Pencil in next Sunday, 15^th of April to give the track season its final send-off with the 2012 CCC Track Championships Carnival. Held at the Charles Street velodrome, and running from 1pm until 4pm, it will be a family and social day, with barbecue, snacks, competitions for the kids, and plenty of opportunity for your family and friends to have a ride, get involved and help out on the day.

Weather Warning

The much-loved velodrome does have one minor draw-back; being outdoors makes this day weather dependant. Leading up to the day, we will keep a close eye on the weather, and should the weather look bad, will make a call by 11am on the day. Twitter and facebook will be the best ways to get confirmation, but let us know if you do not have access to social media and we will arrange alternate communication means for you.

Order of Events

For those competing for the title of Club Champion, the events will run as follows:

- Flying 200m

- Scratch race 30 laps

- Points race 25 laps (sprints every 5)

- 1000m time trial

- 3000m pursuit

An omnium-style points system will determine the over-all champion, with separate events, and titles, for men & women. A Recreational (Silver) Licence is sufficient to race on the day, and road bikes will be allowed for timed events only (200, 1000 and 3000 m’s), so we encourage even those new to track riding to come and take part.  Club track bikes are available for free use on the day on a first-in basis, so please contact me as soon as you can to assure the right sized bike is reserved for you.

Presentation Evening

Following the Track Championships (from 4 pm), the Club will hold a presentation evening, and we have quite a few presentations;

1)      To inspire us all for the road season ahead will be the presentation of the 2011 Club Road Championship medals.

2)      To round off an intense criterium season, the Crit Champion medal will be presented.

3)      The winners of the Club IRTT Championship, as well as the overall winners of each category in the Evolution Cycles IRTT Series will be presented their medals or prize money in celebration of a very successful TT series, and finally,

4)      The newly won Track Champions will receive their medals, and a good feed for their efforts.

Cost

Soft drink, snacks and barbecue will be provided on the day, and plenty of members will be around to help those who would like to try the track, or simply go for a ride. The price for the day is $5.00 for each adult, with children free. Please note that designated volunteers will not be charged, nor those racing in the track championship events. To help keep the cost of the day down, we ask that where possible members ‘bring a plate’. In my experience, baked goods are especially well-received, but anything from fairy bread to potato salad will be very welcome. Please note that meat and vegetarian BBQ options will be provided.

Call for Volunteers

There have already been people offering their support for the day, but an event like this needs the support and participation of many people to run successfully. Because of this, we are calling for volunteers, with roles from master of BBQ, to timing, to photographers, to holding riders and everything in-between. Your family and friends are perfect for this, and any designated volunteer goes free-of-charge. So if you have particular skills you would like to use, or a particular role you would like to do on the day, please contact the Club on 0431 973 283 (Abby G), or coburg@coburgcycling.com.au.

I hope you all can stop by the track at some point during the day, it’s going to be a wonderful event.

Do not hesitate to contact me, and I will see you soon,

Abby G

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

27 riders took on the short, but trying climb, but thanks to a mechanical, only 26 finished. With a few key names missing in action, the aggregate standings have moved around, and there is a new leader of the Non-Aero category in Chris Zucchet. While he, Shane Miller and Rae Lesniowska look comfortable (but not untouchable) in their categories, it is exciting to note that none, one and two points separate 2nd and 3rd place in the Women’s, Non-Aero and Aero categories respectively.

Safe to say that the 4th and final round of the series when we re-visit the course run in round #2 will be hard fought, and with so many places up for grabs, it really will come down to the line.

Official Standings as at Round # 3:

This Sunday (4 March), the series heads out Humevale for a race to suit the mountain goats.

Aero – Aggregate After Round Two

Non-Aero – Aggregate After Round Two

1. Pat Drapac – Drapac
2. Shannon Johnson – Kosdown
3. Steve Pilson – John West
4. Adrian Hanson – Footscray

B Grade

1. Adrian Fillery
2. Vince Candello
3. Andrew Kujath
4. Stuart Morton

C Grade

1. Liam Hood
2. Priben Kohler
3. Sam Gerbet

1st Women Tiaomay Michaitsis

D Grade

1. Steve Thomas
2. Harry Ryan
3. Richard Hood

The aero riders were sent off first, with an incredible battle between Shane Miller (Kosdown) and Jono Lovelock (Genesys) being a highlight.  Only 2 seconds separated the pair after 24.9km of racing – truly a race of one percenters!

The non-aero category saw some incredible performances, with Luca Giacomin (Kosdown) and Sam Lilley (Kosdown) both pulling out terrific efforts.  A number of riders commented on how strong Adrian Chew (TopGear) looked as he powered around the course.  Special note must also go to Chris Zucchet who took a wrong turn and did a few extra kilometres, but was awarded a time based on his average speed.

Results – Aero (24.9km)

Shane Miller – 35:09

Jono Lovelock – 35:11

Stephen Lane – 36:17

Simon Welsh – 37:45

Martin Lama – 37:57

Bill Gordin – 38:01

James Love – 38:44

Richard Harvey – 38:48

David Phillips – 38:56

Boyd Fils – 38:59

Brendan O’Loughlin – 39:07

Sean Wilkeson – 39:09

Stephen Bick – 39:38

Rich Longmire – 39:48

Frank Donnelly – 40:51

Gerard Donnelly – 43:57

Tim O’Leary – 43:59

Andrew Moffat – 44:30

Results – Non Aero (24.9km)

Luca Giacomin – 36:31

Sam Lilley – 39:17

Chris Zucchet – 39:47

Adrian Chew – 40:01

Glynn Matthey – 40:34

Adam Katsonis – 41:02

Andrew McGrath – 41:28

Tyson Breen – 42:09

Boden Davies – 42:21

Dave Younger – 42:35

Mitch Dedman – 42:36

Liam Hood – 45:23

Frank Zgoznick – 46:14

Rae Lesniowska – 47:07

Richard Hood – 47:49

Con Zanetidis – 48:04

Nick Sciulli – 52:34

Liz Randall – 52:50

Jo Read – 61:56

Aggregate Points Standings After Round One

Aero Category

Shane Miller – 10pts

Jono Lovelock – 8pts

Stephen Lane – 7pts

Simon Welsh – 6pts

Martin Lama – 5pts

Bill Gordin – 4pts

James Love – 3pts

Richard Harvey – 2pts

David Phillips – 1pt

Non Aero

Luca Giacomin – 10pts

Sam Lilley – 8pts

Chris Zucchet – 7pts

Adrian Chew – 6pts

Glynn Matthey – 5pts

Adam Katsonis – 4pts

Andrew McGrath – 3pts

Tyson Breen – 2pts

Boden Davies – 1pt

We hope you can join us for round two in the series on Sunday 26 February at Hurstbridge/Strathewen.  Details can be found here: http://coburgcycling.com.au/cycling/2012-coburg-evolution-cycles-irtt-series/

To celebrate the return to racing for the 2012 season, we have increased the prizemoney across all grades and will be offering product giveaways and “most aggressive rider” awards in each grade.

Registration opens at 9am and will close at 9.45am sharp to allow racing the get underway at 10am.  Please note, if maximum permitted field numbers are reached, we would have to close entries.  So please, don’t leave registrations until the last minute - come down with time to register and then warm-up.

The crits will now be running weekly through to Easter.

Entries will be accepted on the day – however, those entering on the day will be sent off first in their respective categories.  Riders wanting a good mark should enter online.

The series kicks off on Sunday 12 February 2012 with the Wildwood TT.  All race details can be found here.

We would once again like to thank Evolution Cycles for their support.

We hope to see you at the races!

Thus, racing will resume at National Blvd on Sat 4 February. To make up for the delay, we will be running some blockbuster events in Feb/March with great prizemoney.

The Club has not received a clear explanation from Vic Police regarding the decision to discriminate against the permits for January. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who work so tirelessly, under great frustration, to arrange racing permits. Special thanks goes to Frank Harkins and the City of Hume for their support.

James Boal (Search2Retain)
Chris Zuccht (Canard)
Shannon Johnston (Kosdown)
Dominic Dudkiewicz (Salter Bicycles)
Sprint: James Boal

B Grade

Jesse Fergie
Sam Fuhrmeister
Agostino Giramondo
Shane Kirby
Most Aggressive: James Grant

C Grade

Peben Kohler
Ash Abdou
Peter Donahoe
Jason Stirling
Most Aggressive: Simon McCawley

D Grade

Murray Pung
Glen Vincent
John Hasouras
1st Jnr: Darcy
Break out ride: Cameron Kirby