Coburg CC – Evolution Cycles IRTT Series Wrap-Up & Coburg CC IRTT Club Championships

Thanks:

The final round of the Coburg CC – Evolution Cycles IRTT series was held this morning, and we could not have asked for better day to round it off. I am personally a huge fan of these events, and I love having watched them get bigger over the last three years. Time trials are the kind of event that allow all participants to interact, and enjoy the sport together. I’ll take this opportunity to thank a few of these incredible people.

The volunteers were out in force today, as they have been throughout the series. Thank you Vic, Trav, Frank, Bob and Jenny for helping in a hundred ways to make the events run smoothly.

Being family to a cyclist can be exhausting and thankless, so the next round of applause goes to the partners who came out to any and all of the TT’s, and bonus points to those who brought their kids. You folks played the roles of photographers, cheerleaders, entertainers and everything in-between. My favourite moment of the series shared with these people was waiting at the top of the Humevale climb for the last rider to finish, long after everyone else had come through, and cleared out. An absolutely drenching rainstorm swept over the hilltop, and a hurried collection of children and equipment preceded a mad dash for the cars. Regrouping at the start line, we learned two things: first, the rider in question had flatted at the start of the climb and pulled out long, long ago; and secondly, that the people at the start line had not copped a single drop of rain. The looks we got when we climbed, dripping, out of the cars into the warm sunshine were priceless.

The series sponsors, Evolution Cycles certainly need a mention; just around the corner from the Coburg clubrooms, these guys give incredible service to their customers, and show great enthusiasm for cycling. They are active in the sport, not only as supporters, but as participants, and we thank them for helping us boost the scale of this event, seeing it grow yet again. From the feedback from the riders and from our own enjoyment of running the series, I can only guess how successful it will be next year.

Which brings me to the riders themselves. I have immense respect for anyone who can be not only pleasant, but down-right entertaining after kilometer on kilometer of torture. Thank you all for being involved, for giving the races your all, and then cheering on the next person across the line.

Results:

Starting close to home, the Coburg CC IRTT Championship was run within the final round of the series, and while both men’s and women’s winners were a pretty safe bet, it doesn’t in anyway lessen just how great their efforts were. Rae Lesniowska and Shane Miller, congratulations.

Next to the winners and all times of Coburg CC- Evolution Cycles IRTT Series Round #4: As with all of the events, there have been riders from all sides of the sport – racers’, recreational riders, seasoned athletes and newbies – side-by-side. Congratulations to you all.

Which brings us to the aggregate points, and the over-all placings in the series. 66 riders took part in the series, sometimes in more than one category. The series has prizes for 1st to 3rd in all three categories, and their placings and points are listed below, as well as a huge congratulations to Jo Read, who in her very first 6 months of riding has taken out the series’ Most Improved award; today she blew her previous time on the Hurstbridge course away by 6min 55sec, including a quick stop for a dropped chain:

…. and because I have never met a cyclist who didn’t want to know their placing, the final list on this post shows every rider involved in the series, whether they were able to ride one, or all four rounds. Listed are the total points accrued over the series in each category, and also their ‘time improved’ – ie: the time that the riders beat their Round #2 effort by in Round #4. And yes, across the board, the times posted today were faster than those a month ago.

Thank you again to everyone who made this series so successful and enjoyable.

Abby G