Jamie Robinson was dropped early as we worked up into a stiff northwesterly.  From then on Steve McLachlan, Jani Dovjak, Peter Wynne and myself worked track turns evenly over the next three laps.  As the wind picked up the speed decreased as we continued to push along up Misery Lane, Peter did some strong turns towing the three of us along in places.  As we reached Nobles Road a sprinkle of rain fell and the dark clouds looked ominous above.  I rode along on the front for a while up nobles, don’t tell Dave as I have him convinced that I’m psychology beaten even looking at the Noble’s road sign.  Half way up Nobles Peter reminded me that I should really save something for the sprint, obligingly I had a rest until we reached the final ramp which again I pushed along on the front.

On the descent Rick Buckwell sped pass closely followed by the chasing A Grade bunch.  Jani spun along on the front followed by Peter, myself and then Steve, when we reached the corner Peter got off the saddle and lifted the tempo.  I followed with Steve closing on my wheel, Steve was first to jump with a strong acceleration.  I jumped across from Peter’s wheel to Steve’s, I had him fairly well covered now and looking for the distance to the line.  Peter was still pushing hard down the inside so I decided to launch gapping both riders to win by a couple of lengths.  I was happy with the win sprinting against some very capable fast finishers.

Looking forward to Gumflats NOT! by James Stuart

F Grade

Only 3 riders with two of them being 80 years old. The cold windy conditions resulted in slow speeds as the riders battled into the head wind  which seemed to be always in their face  and particularly up Misery lane. The riders all worked turns of pace and assisted each other from the wind where possible. The race was decided in the final sprint as all riders remained intact even though some experienced difficulty in staying together up the hills in Nobles Road. The finish was aided by the wind and Ken Mansfield riding close to the white line ensured no rider was to pass on his outside and held the front to the finishing line. Don Stuart the other 80 year old finished second. The win was Ken’s second in the Three Scratch race event competition. by Ken Mansfield

Wednesday, July 19

race report to come

Sunday, July 16

Race report for Scratch series race 1

A Grade
It’s mid winter so it’s no surprise that we were greeted with very cool conditions for our 9 o’clock start.  No spoiler alert was issued by Dave Robinson as he calmly informed us the course for the day and the winner of last nights stage of Le Tour.  After a quick pep talk from race referee Dennis Sonogan we were off for five laps of the Paraparap circuit, 62k in all.
It was an exciting race from the start and the first attack occurred on the Forrest Road rise with Brad Haskett followed by Xavier Coppock testing the waters.  It didn’t last long though, Andy Baker, Rob Southern, Paul Rettke and Nick Brown dragged them back to the group.  The next couple laps were pretty cagey, Andrew Cox made a break but was shutdown quickly.  Rick Buckwell was riding strongly and established a small break up misery lane but Andy wasn’t letting anyone get away.  Carl Leahy was no where to be seen.  Was he going to attack next?
The next attack proved to be the race defining break.  Rob Southern and Tony French surged down Forrest Road establishing a small break, then as the group accelerated out of the corner on Grays Rd, Xavier sprinted across followed by Brad.  It was a pretty hard and fast lap that followed, with the breakaway getting out to a break of a couple  hundred meters.  We got the bell from Dave turning up Forrest Road for the last time and still couldn’t shake the chasing group of Nick Brown, Paul Rettke, Carl Leahy, Andy Baker and Rick Buckwell.  Andrew Cox was paying for his earlier attacks and had been dropped by then.  Everyone in the lead group of 4 was pulling big turns and the gap was increasing.  As we surged over the top of the Forrest Road rise Xaviers rear mech exploded, disintegrating spectacularly all over the road taking a few spokes with it.  We were down to three versus the rest.
We were well aware that the chasing group would have been charged with seeing Xavier on the side of the road so we pushed hard down Grays road and up Hendy Main to the start of misery lane.  It was pretty obvious that we had the podium covered by this stage and we all started to recover slightly for the ensuing sprint.  Tony was the first to sprint with Rob rolling up behind, then surging for the line from just over a hundred out.  I just snuck past for my first win in a long time.
Thanks to Dennis our referee and all our marshals today.  We love scratch races.

1st Brad Haskett average speed 37.5
2nd Rob Southern
3rd Tony French
Just writing this as I watch the replay of last nights stage of Le Tour, and yes Robbo, Michael Matthews did win

D Grade

Seven riders competed on this very cool morning in the D grade scratch race.  What to wear was a dilemma for some of the less experienced riders, most of whom wore leggings and an extra top layer, only to overheat later in the race.  The pace was steady for most of the 4 laps with even rotations amongst the bunch.  When Tina Stenos dropped her water bottle on Hendy Main Road with 2 laps to go, she decided to go back to collect it.  So there was a little

discussion about whether to wait for her, and eventually the bunch decided to slow down very slightly.  This allowed Tina, after a huge effort, to return to the bunch on the final lap.  The pace quickened in the final stage, when Steve McLachlan sprinted for the line and crossed it first.  Unfortunately he had forgotten where the actual finishing line was and so he still had another 500 metres or so to go!  Tina Stenos sprinted past James Stewart with 20 metres or so to go but was overtaken by Steve McLachlan just before the (correct) finish line.  Steve, who has a lot to learn about racing, thanked Tina for the tips on strategy she had given him at a previous scratch race.

F Grade

Only three riders contested the F grade Scratch Race which covered  a distance of 41 km (? not sure of the distance).

The pace was not breakneck as the riders had not participated in Sunday racing for several weeks due to other Club’s

events and riders were wary of going flat out in case they could not finish the distance, however all three riders

stayed together and the result was decided in a sprint finish with Ken Mansfield getting over the top of Ian Summer in the final few metres of the race.

Wednesday, July 12

No race

Sunday, July 9

No race – mid season bye

Wednesday, July 5

Sunday, July 2

No race – mid season bye

Wednesday, June 28

Sunday, June 25

ABC grades 52 km – 3 laps, Out & back Nobles, Rd, Out & back Layards, Finish Larcombes (B)

A grade

1st Robbie Southern, 2nd Rick Buckwell, 3rd Greg Hosking, 4th David Newatt, 5th Josh Williams, 6th Paul Rettke, 7th Tony French, 8th A Seipolt, 9th S Smith

B Grade

1st Nick Brown, 2nd David Lambourn, 3rd Peter Hunt, 4th Andrew Read

C grade

1st Johnny Parrello, 2nd Paul Beasley, 3rd Gary Blick, 4th Brad Keating, 5th Umberto Scolaro, 6th Carl Judd, 7th David Spence

DE grades 41 km – 2 laps, Out & back Nobles, Rd, Out & back Layards, Finish Larcombes (B)

D grade

1st James Stuart, 2nd Paul Bubb, 3rd Damian Letts, 4th Jenny Denouden

E grade

1st Terry Robinson, 2nd Andrew Kennon, 3rd Ross West

Wednesday, June 21

Sunday, June 18

KVA Design Autumn Sash race, 41km Out and back Nobles Rd, Forest Rd finish at Larcombes Rd (B) 40 riders were ready to have a go at winning a highly sought after seasonal sash. The field was split into 9 bunches with solo limit rider Ken Mansfield leading off with 32 mins to solo scratchman Nick Squillari

The KVA Design Autumn Sash race is one on my calendar to have a crack at. Woke up a bit rusty but the coffee on the way out kicked me along nicely. Arriving at the club rooms we were greeted with cool but not too cold conditions but there was a bit of fog. Checked in with race officials and found I was off 10 mins with 5 others. My number was 25. (Not my age)
As we set off I was feeling alright but it wasn’t long into the race that the constant surging in my bunch was having a painful effect on me. On the way back along Nobles Road saw me drift off the back and dropped by my bunch. This wasn’t too bad as I was able to settle into my own rhythm.
Going up Forrest Road on the way out I was caught by the 7:30min bunch behind consisting of Roger Cronk, Peter Hunt, Darren Williams, Kane Airey and David Lambourn. These guys were working really well and the pace was fast and smooth. I settled in and did turns when I could. It wasn’t too long before we caught my original bunch and with some encouraging words from Johnny and Darren, the pace lifted and we worked really well with the addition of Johnny Parrello, Vincent Haveaux, Brian Weppner, Tina Stenos and new trial rider Bert Scolaro. Brian’s race fitness wasn’t quite up to it today and he dropped off soon after and Bert was riding very well and consistent with some coaching along they way.
Everyone was doing turns when they could and keeping things rolling strong. On the way back along Forrest Rd we had the leaders in sight and again the pace lifted. Upon catching this large bunch we tentatively went past ensuring we didn’t cross the centre line, which given the size of the bunch required us to go single file.
Passing Grays Road saw the first major attack as we went up Forrest Rd hill. When Peter Hunt gained a gap of about 150mts, it was looking like it was over but Peter forgot about the second kick and was starting to feel the pressure. A couple of the guys dug deep and drove it up the hill and I jumped on their wheel. Coming onto the second hill I was feeling OK and helped drag us up. Gaps were starting appear as everyone was tiring. Kane put in a big effort to bring us all back together.
We turned into Larcombes Rd and immediately another surge saw everyone digging deep to stay together. Over the crest we had the finish in sight and everyone seemed to be bunched up and waiting for someone to go. I saw a gap on the right and hoping it wasn’t too far out, I went.
Out of the saddle I drove as had hard as my legs would go. The finish line loomed and no one had come up on me so I stood up again and pushed as hard as I could and crossed the line in first place with apparently quite a gap. Minor placing’s were well fought out. Wins don’t come often and it is even sweeter when they come by for a prestigious race, such is the KVA Design Sash races.
Nick Squillari rode another strong race off scratch on his own and rode through the rest of the field and finish 9th and take fastest time with Josh Williams and Robbie Southern finishing well to stay within touch of Nick at the finish.
(Words by Brad Keating and some input by Kane Airey)

1st Brad Keating (10min 1:10:20 34.55km/h) 2nd Johnny Parrello (10min) 3rd David Lambourn ((7:30min), 4th Roger Cronk (7:30min), 5th Peter Hunt (7:30), 6th Tina Stenos (10min), 7th Darren Williams (7:30), 8th Kane Airey (7:30), 9th and Fastest Time Nick Squillari (1:00:37 40.09km/h), 10th Josh Williams (1:30min)

[FinalTilesGallery id=”7″]

Wednesday, June 14

Sunday, June 11

No club race Queens birthday

Wednesday, June 7

Sunday, June 4

Hendry Cycles Handicap Race

1st – F Gasperic 1:37:35

Sunday, May 28

No club race

VVCC event – Colac Vets 58km Open

Division 1 – https://results.sporthive.com/events/PC1400413/races/4404109

Divison 2 – https://results.sporthive.com/events/PC1400413/races/4404110

Wednesday, May 24

Sunday, May 21

Wednesday, May 17

Sunday, May 14

Wednesday, May 10

Two years ago, cycling Supervet Kent Fuller of Bannockburn crashed off his bike and broke bones in his neck. For a while it looked to be the end of his bike racing career, but Kent never gave up. Little by little the fractures healed and eventually, happily, Kent was back in the saddle again. This week over 36km in three laps at Paraparap, with Ian Sumner and Sue Theodore as company from a handicap of 15 minutes, it all paid off for Kent. Pursued by Roger Cronk, David Jessup, Mandy Hosking, from scratch, Peter McWaters missed the start with Scratch and spent his first race back in a few months chasing.

Race report by Dale Jennings
1st Ken Fuller
2nd Ken Mansfield
3rd Ian Sumner (not pictured)
4th Dale Jennings
5th Roger Cronk
6th Dave Jessup
Fastest time: Roger Cronk 1:04.19

Sunday, May 7

Geelong and Surfcoast Cycling Club 7-5-17

Graded scratch races 50km and 39km. Grays Rd, Flaxbournes Rd, Forest Rd and laps.

A Grade

A good field of eight A graders started with a quite steady pace. The favourite rider of the day, David Newett was being watched throughout and he was up for an aggressive day with a lot of attacks making it a good solid race. After dodging a dog, the turnaround marshal going awol and losing the the lead car all before the on Flaxbournes rd turn around racing settled down on the return trip before Harvey Lang had a couple of mechanical issues then Robbie Southern had a flat tyre to drop the field to six, all this happening inside the first 10 kms. David kept the attacks up, with counter attacks from Rick Buckwell who was back into A grade for the first time since his crit race crash earlier in the year. Craig Van Dort was doing his best to hang on in his first A grade race but the last time over Forest Rd hill was too much for him. On the last lap David attacked twice  and each time the group reeled him in but Rick counter attacked as the bunch settled. On the second attack before Larcombes rd corner Rick managed to gain some distance as the rest of a group continued to watch David and Josh.  Turing into Larcombes rd Tony French lead the charge followed by Andrew to pull the group back onto Ricks wheel and with everyone hanging on watching for David’s fast finish who managed to catch Rick 20 metres from the line and Josh snatching second on the line with Rick hanging on for third and Andrew fourth after a very aggressive and enjoyable race had by all.

MyLaps was finally called upon to verify placings with the line judges awarding Andrew third but the timing software was in favour of Rick by 0.054 of a second. Way to go MyLaps.

1st David Newett, 2nd Josh Williams, 3rd Rick Buckwell.

B Grade

Only 4 riders greeted the starter on a cold and damp morning, so self-preservation was the order of the day as the group swapped turns for most of the 50k race. In the last 5k Rowan Neerhut launched a series of attacks into the wind that finally dislodged first Kane Airey and then Roger Cronk up misery Lane for the final time but Nick Oakley managed to hang on and roll over Rowan for a cheeky win. by Nick Oakley

1st Nick Oakly, 2nd Rowan Neerhut, 3rd Roger Cronk.

C Grade

The C grade scratch race was run as was the other grades in very cold conditions. This resulted in the pace being a bit easier for the first part of the course while the four riders tried to get their legs warmed up and going. The pace started to pick up in places along Forest Rd with Paul Bird applying pressure on anything that appeared to be up hill. Brian Weppner trying to gain some race fitness again was working hard on these sections not to loose contact and eventually got those legs to settle in and was a strong competitor for the rest of the race. After the turn at Gundrys Rd Paul, Brian, Grant Rodgers and Carl Judd settled into a good rhythm all sharing the load into a side head wind. Once back onto the Paraparap circuit Carl Judd attacked at the club house corner where you turned into the head wind. He was able to hold his advantage for the next lap to take the win. The chasing riders made up ground with Paul “birthday boy” Bird chasing hard up Misery Lane the last time and finishing not far behind the winner in second place. Grant Rodgers close behind in third place and Brian Weppner finishing strongly in fourth spot. by Carl Judd

1st Carl Judd, 2nd Paul Bird, 3rd Grant Rogers

D Grade

Seven riders fronted the starter in cold conditions. Mainly damp roads & patchy clouds. Quite an ordinary start as everyone easing into it. Gordon Spargo was having an off day and found himself dropping off in the first few kilometres not long after the first left turn. Not sure if he had a bike problem as this is very unlike Gordon. The race changed and split into 2 after the ‘U’ turn. Tina had a miraculous save after her rear wheel slipped on some moss but this did not stop her, regaining her composure and sprinting off to join Gary Blick and Steve. Geoff Blick had his work cut out to catch these 3 who had broken away but managed to just claw his way on. This left Paul Bird and Jamie Robinson behind as they were caught by surprise. The remainder of the race was a game of chess between the Blick brothers, Tina and Steve. The Blick’s trying to break away several times but could not quite manage to get away. With a few K’s to go we all realised it would come down to the sprint and joked that the Blick’s team orders now no longer counted. Tina took off before the last turn in an attempt to avoid taking on the guys for the sprint but was chased down by Steve with the Blick Brothers in hot pursuit. With about 200m to go Geoff pulled out and powered to the win in the sprint a couple of metres in front of brother Gary followed by Steve then Tina. Bragging rights to Geoff until next race when Gary will seek revenge. by Geoff Blick

1st Geoff Blick, 2nd Gary Blick, 3rd Steve McLaughlin.

E Grade

Six E graders started today in what was a pretty even field. Ross West and John Bell dropped of the back on during the lap of the main circuit. New club rider Damian Letts was starting to show his cycling fitness working hard, Jenny Denouden and Gavin Gamble were riding well also. Damian proved too strong in the finish, with Gavin not far behind and Jenny Third.

1st Damian Letts, 2nd Gavin Gamble, 3rd Jenny Denouden

There were also open races held in central Victoria over the weekend with some very good results by GSCC riders. Kelvin Dyson won the handicap race on Sunday with Mandy Hosking 7th and Andrew Goodwin 20th. In the scratch races on Saturday, Paul Beasley was third and Mandy 5th in division 4 and Brian Long won division 6.

Wednesday, May 3

Sunday, April 30

63km Godings handicap race was presented with fantastic April racing conditions as 33 riders had to tough it out over Forest Rd, Nobles Rd and 2 laps of the main circuit.

The great Ken Mansfield was on his own at the start line with a 48 minute lead over the scratch bunch of four and 24 minutes to second limit. The kind winds today were going to favour the slower bunches. The scratch quartet of Greg Hosking, Andrew Goodwin, Josh Williams and Daryl Burns started very well charging along Forest Road with the help of the tail wind, then Josh got another puncture and Daryl pulled out before half way, so chasing the four remaining second scratch riders was going to be tough for the remaining two. The 24 minute and 19 minute groups combined early on Nobles Rd were going to be tough to catch riding as a strong larger bunch,  it was a matter if Ken could hold his constant speed till the end.

The second scratch group of Robbie Southern, Tony French, Craig Van Dort and Harvey Lang started to catch the next two groups on the first lap with a handy gap behind to the remaining scratch riders. Meanwhile near the front of the race Marcus Coppock’s form has been on the improve riding well with Geoff Wilson in the 19 minute group. Ken was still on his own at the start of the bell lap with the next large chasing group hot on Kens heals and unfortunately for Ken being caught not long after. Marcus, Geoff and Steve McLaughlin rode away from the rest of the leaders, knowing the second scratch group and followers were chasing hard.

Steve couldn’t quite hold onto to the finish and then Geoff was to strong for Marcus in the sprint taking a great win and Steve finishing on his own finishing third. Kelvin Dyson showed again he loves a sprint and finished forth winning the bunch sprint with Mandy just behind. Robbie Southern rode exceptionally well and worked his backside off again like usual all the way to the finish. Greg Hosking was too strong for Andrew Goodwin to taking Fastest time three minutes behind the winner. Ken Mansfield finished his race like always not far behind.

Thanks to Ross West for refereeing and all the marshals for assisting in another great GSCC race. Next Sunday 7th May, Graded scratch races at 9am.

1st Geoff Wilson (19min 1:53:03 33.4km/h), 2nd Marcus Coppock (19min), 3rd Steve McLaughlin (19min), 4th Kelvin Dyson (12min), 5th Mandy Hosking (7min), 6th Harvey Lang (3min), 7th Robbie Southern (3min), 8th Tony French (3min), 9th Roger Cronk (7min), 10th Rowan Neerhut (7min). Fastest Time: Gregory Hosking (1:37:08 38.92km/h)

Wednesday, April 26

no report available

Tuesday, April 25

Congratulations to Neil Maurer for finishing second in this years Northern Cycling Benghazi 77 km Open

Race Results
Place Competitor Club Handicap
1st James Knipe Eureka 37:00 min
2nd Neil Maurer Geelong 37:00 min
3rd Jude Jonasson Eureka 37:00 min
4th Darren Roberts Northern Scratch
5th Tim Canny Eureka Scratch
6th Jarrod Moroni Central Scratch
7th Tony Giuliano Northern Scratch
8th Stephan Lane Northern Scratch
9th Michael Borowski Northern Scratch
10th Tony Mirabella Eureka 5:00 min
11th Trent Stevenson Goulburn Scratch
12th Fraser Short Northern 5:00 min
FT Darren Roberts Northern Scratch

Sunday, April 23

2017 Surfcoast Earthworks Hell of the South – Gravel Race.

Anticipation had been building during the course of week for this event and so it was twenty very keen riders who turned up to race the second edition of the GSCC Hell of the South in perfect conditions for the middle of April. The rain over the last couple of days had compacted the gravel down to make all the roads fantastic to race on. The course was compiled of two large laps including the gravel sections of Willowite, Hendy Main, Loutitt Bay, Blackgate Rds then two or three laps of Willowite, Hendy Main, Loutitt Bay, Pettavel, Blackgate rds with more than two thirds over gravel and a few climbs each lap. It was going to be a war of attrition with the strongest of each grade prevailing at the finish.

A grade started with 5 riders setting a solid pace on the first section of gravel, they were quickly down to four when Gary Wearmouth’s rear derailleur decided to let go. Xavier Coppock was in his element today and road away from the others with about 30km to go holding a very impressive lead till the last time up the Pettavel gravel hill where he unfortunately had a rear puncture. Xavier kept pushing but was too far from the finish and was past by Anthony Seipolt and Richard Lyle with Josh Williams who were not far behind. Richard started the sprint to the finish line but Anthony ‘Bradbury’ Seipolt took a great win averaging over 35km/h on a tough course.

B grade started with six, Rick Buckwell was probably the favourite in this bunch. Rick started along Willowite with a solid first stint on the first gravel sector warming everyone up for what was looking like to be a hard race for all. The two supervets in the group Mark Cummins and Paul Rettke gained a nice gap on the downhill section  of Loutitt Bay Rd for the first time with the others in hot pursuit. Rick and Harvey Lang then attacked the first hill along Loutitt Bay Rd dropping Kane Airey who chased all the way to Blackgate Rd before Paul attacked again and that was the end of Kane. The first time up Pettavel Rd Hill, Rowan Neerhut decided to get a jump on the rest but then he literally hit the wall when he got to the top off the climb and the others flew past him spraying gravel in their wake. Paul got a flat with a lap to go and Rowan was eventually dropped on the last climb up Pettavel leaving it up to Rick, Harvey and Mark to fight it out. When this trio hit the last sector of bitumen at Pettavel/Blackgate corner of the last lap Rick put in his usual breakaway effort dropping Mark but Harvey anticipated the move and stuck on till the finish where he was able to out sprint Rick to record a great win and his first with the club.

C Grade started with five riders in an uneven bunch. David Warren was back racing again and continually attacked the bunch trying to break it apart but to no avail with some tough chasing by the rest of the group. Brad Keating put in a few solid efforts but had had enough at the start of the forth lap. Chris Fenech was looking strong at the front enjoying the gravel sections. David attacked again up the Pettavel hill with only Chris able to get on his wheel. These two road hard never to be seen again to the finish with David taking the win and Chris close behind. Carl Judd and David Spence road the rest of the course with David Spence taking third with Carl not far behind.

D grade had four starters and four laps to complete.

The quartet stayed together for the first lap, Marcus Coppock decided the racing wasn’t for him and supported the rest of the riders from the sidelines. Ben Culton from Colac loves a challenge and rode a very strong ride. Kerryn Minehan was riding very well but Ben knew he had to drop Kerryn before the last Pettavel Hill to have a chance to win at the finish. Ben held a very impressive pace over the gravel sections for a great win. Kerryn finish second from Joe Gulino who road very well.

Apart from a few mechanicals, everyone enjoyed the solid course, the gravel roads and are already looking forward to Hell of the South in 2018 with hopefully are few more riders. Thanks to all the marshals today

Wednesday, April 19

Perfect, still conditions prevailed for the 17 riders in the 37.5 km handicap event.

The smaller field meant bunches of only two or three, so there could be no passengers and the pace would be on from the start.

Sunday, April 16

Easter Weekend – no racing due to the staging of the VVCC National Road Cycling Championships in Maryborough.

For all results of events click on the links below

Road Racing – April 15

AVCC National 42km Road Race Men 70-90

AVCC National 90km Road Race Men 35-44

AVCC National 57km Road Race Men 60-69

AVCC National 72km Road Race Men 45-59

AVCC National 42km Road Race Women 55-74

AVCC National 57km Road Race Women 30-54

Men’s Road Race
35-39 1st Jarod Moroni (CV) Stephen Lane (N) Nicholas Squillari (GSC)
40-44 1st Gary Wearmouth(GSC) Tony Guiliano (N) Michael Borowski (N)
45-49 1st Darren Roberts (N) Craig Feely (SV) David Newett (GSC)
50-54 1st Phillip Smith (E) Neville Laffy (GV) Martin Banfield (CV)
55-59 1st Russell Newnham (E) Bill Gordon (N) Roy Clarke (E)
60-64 1st Trevor Coulter (N) Ian McGeogh (E) Peter McClelland(GV)
65-69 1st Mark Taylor (ACT) Phil Tehan (N) Lidsay Burgoyne (Eur)
70-74 1st Robert Nicholls (GSC) Robert Braszell (Eur) John Weir (CV)
75-79 1st Daniel Ives (E)
80-84 1st Evan Elliott (OV) L Nieuwenhoven (SV)
85-89 1st Brian Long (GSC) Roderick Goodes (E)

Women’s Road Race
35-39 1st Jude Jonasson (Eur)
40-44 1st Kym Petersen (E) Carole McGregor (GV) Tamara Riddell (N)
45-49 1st Anne Hocking (W) Jo Read (N) Michele Francis (CV)
50-54 1st Dale Maisels (E) Tina Stenos (GSC) Susie Gray (AHM)
55-59 1st Sheryl Barker (CV) Wendy Bennett (CV) Aileen O’Brien (CV)
60-64 1st Margaret Noonan (E) Meg Parnaby (Gr) Diane Jane (CV)
70-74 1st Liz Randall (E) Christine Neil (TAS) Adrienne Tilling (SV)

Time Trial – April 16

AVCC Time Trial 25km

Mens Time Trial
35-39 1st Nicholas Squillari (GSC) Stephen Lane (N) Tim Canny (Eur)
40-44 1st Paul Beretta (GSC) Michael Borowski (N) Shayne Kirby (N)
45-49 1st Andrew Baker (GSC) Matthew Bowman (Eur) Michael Fawke (ACT)
50-54 1st Neville Laffy (GV) Phillip Smith (E) David Bakes (CV)
55-59 1st Wayne Benton (CV) Bill Gordin (N) Peter Quibell (GV)
60-64 1st Trevor Coulter (N) Owain Tilley (ACT) Justin Mollison (CV)
65-69 1st Nicholas Grainger (CV) George Goodrope (N) Carl Judd (GSC)
70-74 1st Myles Higgins (GV) Doug Barrett (GSC) Robert Braszell (Eur)
75-79 1st William McConnell (GSC) Daniel Ives (E) Keith Wade (E)
80-84 1st Evan Elliott (OV) L Nieuwenhoven (SV)
85-89 1st Brian Long (GSC)

Women’s Time Trial
Event First Second Third
35-39 Jude Jonasson (Eur)
40-44 Tamara Riddell (N) Carole McGregor (GV) Tanya Noble (SV)
45-49 Anne Hocking (W) Jo Read (N) Tiffany Cosh (SV)
50-54 Anna Davis (E) Dale Maisels (E) Tina Stenos (GSC)
55-59 Wendy Bennett (CV) Susan Williams (E)
60-64 Margaret Noonan (E) Meg Parnaby (Gr)
70-74 Liz Randall (E) Adrienne Tilling (SV) Christine Neil (TAS)

Crit Racing – April 17

AVCC Criterium 2017

Men’s Criterium
35-39 1st Nicholas Squillari (GSC) Stephen Lane (N) Tim Bennett (GSC)
40-44 1st Michael Borowski (N) Tony Guiliano (N) Gary Wearmouth(GSC)
45-49 1st Craig Feely (SV) David Newett (GSC) Scott Riddell (N)
50-54 1st Martin Banfield (CV) Peter Cavallaro (CV) Dale Rycroft (SV)
55-59 1st Russell Newnham (E) Bill Gordon (N) Laurie Gates (E)
60-64 1st Trevor Coulter (N) David Menzies (?) Colin Morris (N)
65-69 1st Mark Taylor (ACT) George Goodrope (N) Carl Judd (GSC)
70-74 1st Robert Braszell (Eur) Robert Lewis (E) John Weir (CV)
75-79 1st Daniel Ives (E) Keith Wade (E)
80-84 1st Evan Elliott (OV) L Nieuwenhoven (SV)
85-89 1st Roderick Goodes (E) Brian Long (GSC)

Women’s Criterium
Event First Place Second Place Third Place
40-44 Kym Petersen (E) Tamara Riddell (N) Carole McGregor (GV)
45-49 Anne Hocking (W) Jo Read (N) Tiffany Cosh (SV)
50-54 Dale Maisels (E) Tina Stenos (GSC) Susie Gray (AHM)
55-59 Sheryl Barker (CV) Wendy Bennett (CV) Susan Williams (E)
60-64 Margaret Noonan (E) Diane Jane (CV)
70-74 Liz Randall (E) Adrienne Tilling (SV) Christine Neil (TAS)

Club Abbreviations
Victorian Club Legend
C = Colac, CV = Central Vets, E = Eastern, Eur = Eureka, GSC = Geelong, Gip = Gippsland, Gr = Grampians, GV = Goulburn, H = Hume, N = Northern, W = Warrnambool.
Interstate Club Legend
ACT = ACT Veteran Cycling Club, AHM = Adelaide Hills Masters Cycling Club, GCM = Gold Coast Masters, OV = Orana Veterans Cycling Club, WCM = West Coast Masters (WA), SV = Southern Districts Veteran and Ladies Cycling Club (SA), (TAS) Tasmania

Wednesday, April 12

Super Vet numbers were down considerably today due to numerous cyclists attending the funeral of Dave Molloy. Also many are racing in the VVCC National Road Cycling Championships this Easter weekend and so, were saving their legs for the big event.

7 small bunches totalling 14 racers fronted the start line at 10am. Wind from the North East gave riders a nice push up Misery Lane.

Sunday, April 9

GSCC 65km Club “Cement Eaters” Handicap! ‘Godings Handicap’ really, but only the hardened up, cement eating racers were on show today!

Today’s atrocious weather conditions saw only the tough, hardcore or just crazy, front up to the start line.

Wednesday, Apr 5

Supervets Race Report

A capacity field greeted the starter for the Supervets three lap handicap in near perfect conditions.

There was a strong scratch group of Paul Rettke, Dave Pike, Dave Jessup, Mark Cummings, Phil Tehan and Simon Brown but giving 25 mins to limit meant that it would be “touch and go” for them to get up.

Sunday, April 2

Aged Time Trial

Age Adjusted results

1st Bill McConnell 39:21 ride time (7:46 under 75/79 age standard)

2nd Nick Grainger 36:36 ride time (7:30 under 65/69 age standard)

3rd Stephen Lane 33:07 ride time (7:29 under 35/39 standard)

4th Trevor Couleter 35:39 ride time (6:58 under 60/64 age standard)

5th Doug Barrett 39:37 ride time (5:37 under 70/74 age standard)

click on pic for full results

Thursday, Mar 30

The last crit of the year was  short affair as we then adjourned to the pub for a meal

A Grade – 1st , 2nd , 3rd

B Grade – 1st , 2nd , 3rd

C Grade – 1st , 2nd , 3rd

D Grade – 1st , 2nd , 3rd

E Grade – 1st , 2nd , 3rd

F Grade – 1st

Wednesday, Mar 29

Supervets Race Report – Time Trial Report
An excellent field of 28 riders contested the three lap handicap.

Twenty three minutes separated the limit and scratch groups but with a strong group of six on scratch, the handicapper was throwing them the gauntlet and they took up the challenge with Dave Pike, Mark Cummings, Mandy Hosking, Dave Jessup, Phil Tehan and Laurie Fitzsimons cooperating well over the first two laps.

Sunday, Mar 26

Graded Road Race

A Grade 61 km – 1st G Hosking 1:37:13, 2nd A Baker 15:12m, 3rd J Williams

B Grade 61 km – 1st R Buckwell 1:40:33, 2nd T French, 3rd P Rettke

C Grade 50 km – 1st D Brayshaw 1:30:33, 2nd V Mason, 3rd P Bird

D Grade 50 km – 1st Geoff Blick 1:27:16, 2nd G Wilson, 3rd P Bubb

E Grade 38 km – 1st S McLachlan 1:08:15, 2nd Gary Blick, 3rd J Denouden

F Grade 38 km – 1st B Long 1:25:44, 2nd R Lambeth, 3rd K Mansfield

Thursday, Mar 23

A Grade – 1st Garry Wearmouth, 2nd Nicholas Squillari, 3rd Josh Williams

B Grade – 1st Richard Lyle, 2nd Steven Douglas, 3rd Ian Amsden

C Grade – 1st Steve Young, 2nd Stephen Bell, 3rd Vincent Haveaux

D Grade – 1st Paul Bird, 2nd Tina Stenos, 3rd Geoff Blick

E Grade – 1st Neil Maurer, 2nd Stephen McLachlan, 3rd Gary Blick

F Grade – 1st Rod Lambeth

Wednesday, Mar 22

Supervets Race Report – Time Trial Report

Officials outnumbered competitors in the two lap time trial held on 22nd March. Only the keen riders attended as others were obviously deterred by the heavy rain that had fallen early in the morning. However fine weather and a reasonably dry road meant that the riding was not unpleasant. Although times were slightly slower than normal it was a good hitout for those riders entering the Australian Championships at Maryborough over the Easter period.

Results

1. Peter Ladd  38:57  2. Tina Stenos  39:37  3. John Bell  43:29  4. Murray Riggs  43.42  5. Spiros Digenis  45:48  6. Tony Revell  46:33  7. Ross West  47:54
8. Ian Sumner  50:11  9. Kent Fuller  50:48

Sunday, Mar 19

Results from The White Cross Health Care 3 Stage Race Series

Stage 2 – Time Trial 1okm

A Grade – 1st P Beretta 15:09m, 2nd A Baker 15:12m, 3rd B Haskett 15:23m

B Grade – 1st A Read 15:59m, 2nd C Van dort 6:07m, 3rd R Buckwell 16:14m

C Grade – 1st P Ogilvie 16:46m, 2nd K Dyson 16:49m, 3rd V Mason 16:57m

D Grade – 1st D Lambourn 16:48, 2nd D Brayshaw 17:25m, 3rd Geoff Blick 17:35m

E Grade – 1st G Blick 17:33m, 2nd M Coppock 18:11m, 3rd J Dovjak 18:38m

F Grade – 1st D Wilson 19:59m, 2nd R Lambeth 21:17m

Stage 3 – Graded Road race

A Grade 38km – 1st G Hosking 1:02:26, 2nd P Beretta, 3rd J Williams

B Grade 38km – 1st C Van dort 1:04:35, 2nd R Buckwell, 3rd A Read

C Grade 38km – 1st K Dyson 1:11:14, 2nd V Havaux, 3rd V Mason

D Grade 27km – 1st D Brayshaw 48:15, 2nd C Judd, 3rd G Blick

E Grade 27km – 1st G Blick 49:21, 2nd M Coppock, 3rd J Dovjak

F Grade 27km – 1st D Wilson 58:07, 2nd R Lambeth

Thursday, Mar 16

Stage 1 of The White Cross Health Care 3 Stage Race Series.

A Grade – 1st P Beretta, 2nd A Baker, 3rd B Haskett

B Grade – 1st C Hannah, 2nd A Read, 3rd K Airey

C Grade – 1st K Dyson, 2nd M Hosking, 3rd Steve Young

D Grade – 1st D Brayshaw, 2nd C Judd, 3rd G Blick

E Grade – 1st S Penman, 2nd K Clarke, 3rd M Coppock

F Grade – 1st Rod Lambeth

Wednesday, Mar 15

Supervets Race Report

Blustery conditions made it very difficult for all riders in the Supervets handicap on Wednesday 15th March. With the northerly wind blowing leaves and small twigs onto the road groups began to disintegrate after one lap of the two lap plus Noble’s Road race.

David Pike was the sole scratch man one min behind Mark Cummings and Simon Brown on second scratch. Mark and Simon made up the one minute to third scratch, Mandy Hosking, Phil Tehan and Laurie Fitzsimons, on the second lap.

Sunday, Mar 12

Some great results and break away wins in today’s gscc scratch races with the riders getting a good hitout before next weeks White Cross 3 stage race.

A grade solo winner Robbie Southern from David Newitt and Anthony Seipolt

B grade winner Rick Buckwell with a late break away 2 km from the line from

C grade winner Vincent Haveaux in a two up sprint.

D grade. Darren Brayshaw.

E grade James Wright.

F grade Phil Cox.

GSCC Boys hit top spots in the Bendigo Open.

The V.V.C.C. O’Brien Contracting Central Vets 64.5km Open Handicap Race was held in beautiful sunshine, contrary to the expected rain that was forecast.

115 racers fronted the officials for their race briefing.

Thursday, Mar 9

Great evening of crit racing at Belmont in all grades with solid fast racing. A slight northerly blowing. Well done to all.
A GRADE: 1st Ashley Goldstraw 2nd Josh Williams. Combined A grades due to a few missing. Good to see everyone stayed together for the entire race.
B GRADE: 1st Rick Buckwell 2nd James Mogic 3rd Andrew Read. Good to see Rick back racing after his crash earlier this year.
C GRADE: 1st Kelvyn Dyson 2nd Stephen Bell 3rd Simon Brown
D GRADE: 1st Darren Brayshaw 2nd David Lambourne 3rd Steve Mclachlan.
E GRADE: 1st John Bell 2nd Rod Lambeth.

Wednesday, Mar 8

Supervets Race Report

Blessed with near perfect conditions for the second week in a row the GSCC Super Vets enjoyed a fast and competitive 37.5 km race over the traditional three lap course.

The strong second scratch group of Dave Jessup, Mandy Hosking, Robbie Nicholls, John Hayden, Phil Tehan and Laurie Fitzsimons held sway for most of the race.

Sunday, Mar 5

KVA Design Summer Sash Race 2017

With 40 eager entrants including the defending champion Mark Turnley in the 4th edition of the kvadesign summer sash race it was going tot be a cracker of a race in good conditions for cycling. The riders had to navigate Forest Rd and a lap of the Paraparap circuit x2 for 65km, it was to be long tough day out.

Ken Mansfield again lead the field out with a gap of 50 minutes to the scratch group of six. Ken started well with a 12 minute gap over Rod Lambeth, then another 5 minutes to the 33 minute group of Mal Cole, Terry Robinson and Ian Sumner these 5 riders were the ones to catch today.

A couple of early flats while warming up today to Jenny Denouden who missed her bunch and David Spence who borrowed a wheel just in time to start his ride created a bit of chaos, then some rain showers at the end of Forest Rd made for a cautious turn around.

Most of the groups were riding well and staying together, Mark Turnley was very keen today to keep the pace up and road away from his co-markers with only Vic Mason with him. Rob Southern was riding strong like usual stretching the legs of Nick Brown and Harvey Lang.

With the showers ever increasing Ken Mansfield had a healthy lead at the Forest Rd turn around for the first time, with the 33 minute trio closing in on Rod Lambeth. All the groups continued the chase with a few riders dropping out before finial return leg of Forest Rd. At the final turn around at Gundrys Rd Ken was still battling away solo out front, with Ian, Mal and Terry only a few minutes behind chasing hard working well together. A couple of the middle groups had combined and scratch has caught the remanence of the second and third scratch groups and only 13 minutes behind the lone leader.

Ian, Mal and Terry caught Ken on the return leg of Forest Rd and they were the ones to catch and had to keep working hard and together. Scratch had started reeling in the middle groups at the end of Forest Rd and during the final circuit. Terry Robinson took the race on sensing the fast finishing scratch group were getting close and dug in for the last time up misery lane and soloed all the way to the finish to win by 30 seconds over Ian Sumner and a further 10 seconds to Mal Cole. Greg Hosking won the group sprint  for forth 15 seconds behind Mal and he also won fastest time again. A big thank you to Richard Buckwell for refereeing with assistance from Dennis Sonogan, David Robinson on the moto and all the other marshals to make the race another safe event. Next week are graded scratch races. The 16th & 19th March is the second running of the White Cross Health Care Solutions 3 stage race.

1st Terry Robinson (2:07:13, 30.65km/h 33min), 2nd Ian Sumner (33min), 3rd Mal Cole (33min), 4th Greg Hosking (scr), 5th Josh Williams (scr), 6th Andrew Goodwin (scr), 7th Robbie Southern (5min), 8th Nick Brown (5min), 9th Brad Hasket (scr), 10th Harvey Lang (5min). New rider Darren Brayshaw finished 11th and last years winner Mark Turnley 12th. Fastest Time Greg Hosking (1:34:23 41.32km/h).

Thursday, Mar 2

No results

Wednesday, Mar 1

Supervets Race Report

Wednesday morning racing for the Supervets (60+ men and 50+ women) continues to be very popular and there was another capacity field this week. Strong groups and near perfect conditions led to very fast times for all bunches.

The limit groups eventually combined and were able to stay clear. This group included James Wright, Mel White, Terry Robinson, Peter King, Murray Riggs, Kent Fuller, Brian Long, new rider Sue Theodore, Phil Cox, Don Stuart and Dale Jennings. In the run to the line Mel White and James Wright were able to break clear and Mel drove strongly to the finish to record his second win of the year.

Sunday, Feb 24

2017 RON RIVETTE CLASSIC – race report (no club racing held)

Brilliant sunshine greeted riders as they arrived at the EUREKA Cycling club rooms on the foreshore of Lake Learmonth. Barely a breath of breeze early in the  morning, however a fierce northerly wind had blown up by race start time at 10:00 AM.

The Limit group (34:00 min) was blown apart by the wind in the first 20 kilometres. Sue Parker (Eureka) had ridden away from her 27:00 min group and was fast closing on the strung out Limit riders. (Post race Brian Long commented ‘I was dropped by those girls in the same place again!’)

Thursday, Feb 23

GSCC Best Western Motor Inn Criterium Series Rnd 5.

The customary see breeze challenged the riders in tonight’s Best Western Motor Inn Crit Series being officiated by Rick Buckwell, Mark Turnley and Dave Robinson. And a big thank from all of us who raced.

Twenty eight riders took to the course with 9 in A Grade, 3 in B Grade, 9 in C grade and the final numbers were made up in D grade and lone rider Phil Cox in F grade. The challenge for interesting and even racing was difficult in A Grade with two very strong performances from Nick Squillari and Tim Bennett. Ian Amsden has certainly felt the difference from B Grade tonight as did Carl. Maybe some readjustment may be required for the next show down?

Wednesday, Feb 22

Supervets Race Report

A team time trial over three laps, finishing at the Club rooms, was held on the 22nd Feb. The field was divided into five groups and sent away at two minute intervals with the scratch group starting last. As the group’s time would be based on the last rider it was imperative that each group work together and protect the weaker riders. The handicap for each group was “secret” and would not be revealed until the completion of the race.

Sunday, Feb 19

GSCC Godings 49km Handicap

Congratulations to Footscray riders Tommy Gray for winning, Graeme Wilson for placing 2nd.

Good to see new riders to the club, racing well and featuring in the results, with Darren Bradshaw picking up 4th and Nick Squillari blitzing the field to win Fastest Time and also place 3rd.

V.V.C.C. Victorian Championship Criterium Race

Congratulations to GSCC’s very own Tim Bennett for picking up the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Open event.

Tim also won the Geelong Cycling Club night Crit Series, raced around a tight circuit held around the Bunnings car park, Waurn Ponds. The series concluded yesterday evening. Well done Tim, some top racing there.

Thursday, Feb 16

Results
A grade – 1st J Williams, 2nd B Haskett, 3rd A Baker

B grade – 1st I Amsden, 2nd A Schep, 3rd M Turnley

C grade – 1st J Mogic, 2nd K Airey, 3rd S Bell

E grade – 1st J Bell, 2nd K Clarke, 3rd N Maurer

F grade – P Cox

Wednesday, Feb 15

Supervets Race Report

A capacity field greeted the starter for the three lap handicap race.

Sunday, Feb 12

Great result by the GSCC club members today at the Brennen/Hall Memorial 66km Handicap at Dixie for the Warrnambool Vets Open.

Geelong riders Eddy Ziedaitis off 2nd scratch, along with Ian Amsden placed 2nd and 4th respectively, Mandy Hosking off 16 mins, contested and picked up 5th and Geelong/Colac rider Nick Brown off 11 minutes placed 6th. Congrats to Eureka rider Tony Mirabella for picking up 3rd.

Winner of the day came from Eddy and Ians’ bunch, Trevor Coulter. Trevor was very humble in victory, saying after a bit of a hiatus off the bike, he was thrilled to win and highly recommended and commended the V.V.C.C. events and officials for holding such well run races.

Thursday, Feb 9

Thursday night crit racing saw the smallest fields so far this season in all grades but there was one notable entrant in A grade being Nick Squillari. After the anticipated wait he finally showed up to an event. After taking it easy for the first 20 mins he then proceeded to blitz the track and lap anything and everything is his sight.

Results
A grade – 1st N Squillari, 2nd D Newitt
B grade – 1st A Goldstraw, 2nd A Schep, 3rd S Douglas
C grade – 1st N Pearson, 2nd V Haveaux, 3rd A Booth
D grade – 1st N Maurer, 2nd J Bell, 3rd S Cox

Wednesday, Feb 8

Supervets Race Report

The first Supervets Time Trial for the year was held on Wed 8th Feb with a very good field of 21 riders racing 23.1 kms over two laps.

The North Easterly wind may have affected times slightly but conditions overall were very good.

Sunday, Feb 5

Over 50 riders turned out for the new riders day with 12 new or trial riders giving it a go. In near perfect conditions with the temperature in the mid 20’s and wind under 5 km from the north west racing in all grades was hard fought and it was fantastic to see 5 female riders getting in the mix

The final race results and prize money went to:
A Grade – 1. Andrew Baker, 2. Anthony Seipolt, 3. Tony French
B Grade – 1. Nick Brown, 2. Darren Allan, 3. Eddie Zediatis
D Grade – 1. Peter Wynne, 2. Mandy Hosking, 3. David Lambourn
E Grade – 1. Tina Stenos, 2. Gordon Spargo, 3. David Phillips

F Grade – 1. Brian Long, 2. Ian Sumner, 3. Daryl Peterson

Thursday, Feb 2

Best Western Motor Inn Criterium Series – Round 4

Unusually, fine conditions greeted the 24 riders, the growing spectators and of course a handful of officials at last night’s Best Western Geelong Motor Inn Criterium Series. That strong sea breeze didn’t show this time.

The numbers meant C and D grade merged making the proceedings more exiting. It was great to see Rick and Andy getting back amongst it and building on that race fitness they are both known for. Nice one gents!

The preliminary sprint results were as follows:
A Grade – 1. Gary Wearmounth, 2. Tim Bennett, 3. Paul Beretta
B Grade – 1. Ian Amsden, 2. Andy Schep, 3. Craig Hannah
D Grade – 1. Paul Bird, 2. Carl Judd, 3. Andrew Booth
E Grade – 1. Neil Maurer, 2. Tina Stenos, 3. John Bell

Wednesday, Feb 1

Supervets Race Report

A capacity field raced on a new Supervets course ( two laps plus out and back Noble’s Road ) in excellent conditions.

Handicapper Brian Long split the field into groups of 4 or 5 riders and this meant some fast riding for those groups who could work well together.

Sunday, Jan 29

no race held due to Cadel Evans road race weekend

Thursday, Jan 26

Crit racing cancelled due to Australia day celebrations

Wednesday, Jan 25

Supervets Race Report

A near capacity field of 28 riders contested the three lap handicap in almost perfect conditions. Strong groups of four or five riders made for some fast, competitive riding. The six mins group of Tina Stenos, Lew Targett, Dave Phillips, Gordon Spargo and Ray Clifford was weakened by a couple of early withdrawals and with the scratch group of Mark Cummings, Peter Ladd, Simon Brown and Laurie Fitzsimons working very well together they soon hauled in the two mins group of Peter McWaters, Mandy Hosking, Dave Jessup, John Hayden and Kim Clarke. However, their combined strength was not enough to overhaul the 14 mins group of Ross West, Ian Sumner, Murray Riggs, Mel White and Kent Fuller. Ross and Mel were fighting for line honours up ” misery lane” but Mel proved to be the stronger and rode away for a fine win. Simon Brown took out the scratch sprint with an excellent time of 1.00.20 only half a minute off the course record.

Sunday, Jan 22

Godings handicap #1

Today the GSCC had 36 eager riders competing in the first Godings club aggregate race for 2017 in very good racing conditions with only a slight north-east wind blowing. The course for the day was three laps then out and back Nobles Rd finishing Larcombes Rd B. A warm welcome to Kerryn Minehan for her first race and Goef Blick in his first handicap race.

There was a healthy gap of 40 minutes from the two limit riders Ken Mansfield and Phil Cox to the four man scratch bunch of Greg Hosking, Anthony Seipolt, Xavier Coppock and Darren Gray with 5 healthy bunches in between. By the time scratch started Ken and Phil were riding very well and they were well over a lap in front. It took till scratch got to Forest Rd for the third time to un-lap themselves.

The race was on the speed difference between these two groups was astounding. Most of the bunches were working well together with a few riders a bit underdone after their Christmas festivities and were dropped from their usual groups. The remaining three from the second scratch group of Robbie Southern, Josh Williams and Nick Brown (Colac) were powering along, catching the bunches in front on the third lap and they worked their way to the front of the race at the Start of Nobles Road. Scratch were still chasing hard looking for the win. The second scratch group had a few helpers including Craig Van Dort from third scratch.

When they turned into Larcombes Rd they had the finish line in their sights, Robbie tried to ride everyone off his wheel like usual to no avail, Josh William proved too strong again in the sprint winning by a bike length over Nick Brown and Robbie. Josh has started the year off where he left last year in front in the aggregate points. Greg Hosking won fastest time while being pushed all the way to the line by Darren Gray, if scratch started with all 5 riders they might have had a chance.

Well done to all who competed, thanks again to the marshals, race referee Rod Lambeth, the two moto super hero’s Phil and Dave and to Richard Buckwell for filling in as time keeper for the day.

1st Josh Williams (5min 40.08km/h), 2nd Nick Brown (C 5min), 3rd Robbie Southern (5min), 4th Craig Van Dort (8min), 5th Jani Dovjak (22min), 6th Geof Blick (22min), 7th Ross West (22min), 8th Jenny Denouden (22min), 9th Greame Wilson (18min) 10th Grant Edmonds (12min).  Fastest Time Greg Hosking (scr 41.2km/h).

Thursday, Jan 19

Crit racing commenced in all grades but was cancelled 5 mins into racing due to a fall in A grade.

Wednesday, Jan 18

Supervets Race Report

With many members in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under it was a smaller field of 17 riders which contested the 37.5 km handicap this week.

Sunday, Jan 15

The first Sunday race for season 2017. GSCC Scratch Races.

45kms Out and back Forest Road plus one lap, finish Larcombes ‘A’ for A, B and C Grades.
34kms Out and back Forest, no lap finish Larcombes for D, E and F Grade.

Placings and a brief word from the place getters…

Thursday, Jan 12

Thursday’s Crits are back for 2017.

A good field of 30 riders took to the crit track for the first race of 2017 and of course it was well supported by Richard Buckwell, Marcus Coppock and David Robinson.

Wednesday, Jan 11

Supervets Race Report

Twenty one riders fronted the starter for the first Geelong and Surfcoast Cycling Club Supervets handicap for 2017 on Wednesday 11th January.

The middle markers dominated proceedings with new rider David Jessup, Gordon Spargo and Barry Primmer (9mins) riding strongly to reel in the 12 mins bunch of John Bell, Richard Buckwell and Ross West halfway through the 37.5 km course.