Updated Weekend Update

Yes, an update to the update - a lot this week:
- Photoshoot Monday:
- Last week's Four-Up (with pics this time!);
- Monday's Backwards Handicap Dirt Crits;
- Changes to Thursday night race duty;
- BMX update;
- More on Damian's coaching;
- Thursday night's Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap; and
- A bike for sale.

Talent wanted!

Do you have a couple of spare hours on Monday afternoon?
To promote cycling around Mansfield, the Shire are taking some photos of roadies late on Monday afternoon - around 4pm.
If you can help out - we need you! - please call Danielle Roberts on 0409 007 196.

Four-Up - Thursday 9 November

by David Jagger

The cycle race last week was considerably different from the standard road race. A series of short sprint heats were raced culminating in a final. Cyclists were divided into four grades depending on their ability. Within each group, cyclists raced in a sprint of four people over a comparatively short distance of 1km. Some older and wiser cyclists played a game of cat and mouse with a slow amble for the first 900m, juggling for position and preparing for a fast dash to the finish. Riders with either great endurance or no tactics just put the pedal down and sprinted for the whole kilometre!
The event attracted about forty riders with ages ranging from 11 to 65. D grade contained some of the younger riders and a few new to racing. Ben Grundy showed that he is a good sprinter winning the group from Elise Empey and Judi Duke. He seemed to have the attitude of attacking from the front. C grade was won by Tim Hall who displayed cunning and just knew when to take off (as they say in the classics, “start as late as possible but before anyone else”) and outsprinted John Eisner and Jodie Batchelor.
Just to prove that experience isn’t everything, B grade almost had an upset with newcomer to the club, Cameron Dobson just falling short of taking the flag as Dave Moore won the final. Nathan Pelling was hot on their heels and rolled over the line in third in his best result so far.
The big boys were trying to sort themselves out during the heats. Young guns Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-MacKinnon were chomping at the bit just to sprint the races whilst seasoned cyclists were happy for them to do the hard work. In the end though, brawn still beat cunning with Rob Curtis and Bruce Halket rolling across the line in third and fourth.
Overall a great night with brilliant Spring weather. Here are the results.
Next week is the Alain Guerin Memorial handicap in memory of our beloved club member who tragically died out on the Buller Road three years ago. It should be an interesting race finishing with a hill top climb on the dreaded “Coombesberg”.

Crit Dirts

A very different, backwards format of racing on Monday night saw Dave Moore take the bikkies.

Thursday race duty update

The club race trailer is now stored in the shipping container up at the High School.
If you’re rostered on first, in bold, you need to organise to get it in time for each race.
The next three are Tom Macmunn, Dave Moore and David Jagger. Here’s the calendar so you can see when you're rostered on.
And here is the Road Race Info page with the updated details on how to get the trailer.

BMX Update

Hayden Fletcher will miss this weekend's Victorian BMX titles at Wyndham to prepare to leave for Tulsa Oklahoma on Monday for what is called THE GREATEST BMX RACE ON EARTH, the USABMX Grand Nationals,
Hayden has been in good form, with two wins at local Melbourne race tracks and a 3rd place at last week's Knox Thunderdome.
After breaking his collarbone 6 weeks before last year's race and not being fully fit, Hayden is super keen to put on a much better show this time around.
Hayden would like to thank the MMBCC for the many years support for his high performance grants, money that has helped fund this trip.
In other BMX news, 8 year old MMBCC BMX member Finn Baker is doing double duties this weekend at the Victorian Championships, racing in the 8-10 yr old cruiser class (24 inch bikes) and in the 8 year old boys Expert class. All this while his dad Adam will officiate at the four day meeting - around 800 riders will compete traveling from all over Australia. Good luck Finn!

Recapture your youth

with Damian Grundy

Road training and coaching session - Tuesday 21 November 4.30pm
The best sports physiologist that I ever worked with always emphasised that ‘Novelty’ was a key component of the best training plans.
Tuesday’s session from Mansfield Botanic Park will be novel indeed, the question is: how good are you at pedalling? This will be a limited, low gear, single speed training session.
Come along, all ages welcome.
Please let me know by SMS 0411 045 771 if you are coming.
The first session that you attend is a freebie. However after that there will be a small charge for the sessions: Juniors $5 and Seniors $10.
Road sessions will be every second week: 21/11/17, 5/12/17 & 19/12/17
Mountain bike sessions at Riflebutts - 29/11/17, 13/12/17.

Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap

On the left: Laurent Guerin and Jean-Daniel Guerin with winner Brendon Green. On the right, the podium of Jules Fleures, Brendon Green and Dan Purcell.

The third running of the Alain Guerin Memorial Handicap Road race was held with the threat of inclement weather and a large field of riders.  34 local riders were joined by 10 riders from Melbourne, mostly with the Hometec shutters team, which includes Alain’s sons Jean-Daniel and Laurent.
The “big smoke” inclusions filled spots at the fast end of the field with the scratch group consisting of six riders, local lads, Kian Lerch-Mackinnon and and Dan Purcell, and part-time local Jules Fleurus.  With this many strong riders the winner would surely emerge from this group.
The block group contained 7 riders and second block 9 riders, this was an evening of fast bunch riding with the final result being decided on the north side of “the Coomsberg” of Old Tolmie Rd.
Groups rode well on Whitfield Rd to the turn-around point at Sawpit Gully Rd and it was not until Barwite Rd the scratch group exerted their dominance over the race, passing all in front of them, leaving only the final climb of the Coomsberg to sort out the important placings.
The group consisting David Jagger, Allan Gerrans, Ian Conrick, Steve Curnow and John Eisner rode strongly to stay away from most of the rest of the field and would feature strongly on the final result.
In the final, only three seconds separated the top ten finishers, making recording results a challenging task for our volunteers and demonstrating some fine handicapping skill.
Tenth place was occupied by David Jagger who was led by Allan Gerrans, Bruce Halket, Brad Thexton, Lewis Dowie (In his second race and on a MMBCC loan bike), fifth place was secured by Rob Curtis, fourth Kian Lerch-Mackinnon, third was Jules Fleurus, second Dan Purcell and the eventual winner at the same time as Dan was Brendon Green of Team Hometec shutters.
A great race and a deserving winner.
The reason for the memorial highlights two issues for us at the club, firstly the loss of our friend and colleague “Au revoir mon ami”, and secondly the need to highlight safety on our roads.
Thank you to our volunteers and Commissaires, without whom we cannot race.
Here are the results.

Bike for sale

Gavin Bailieu has his bike for sale so he can buy himself a more suitable one.
Please have a look.

Cup Weekend Update

Last Monday's Gravity Enduro;
Thursday's Road Race;
More thoughts on Thursday; and
Doing something about ADHD.

Dirt Crits

A great night at Dirt Crits on Monday 30 October with a Gravity Enduro - three timed mainly downhill runs - with the best total time declared the winner.
Matt Empey was initially given the win but after checking, the winner was Kian Lerch-MacKinnon (on his XC hardtail!)
Here are the results.

The Mur de Campagnolo

By Guillaume DeLaCroix

Record numbers registered to start the handicap race on Howes Creek Rd with racers ages ranging from pre-teen to the over 60’s. The Howes Creek Rd course, with it’s finale on the “Mur de Campagnolos” (Campagnolos/O’Hanlons Road Hill), is challenging to say the least.
The limit group of Deb Sallatenna and Ben Grundie opened the proceedings with a 20 minute and 30 sec start on the scratch group. The following group included three junior riders Tahlia Appleton, Bella Greene and, first time road racer Elise Empey, this group was well chaperoned by Rachael Grundy and the evergreen Tony “The Barber” Morris.
Five further groups started before the Scratch group of Dan “Evil” Purcell and Rob Curtis. The strength in the field was clearly in the second block group of 11 riders, these would be very hard to catch and very hard to stay away from.
Powerhouse, Anthony Plummer drove the big group throughout the race, making the racing swift and making the members of his group work very hard. Jarrod Appleton reported having to do “double turns” on Anthony’s wheel. This proved to be a double edged sword for Jarrod in the finish.
As predicted the “Mur” would decide the eventual winner and so it did, with the field coming together to attack the short but sharp climb to the finish. Some climbed with style, some battled on and some just plain struggled. President Wil Wilson finishing with a time registered on a handy calendar.
As the sprint for the finish opened up, Dave Moore broke from the field for a classy “mountain goat” win, 4 seconds clear of Matthew Empey in his first road race who was followed 10 seconds later by Jarrod Appleton, perhaps grateful for the double turns provided by Anthony’s big efforts.
Here are the results.
Matthew will be the rider to watch in coming weeks and I am certain that handicapper Eisner will be watching very closely.
Other new-comers included Dave Empey, Steve Duke, Donna Stephensen, Judi Duke and Courtney Lynch… the Club welcomes you all. The Club also celebrates the arrival of its newest racer, Hamish William Hopwood arrived on Monday 30 October, congratulations to Josh, Louise and Paris.
The Club always welcomes new riders of all ages and ability levels, so come and have a go at racing!
Next week will be “four–up sprints” contested on Graves Rd. This could be the event where the Bakker-Ross medal will be awarded.
Thanks to our volunteers and officials, without your assistance it would just be fast training.
Many thanks again to Tony Copland for the pics.

More thoughts on Thursday...

It was a shame to see a rider come down on Thursday night. Thankfully AJ wasn't badly hurt and thankfully it's not a common occurrence in MMBCC races.
While no one person was at fault, it seems to me some poor decision making contributed to the crash.
There's a good outline of the 'method' of road racing on this page - scroll down to Safe Road Racing and please have a read. What happened Thursday night isn't directly covered by the article but it's implied.
It doesn't matter which group you ride in, overtaking another group leading into a corner, is NOT a good idea. And when your group has already been overtaken by a faster group makes it even less of a good idea.
But to compound that by overtaking the faster group while coming into a corner and forcing the bunch to be five-wide around that corner is really NOT A GOOD IDEA!) It's little wonder that AJ was forced wide and onto the dirt.)
Commissaire Tim Ross gave a briefing before the race and asked for no more that two-abreast - please obey instructions from our officials, who volunteer their time to help keep us safe.
This coming Thursday is the Four-Up; a one kilometre sprint race. It's designed to allow you to practice the 'cat and mouse' of the sprint of a standard Handicap race; it's not just a 1km time trial. If you don't consider yourself a sprinter, this is perfect for you!
And hopefully, Thursday, week, when we're racing on the Coombesberg, everyone will stay upright and safe.
Cheers,
Bruce Halket,
Road Race Sub-Committee Chairman.

Bike riding helping kids with ADHD

Here's an article about Specialized helping kids in the States with ADHD and how bike riding has been added to their school's curriculum and the benefits of bike riding.

Saturday News

Results and pics from last week's races, roof racks for sale, a ride in Beechworth and an offer to improve your riding skills.
And have you subscribed yet?!

Dirt Crits

Finn, Charlie and Gretchen.

A great night of racing for the first Irish Handicap of the summer; depending on speed and fitness, racers were given anywhere between two and seven laps.
Charlie Dobson came away with the win ahead of Finn Baker and Gretchen Nadenbousch.
Full results here.
This coming Monday is a Gravity Enduro round.
If you’re interested in trying out the new track at Riflebutts on Sunday afternoon before Dirt Crits on Monday, contact Damian to reserve your place (on 0411 045 771) at a ‘viewing’.

Thursday Night up and over the Coombesberg

It felt like the good old days! Thirty seven entrants awaited starter’s instructions at the Botanic Park last Thursday for the first MMBCC Handicap Race of the summer. We haven’t had that many racing for ages!
Part of the increase was the recent arrival of some new members; a big, hearty MMBCC welcome to Richard Plumb, Nathan Pelling and Andy Stephenson.
Next, many of the staff at Timbertop had the night off so we saw Sam Foura, Ross Hopkins and Mark McDowell on the entry list too.
But the majority of the increase came from a recent influx of juniors racers… which is fantastic! Welcome to first timers Bella Green and Ben Grundy; and welcome back to Talia Appleton, Kody Appleton and Will Grundy.
To make sure Juniors don’t overdo it, some of the younger kids are given a maximum distance of 20km. This applies to Talia, Bella and Ben who started first as the Limit Group.
Everyone else started the full 22km from the Botanic Park, staggered in groups of various sizes based on their expected pace, right through to the Scratch Group of Josh Hopwood and Dan Purcell who started 15.30 after the kids off Limit.
And those last couple of paragraphs is all you need to know about the results!
Talia, Bella and Ben worked well together until after the turnaround at Long Lane; just before the turn into Barwite Road the girls snuck away from Ben.
Dan and Josh roared their way through the field and collected only a few hangers-on along the way; Rob Curtis, Bruce Halket, Anthony Plummer, Dave Moore, Sam Foura and, near the top of the dreaded Coombesberg, Jodie Batchelor.
Bella and Talia stayed away on their own with Talia taking the sprint on Graves Road to take the win from Bella.
Purcell won the bunch sprint from Hopwood with Plummer filling the last spot on the extended podium.
Purcell’s time of 33.18 was the fastest… but much of that was owed to Hopwood who did a lot of the work into the wind and reinforced Purcell’s resemblance to Mark Cavendish - the ‘Cav’ nickname might stick this time.
Results here.
Next week sees a return to the bad old days with a finish up the hill on O’Hanlon’s Road. Entries via SMS to 0428 503 437 by 8pm Wednesday.

Roof racks for sale

Ross Hopkins is selling two roof-mounted Thule Proride 591 bike carriers. They are an older model (maybe 5 years old) but still work well despite expected wear and tear.
If you want to have a look or ask questions please contact Ross on 0404 573 667.
Price is $100 for both.

Life Cycle 55+ Beechworth

Cycling Victoria’s next Life Cycle 55+ ride is being held at Beechworth, along the Rail Trail, on Sunday 12 November. There’s another later in November too… at Timboon.
Here are the details.

Damian Grundy coaching offer to MMBCC members

The summer season of racing is here and I am keen to get fitter. I wonder if you would like to join me?
As you may or may not know I have done a little coaching of cyclists in my time.
My racing experience is broad having been at first a road and sometime track rider and then moving to mountain biking later in my career. I also have 15 years of bicycle industry work experience that gives me a substantial technical knowledge of equipment selection, set up and maintenance. For 5 years of my coaching I worked out of the AIS in Canberra liaising closely with the world’s best sports scientists, physiologists, nutritionist, bio mechanists and sports psychologists therein to develop the likes of Cadel Evans, Mary Grigson, Paul Rowney, Rob Woods and Anna Baylis for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. This work has given me a substantial background knowledge in all of these areas. Of course the real skill of an elite coach is not necessarily knowing everything but rather having the ability to identify areas of performance that may be improved and then knowing who, where and how pathways to improvement can be found.
And yes, I was Cadel Evans’ first coach for his mountain bike career.
It is however, a little known fact that in his period of mountain biking Cadel was already road racing. Under my guidance he won a bronze medal in the U19 World Championships ITT. In that period he was also a somewhat regular guest rider at the Australian U23 Road Program in Italy; he won several of the top U23 road races and finished second on GC at the U23 World Cup road stage race Tour d’Alsace in France. During his days at the Volvo Cannondale MTB Team Cadel was also racing some events with the Saeco Cannondale Road Team. In this time under my guidance he won the overall GC at the Tour of Austria.
My knowledge and experience stretch well beyond mountain biking. I am planning to run some weekly training clinics and wonder if you might be interested to join me.

Tuesday nights 4.30pm will be road training nights from the Botanic Gardens.
Wednesday nights 4.30pm will be mountain biking at Riflebutts Mountain Bike Park.

These sessions will often be focussed on the technical aspects of cycling… the basics! They’ll often involve much discussion and practise rather than just going for a ride.

Road sessions
- Sprinting and how to get the best out of your ability whether you are hopeless in a sprint like me or maybe the next Peter Sagan;
- Strength training;
- Cadence development;
- Effective bunch riding (or how to suck a wheel better than Robbie McEwen);
- Hill climbing; or
- Maybe you have an idea, tell me please.

Mountain biking
- Effective XC;
   - Pedalling;
   - Flow;
   - Drinking;
   - Gear selection;
- I don’t like jumping! But I want to get better;
- Climbing;
- Descending; and
- again if you have an idea, tell me!

If you are interested, please let me know on 0411 045 771. If I have an idea of numbers early I can better manage things for you.
No age limits! Don’t be worried, you won’t get left behind as many of the activities will be based at a spot rather than travelling far.
Fees? Initially the sessions will be free of charge.
Cheers,
Damian Grundy.

Weekend news - updated

Lots this week: Dirt Crits; Ian Colnago's report on Thursday's ITT; Womens' Maintenance Session; weekly Womens' MTB ride; Club kit; Gravel bunch rides; upcoming events; and more!

Dirt Crits

After a problem with handicaps, the scheduled Irish Handicap didn't go ahead. So we raced graded scratch races instead.
Here are the results.

Riders on the Storm

by Ian Colnago

With dark and threatening evening skies appearing out to the West, last Thursday night would have pleased a number of people thinking, well the race is going to be called off. Yes, it was a bit stormy, the weather radar did have those darker blues and an odd yellow pocket flashing and moving across the screen from Deniliquin to Deal Island. And yes, the BoM was on strike… but this didn't deter the hardy, driven riders having a go at the Individual Time Trial.
It's not the most exciting race. It doesn't have the thrill of a bunch sprint at the end. It can be quite uneventful and boring riding solo along a windy, wet bit of tar. You may be lucky enough to puncture in the first kilometre, or drive out to the start only to find you left your bike at home!
Nature could play a big part in the out come of your effort. Being swooped by a magpie or running over a tiger snake, that may have been enjoying a feast of frogs, would spur you on a tad.
Well, I did start the race. Some riders may have noticed a nice mob of 1st cross ewes who would have been about 27 microns and yielding 70 percent pure wool fibre with a very low vegetable content. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that one of those ewes did have triplets and those long tailed, little ones appeared to having more fun than me.
I made the turnaround point. Did anyone notice some of the vines at Mansfield Park starting to bud up in this humid weather, which could result in a prolonged spraying program? I'm not sure either, but I'll ask next year if I happen to be alive after getting up this hill.
I will also point out some of the Apple Box (Eucalyptus Bridgesiana) are flowering and they will produce a nice honey flow.
Sadly, I did get to the end of the race and to give you a report:
Equal first place was Will Grundy and Melanie Green. Third place went to Jodie Batchelor.
Welcome to our new club member, Courtney Lynch, from the Lauriston Beer Club.
Many thanks to the officials and volunteers.
Next week’s race is along the Mansfield-Whitfield Rd (Long Lane course) starting at the Botanical Park and entries are to be placed before 8 pm Wednesday via SMS on 0428 503 437.
Here are the results of the dead heat:

1.   Mel Green
1.   Will Grundy
3.   Jodie Batchelor
4.   David Bock
5.   Anthony Plummer
6.   Richard Plumb
7.   Ian Conrick
8.   Damian Grundy
9.   David Jagger
10. Bruce Halket

Here are the full results. Many thanks to Tony Copland for the pics.

Ladies... can you fix a flat?

Free Women’s bike maintenance session
Shannon from All Terrain Cycles and Jodie from Cycling-Inform are running a ladies bike maintenance session this coming Wednesday 25 October from 6pm at All Terrain Cycles, 58 High Street.
Come along for a fun and informative night. Please confirm attendance via SMS to Jodie on 0417 598 817.
Speaking of Wednesday nights, after this week - starting Wednesday 1 November...

Club kit available till Sunday. Yes, tomorrow!

The Seight Sports online store for MMBCC kit is open till Sunday 22 October.
Here’s the link you need for the Seight site, order your kit, pay with your own card and get it delivered straight to your door.
Just email Bruce for the password to get access.
This is your last chance for a while; we probably won't open again till February or March.

Saturday morning gravel road rides

Something a little extra for some upcoming Saturday morning rides... we're going to try to add some gravel!
The first and third Saturday ride will include an extra group who will add some dirt to their ride. Come along if you want to try something different. Maybe use some slightly wider tyres at a little lower pressure and an extra spare tube.
But the existing group rides will remain unchanged, this is just a little extra... sometimes.
Same as the other rides... back to the Merchant for a coffee afterwards!

Upcoming Events

Bright 24 Hour
One of the best marathon races in Australia! Come and join in the fun. ATC are entering a few teams and it's a great weekend.
Details here.

Revolve24
A 24-hour road race around a motorsport track near Adelaide, in January, just before the Tour Down Under. Maybe we should enter a MMBCC team!
Details here.

Club Teams Criterium Championships
The iconic Ballarat CBD crit course will play host to the Club Teams Criterium. Rally the squad and get ready to race in this fun, exciting team relay format.
    •    When: Wednesday 3 January 2018
    •    Where: Sturt St Ballarat
    •    Format: 18 laps (each rider must complete 4 laps) / teams of 3-4
    •    Cost: $75 per team.
    •    Categories: Open / Masters 90+ / Masters 120+ / Masters 150 + / Masters 180 + (Both male & female)

Club Teams Time Trial
The undulating 40.9km course will test teams as they race against the clock to secure national glory for their club.
    •    When: Friday 5 Jan 2018
    •    Where: Buninyong, 40.9km course
    •    Format: Teams of 3-4, time judged on the third rider across the line.
    •    Cost: $75 per team.
    •    Categories: Open / Masters 90+ / Masters 120+ / Masters 150+ / Masters 180+ (Both male & female)

Finally...

A short film on a cool little bike shop.

Friday Night Update

Here's the first race update of the summer, plus a great offer to MMBCC members from Cycling Inform and the Wangaratta CC calendar.

Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter emails!

The podium from L to R: 4th Tom Kelly, 2nd Dan Purcell, 1st Zac Empey, 3rd Lee Noble and 5th Tom Hogan.

ICU-UCMe

A great first night of Dirt Crits saw 22 line up for the ICU-UCMe race consisting of a mass-start first lap to set handicaps; then a second lap based on those handicaps.
First back on the first lap was Tom Macmunn followed by Bob Thomas and Lee Noble.
The second lap saw Finn Baker head out first, followed by Zac Empey and Ruby Dobson; Tom Macmunn was last to start.
Zac was first back to take a clear win. However, the rest of the podium was very close with Dan Purcell taking second just ahead of Lee Noble, Tom Kelly and Tom Hogan.
Full results here.
Many thanks to Damian for the planning and organising; Janine, Dave, Adam and Bruce for the lap scoring and Lee for collecting the arrows.

First road race night of 2017/2018

by John Eisner

A large and enthusiastic bunch of cyclists fronted up for the first race of the Mansfield Mt Buller cycling club's summer season last Thursday.
The field were happy to see that the imposing trio of Kian Lerch-MacKinnon, Josh Hopwood and Dan Purcell made up A-grade leaving Bruce Halket, Jock Brega, Darren Bakker, Jarrod Appleton, Aaron Peterson, Rob Skinner, Anthony Plummer, Dave Moore, Andrew Stephenson, Nathan Pelling and Chris Taylor to form a much more even B-grade.
A-grade headed off quickly at 6pm along the Barwite Loop course followed by B-grade shortly thereafter.
A-grade surprisingly stayed together up the hill and continued their hard work throughout the race. At the end, Dan was able to hold Josh's wheel and move out to take a good win with Kian second and Josh third.
The heat was on in B-grade as well, as Nathan and others succumbed to the Coombsberg early on. With plenty of race knowledge and fitness obtained from a long season of ski instructing, Bruce took the win over Anthony and Darren with Andrew and Jarrod not far behind.
C-grade was an even larger bunch but headed off at a civilised pace that didn't change even after the neutral zone ended thanks to Mel Green and Tim Hall keeping things restrained at the front. Even the climb up the Coombsberg was rather ‘unracelike’ until Allan Gerrans made a move half way up. The bunch reacted and Steve Curnow overreacted heading boldly off the front. New member, Richard Plumb decided that there'd been enough sedate racing and made a solid lead down the hill. The uphill got the better of David Bock, David Jagger and Gerrans leaving Janine Appleton, John Eisner, Kody Appleton and Jody Batchelor to join the rest in a faster moving bunch.
Taking a leaf out of the ‘sitting-at-the-front-and-doing-massive-turns’ manual, co-authored by Tim Hall and Tim Ross, Richard Plumb sat out the front and did a massive turn into the wind down most of the Barwite Road. After a bit of jostling at the turn he also led a solid run back into town before John, Steve and Kody led a bit of an attack at possums which got a bit confused and resulted in Tim Hall performing a trademark leadout back into town. At the final bend he took a good line round the tricky corner leaving everyone else scrapping.
Out of the mess though John was able to ride around Jodie after some oncoming traffic and sprint to the uphill finish to take the win. Jodie hung in for second with Mel third. Kody edged out mum, Janine, for fourth and a special mention to the youngest Appleton, Talia, who came in not so long after the bunch in a gutsy solo effort.
Presentations and a good dinner followed at the Delatite Hotel.
A big thanks to our army of officials and marshals - it wouldn't work without your help.
Here are the results.

Bright Boot Camp offer from Cycling-Inform

Jodie and David from Cycling-Inform have six places at their November Boot Camp they’d like to offer to MMBCC members.
They’ll be waving the boot camp fee (normally $697). Camp dates are 17-21 Nov.
The only condition is you must book in and stay at the Bright Chalet at $110 a night for the four nights of the camp, which includes ALL meals. That’s a bargain!
For more details, visit the website or email David or Jodie.

Upcoming Wangaratta CC races

ROAD - Spring Classics
Dawes Handicap
Sunday 19th November, 10am
Starting at the clubrooms, racing through Glenrowan, Thoona, Ryans and finishing in Warby Range Rd.
72 km.

Bullus Handicap
Saturday 9th December, 2pm
Starting in Moyhu, racing through Greta South and Myrhee and finishing in Boggy Creek Rd.
53 km.

TRACK
It's back to Friday night - what a great way to start the weekend.
Starting 20th October.
Warmup from about 6pm, racing from 7pm.
Everyone is welcome - seniors and juniors.
Training will be on Wednesday night, starting 25/10

CRITERIUMS
Three race series in December, at the Wangaratta Showgrounds.
Monday evenings, 4/12, 11/12, 18/12.

Finally...

The Seight Sports online store for MMBCC kit is open for one more week, till Sunday 22 October.
Here’s the link you need for the Seight site, order your kit, pay with your own card and get it delivered straight to your door.
Just email Bruce for the password to get access.

Weekend Pre-Race Update

Lots to catch up on this week:

- Racing to start this week;
- Working With Children checks;
- Memberships and membership renewals;
- Club kit available again;
- MTB demos at Riflebutts;
- Get involved with the Melbourne to Warrnambool;
- Mansfield Youth Strategy; and
- A little more.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Racing starts this week

Dirt Crits start this coming Monday 9 Oct at 6.00pm (registration from 5.30) for Seniors. Kids will start next week.
Here’s the calendar for the first half of the season.
Road racing also starts this coming week with Graded Scratch races. On duty for race one is Josh Hopwood, Belinda Cipa and Dave Clark. Commissaires are Leonie and Jodie. Here’s the calendar - please check when you’re rostered on. Info for what to do for duty is here.
It's a requirement now for anyone new to road racing to join us for a bunch ride first; these start at 8am Saturday and Sunday mornings from the Mansfield Botanic Park.

ALL MEMBERS need a Working with Children check

A reminder that at any MMBCC races that have kids involved, all volunteers at that race need to have a valid Working With Children check - that includes Road, MTB and BMX events.
A WWC is FREE for volunteers!
All you need to do is go to the Working With Children website click on ‘Apply for Check’ and follow the instructions. Once you’ve finished, you’ll get an individual bar code. Print that out and take it with you to the post office and get your photo taken.
That’s it! No cost to you.
(Lisa at the Post Office has even offered to keep the Post Office open a bit later on Fridays to make it easier for you to get your photo taken. You could do it now!)
You need to do this if you don’t already have one and you’re on the duty roster!

Memberships

MTBA memberships
Go to the Join Now page where you’ll find everything you’ll need for an MTBA membership.
Most MTBA memberships are a rolling, 12-month membership; whichever date you join is the date next year when your renewal is due.

CA memberships
Most CA memberships are calendar year memberships. If you join now you’ll get the remainder of 2017 included in your 2018 membership. Plus, if you join before the end of November you’ll go into the draw to win some great new kit.
Cycling Australia offer all kinds of different memberships; so many that it can get a little confusing. There are four main categories: RIDE BASIC, RIDE PLUS, RACE and NON-RIDING.
Remember that if you want to race you need to buy a RACE membership. A RIDE membership is not valid for racing. (Ride Basic is the only one that doesn’t include membership of the MMBCC.)
Go to the Join Now page for more information and links to Cycling Australia.

Free CA memberships

The MMBCC is always after more people to help us out at road races, to marshal on a corner, drive a lead car, hand out race numbers, etc. If you ride and don’t race but still want to be a club member, we’ll pay for your RIDE or NON-RIDING membership so long as you agree to help out at a minimum of six Thursday road races. (And… you’ll need a Working With Children check too.)
For more information, please contact Bruce.

Club kit available

The Seight Sports online store for MMBCC kit is now open! It will remain open till Sunday 22 October.
Here’s the link you need for the Seight site, order your kit, pay with your own card and get it delivered straight to your door.
Just email Bruce for the password to get access.

Life Cycle 55+ rides from Cycling Victoria

Cycling Victoria are again hosting a series of events aimed at riders aged 55 and over. Check out their list of events here.

All Terrain Cycles MTB demo days.

MMBCC members have a chance to demo new 2018 Specialized Mountain Bikes. Models like the Stumpjumper, Epic, Enduro and Levo e-bikes.
FREE guided rides with skills tips.
This is a great opportunity for you to try before you buy! They're offering a bike essentials pack to anyone that demos and purchases a bike within 30 days of the demo, valued at $150.
Demos will be available from 1pm on Saturday 4 November and 9am on Sunday 5 November.
Please bring proof of ID, like your drivers license.
Call in to the team at ATC for details or call 5775 2724.

Melbourne to Warrnambool Volunteers

Cycling Victoria need a helping hand to organise one of the World’s oldest one day bike races. If you’d like to help our, click on this link for more details.

Mansfield Shire Youth Strategy

Mansfield Shire is currently working on developing a Youth Strategy for Mansfield. This will be a vital document which will articulate and guide Council’s role in supporting better outcomes for the young people of Mansfield Shire over the next five years.
To better understand young peoples strengths, challenges and aspirations for the future and to gain greater insight into their goals and needs we are currently conducting surveys and discussions with young people, their families and community, and those who provide services to them.
We are looking for your help in getting responses to the survey’s, in particular from those in the 18-25 age bracket.
Below are the links to the online surveys and hard copies of the surveys are available from Kirsten Lingard at the Council.
There are 3 survey's please select the most relevant to you:
- Parents, carers and other community members
- Young people aged 12 - 18
- Young people aged 19 - 25
 

Finally…

News for Dot Watchers... the Indian Pacific Wheel Race will be back in 2018. Here are some details.
This weekend sees the last of cycling’s five monuments, il Lombardia, which Esteban Chaves won last year. He won’t be defending his title this year as he did a Simon Gerrans last week, crashed and broke his shoulder. Here is a preview on Cycling Tips.
And for anyone considering visiting the Como area and riding around a bit, here is a little info from Inner Ring on the Wall of Sormano, which is very close to Bellagio.

Racing Season Starts Soon

Road Racing and Dirt Crits both start next week.

We were hoping to start road racing this week but it looks like we won't have our permits in time. Road racing will start on Thursday 12 October with Graded Scratch Races around the Barwite Loop, starting at Rodwell's on Buller Road, finishing on Mt Battery Road near the Showgrounds. Here is the road race calendar - please check for when you're rostered on for race duty.

Entries for all Thursday road races to John via SMS on 0428 503 437 by 8pm Wednesday.

However, the club's first racing of the summer will be Dirt Crits at Riflebutts MTB Park next Monday 9 October. Here is the rest of the calendar and here is some general information about Dirt Crits.

Here is the link for the Join Now page with links for all types of MMBCC membership. Remember that your 2018 CA membership includes October to December this year as well.

Spring Update

All for One

The GreenEDGE Cycling documentary All for One is coming to Mansfield THIS WEEK!
Here is the trailer on YouTube.
It's on at the Mansfield Armchair Cinema this Thursday 7 September at 7.30pm.
Tickets are ONLY available through club President Craig Wilson directly. Contact Wil on 0417 596 288, or email him - pre-booking is essential, numbers are limited.

Are you a friend of the Rail Trail?

Ross Vaughan has asked this be sent onto all MMBCC members:

"Hi everyone,
You are invited to the inaugural meeting to form a ‘Friends Group’ for our local rail trail.

Date: Thursday 7 September, 2017
Time: 3:00 to 4:30pm
Location: Mansfield Library, Collopy St, Mansfield

The meeting will take the form of an information session to discuss the following:
- Background to the Great Victorian Rail Trail project
- Where are we 5-years after the opening of the trail
- Why do we need a ‘Friends Group’ for the rail trail
- How do we go about making a ‘Friends Group’ happen

There will also be a representative from Rail Trails Australia at the meeting to provide a wider perspective on the benefits of rail trails to a community. Rail Trails Australia is a not-for-profit organisation comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to the preservation of abandoned railway lines for community use.

Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be available at the beginning of the meeting. RSVP by Tuesday 5 September.

I look forward to you joining our session.

Kind regards,
Ross Vaughan."

For further information and to RSVP, please call Ross on 5775 1332.

Riflebutts Working Bee re-scheduled - SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

Due to Sunday 3 September being Father's Day, Shannon has pushed back the next Riflebutts working bee to Sunday 10 September, 9.30am – 12.30pm.

2017 Masters Road National Championships

With just under a year to go until the best cyclists in the Commonwealth go for gold, Australia’s top masters cyclists will be the first to take on the official 2018 Commonwealth Games road race course on the Gold Coast.
Held on the Gold Coast from the 27-29 October 2017, this is your chance to stake your claim to the green and gold jersey.
Click here for more information.

And a little closer to home...

The Tour of Aldonga will be held on the weekend of November 4 and 5.
Click here for more.

Midweek Update

All for One

The Orica-Scott – GreenEDGE Cycling documentary All for One is coming to Mansfield!
Here is the trailer on YouTube.
It'll be shown at the Mansfield Armchair Cinema on Thursday 7 September at 7.30pm. But unlike most films at the MAC, tickets are ONLY available through club President Craig Wilson directly. Contact Wil on 0417 596 288, or email him - pre-booking is essential, numbers are limited.

Riflebutts Working Bee re-scheduled - SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

Due to Sunday 3 September being Father's Day, Shannon has pushed back the next Riflebutts working bee to Sunday 10 September, 9.30am – 12.30pm.

Friday Update

Just a quick update before next week's AGM:
- AGM this Tuesday;
- Bikes for sale;
- Riflebutts Reserve Working Bees postponed;
- Mountain Bike Worlds;
- More on disc-brake road bikes; and
- A new ride from Canberra to Koszi.

AGM this coming Tuesday

Just a reminder that the MMBCC Annual General Meeting is being held at the Delatite Hotel this coming Tuesday at 7pm (dinner and drinks beforehand from 6pm.)
Please come along and have your say. All executive positions are up for grabs and we also needs volunteers for sub-committees for road, mountain biking, BMX and social rides.

Bikes for sale

There are two newly-listed bikes on the For Sale pages.
The first is Kian's Trek Superfly mountain bike and the second is Foley's Scott Foil road bike.
Both are a bargain!

Riflebutts Working Bees postponed

Last Sunday's working bee had to be postponed due to the dreadful weather and the next scheduled one (we've just found out) is Father's Day. So two new dates will be announced soon.

MTB Worlds next month

One of the great cycling events of the year, the UCI mountain bike World Championships will be held in Cairns next month.
Click here to find out more.
And click here to book tickets if you're heading for FNQ.
And please have a look at Kian's fundraising page to help him get there too!

Confirmation that disc-brake road bikes are now legal

After the press release we quoted last newsletter, here is the link to the Cycling Australia website confirming the new regulations.

ride4rescue

A new organisation called as ‘Ride4Rescue’ is running a charity mountain bike event known as ‘Capital2Koszi’. 
They raise money for 2 charities; RestoreOne Cambodia and ADRA Blossom Vanuatu - funds raised go to support wages for teachers in rural Cambodia and provide sex education to girls in Vanuatu so they can make better choices.
The first event happened in March this year and was so successful it'll be an annual event.  They have spots for only 30 riders with just 11 spots left for next years ride (26th Feb - 4th March 2018)
It begins at the steps of Parliament House in Canberra and rides through the beautiful snowy mountains to finish on the top of Mt Kosziosko five days later.
To find out more about them, their ride and the charities they raise money for go their website.

It's the end of the world as we know it! (Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Got an email from Cycling Australia today...

The Cycling Australia Technical Commission has decided in favour of the introduction of Disc Brakes on bikes at all races, except the NRS and UCI events.
This comes in to play immediately.
The reason behind the decision is to allow more clarity for new riders beginning in the sport. As you will realise Disc Brake bikes have become the norm in the marketplace.  

Woohoo! Finally...

(But what about the rotating knives...!)

More news to come later this week, or early next week, with news of (hopefully) a Mansfield fund-raising screening of the new Orica-Scott documentary All For One.

Weekend Update

Even though it's winter there's a bit happening on the bike, including:
- 2017 AGM;
- Rider Development Grant;
- An update on Riflebutts Reserve;
- 7P7D;
- Rules changes on mobile phone use;
- International Track Cycling at DISC; and
- a couple of upcoming recreational road rides.

And... don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter!

Annual General Meeting

The MMBCC will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Delatite Hotel from 6pm on Tuesday 15 August... 6pm for dinner and drinks - meeting will start at 7pm. This is YOUR chance to have your say and get involved.
Do you have any ideas on how the club should be doing things?
Want to have your say?
All the club exec positions will be declared vacant and we’ll be after a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and representatives for Road, MTB and BMX.

2017/18 Rider Development Grant

The Grant provides financial assistance for talented MMBCC cyclists aged 25 and under. It's designed to encourage and support the development of promising young riders at varying levels in their cycling careers.
Please click here to download a copy of the Guidelines for the 2017/18 MMBCC Rider Development Grant. Applications must be returned by Tuesday 25 July; so less than a week to go! Details of where to send the application are in the PDF.
Successful applicants will be announced at the AGM at The Delatite Hotel on Tuesday 15 August.

Riflebutts Reserve Update

Behind the scenes Shannon has been working closely with Parks Victoria’s Mansfield office to develop Riflebutts Reserve into a more sustainable, fun and professional park.
One of the big items is signage for directions of trail, grading and names. These have been funded by Parks Victoria and a huge thank you goes out to them.
The other big item is the trail upgrades - last winter, you saw the new uplink; this year the new downhill link is going to be built, which will give you the longest, most-fun descent in the park. From this we will have a final trail map produced with all relevant information on it.
The posts and signs have arrived and are ready to be put in place; this is where we need your muscles and time.
Working Bee Dates
Sunday 6 August 10am – 2pm
Sunday 3 September 10am – 2pm
Please bring gloves and eye protection, plus post hole digging tools... and we'll put on a barbecue lunch.

7P7D

Cycling Inform and All Terrain Cycles have announced dates for the next 7 Peaks in 7 Days. It's an awesome week. Click here for a week in cycling heaven.

Mobile phones

Be very careful about using your phone on the bike from now on... the rules have changed and we'll now be treated the same as car drivers, apparently. Details here.

ITS Melbourne

Track cycling is back in Melbourne, including the 81sy Melbourne Cup on Wheels, with the upcoming ITS Melbourne event being held 25th - 29th July. Click here for more information.
We would love to see some junior club members get along to the event; therefore we are offering free entry to club members (juniors and any adults who bring along juniors) during the following day sessions:
- Tues 25th July
- Wed 26th July
- Thurs 27th July
- Fri 28th July
All other sessions will charged per normal.
Whether your junior club members have been exposed to and/or had a go at track cycling or not, it will be exciting and action-packed.

Amy’s Gran Fondo

Entries are still open for one of the best recreational rides of the year. Click here. Cycling Australia members (MMBCC road members, that's you!) receive a discounted entry.

Giro della Donna

This one looks good too... and it includes a bit of dirt! Click here. CA members get a discount on this one too.
 

 

Long Weekend Update

Have a great long weekend everyone! To get you in the mood for a weekend on the bike, here's the latest news from the MMBCC, including:
- Rider Development Grant;
- 2017 AGM;
- ATC EOFY Sale;
- The Redback;
- Masters Road Nats;
- The Wang Tour; and
- Something to make blokes wince a little!
 

2017/18 Rider Development Grant

Above: Kian Lerch-MacKinnon, recipient of the RDG in 2016. Good luck at the first round of the National Cyclo Cross Series this weekend Kian!

The Grant provides financial assistance for talented MMBCC cyclists aged 25 and under. It's designed to encourage and support the development of promising young riders at varying levels in their cycling careers.
Please click here to download a copy of the Guidelines for the 2017/18 MMBCC Rider Development Grant. Applications must be returned by Tuesday 25 July... that gives you plenty of time! Details of where to send the application are in the PDF.
Successful applicants will be announced at the AGM at The Delatite Hotel on Tuesday 15 August.

Annual General Meeting

Do you have any ideas on how the club should be doing things?
Want to have your say?
The MMBCC will hold its Annual General Meeting at the Delatite Hotel from 6pm on Tuesday 15 August. This is your chance to have your say and get involved.
All the club exec positions will be declared vacant and we’ll be after a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and representatives for Road, MTB and BMX.

ATC EOFY sale

MMBCC sponsor All Terrain Cycles is having a big sale. Call in to see Shannon and pick up a bargain.

The Redback

The organiser of the BikeBuller MTB Fest, Rapid Ascent, invite you to The Redback. Did you know The Redback MTB Stage Race is coming up this August in the Red Centre and we have special offers for groups and clubs!
Celebrating its 10th year in 2017, The Redback includes some of the country’s best riding as you race along hand built trails in the morning and then relax around the pool and chat to new and old friends in the afternoon.
The race logistics are super simple – stay in the one location, no car or support crew needed and we’ll even pick you up at the airport!
The Redback would be the perfect way for your club members to stay motivated through the colder months and keep up their riding. Check out the website for more details or check out this video.
Group Offers
The Redback is the ideal event to attend with a bunch of mates or MTB Club members
Take advantage of DISCOUNTED ENTRY for groups over certain sizes, and if you bring along 5 or more riders we are happy to arrange an individual discount for you.
Check out the Group Entry Page on the website for more details.

Entries are now open for the 2017 Masters Road National Championships

With just under a year to go until the best cyclists in the Commonwealth go for gold, Australia’s best masters cyclists will be the first to take on the official 2018 Commonwealth Games road race course on the Gold Coast.
Held on the Gold Coast from the 27-29 October 2017, this is your chance to stake your claim to the green and gold jersey.
- Event Rider Registration – 26 October
- Individual Time Trial – 27 October
- Criterium Championships – 28 October
- Road Race Championships – 29 October
The road race will see masters cyclists take to the 18.7km closed-road 2018 Commonwealth Games circuit which features a variety of testing terrain while showcasing the picturesque region including iconic Currumbin Beach. The time trial will be held at Tullebudgera, while the criterium will take place on the purpose-built course in Nerang.
Click here for more details and entries.

Wang Tour

The Wangaratta Two-Day Tour is on next weekend. Entries are still open!

Road rules

If you’re riding on the road and get into a ‘discussion’ with a driver about the road rules, you should know what you’re talking about. For instance, it’s perfectly legal for us to ride two abreast on the road at any time.
All the rest of the road rules pertaining to cyclist are here. Forward the link to anyone you think needs a read!

Finally...

Please be careful on the bike, or this might happen to you. Well… not women, obviously.

Sunday update

Victorian Country Championships

Congratulations to two MMBCC members who had great results on the weekend at the Victorian Country Road Championships at Harcourt.
Kian Lerch-MacKinnon put away the mountain bike for a weekend to win silver in the Under 19 Men.
And Jodie Batchelor WON GOLD in Masters Women 4.
Here are the results and many thanks to Dion Jelbart for the pics. (Many more on the Cycling Victoria facebookpage.)

Cycling and concussion

Did you watch stage 2 of the Tour of California on Wednesday morning and see Toms Skujins' crash? Here's a good article on cycling and concussion... worth a read.

Mansfield Shire Sport & Rec Survey

Mansfield Shire Council has recently appointed specialist planning consultant Insight Leisure Planning (ILP) to assist with the development of a Sports Facility Strategy to guide the effective provision, management and development of community sports facilities over the next ten years.
Council is keen to ensure all community based sporting clubs and groups as well as individuals have an opportunity to provide input into this important planning project. Council has developed an on-line community survey in order to encourage broad community input into the planning project.
Here is the link to the survey for individual community members which all residents are also encouraged to complete. The on-line surveys should be completed by 9 June, 2017. 

Upcoming events

Preston Mountain Classice - Sunday 4 June
A great handicap race based at Strath Creek and finishing with the climb up Murchison Gap. More info and entries here.

Wangaratta Tour - Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 June
The popular Wang Club Tour is back again for 2017. Based from the WCC clubrooms in Shanley Street, this years event will see the return of criterium racing to the 2 day, 4 stage race. More details will be posted here.

Melburn-Roobaix - Sunday 25 June
The Queen of the Classics – Paris Roubaix is one of the oldest and most gruelling one day races in the world. For over 100 years it has forced its participants to ride from the south to the north over abandoned farm roads, in a bid to hold aloft a trophy of a single cobblestone.
Melburn Roobaix is furthest thing from a race, in distance, speed or spirit. While the cobbles feature heavily, and the ride also concludes in a velodrome, this is a day to rekindle the wonder of your youth spent exploring the neighbourhood, hanging out with friends, making new ones and discovering a part of the city you never knew existed.
Dress up, ride whatever you like, the wilder the better with prizes awarded to the ‘cutest couple’ and the ‘most awesome foursome’. Other prizes to be won are for ‘craziest contraption’, ‘dirtiest rider’ and ‘Spirit of Roobaix’ – you can even ‘Win your weight in Beer’ thanks to Temple Brewing.

Tour de Beechworth - Saturday 15 July
40km or 100km ride at 10am, French Provincial Dinner at the brewery in the evening and a live and exclusive Skype cross on the big screen to SBS’s Mike Tomalaris at the finish line of stage 14 of the Tour de France. More details here soon.

Sam Miranda weekend - Friday 25 thru Sunday 26 August
Includes the Strade Nero road race, the Gran Fondo and the Ryans/Taminick Gaps loop. More details to come here.

Late April Update

Like Matt Hayman at last year's Paris-Roubaix - we're back!
- Kian to the Worlds;
- Mixed Gravity Enduro results;
- End of Summer 1 & 2;
- Autumn Gravel Series;
- Club Kit available;
- Two-Up ride; and
- il Giro Tipping.

Mack Peterson

Congratulations to Laura and Aaron Peterson on the safe arrival of Mack.

Kian's going to the Worlds!

MMBCC member Kian Lerch-Mackinnon has been named in the Australian Junior Team for the World Mountain Bike Championships in Cairns in September.
Congratulations Kian!

More results

Contrasting results for the Empey family last weekend at Round 1 of the Gravity Enduro National Series at Falls Creek...
Elise entered for the first time and promptly won! YAY!!
Matt crashed on his first practice round and spent the weekend in Hospital. BOOOO...
Here are the results and get well soon Matt. (Happy Birthday for yesterday too...)

End of Summer 1

This weekend will see the last weekend of mountain biking operations up at Mt Buller, including the Blue Dirt Shuttle.
There are rumours of a half-Epic (from TBJ) group ride on Sunday. For details email Jason or SMS him on 0439 108 832.

End of Summer 2

by Beau Gueste

With the days finishing earlier and nights getting longer the Summer racing season drew to a close with the race for the coveted “Road Series Aggregate Trophy” very much at the sharp end with five riders in possible contention and three riders in serious contention and only 2 races to go. Over the season 52 individuals have scored points in Thursday night racing, and it was all going to come down to the final two races to decide the overall winner.
A fairy tale ending was possible with a three way tie on the cards, if a particular rider won and two other particular riders came 9th and 10th respectively. This was not to be, and a clear winner emerged in the dying days of season 2016-2017.
The race on 23 March saw Talia Appleton once again take out the win, with a quiet call to all young people who would like to “havea go” next season, second place was secured by Tony ‘The Barber” Morris and third was Di Condie (a result which would prove important in weeks to come).
March 30 being the final race of the season saw Limit riders once again defy the handicapper with a strong show of group riding. Steve Flew, fresh from “Special K’s” completed in spin sessions in Melbourne rode away from his group to secure a strong win. Second place was snatched by Di Condie in a sprint with Jodie Batchelor who finished a strong 3rd.
Fastest time on the night was Josh Hopwood.
The finish of the racing season brings the awards presentations and Season 2016-2017 and the awards were presented at, our sponsor, the Delatite Hotel on Thursday 6 April.
The Road Aggregate Trophy was won by Di Condie, in second place was Dan Purcell and in third place was Bruce Halket.
The Mountain Bike Aggregate Trophy was won by Daniel Friday, in second place was James Griffin and in third place was David Bock.
The women’s trophy, and hamper of products supplied by Eisner’s Pharmacy, was awarded to the woman who achieved the highest aggregate score. This was won by Di Condie with Jodie Batchelor in second place and Janine Appleton in third position.
The “Alain Guerin Memorial” trophy, for the rider who has achieved the highest aggregate score over both Mountain Bike and Road Racing, was awarded to the evergreen David Bock, whose persistence and consistency has once again produced rewards.
The Club congratulates all its awardees and participants in 2016-2017, and large thanks to our sponsors, volunteers and helpers.

Dirt Crits winners, James, Dan (not Damian) and Bocky.

Dirt Crits - Overall
1.  Dan Friday
2.  James Griffin
3.  Dave Bock

Dirt Crits - Under 15
1.  James Griffin
2.  Matt Empey
3.  Bella Green

Dirt Crits - Women
1.  Bella Green
2.  Elise Empey
3.  Rachael Grundy

Summer Road Series
1.  Di Condie
2.  Dan Purcell
3.  Bruce Halket

Women’s Road Trophy
1.  Di Condie
2.  Jodie Batchelor
3.  Janine Appleton

Alain Guerin Crossover Trophy
1.  Dave Bock
2.  Bruce Halket
3.  Dave Jagger

But wait there’s more…  
Sunday 9 April saw the first of the Autumn Gravel Series held in Mansfield with 7 riders braving wintery conditions on the never before tried Long Lane Loop… by all accounts the new course was a ripper!
The winner was Damian Grundy who had the measure of his fellow group members by the time they reached the Coombesberg on Old Tolmie Rd and then rode away to win by a very clear margin.
Stewards were seeking swabs post race before confirming the victory. In second place was Dan Purcell and in third place was Jarrod Appleton.
This was followed by a ride out along the Whitfield Road to welcome home Bella and Tom Macmunn on their fundraising ride. Bella Macmunn in company with her Dad Tom, rode from Yass NSW to Mansfield, unsupported... 600km in 8 days and raised over $5,000 for Venilale in East Timor. Not a bad achievement especially seeing that Bella is 15 years old. An inspiration for us all.
Well Done Bella!

Autumn Gravel Series Race Two

Race two around our ‘traditional’ Black ’n’ Tan loop saw nine riders face the starter and Dave Moore win (his first road race win in 26 years!) ahead of Jarrod Appleton and Damian.
Next race is around the Chapel Hill Road loop, starting at Pollards Road and finishing at Walsh’s Driveway, on Sunday 7 May at 9am.

Club Kit on sale

Seight Custom Clothing has opened up again for MMBCC members after a few recent requests.
Keep in mind that they now include some new winter options - thermal bib knicks, 3/4 thermal bibs knicks and a thermal long sleeve jacket - plus the trail jerseys are still at their reduced price.
Here is the link you need to have a look at everything that's on sale - email Bruce to get the password.

Two-up Ride

On a rainy Tuesday morning, the Inaugural Anzac Day Two-Up Ride was held. Five of the club’s toughest, hardest, most courageous members planned on braving the weather and gravel to punch out 55 character-building kilometres.
But those five couldn’t make it so Alex, Josh, Dan, Mauro and Bruce went instead.
Plans are already underway to make next year's Two-Up longer, harder and dirtier! Mark it in your calendar now!

Il Giro Tipping

Now that an awesome Spring Classics is over, it's almost Grand Tour time. With the Giro d’Italia only a week away, Le Tipping has announced that, after a hiatus during last year’s Vuelta, the competition is back for the Giro!
Here’s the link. Entries forms are due to be emailed to Le Tipping Central by noon on Friday 5 May.

Midweek News

Just a quickie today...
- Summer Presentation;
- Last Thursday's final road race;
- Autumn Gravel Series;
- Call for interest in another club kit purchase; and
- Paris-Roubaix this Sunday night!

Summer Presentations Reminder

Presentations to this summer's trophy winners will be held in the front bar at the Delatite Hotel tomorrow Thursday 6 April from 6pm. We'll be awarding the following:
- Dirt Crits Summer Series winner;
- Road Summer Series winner;
- Road Series Women's trophy; and
- The Alain Guerin Memorial Trophy for combined Dirt Crits and Road.

Final Summer Road Race

The last road race was held last Thursday on Howes Creek Road, with a resurgent Steve Flew taking the win ahead of Di Condie and Jodie Batchelor. Dan Purcell rode fastest time.
Here are the results and the pics below are again provided by Tony Copland. Many thanks Tony.

ROAD RACE THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday sees the first of the Autumn Gravel Series on the new Long Lane Loop (Course 20). One change though... we're starting at 9am, at Rodwell's on the Buller Road, not 8am!
Finish at opposite the Showgrounds on Mt Battery Road.
Entries via SMS to Bruce on 0419 533 120 by 8pm Saturday.
The weather isn't looking great but that might just make things more interesting!

Want more club kit?

Bruce has had a few questions from members about club kit again. We need a minimum of 10 pieces. So if you're interested, please email Bruce and we'll see if we get enough interest to open up briefly again (especially as the latest delivery included some great winter gear which would be worth having as the weather gets cooler!)

Paris Roubaix this Sunday night

One of the great road races of the year is on this Sunday night. SBS Viceland (channel 32) will show The Hell of the North from 9.30.

Friday Update

Just a short one this week before the Editor goes away for 7 Peaks in 7 Days:
- Summer Presentations;
- Dirt Crits;
- Talia wins again;
- Something for the Spring Classics; and
- A race you might like to try... next time.

Summer Presentations

Presentations to the trophy winners this summer will be held in the front bar at the Delatite Hotel on Thursday 6 April from 6pm. We'll be awarding the following:
- Dirt Crits Summer Series winner;
- Road Summer Series winner;
- Road Series Women's trophy; and
- The Alain Guerin Memorial Trophy for combined Dirt Crits and Road.

Monday Dirt Crits

Monday 20 March saw Damian introduce a new format - a Team Relay with a Difference. Each team had a collection of riders of differing speeds but they all had to ride together.
The winning team saw Ruby Dobson start strongly on the first lap, Rachel Grundy and James Griffin rode really well for another two, then Bruce Halket finished off with another two.

Thursday Road Race

The second last road race of the summer saw Talia Appleton win for the second week in a row. At this rate she'll be riding off Scratch before Winter!
Next week will be the last Thursday night race for this season; and it's a beauty - Lord's Ground, Howes Creek Road, MacMillan Point Drive and finishing on O'Hanlons Road. Yep... THAT hill!
Don't forget to enter with John by 8pm on Wednesday on 0428 503 437.
Here are the results and thanks once again to Tony Copland for the pics.

Spring Classics - The Cycling Podcast

If you're a fan of pro road cycling, the next month will be corker! The Spring Classics are some of the best races of the year.
A great way to keep up with what's going on is The Cycling Podcast, a free, weekly podcast by three British journalists. Here is the website.
If you become a Friend of the Podcast (for 10 Pounds) they have a Spring Classics series which has just started. An upcoming highlight is an interview with last year's Paris Roubaix winner, Matt Hayman, while he watches a replay of the SBS coverage on YouTube, commentated by Robbie McEwan and Matt Keenan.
Sounds like it'll be great!

Finally...

The Indian Pacific Wheel Race is currently underway.
Some of you might remember Christie Hamilton who came over and raced with us on the road a couple of times last summer. She's currently racing, unsupported from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. You can keep an eye on how she's going - and all the other lunatics, err... competitors - by using this link.

Friday update

A brief update before the Mansfield Tour kicks off. This week:
- Dirt Crits Gravity Enduro from Tuesday night;
- Thursday's Handicap Road Race; and
- Updated map of Mansfield Tour stage 1.

Gravity Enduro

After a hiccup with signage on run 1, Dan Friday set fastest time during run 2 to take the win from Matt Empey. Thanks to Damian, Kate and Adam for a fun race.
Here are the results.

Overall winners: 2. Matt Empey; 1. Daniel Friday; 3. Will Grundy.

Womens' Winners: 2. Ruby Dobson; 1. Elise Empey.

Junior winners: 2. Zac Empey; 1. Ruby Dobson; Equal 3. Charlie Dobson and Finn Baker.

Howes Creek Handicap, Thursday 16 March

Last Thursday saw the return to the challenging Howes Creek Road course for the club’s 25km handicap for the third time this season. Bolstering the regular field were Jean-Daniel and Laurent Guerin along with their mates, Damon de Angelis, Matt McLennan and Simon Bone – all up for the Mansfield Tour on the weekend.
In her first race, Talia Appleton took off courageously into a blustery southerly followed some time later by the dynamic team of Will MacDonald, Kody Appleton, Dave Bock and John Eisner. Di Condie, Dave Jagger and Craig Wilson followed with Steve Flew, Gretchen Nadenbousch and Jodie Batchelor up next.
Tim Hall and Janine Appleton then Tim Ross and Dave Moore made up the middle field while Jarrod Appleton, Rob Skinner, Aaron Peterson, Darren Bakker, Luke Olver, Mauro Brega and the Melbourne lads made up the rest of the list.
The MacDonald crew worked smoothly and it took the well sorted Condie trio most of the race to finally catch them at the 15k mark. With these two groups working well the following two groups struggled to make ground and subsequently broke apart.
Similarly at the Scratch and Block end, both were looking sharp until the turnaround where it was reported that things became a little untidy.
Taking advantage of this, Limit settled down and after a minute of sorting clockwise vs anticlockwise proceeded to let Craig Wilson lead a very fast downhill run towards the finish. Getting slightly boxed in David Jagger missed the jump, lead by the "yep-need-to-move-in-a-group-or-two” Handicapper who also caught Bocky by surprise to take second place. David Jagger came third, Craig fourth and Di fifth with Damon de Angelis recording the fastest time of 39’ for the 25km course.
The night was all Talia Appleton’s though, who rode a great, lone ride, exceeding her anticipated average to beat the rest of the bunches by a comfy three and a half minutes – well done!
Thanks to the crew of volunteers and the Delatite Hotel for hosting the post-race dissection.
Here are the results and pics below are thanks to Tony Copland.

Finally...

Many thanks to all our members who are giving up some, or all, of their weekend to help run the Mansfield Tour. For a small club we do a great job!
Good luck to all competitors and particularly our own club members Josh Hopwood and Dan Purcell (no pressure boys - just enjoy it!)
The map for the Individual Time Trial, Stage One of the Mansfield Tour, has now been updated with a cobbled-together Google Maps version. Hopefully this makes the distance seem more logical.
However, to the hipster outside of Registration tonight who complained that the map hadn't been updated earlier, apologies and I hope you enjoy the Tour!

Saturday Update

The weekly round-up of all things MMBCC including:
- A few words about the Mansfield Tour;
- Thursday evening's ITT;
- Monday's Dirt Crits;
- A blast from the past; and
- A little motivation to get out and ride if you think you're getting too old.

The Mansfield Tour

It's only a week away!
A mountain of work has been done in the previous few months to make this weekend run smoothly:
- the VicRoads and Police permits have been approved;
- the flags in the middle of town have been produced and installed;
- the new inflatable arch has arrived and been tested;
- the prize jerseys have arrived;
- the warning signs around the courses have been installed;
- the signage for the lead car for each grade produced;
- the Technical Manual, including the Course Mocka, has been produced and distributed to entrants;
- the TT start ramp is being modified; and
- the roster is almost finalised.

Have you volunteered your time yet? We need your help. Please email Race Director Di Condie and let her know when (not if) you're available to help out.

One final thing... after the presentations have finished at the Delatite Hotel on Sunday afternoon, there'll be a bunch road ride leaving the Botanic Park at 4pm. (This is to make up for us all missing out on the 8am bunch ride due to running the Tour.)

The inaugural Peacock Cup

by David Jagger

A new course was set for the second time trial of the season racing from Piries to Gough Bay and back.
First off the start was the youngest rider, Will Grundy who displays good perseverance and managed to arrive at the finish still leading.
Josh Hopwood was not far off his tail just 30 seconds behind after making up 9 minutes in a half an hour race. Josh set the fastest time for the inaugural race at 20.13 and was conspicuous in his matching attire and time trial bike.
Riders crossed the finish line in quick succession with all 20 odd riders finishing within 5 minutes. Di Condie was the first female home (5th overall) shortly followed by Jodie Batchelor, Janine Appleton, Mel Green and Gretchen Nadenbousch. Gretchen sustained a puncture just before the start but with a little help was still able to make the start line and finish in fourth place.
The weather for the evening ride was perfect. The sting had gone from the sun and the breeze was quite gentle, although Mel was heard to say that she had a head wind the whole way.
Craig Wilson rode a powerful race to finish in a credible position despite a hard handicap; it could also have been his new white Italian bike.
Steve Flew rode a strong race finishing in second place. Displaying a determined ride on top of a disrupted season David Jagger completed the podium with third place.
All riders were keen to ride their best so that they could compare themselves to other riders. This extra effort at a time trial was evident in the exhaustion at the finish with many of the riders unable to communicate as they crossed the line. Well done to all competitors.
Thanks to the marshals and volunteers for organising the race.
The evening was finished with presentations at the Delatite Hotel followed by a trivia night in support of Bella MacMunn and her trip to Venilale (which was won by Team Velo!)
Here are the results of the ITT, which this week include the whole lot... so everyone can see their time.
Next Thursday's road race is the famed Howes Creek Road course, with its finishing hills. Entries to John via SMS by 8pm Wednesday please.
Next weekend is the Mansfield tour and consists of a time trial Saturday morning and a return race to Jamison in the afternoon. Sunday is the race up to Mt Buller. Good luck to Josh Hopwood and Dan Purcell who are competing in this elite amateur cycling event. (And as the rest of the club will be helping out organising and running the Tour, Josh and Dan have kindly volunteered to do all the packing up!)

Dirt Crits, Monday 6 March

A great night of racing... so close that the first 6 placings were within 11 seconds of the winner. That's what you call great handicapping!
Highlights?
- Seeing James Griffin get up and ride through to the finish after a spectacular crash right in front of everyone at the finish line. Bad luck James but great work for getting back up and finishing so well!
- The look on Matt Empey's face when he found out next Tuesday (not Monday due to the public holiday) will be a Gravity Enduro and he won't be here for it!
Here are the results with everyones' times.

The overall podium: 2. Bella Green; 1. Rachel Grundy; 3. Alex Green (yes, taking a selfie!)

The under 15s podium: 2. Elise Empey; 1. James Griffin; 3. Ruby Dobson.

The Ladies' podium: 2. Bella Green; 1. Rachel Grundy; 3. Elise Empey.

Finally...

Here's a little something from the archives which shows a prominent club and Executive member in younger, skinnier, more colourful times.

And here's an article worth reading if you find it difficult to get motivated to get out and ride. Shame on you!

Sunday Evening Update

A lot to get through again this update:
- Dirt Crits from last week;
- Dirt Crits points scores;
- A "visitor's" perspective on local road races;
- Sunday's recreational road ride; and
- a bit on disc brakes.

Dirt Crits, Monday 27 Feb

by Jason Parker

Damian Grundy set a longer course than the previous week with 18 riders entering the event.
Mark Raymond was first to ride off from the start line on Monday night, beginning his journey of 8 laps in warm and dusty conditions. Matt Empey and Bruce Halket followed seven and a half minutes later (6 laps). Damian Grundy started on 13 minutes (5 laps) and Jason Parker 90 seconds later (4 laps). A further 6 minutes passed by until Rachael Grundy headed off. At the 24 minute mark Cam Dobson (the dark horse) and Dave Bock started their 3 lap journey, followed by Mike Davies, Peter Coffey and Alex Green 15 seconds adrift. A further 15 seconds and James Griffin and Bella Green left the start line. At the 26 minute mark Elise Empey and Will Grundy set off for 3 laps. Ruby Dobson started 6 minutes later, followed by Dan Friday (Jnr) 2 minutes later, both completing 2 laps. Finn Baker had to wait the longest, seeing many riders come through the start/finish lines a number of times before he headed off at the 40 minute mark to ride his lap.
It quickly became apparent that Ruby’s dad, Cam, had some good form and was making his way through the field strongly. Bruce Halkett was also pulling away from Matty Empey.
At the end of the race Cam Dobson left the field in his dust, recording a time of 47.21 to take out the win. Jason Parker was in second place a further 72 seconds back, with James Griffin (First U15) rounding out the top three in a time of 49.35. (Rachael Grundy had chosen to complete an extra lap so didn’t figure in the placings). Peter Coffey, making a return to Dirt Crits, showed good form with 4th in 49.52, followed by Mike Davies in 50.26 and Damian Grundy 50.53. Five riders finished in the next minute - Dave Bock 51.09, William Grundy 51.11, Dan Friday (Jnr) (2nd U15) 51.24, Finn Baker 51.34 (3rd U15) and Ruby Dobson 51.58 (1st Female). Elise Empey finished in 52.35 (2nd Female) with a gap to Bruce Halket 54.14 and Matt Empey 54.58. Bella Green (3rd Female) led her dad, Alex, over the line with times of 56.21 and 56.22 respectively. All this time Mark Raymond had been lapping consistently, 7.09 minutes per lap (the fastest rider in the field) and came home in 57.19, a long and hard effort!
Thanks to Damian for the course setting and marking. He has also been busy over the weekend fashioning some rustic podiums which members of his family tested out.
Damian has also instituted a 1st - 3rd place in the following categories: Overall, U15s and Female.
Here are the results.
This week the event will be held over the same course with adjusted handicaps, with an Enduro to be held on Tuesday 22nd.

And here are the cumulative point scores from Dirt Crits so far this season:

First up, here’s the Dirt Crits Points Scores.
1.   Daniel Friday (Snr)         287
2.   Mike Davies                    275
3.   James Griffin                  269
4.   Dave Bock                      266
5.   Bruce Halket                   204
6.   Matty Empey                  203
7.   Daniel Friday (Jnr)          186
8.   Bella Green                     185
9.   Elise Empey                    165
10. Jem Davies                     130
11. David Jagger                   127
12. Rachael Grundy              126
13. Damian Grundy               117
14. Brett Stevens                   115
15. Jason Parker                   106
16. Anthony Plummer            97
17. Ollie MacDonald                90
18. Zach Empey                      89
19. Cameron Dobson              85
20. Will MacDonald                75
21. William Grundy                 72
22. Ruby Dobson                    68
23. Mike Fischer                     50
24. Adam Baker                      47
25. Mark Raymond                 42
26. Kevin Gannon                   40
26. Jarrod Appleton               40
28. Warwick Bottrall               39
29. Finn Baker                         33
30. Peter Coffey                      31
31. Tom MacMunn                    28
31. Charlie Jones                     28
33. Ethan Lee                          22
33. Lee Noble                          22
35. Alex Green                         11

And here are the ‘combined’ scores.

1.   Dave Bock              105
2.   Bruce Halket            74
3.   David Jagger           68
4.   Damian Grundy       51
5.   Jason Parker            47
6.   Anthony Plummer   38
7.   Will MacDonald        27
8.   William Grundy        25
9.   Jarrod Appleton       13
10. Alex Green                 6
These are calculated using the same points system as the road races and will be added to the road scores for the ‘Crossover’ Trophy.

Visiting Spaniard Reviews Mansfield Racing

by Protra Pedina (guest Spanish cycling enthusiast from Club Rocacorba, Girona)

Thursday 2 February - 22km Handicap
During my time in Mansfield I have been impressed with the quality of riding, racing and socialising of the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club. Last Thursday was again no exception as part of the continuing race series.  Riders were looking fit and ready to ride after 5 months of racing.
Riders were welcomed with a review of the basics of safe road racing - decisive, focussed, smooth, alert and polite. Will MacDonald was singled out for not being as 'smooth' as he could have been at the start and committed to coming to future races looking that little bit sharper and wearing his very best kit for the remainder of the season.
There were 26 starters on the Barwite Loop Handicap of 22km. Tony Morris was off at limit with a 13 minute advantage of the Scratch riders of Josh Hopweed and Dan Purcell. When reviewing the handicapping Hopweed realised he was in with a good chance and lightened his bike by taking off all unnecessary weight including front light, extra bottles and spokey-dokies (much to the relief of those who normally ride with him).
The trip out to the turn at Long Lane for all groups was assisted by a stiff southerly wind which allowed groups to settle in to a rhythm and communicate clearly and politely. At the turn however the full effect of the wind and seemingly furnace-like afternoon conditions put pressure on all to remain polite to each other. Several riders were heard to repeat words unsuitable for publication and the real race got underway.
The group of Di Condie, Craig Wilson, David Jagger, David Bock and Steve Curnow decided to work together pulling time trail turns and soon settled into a smooth rotation. This paid dividends and set them up to be part of the run to the finish. This was despite Craig Wilson being on a new bike, having received it the day before and hadn't really had a chance to ride it at all prior.
The group of Janine Appleton, Tim Hall, Dan Hall, Alex Green and Mel Green were being closely shadowed by Kat McKean, Anthony Plummer and Dave Moore. Working together they held the chasers off into the headwind through sheer decisive, focussed, alert riding.
The faster groups had their own challenges, with several of them coming together along Barwite Road. This was where the headwind turned into a (polite) cross-wind forcing riders to echelon and making it critical to remain focussed and alert. Aaron Peterson and Darren Bakker came together with the group of Bruce Halket, Mauro Brega, Tom MacMunn, Ross Hopkins and Luke Olver, ready for the climb to the finish up the Coombesberg Hill.
The race to the finish line came down to a race against the fastest riders of Hopweed, Purcell and Halket and the slower riders of Condie, Jagger all finishing within a minute of each other. These were the respective placings for the top five.
A big thanks to all volunteer and marshalls, with Margaretanne Hood taking out Best on Ground for her work in the lead car.

Many thanks to Tony Copland for the pics and here are the results.

Sunday 5 February - Summer Sunday Series Race 3 - 44km Handicap
Sunday morning greeted 11 riders to take on one of the longest Handicap races presented by the club. Starting from Mansfield it makes its way along Graves Road, and the up Old Tolmie Road where riders were required to show considerable focus if they were to remain competitive. The climb featured a large and diverse crowd cheering the riders on and playing music comparable to the atmosphere that can be found at many European Club races of a similar size.
Josh Hopwood set an almost personal record of 22 minutes up the climb after again lightening his bike of all extra weight, but in the finish it was Dan Purcell who was too strong and rode away from the bunch in a sprint finish. Special mention to Emily Dirksen who chose one of the hardest courses to make her return to racing after a long spell.
The three race Sunday Hill Climb series was concluded with Luke Olver taking out the Series on 31 points. Janine Appleton took second on 28 ahead of Mel Green on 25. In what appeared to be genuine surprise Luke said "I never expected to do so well and want to thank the club for organising the event and Mansfield Coffee Merchant for sponsoring the series". 
Results here.

Sunday in the King Valley

15 riders headed to the King Valley for a ride and lunch at Gracebrook Winery; 6 leaving from Mansfield while the remainder started at the winery and headed out to Lake William Hovell and back.
A few extra hangers-on joined them for lunch, which was terrific, and a very pleasant day was had by all.
There's a rumour that another similar ride might be held at Ruffy next month. Stay tuned!

Finally…

A little something for the disc brakes on road bike sceptics.