Newspaper 2003

22 Oct 2003

A fantastic turnout of junior and senior riders marked the start of the track season for the the Wagga Wagga Cycling Club. It was great to see some of the old faces as well as a number of new faces eager for a summer of track racing. Also good to see was our trust lap counter and bell ringer Dave Tucker as well as our master starter Mick Robertson. Racing was keenly contested in great spirit.
The Auto Panel Repairs Pocket Rockets races saw Tommy Hindmarsh win both handicap events with his brother Joe running second in the same. Third place went to Jack Albert in the first race and Dylan McGirr in the second race. These youngsters are already showing greater speed than last year. Young Tommy Hindmarsh had the biggest smile on his face at his new found turn of speed.
The Microtech Super Rockets were in fine form with William Rorrison winning the first race and running third in the second event. Alex Albert ran second in the first event and then wound up to win the second. Newcomer Brooke Michalowski rode magnificently for a third place followed up with a second place.
The Fearnes Coaches U11B grade races saw seasoned veteran Max Pearse win both events from another seasoned racer in Lucy Regan who I am pleased to see has grown some front teeth. Third place in both events was taken out by Netasha McGirr no in her second year of track racing.
The Rules Club U11A grade events saw Ashleigh Riley, on her new bike, have win and a second place. Dominic Alexander did the reverse with a second place and a win. Mr consistency Thomas Regan ran third in both races.
The second session for the evening saw the old stagers flex their muscles. In the U13 races, Blocker Pearse started with a win then followed up with a third place. Jamie Green had a second place and then a win. Matty Garlan ran third in his first race and Mitchell Harvey got third place in the second race. In a feature scratch race, Jamie green took the honours from Thomas Reagan and Blocker Pearse.
The U15/17 combined group had three races. Ellen Marks won the first event and followed up with two thirds. Paul Fellows asserted his dominance with two wins. Other place getters were Bryce Leske and Elyce Payne. Others to ride well in this big group were Dirk Roshier and Mitchell Harvey.
The big boys saw Tommy Atkinson starring on his new bike with three first places and winning $15 for his efforts. Luke Harvey won the other event and followed up with two second places and a third place. Dean Hart also rode consistently with three third places and on second place.
If this first night was any indication, Wednesday night racing should be huge this season with riders from 5yo to vets welcome to test themselves for the prizemoney. Training is held every Monday night from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm and Saturday mornings from 8.00 am to 10.00 am. Racing is held every Wednesday night with registrations for juniors at 6.00 pm and seniors at 7.00 pm. The venue for all track racing is the Cricket Ground at the corner of Kincaid and Beckwith Streets. In late breaking news, unfortunately Dave Tucker will no longer be the lap counter for this season as he is to undergo a major medical procedure. Good luck Dave and we will be thinking of you.
 

Posted 24 Sep 2003

With the road season winding down, the numbers at the Saturday afternoon club race have been slowly dwindling. Four riders turned up for the 8 km handicap event held on Saturday 20th of September. The winner was Matty Garlan. He took 45 seconds off his previous best time. Behind him was Netasha Pearse, who also rode the fastest time. Happy Gilmore was third and Elyce Payne, having recovered from a fall at the State Championships, was fourth.
This has been the last club road race for the winter season. Parents and riders can now have a rest and prepare for the track season. The first Wednesday track meeting will be on the 15th of October with junior registrations commencing at 6.00 pm. Senior racing will start at approximately 7.30 pm. Register early to avoid any delays on the night.
Richard Moffatt, fresh from his placing at the National Road Championships, has just finished 3rd in the Grafton to Inverell race. This is a 228 km race and is said to be the toughest and richest one day race in Australia. It involves a climb of 1160 metres over 18 km and has prize money of $20,000. The race has been run for the past 43 years and in that time, Richard has been only the 2nd 18 year old to have had an A grade podium finish. The other was former World Junior Champion, Ben Brooks, who was then signed up by the Linda Macartney professional racing team. I am informed that this is the closest Australian event to a major European race, with spectators lining the streets to see the race go by. It even attracted Michael Tomalaris, the Tour de France commentator for SBS Television.
The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club will hold its registration day on Saturday 27 September at the Cycle Track on the corner of Kincaid and Beckwith Streets. The session will be from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon. Club bikes will be available to ride, however, please bring your own helmet. There will be a free sausage sizzle and lots of free help from club officials and riders. As many club riders as possible are invited to attend the session, with track bikes. New riders of all standards, from 5 years old to veterans are welcome to attend.
The club presentation night for the road season will be held at the RSL Club on Friday 26 September 2003 at 6.30 pm. Light snacks will be available for those who wish to partake of them. Numbers to be indicated to Steve Marks on 69 224252. Could those riders holding perpetual trophies from last year please return them to Bob Robertson
 

Posted 17 Sep 2003

Sorry folks, last week’s article did not go to press because I sent it to the wrong E-mail address. Now that I have got my act together, there is two weeks worth of news to catch up on.
Three riders turned up for the 8 km handicap event held on Saturday 6th of September. The winner was Happy Gilmore who took 2.5 minutes off his previous best time. No doubt the handicapper has noted this in his black book. Second home was Matty Garlan ( or, as some say – Garland ) with Jamie Green third. Jamie also took out the fastest time.
Last Saturday, only the sub-juniors turned up for their road race. The winner was Matty Garlan who also took out the fastest time. Second was Tom Regan and third was Jamie Green. Other riders competing were Joe van Wel, Isaac Gilmore and Lucy Regan.
As mentioned two weeks ago, Melissa Moffatt, Netasha Pearse, Ellen Marks, Paul Fellows and Matthew McDonagh have been representing the Wagga Club at the National Road Cycling Championships. All riders have ridden magnificently with the highlight being Netasha Pearse winning a silver medal in the U15 Womens Criterium event. Ellen Marks had some top 10 finishes in the same division. First year U15 rider Paul Fellows found his division tough but still managed to finish ahead of his close mate Tommy Palmer. Melissa Moffatt unfortunately suffered a back injury and could not ride at the level to which she is accustomed. With Netasha, Ellen and Paul being in the first year of their respective age groups, the prospects for more medals next year are excellent.
Richard Moffat has also been making his impact in Queensland. Richard came third overall in the National U23 Time Trial Championships. Because the winner was not an Australian National, Richard was awarded the silver medal. Not bad for 19 year old to take the U23 silver medal. Richard also won a bronze medal in the Oceania U23 Time Trial event.
The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club will hold its registration day on Saturday 27 September at the Cycle Track on the corner of Kincaid and Beckwith Streets. The session will be from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon. Club bikes will be available to ride, however, please bring your own helmet. There will be a free sausage sizzle and lots of free help from club officials and riders. As many club riders as possible are invited to attend the session, with track bikes. New riders of all standards, from 5 years old to veterans are welcome to attend.
The club presentation night for the road season will be held at the RSL Club on Friday 26 September 2003 at 6.30 pm. Light snacks will be available for those who wish to partake of them. Numbers to be indicated to Steve Marks on 69 224252. Could those riders holding perpetual trophies from last year please return them to Bob Robertson. Next weekend, road racing is at Elizabeth Avenue with the sub-juniors commencing at 1.00 pm.

Posted 10 Sep 2003

Rain, the winding down of the road season and the football finals combined to account for a poor turn up of riders for the weekly club race. A number of Wagga Wagga Cycling Club riders also attended the National Championships at Maloolaba and did the Club proud.
Three riders turned up for the 8 km handicap event. The winner was Happy Gilmore who took 2.5 minutes off his previous best time. No doubt the handicapper has noted this in his black book. Second home was Matty Garlan ( or, as some say – Garland ) with Jamie Green third. Jamie also took out the fastest time.
As mentioned last week, Melissa Moffatt, Netasha Pearse, Ellen Marks, Paul Fellows and Matthew McDonagh have been representing the Wagga Club at the National Road Cycling Championships. All riders have ridden magnificently with the highlight being Netasha Pearse winning a silver medal in the U15 Womens Criterium event. Ellen Marks had some top 10 finishes in the same division. First year U15 rider Paul Fellows found his division tough but still managed to finish ahead of his close mate Tommy Palmer. Melissa Moffatt unfortunately suffered a back injury and could not ride at the level to which she is accustomed. With Netasha, Ellen and Paul being in the first year of their respective age groups, the prospects for more medals next year are excellent.
The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club will hold its registration day on Saturday 27 September at the Cycle Track on the corner of Kincaid and Beckwith Streets. The session will be from 9.30 am to 12.00 noon. Club bikes will be available to ride, however, please bring your own helmet. There will be a free sausage sizzle and lots of free help from club officials and riders. As many club riders as possible are invited to attend the session, with track bikes. New riders of all standards, from 5 years old to veterans are welcome to attend.
The club presentation night for the road season will be held at the RSL Club on Friday 26 September 2003 at 6.30 pm. Light snacks will be available for those who wish to partake of them. Numbers to be indicated to Steve Marks. Could those riders holding perpetual trophies from last year please return them to Bob Robertson. Next weekend, road racing is at Elizabeth Avenue with the sub-juniors commencing at 1.00 pm.
 

Posted 03 Sep 2003

With the weather turning nasty over the weekend, a few of the junior riders decided to have a rest from cycling now that their State Championships have been run. Coach Bob still had his loyal band of sub-junior riders turn up for their club race.
Five riders turned up for the 8 km handicap event. The winner was Matt Garlan with Thomas Regan sprinting past his sister Lucy to take 2nd place. One would think he would do the gentlemanly thing and allow Lucy to sit behind him to the finish line – no, not Tom. He had to assert his dominance to the finish line. Isaac (Happy) Gilmore came in 4th and Joe van Wel was 5th. Catherine Robertson was the only senior rider to turn up. Unfortunately there was no senior event.
Four Wagga riders have made the journey to Maloolaba for the National Road Cycling Championships. The riders heading north are Netahsa Pearse, Melissa Moffatt, Ellen Marks and Paul Fellows. The three girls have been selected in the NSW team. Also riding at Maloolaba, in Wagga Wagga colours, is Matthew McDonagh. Matt was selected to ride for Tasmania however, due to an administrative hitch, he cannot yet ride in Tasmanian colours. Good luck to all and enjoy the warmer weather.
The club presentation night for the road season will be held at the RSL Club on Friday 26 September 2003 at 6.30 pm. Light snacks will be available for those who wish to partake of them. Numbers to be indicated to Steve Marks. Could those riders holding perpetual trophies from last year please return them to Bob Robertson. Next weekend, road racing is at Elizabeth Avenue with the sub-juniors commencing at 1.00 pm.
 

Posted 27 Aug 2003

With the weather turning wild, local club racing was cancelled last weekend. Four brave young riders went out to Dukes road for a training ride. Fastest of the four was Jamie Green, closely followed by Matt Garlan. Following were “Happy” Isaac Gilmore and “Sloppy” Joe Van Wel who pulled his foot and fell. With no injury to speak of sloppy got back in the saddle and gave chase. Well done guys.
In the Southern Highlands, however, the wind and rain did not stop Wagga Wagga riders striving for success at the NSW Junior Road Cycling Championships.
Eight riders trekked to Bargo for the NSW Time Trial and Road Race Championships. The riders were Melissa Moffatt, Netasha Pearse, Ellen Marks, Elyce Payne, Paul Fellows, Tara Bryan, Nomie Pinto and Blocker Pearse. The course was hilly and as expected, quite a demanding one.
The Time Trial was held in fine conditions on the Saturday. Melissa Moffatt (U17 Women) won a silver medal. Netasha Pearse (U15 Women) won a gold medal and Tara Bryan (U13 Girls) won a bronze medal.
The Road Race was held in very windy conditions. In the U15 Womens race, Netasha Pearse won a silver medal and Ellen Marks took the bronze medal. In the U13 Girls race, Tara Bryan won a silver medal. Melissa Moffatt was unlucky not to get a medal in the Road Race.
The course was quite treacherous and unfortunately, Elyce Payne came to grief on a nasty downhill bend. Best wishes to her from all the club members. All the riders gained valuable experience on this course that had not previously been used for this event.
Well done to all who represented the club at this event. Melissa Moffatt, Ellen Marks, Netasha Pearse, Paul Fellows and Mathew McDonagh will all represent the club at the up-coming National Road Championships. We hope you have a great time.
The Club presentation night for the Road season will be held at the RSL Club on Friday 26 September at 6.30pm. Light snacks will be available for those who wish to partake of them. Numbers to be indicated to Steve Marks. Could those riders holding perpetual trophies please return them to Bob Robertson.
Next weekend, road racing is back to normal at Elizabeth avenue with sub-juniors commencing at 1.00pm. There will be no separate senior race due to the Coota Annual Road Race.
 

Posted 21 May 2003

Last weekend, riders from the sub-junior level to the walking stick brigade and all those in between, raced in the local club races.

In the sub-junior 4 km race, Max Housden triumphed over Lucy Regan, with Max Pearse third. Lucy rode the fastest time, however Max Housden was the big improver by 2min 20 secs on his new bike. In the 8 km race, Ashleigh Riley improved by half a minute on last week to take the event from Joe van Wel and Baden Housden. Fastest time went to Thomas Regan. Others to finish were Maggie Hume and Matt Garlan.

The junior riders raced over 17 km with front marker Blocker Pearse taking out the event from Jamie Green and Elyce Payne. Mitchell Harvey rode well to hold out his cousin Ellen Marks who was followed home by scratchmarkers Paul Fellows and Dirk Roshier. Fastest time went to Paul Fellows. Unfortunately Tara Bryan suffered a puncture about 4 km into the race.

The senior race over 34 km was keenly fought out by seven riders. Line honours went to Stuart Hume who is bound to be nabbed by the handicapper next week. In a bunch sprint for the minor placings, John Wallace (Coota) took 2nd place from local Tommy Atkinson and then Jim Hogan. Others in the bunch were track specialist Jason Pearse and Steve Jarvis from Cootamundra.

Thanks to all the drivers and marshals who helped with club racing over the weekend. Without your help, running the events would be impossible. This weekend four club members will attend the traffic marshal course to be run in Sydney. This is the first of this course to be run by the NSW Cycling Federation. The club would appreciate some volunteers to attend a similar course to be run in Wagga later in the year.

Overseas, Richard Moffatt has ridden two 170 km races in Italy over the weekend. On Saturday he was in a breakaway with 6 Italians for 4 km. They were caught 4 km from home and Richard finished with the bunch. In Sundays race, only 34 of the 220 starters completed the race. Richard was the only Aussie to finish the race. He finished with the bunch again. Somehow I don’t think he will be doing too much partying for a few nights.

This weekend sees the resumption of the Riverina Pointscore series with the Jindera race run by the Albury Club. Don’t forget the Wagga Motors Open on 31 May ($3500 prizemoney) and the Butch Menz Memorial Open on 1 June ($1500 prizemoney) . Club racing is on again with sub-juniors registering at 1.15pm for a 1.30 pm start. The Elizabeth Avenue riders register by 1.45 pm. Seniors to start at 2.00 pm with the juniors departing after the seniors start their race.

Posted 8 May 2003

The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club Last weekend saw the running of the Fearnes Coaches ‘Gwen French Memorial’ Wagga Junior 2 Day Tour. Thanks to the incredible input from our club members and sponsors, the event was a raging success. Riders and parents from across the nation traveled to the city for this event and were full of praise to the Wagga Wagga Cycling Club. Members, take a bow.Thanks to Wing Commander Graeme Wren for the use of the RAAF Base to run the U9 & U11 races as well as the criterium races on the Saturday afternoon. Without the use of this facility with it’s picnic atmosphere the running of the event would not be quite as easy. Special mention has to be made of the efforts of Kerrie Bryan and Dean Hart for compiling the results over the weekend. Thanks to judges Sue, Ben, Kate & Chris Glascott, Vicki Crawley, Felicity Crawley, Cheryl Moffatt and Marg Dawson who sat through the entire competition in the sun. Their efforts took a lot of stress out of the weekend.Riders participated in four events over the weekend. The events were two road races, a time trial and a criterium. The Club was also granted permission to run the U9 and U11 State championship races as part of the Tour. A number of our local riders performed well in the event. Max Pearse and Max Housden rode well in the U9 boys while Lucy Regan won the U9 Girls event. The U11 boys saw classy riding by Matthew Garlan, Joe van Wel, Thomas Regan, Baden Housden and Isaac Gilmore riding his first Tour. Thomas Regan won a bronze medal in the NSW Road Race Championship. His mother won’t be hard to spot in town – she will still be smiling from ear to ear. Well-done Thomas.The U13 Boys saw Jamie Green and Brodie Pearse take on allcomers and perform well. Tara Bryan starred with a second in the U13 Girls category with Naomi Pinto third. Netasha Pearse made a clean sweep of the U13 girl’s races with Ellen marks a very close second followed by ‘Miss Never Give Up’ Elyce Payne. The U15 Men category was very competitive with locals Paul Fellows, Dirks Roshier and Mitchell Harvey riding well all weekend. Jessie ‘Grasshopper’ Hume did well as our sole representative in the U17 Womens category with a third place in the criterium. Luke Harvey in the U17 Mens group finished in the placing all weekend to take out 3rd place overall. Congratulations to Luke for a magnificent effort in a very competitive group. Our U19 riders Thomas Atkinson and Stuart Hume rode well in a very competitive field of riders including the winner William Walker of Victoria who has recently been mixing it with the seniors in the ‘Bay Crit’ series held around Port Phillip Bay. In one of the bravest rides seen locally Casey Munro from Victoria finished fourth in sprint home after losing his bike seat 34 km into a 91 km race. Not bad for having to stand on his pedals for nearly 60 km. Next weekend sees the Cootamundra club running the Haycarters Open on Saturday (70 km) and the Coota to Coolac on Sunday (77 km). Riders don’t forget to register for the Wagga Motors Open on Saturday 31 May and the Butch Menz Memorial Open on Sunday 01 June. On a sad note, hard working, former club member Simon Haworth has had to retire from racing. Simon, we wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you back on the bike soon. Next Saturday Club racing is back to normal. Sub-juniors present at 1.15pm for a 1.30 pm start. The Elizabeth Avenue riders register by 1.45 pm. Seniors to start at 2.00 pm with the juniors departing after the seniors start their race.
 

Posted 28 Apr 2003

The ANZAC day weekend saw a good turnout of riders for Club racing on the Saturday. The weather was fine with riding conditions excellent. 16 senior riders competed in the 38 km handicap race. Max Humbert, in his first club race for the season, riding off 10.00 mins, took out the event. Second was Luke Harvey and third was Paul White, both riding off the 12.00 minute mark. Fastest time went to James Krebs riding from ‘block’.

The scratch markers – Jason Pearse, Jim Hogan, Tommy Atkinson and Dean Hart split up after the first lap of the Elizabeth Avenue course leaving Jim Hogan to do the chasing on his own. A puncture 7 km from home put paid to Jim Hogan’s chance of taking out the fastest time.

A group of 14 juniors followed out the seniors on one lap of the course. Full praise to the handicapper as all the riders came in within 2 minutes of each other. The race was won by Ellen Marks riding off 4.30 mins. She was followed by Tara Bryan off 8.00 mins. In third place was Elyce Payne. Fastest time went to the ‘grasshopper’ Jessie Hume who sprinted home ahead of Paul Fellows. Good performances were also put in by Ted Fellows, Amelia Kerr and Jamie Green.

The sub-juniors races saw Mighty Maxy Pearse come in ahead smily Lucy Regan over 4 km. The 8 km race was won by Ashleigh Riley who beat Thomas Regan by one second. Wagga Club rider traveling all the way from Leeton, Michael Smith, was third. Unfortunately Michael lost his chain at the turnaround losing valuable seconds.

This weekend sees the running of the 2003 Fearnes Coaches ‘Gwen French Memorial’ Wagga Junior Tour with prizemoney of $4000. The event sees 140 riders from around the nation travel to Wagga Wagga for the best Junior Tour in the State.

Club racing is back to normal the following weekend. Sub-juniors present at 1.15pm for a 1.30 pm start. The Elizabeth Avenue riders register by 1.45 pm. Seniors to start at 2.00 pm with the juniors departing after the seniors start their race.

Posted 21 Apr 2003

13 senior riders set off in blustery conditions for a 36 km secret handicap race over 2 laps of the Elizabeth Avenue course. The pack rolled uneventfully until Nigel Dunstone attacked on the first trip up ‘the wall’, with Nathan Keane in tow. The two stayed away until Nathan was dropped coming back over ‘the wall’.

Tom Atkinson and Brenton Crawley worked hard for one and a half laps trying to reel in Nathan Keane but did not bridge the gap. With Nigel disappearing north over the finish line, Jim Hogan and Steve Doig drove the bunch to catch Tom and Brenton on the last half lap. Nathan Keane was second over the line with the bunch set for a sprint finish despite the efforts Brenton and Tom to split the group. Again, showing the training is not everything, Dean Hart squeezed out Steve Doig in the sprint home.

Following the race for line honours, the handicapper declared Tom Atkinson and Geoff Breeze joint winners with adjusted timed of 51:41. Nigel Dunstone was third on handicap. Nigel also had the fastest time of 51:11 with an awesome time trial performance in windy conditions.

While the seniors battled it out, the juniors headed off on a 17 km race to work off some kilojoules in preparation for the next day’s chocolate feast. 10 riders took off into the wind in pairs with backmarker Paul Fellows left to talk to himself for much of the race. The outward trip over the wall saw Ellen Marks break away from the other great chatterbox in Samantha Ward. Despite Ellen catching Blocker Pearse, Amelia Kerr, Ted Fellows, Jamie Green, Naomi Pinto and Catherine Robinson, she in turn was caught by Paul Fellows on the home run down ‘the wall’. Paul took out line honours from Ellen Marks, Jessie Hume, Sam Ward and Ted Fellows. Young Max Pearse rode a 2 km time trial in preparation for the upcoming Fearnes Coaches Junior 2 day Tour.

National representative Richard Moffatt leaves next week for an eleven week overseas tour with the Australian Road Cycling Team. Richard’s representative duties commence in Italy followed by a week long World Cup event in Germany. Then he is off to Salvinia for another World Cup event followed by some tough training and a number of shorter events. Upon his return to Australia, Richard heads south to Melbourne for training and competition with the Australian Institute of Sport.

Next weekend, club racing is back to normal with the sub juniors at Dukes Road and the older riders at Elizabeth Avenue.

Posted 14Apr 2003

Posted 7 Apr 2003

Last weekend saw a group of 35 senior and junior club members attend the Southern Division Road Championships at Breadalbane. Thanks to Audrey Fearne of Fearnes Coaches for donating the use of a bus for the trip. The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club fared brilliantly and retained the Joan Knight trophy for the most points overall.

In the U11’s Wagga took out the trifecta with Thomas Regan winning a hard fought sprint from the Bumble Bee Matt Garlan and the hard working Joe van Wel. Newcomer Isaac (Happy) Gilmore finished a credible 5th in his first road race. Tara Bryan won the U13 Girls event with Naomi Pinto 3rd. Jamie Green took out 2nd place in the U13 Boys event. Ellen Marks won the U15 Girls race with Elyce Payne 2nd. Paul Fellows stopped talking for long enough to win the U15 Mens race from Dirk Roshier with the great trier Mitchell Harvey 4th. Jessie Hume rode spectacularly to win the U17 Womens race with Melissa Moffatt 3rd. Luke Harvey came 2nd in the U17 Men category. Tom Atkinson took out the U19 Mens B grade race from Stuart Hume, while Brenton Crawley rode well in the Open Mens category. Ian Hume threw away his walking stick and hopped on his bike to do his fan club of junior riders proud in the Vets category. It was great to see Catherine Robinson travel up to check out her competition in the open womens group.

On a sad note, Brenton Crawley will soon be departing Wagga Wagga to take up residence in Sydney with a view to furthering his brilliant track cycling career. Brenton will have a farewell at the Tolland Hotel at approximately 4.00 pm after the Saturday afternoon race. There will be a free sausage sizzle and nibblies provided with drinks purchased over the bar. Good luck for the future Brenton.

Saturday afternoon club racing will be back on with the last few items of administration currently going through the official channels. There will be no senior racing as the Tolland interclub event will on as part of the Riverina Pointscore series. Junior riders meet at Elizabeth Avenue and Inglewood Roads at 1.30 pm for early season administration. U9 and U11 riders will meet at 1.00 pm at the bottom of Dukes Rd for some training.

It is great to see Head Coach Bob Robertson and his wife Val back in WaggaWagga after he underwent an operation in Canberra. Bob would be happy to have some visitors from the middle of the week onwards but please ring before visiting. The Wagga Wagga Cycling Club wishes Val and Bob all the best over the recovery period.

Posted 5 Feb 2003

WAGGA CYCLE CLUB

By Wobbly Crank

With the RSL Club Junior Tour fast approaching the week started by the 2 Harvey Boys taking a trip to hospital in an Ambulance. Not to be out done by the boys the Girls rallied and Ellen Marks and Netasha Pearse crashed. Thankfully all were OK apart from some stiches and missing skin. Tuesday came round and Thomas Atkinson crashed after coming together with Brenton Crawley out training in the morning. Then in the afternoon Mitchell Bruce crashed behind the Motorbike during Academy training. Again both are OK. Just when everybody thought the run of accidents were over Jessica Hume had a minor fall on the Wednesday night. The oncoming Junior carnival must have put a mocha on our riders. All but Luke Harvey rode the carnival with rest performing well going home with a little cash in there pockets.

The RSL Clubs Junior Tour was a huge success with 80+ riders coming from all over NSW to contest numerous sprint Derby’s scratch races, wheel races and a couple of Italian pursuit thrown in for good measure. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from the RSL club the Juniors from U/9’s to U/17’s where racing for some great prize money. The racing was fast plus extremely exciting and Judging by all the smiles on the Kids faces the Junior Track carnival will now become an annual thing after being such a huge success. For all the results from the weekend log onto www.waggacyclingclub.com

The power House Nigel Dunston fronted up on Wednesday Night and I’ve still got the smell of burning rubber in my nostrils. Nigel sporting his new mullet style haircut (was Bald) blasted around the track doing a four and half lap turn then Brenton Crawley with Keith hot on his heals went round Nigel and broke the 5 lap recorded again setting a new mark of 2.32.12 minutes. Steven Doidge won the 2 lap handicap. James Krebs won the B Grade scratch race and Brenton won the A grade scratch despite a late break away attempt by John Wallace. As always all the results from the night of racing are on the web site.

20 riders enjoyed the great conditions on Saturday morning but as if it was part of the script the wind starting blowing on cue. It was hard finding a hiding spot and a few were happy to see the turn for home. But for a change the bunch stayed together until the end. However a couple of riders got to practice their Time Trailing early due to missing the 7.00 am kick off. Bunch leaves the Redhill/Plumpton Rd CRN at 7.00am sharp.

Individual Time Trial Training started last Friday .Thomas Atkinson and Geoff Breeze set the bench mark for the 8.5km both riding 14.32 minutes. Training is on again this Friday first rider will start at 6.15pm from the Main St shop in Lake Albert. All are welcome to come and test themselves against the clock.

Albury /Wodonga Crits are on Saturday 15 Feb followed by a handicap on the Sunday. Phone 02 60414181 for more info or to enter.