Central Victorian Veteran’s Cycling Club riders donned their skinsuits and tear-drop helmets and jumped on their time trial bikes to front up for the traditional pre-Christmas team trial event at Woodstock, this year sponsored by Graeme Pilcher. The honorary handicappers for the day put together evenly matched teams of five based on past performance, conditions and gut feeling. The eight teams (the biggest field for this event for a number of years) were set off at two minute intervals to circumnavigate the 35 kilometre Power’s Road –Newbridge block. Under race rules the whole team had to stay together for the first eight kilometres and at least four had to survive to the 16 kilometre mark, with the team’s final time recorded when their third rider crossed the finish line.

The strong head wind on the road to Newbridge forced team captains to choose from a number of different tactics. Unfortunately some teams didn’t discuss their tactics until after the race which severely affected their chances. Generally the three stronger members worked turns while protecting the other two until the designated drop-off points, although a couple of teams kept their fourth and fifth riders well beyond the minimum distance, and this seems to have paid dividends in the run home to Woodstock with a tail wind.

The team of Justin Mollison, Noel Knight, Russell Gilbey, Gary Leech and Gary Saunders completed the course in 56 minutes 52 seconds to take out the win. They held a margin of 33 seconds from the second placed team of Chris Draper, Stuart Muller, Shane Dellavedova, Jenny Farrow and Graeme Lockwood who all finished together in a great team performance. A further 19 seconds back were Brett Williams, Murray Rankin, Ricky Lovell, Trevor Pell and Wendy Bennett. The four minute time difference between the first and last teams was bigger than other years and can be put down to the tough conditions.

Next Saturday is the Vet’s final race for 2010, the Christmas Handicap at Woodstock sponsored by Perrow’s Paints. The race will be followed by a barbecue and presentations to the aggregate winners and most improved rider for 2010. The first race in 2011 is a 52 kilometre handicap at Emu Creek on Sunday January 16th starting at 10:00 a.m. All races in January will be run on Sunday morning. The race fixture for the first half of 2011 will be out in the next few days.

The Peter Baker & Associates sponsored November Feature Race was finally run at Woodstock on Saturday after being postponed twice due to road flooding. A strong field of 54 riders took advantage of relatively clear skies and light winds to take on a 47 kilometre course around Woodstock, consisting of the Power’s Road – Newbridge Road block then up to the Maryborough Road with a turn-around to finish back at the hall. Temperatures reached the low 30s during the race which, combined with high humidity, made it a difficult day after recent cooler weather.

The handicapper split the field into eight bunches with scratch giving starts of 1, 2 ½, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 20 minutes. The gaps proved to be about right with most of the groups staying apart except for the 2 ½ minute bunch which reeled in the 4 minute bunch before Newbridge, bringing together more than 15 riders who steadily ran down the groups ahead. A few from every group felt the heat early on and called it quits on the way past the clubrooms with 12 kilometres still to go, but the combined 2 ½ and 4 minute bunch kept flying along, pulling in the rest of the field at the Maryborough Road turnaround. Behind them the scratch and second scratch groups had made up a lot of ground but had lost riders and didn’t come together till the turnaround, by which time the rest of the field, numbering over thirty bike riders, was charging towards the finish line.

The big bunch sprint opened up the race. Ric McIntosh led out down the right hand side a long way out only to see Craig Lambert coming off his wheel to hit the front, who in turn was overhauled by Barry Jane in the last few metres. Barry showed that he hasn’t lost much form after a three week break to win the race off 2 ½ minutes in a time of 1 hour 12 minutes 19 seconds. In a tribute to the skills of the handicapper, placegetters came from six different bunches. Craig Banfield (4) came in 2nd, followed by Ric McIntosh ( 2 ½ min) 3rd, Jenny Farrow (8 min) 4th, Dale Stemmer (2 1/2 ) 5th, Leigh-Anne Dynon (4) 6th, Jack Trickey (12 ) 7th, Jim Field (8) 8th, Ric Mitchell (20) 9th and Noel Knight (6) 10th. First unplaced lady was Sabrina Smythe, and Andrew Pascoe once again rode strongly to take out fastest time in 1 hour 11 minutes 18 seconds.

Next week’s race is a 35 km team time trial at Woodstock followed by a general meeting. Corner stewards are R Wright, C Davidge, S Dellavedova, P Dynon and J Farrow.

The 47Km.Club Handicap was held at Woodstock in rather hot conditions, with little wind. The field of forty-five riders, was smaller than usual, owing to a contingent of Central Vets. riding in the the Graded Scratch race at Hall’s Gap. The course took the riders across to Newbridge, South to Laanecoorie, back to Newbridge, then the eleven km. run home to the finish at Woodstock. The field was divided into eight groups, with the first group having a twenty minute start on Scratch, the other groups were spaced at 1.5, 2.5, 4, 5, 6.5, 9 and 12minutes respectively.

The Limit bunch got off to a good start, with Eve Keetelar ensuring a consistent pace. The four Scratch riders had their work cut out with a strong six rider group one and a half minutes ahead. The entire field seemed to be content just to hold their position, it was not until about the twenty-five kilometer mark that the five minute bunch made their move, catching the six and a half minute bunch midway to Lannecoorie. The impetus was kept up by this combined group, catching the nine minute bunch shortly afterwards, with E. Keetelar and J. Corry, the two remaining Limit riders, being overtaken about seven kilometres from the finish.

It was a combined bunch of twenty-five riders that was in the race for the finish line, with Mick Lavery making the early break, but being passed, just before the line, by Michael Brady who rode into first place.

1st. M. Brady, followed by M. Lavery, S. Deladova, P. Robertson, B. Wakefield, C. Louchard, C. Chambers, and G. Leech in 8th. place.

Next week, The Peter Baker & Associates 62Km. Handicap at Woodstock at 2p.m.

Duty; S.Muller, T. Pell, G. Pollard, P. Robertson, N. Shipp.
Summer Series- Emu Creek, Wednesday, Register 6p.m.

What a difference a year makes! The Easysteel Homes sponsored Woodstock to Bealiba race was shortened last year because of extreme heat. This year, in total contrast, 28 starters lined up at Woodstock last Saturday in steady rain and strong winds which persisted all afternoon. Water and debris over the roads near Bealiba forced a change of course to an out and back route which took riders through Newbridge and Llanelly then up the Rheola Llanelly road with a turnaround point at the Murphy’s Creek Road before heading back to Woodstock, for a total distance of 52 kilometres.

The handicapper set the small scratch group a tough task, chasing bunches off 1, 4, 6, 9 and 12 minutes, with two limit riders having a 16 minute start. Riders had a slight advantage on the way out due to a cross-tail wind, but the fast pace wasn’t enough to stop the scratch group catching second before Newbridge, and third scratch reeling in fourth not long after Newbridge. The turnaround point gave everyone the opportunity to gauge the gaps, and at this point the two limit riders, Gary Saunders and Wendy Bennett, still had a good break over the chasing bunches. The combined scratch and second scratch group had closed to within a couple of minutes of the groups ahead. Riders face a stiff headwind on the run back to Woodstock and all bunches started to shed riders. The combined 3rd and 4th scratch bunches reeled in the rest of the field with 6 kilometres to go but had to keep the pedal down to stay away from the fast finishing scratch bunch.

Rob Gibson (4 min) hit the front three hundred metres from home and in a strong and determined ride held off Murray Rankin (4 min), race sponsor Brett Williams (4 min), Peter Ladd (6 min) and Ricky Lovell (4min) to win the race in 1 hour 21 minutes and 12 seconds. They were followed home by David Colwell (6th) and Ray Colwell (7th) who both started off 9 minutes. The scratch group stormed home a few seconds later to snatch the remaining places with Trevor Watchman (8th) taking fastest time in 1 hour 17 minutes 21 seconds, followed by Andrew Pascoe 9th (scratch) and Shane Thompson 10th (1 min).

Next week’s race is a 47 kilometre handicap at Woodstock. Corner Stewards are R McCredden, D Lowe, S MacCallum, D Keith and T Medcalf.

The second day of the Ray Colwell aggregate saw another good field of 45 riders front up on Sunday morning for the 35 kilometre dash around Power’s Road to Newbridge and back home to Woodstock, a good test of riders’ ability to bounce back from the tough race the day before. Two scratch riders were set a big challenge to chase down reasonable size groups off 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 and 17 minutes.

The pattern of Saturday’s race was repeated with a strong cross-tail wind to Newbridge pushing the bunches along at a rapid rate, so that once again scratch and second scratch couldn’t make any early impression on the rest of the field. Third scratch got off to another flyer and picked up the four minute bunch before Newbridge. The combined bunch worked well and rode through the field except for four limit markers who once again held off the peloton in the run down to the finish line to win by a good margin.

Repeating his good form from Saturday, Neil Hinton took out the race in 1 hr 00 min 46 sec from Terry O’Brien 2nd, Wendy Bennett 3rd and Jack Trickey 4th, all from the 12 minute mark, followed by Dale Lowe (3 min) 5th , Murray Rankin (3 min) 6th, Geoff Pollard (4 min) 7th, Ricky Lovell (4 min) 8th Graeme Lockwood (8 min) 9th and Paul Stuckenschmidt (4 min) 10th. Fastest time of 52 minutes 12 seconds went to Geoff Bennet.

A win on Sunday and 5th place on Saturday was enough for Neil Hinton to take out the Ray Colwell Aggregate with 16 points, followed Wendy Bennett on 13 points and Annie I’Anson on 10. Next week’s race is the Easysteel Homes Woodstock to Bealiba epic over 55 kilometres. Duty officers are Di Jane, Evelyn Keetelar, Noel Knight, Arnie Lindsay and Ricky Lovell.

The Central Victorian Veteran’s Cycling Club conducted the Ray Colwell Aggregate series over the weekend with riders collecting points in a 56 kilometre handicap on Saturday and a 35 kilometre race on Sunday morning.

59 riders faced the starter’s gun on Saturday in fine but breezy conditions around a course from Woodstock heading west to Tarnagulla then down to Laanecoorie and back to Woodstock via Newbridge. The big field was split into ten bunches with a small scratch group chasing good-size groups at 2, 4, 6, 8 12,15,20 and 25 minutes, and two limit riders at 30 minutes. A strong tail wind saw high average speeds on the first leg to Tarnagulla where the 20 minute bunch swallowed up the 25 minute bunch and shortly after reeled in the two limit riders. Behind them the scratch riders weren’t making any impression on second scratch, but the four minute group was motoring along, picking up the six minute bunch at Laanecoorie and the eight minute group just after the turn at Newbridge. The race faced stiff cross-winds on the run home from Newbridge to Woodstock but the front bunches worked well together and lost only a few riders. With scratch and second scratch still a long way back, the rest of the field came together two kilometres from the finish but it was far too late to reel in the front three groups who powered on to win by a good margin.

Annie I’Anson had a great ride to take out 1st place off 20 minutes in a time of 1 hr 36 min 8 seconds, followed Graeme Lockwood 2nd (20), Peter O’Brien 3rd (25), Brad Wakefield 4th (20), Neil Hinton 5th (20), Wendy Bennett 6th (25), Gary Saunders 7th (25) and Jack Corry 8th (30). Geoff Pollard (8) won the sprint from the rest of the field to take out 9th place ahead of Barry Jane (4 minutes) who picked up 10th place and also fastest time of 1 hr 21 m 11 s. in a great performance. Pam Robertson was first unplaced lady.

The Bart N’ Print 58km Handicap at Bridgewater was held in atrocious conditions, accounting for the low field of only 25 riders.The course headed north to Inglewood, cutting west towards the Melville Caves, to Kingower, then due south over the rolling hills of Rheola, across to Llanelly, to Newbridge, then heading for the finish at Bridgewater.

The field was divided into six bunches, with Limit starting 28min. ahead of Scratch, the remainder of the field at 3, 5, 10, and 18 minutes.The three Limit riders rode off into the worst of the weather, with the rain pelting down, however, K. McCredden set the pace for the Limit trio, enabling a good team effort.The five rider Scratch bunch, although working well together, failed to gain any real ground on the three minute bunch, but nonetheless, were only 40seconds behind the leaders at the finish. The three minute bunch of Draper, Farrow, Rankin and Barri really combined well, catching the five minute bunch just before Kingower, with this larger bunch picking up the ten minute bunch at Rheola. Meanwhile the eighteen minute bunch, with Smythe and Bennett pushing the pace, were continuing to make headway, catching Limit, just before Llanelly.

On the long straight to the finish, three minute combined bunch was only 1min. 45secs behind, however in a final thrust for the line the ten minute group held off the charge, With Ken Lacey in first place in a time of 1hr. 56min. 17sec., followed by S. Smythe, R. Mitchell, N. Hinton, K. McCredden, W. Bennett, G. Farrow, R. Lovell, D. Barri, and in tenth place M. Rankin.

Fastest Time A. Pascoe 1hr. 38min.43sec., First unplaced woman F. Medina

Next week-ends Racing; Saturday 56km. Colwell Handicap at Woodstock 2 P.M.
Duty Roster; R. Gibson, B. Goldberg, H. Hall, D. Hare P. Harper.

Sunday 35km. Colwell Handicap, Woodstock 10 A.M.
Duty Roster; C. Harris, A. I’Anson, B. Jane, D. James T. Jones

N.B. Summer Series Start Wednesday, November 3rd. at Emu Creek, Register 6 P.M.

The 60km “Harry’s Handicap” was held at Melville Caves in excellent conditions, bright sunshine and not too much wind.There were 58 entries, divided into 8 bunches, with Limit starting 30mins. before Scratch, and the other bunches at 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, and 22minutes

The race started at the foot of the Melville Caves hill, headed out to Logan, over to Wedderburn, and then back to the Caves, but the finish was at the top of the steep 2km climb. Limit set off, finding that the first 8km. was deceptively hilly, with a number of long, energy sapping, “Drags”. However one of the Limit riders “Dropped” a chain, and left the remaining two, to battle into the wind to maintain their lead.The 22min. bunch was looking strong and motivated, working well together, with Lockwood, Trickey and Hinton pushing the pace, and catching the two Limit riders at the 39km. mark, and continued the push for the finish.

The four rider Scratch bunch, of Casey, Macague, Pascoe and Mollison caught the 3min. bunch at Wedderburn, but failed to make further headway. The 9min. bunch had started to make an impression on the field, catching the 12min. bunch at the 50km. mark, which increased in size to about 20 riders.The bunch pushed hard to catch the remainder of the field, pulling in the 16min. bunch, and then close to the bottom of the hill climb to the finish, the 22min. bunch, and with an explosive burst Daniel Barri left the pack in his wake to record an impressive win.

1st. D. Barri in a time of 1hr.38m. 35sec. followed by S. Delevadova, P. Stuckenschmidt, P. Robertson, A. Barnett, R. Lovell, G. Pollard, H. Hall, A. I’Anson, J. Thompson.

Fastest time; P. Casey 1hr. 30m. 20sec. 1st. Unplaced female; S. Smythe

Next Race; Bart N’ Print 58km. Handicap at Bridgewater, 2pm Start
Duty Roster; D. Colwell, A. Creek, D. Fogerty, D. Fulton, R. Gibney.
N.B. Summer Series start, Wednesday 3rd. November, at Emu Creek, Register by 6pm, starting at 6:30pm.

The Central Vic. Widscreens 47km. Handicap at Woodstock had a smaller than usual field, owing to the large contingent of members racing in the Western District Road Race.The field was divided into five equal groups, plus the Limit group of two riders. Limit started 22mins., ahead of Scratch, with the other groups placed at 16, 9, 5.5, and 2.5minutes.

The course was down Power’s road, back up to Newbridge, then from the Maldon Road, back to Woodstock, continuing through to the Maryborough Road, and then a U- turn back to Woodstock for the finish. The riders were faced with strong winds and showery conditions. Limit set off at a steady pace, but the long leg into the wind to Newbridge really tested the resolve of the two riders. There was little movement at the back of the field, with Scratch reduced to only Pascoe, Schintler and Volk, the wind was taking its toll and the threesome were really workink hard just to keep their position in the field.The 2.5 and 5.5min. bunches were having similar difficulties, trying in vain to catch the 9min. bunch. However it was the 9min. bunch that was setting the pace, and making a move on the 16min. bunch, finally catching them at Newbridge, with only K. Hamilton managing to hold on to the 9min. bunch and continue with them.

Finally the Limit was caught and passed at the 31km. mark. The 9min. bunch had a substantial lead as they passed the Clubhouse on its way to the Maryborough Road turn, leaving only 6km. to the finish. The finish was a scramble for position with David Hare emerging from the pack for a good win, and Craig Halliday [After more than 12months off} recording a creditable 2nd., 3rd.K. Waddington, 4th. T. Pell, 5th. K. Hamilton, 6th.A. Berry, 7th. P. Robertson, 8th. R. McCredden, 9th. M. Brady, 10th. H. Hall.

Fastest Time A. Lindsay- First unplaced female C. Fraser.

Next race Oct. 23rd.- 60km. “Harry’s Handicap”- Melville Caves.
Duty: P.Bone, C. Chambers, G. Chapman, D. Cheal, D. Collier.

Long time Central Victorian Veteran's Cycling Club supporter Peter Moore sponsored Saturday's annual Inglewood IGA "Blue Eucy" Race. The 43 starters encountered perfect conditions as they lined up in bright sunshine and a light wind for the undulating 54 kilometre circuit from Inglewood through Rheola, LLanelly and Arnold back to the finish on the outskirts of Inglewood. The handicapper took advantage of the absence of a number of scratch riders to challenge some second scratch riders with a ride at the back of the field. These six gave starts of 2, 4, 6, 10 and 15 minutes to similar sized groups. Four second limit riders were a further six minutes in front chasing two limit riders who had a 25 minute start on scratch.

The limit riders maintained a solid pace through the rolling hills to Rheola and were joined by second scratch at the twenty-five kilometre mark. Third limit made contact with the leaders after passing though Arnold, making up a lead group of 12 with only 10 kilometres to go. Meanwhile at the back of the race, scratch had picked up the 2, 4 and 6 minute bunches at Rheola and reeled in the 10 minute bunch half way along the middle road between Rheola and Llanelly. The 15 minute group was the meat in the sandwich and their efforts were hampered by a minor crash which brought down a couple of riders early in the race. They battled on gamely but their efforts were to no avail when the whole race came together with five kilometres to go. The stronger riders drove the peloton hard in the run home with a steady stream of riders going out the back testifying to the hot pace.

By the time the finish line came in sight only 15 to 20 riders were in with a show, but Andrew Pascoe proved far too strong in the sprint to take first and fastest time in 1:21:24, for an average speed of 39.9 km/hr. He was followed home by fellow scratch rider Shane Thompson in second, with Tim Frazier (2 min) 3rd, Andy Hayhow (scr) 4th, Chris Davidge (6 min) 5th, Graeme Butcher (scr) 6th, Vince O'Brien (scr) 7th, Ricky Lovell (4 min) 8th, Barry Jane (scr) 9th and Chris Draper (2 min) 10th filling the other places. Di Jane was first unplaced lady.

Next week's race is a 47 kilometre handicap at Woodstock starting at 2:00 p.m. Duty officers are C. Banfield, D. Barri, W. Bennett, M. Banfield and A.
Berry.

The 35 Km., Graded Scratch, Club Handicap was held at Woodstock.

The field of thirty-seven riders was broken up into four grades. The “A” Grade group of twelve riders moved off first, with the riders content to ride as a bunch, but Tony Jones and Chris Draper made their move, just after Power’s road, moving strongly along the very windy leg towards Newbridge. They held out for over ten Km., but close to Newbridge they were pulled back to the bunch. They continued towards the finish without dropping any riders, and in a sprint finish A. Pascoe took the honours in a time of 54min. 35sec. an average of 41.6kmh. followed by T. Jones and M. Rankine.

The nine riders of “B” Grade moved off smoothly, until T. Pell broke away, but was soon brought back to the bunch. Not too long after Pell was off again, this time R. Verkuylen went with him, for a while it looked promising but again, was short lived,the bunch stayed together, with the speed increasing towards the finish line, with C. Chambers 1st. in a time of 59min. 16 sec. an average of 35.5 kmh. and D. Colwell, 3rd. M. Lavery.

The seven rider “C” Grade bunch was content to complete the course together, with Fran Medina winning the sprint for the line, in a time of 1hr. 03 min. 32sec., an average of 32.9 kmh

The last group of nine riders was “D” Grade, and from the start W. Bennett, S. Bright and G. Saunders, were willing to do most of the pace making, particularly along the windy eleven km. Newbridge leg. Turning into the home stretch of eleven km. the windy was finally in their favour, and the speed increased rapidly, with the slower riders stretched to the limit to keep with the bunch. Two hundred metres from the line, the scramble for positions started, with Di Jane taking honours in a time of 1hr. 06 min. 5secs. An average of 31.9 kmh., 2nd.P. O’Brien, 3rd. R. Wright.

Next Race Saturday 9th. OCTOBER, The Blue Eucy 54km. Handicap at INGLEWOOD start 2:00pm
Duty; M.Balnaves, M. Anderson, S. Auld K. Arnott, B. Baldwin

The Decked-Out Coaching 47Km at Woodstock started off in sunny, but very windy conditions. Fifty riders entered for the event which was divided into nine groups, with Limit startingtwenty-four minutes ahead of Scratch.The start was at Woodstock over to Newbridge, heading south to Laanecoorie, then back down the Maldon Road, to Newbridge and home. It was always going to be a hard task for Scratch with only four riders to share the pace against strong face winds, and try as they might they could not catch the group in front.

The seven man 1.5min. group were combining well together, catching the3.5 min. bunch at Newbridge. However the next bunch, the 6min. with R. McCredden and D. Barripushing the pace were moving extremely well, catching the 8min. bunch after Laanecoorie, this bunch now fourteen strong really moved along, pulling in the 10min. bunch at Newbridge, and heading for the finish at Woodstock. The front of the field had changed somewhat, with R. Wright and W. Bennett pushing the the20min. group picking up Limit at the 20km. mark, and later reduced to W. Bennett and G. Saunders, who looked as if they had the race won.

However the combination of the 6, 8 10 and 15 min. bunches were really gaining ground fast, and caught the two leaders about 600metres from the line, with Michael Brady bursting out of the bunch, scoring his first win for a long time, in a time of 1hr. 15min. 56 sec. Ave. 37.2 kmh. 2nd. L. Dynon, 3rd. C. Banfield, 4th. R. Lovell, 5th.D. Barri, 6th.N. Knight, 7th. D. Colwell, 8th.R. McCredden, 9th. D. Hare, 10th. D. Stemmer. Fastest Time P. Volk in a time of 1hr. 10min. 22sec. Ave. 40.2 kmh . 1st. unplaced female P. Robertson.

Next week; 35km.Club Handicap at Woodstock START 12 NOON.
Duty P. Dalton, G. Donaldson, C. Draper, L. Dynon, J. Field.

Central Victorian Veterans Successful at Ballarat
The Eureka Veteran Cycling Club held a four lap 60km handicap at Ballarat, with an entry of ninety riders, which include a group from Central Vets. The 32min. group looked very strong early with Grampians rider Meg Parnaby, and Wendy Bennett pushing to catch the two groups in front. Finally on the third lap they overtook the two groups and pushed for home., with the finish in sight Wendy Bennett won the sprint for First place, with K. McCredden in third and S. Bright fourth, with a. Pascoe taking out the fastest time. To finish a great day of racing for The Central Vets. Bruce Tonkin took out First place in the Bendigo and District Cycling Club’s 40km. Classic.

Wendy Bennett - winner of Eureka Open

The Club Championships Series had a total entry of more than sixty riders, which, considering a number of members were riding in Ballarat the following day, was very pleasing.The series was divided into three events, with the races starting at Newbridge, over to Tarnagulla, then heading back via laanecoorie into Newbridge. The first two events did two laps of this course, with one lap for the third race.

The men’s event was off first, with a field of more than forty riders competing, they were all happy to settle in and see what eventuated, it was not until near the end of the first that a group of three riders, including R. McIntosh and G. Butcher made a break from the front, but were soon pulled back to the bunch. The bunch was still fairly large with only a few riders dropping off. Into the second lap, towards Tarnagulla, A. Pascoe made a break for it, and held out for quite a while, but was slowly brought back to the field. The bunch still had more than thirty riders in it when it entered the home straight, with John Macaque triumphant, in a time of 1hr.23m. 35s., an average of 38.8 kph. 2nd. Trevor Watchman and 3rd. Andrew Pascoe.

The Women’s 54Km.Championship started two minutes after the Men’s, and although it was a smaller group, the competition was just as fierce. However it was Cate Fraser who made the early break midway through the first lap, and was two minutes ahead after the first lap. It was virtually over with the bunch unable to make any headway. First C. Fraser 1hr. 30m. 18s. an average of 36kph. 2nd. L. Dynon, 3rd. P. Robertson.

The third race was one lap of 27 Km.The riders kept together, sharing the pace, and it was not until the last two kilometers that riders started to position themselves for the finish, with Jack Trickey over the line first, in a time of 50m. 15 s., followed by K. Lacey and R. Mitchell.
Next weekis the 47km. “Decked out Coaching” at Woodstock, 2pm start.

The Bendigo Club Juniors will be guests of the Club, and will have a fun day of racing.
Duty: M. Brady, M. Chiappazzo, J. Corry, H. Crothers

The 47Km. Club Handicap at Woodstock attracted forty-five entrants—the course took the riders to Newbridge, heading over to Laanecoorie, then heading along the Maldon Bridgewater Road to Newbridge, then the last leg to Woodstock.The field was divided into eight groups with Limit twenty-two minutes ahead of Scratch. It was always going to be difficult for the Scratch bunch with only four riders, and they were unable to overtake any of the groups.

The two minute group also rode well, but to no avail.TheLimit bunch, with Wendy Bennett pushing the pace along, was maintaining it’s lead and was looking promising. Meanwhile the four minute bunch of C. Draper, S. Muller, T. Murphy, S. Wall, R. Gibson, R. McIntosh and G. Butcher had caught the six minute bunch half-way between Newbridge and Laanecoorie, and not long after Laanecoorie, pulled in the eight minute bunch, making a combined bunch of twenty-one riders. Towards the front of the race the eleven minute bunch had overtaken the sixteen minute bunch just after Laanecoorie, and this larger bunch was in hot pursuit of Limit.

Finally on the last leg towards Woodstock this group overtook Limit at the thirty-eight kilometre mark pushing the pace for the last nine kilometers. The combined 4-6-and 8 minute group was still pressing hard, and it was a group of about thirty riders heading for the finishing line. Rick Mc Intosh put in a massive sprint, and in a photo finish with Leigh Anne Dynon was just pipped on the line. The majority of riders finished within a 2min. 13 sec. time frame, an indication of good handicapping.

First L. Dynon in a time of 1Hr. 15min. 31 secs. [11m], 2nd R. McIntosh [4m], 3rd. G. Butcher [4m], 4th. R. Gibson [4m], 5th. S. Wall [4m], 6th. R. King [6m], 7th. T. Murphy [4m],8th. D. Barri [6m]

Fastest time A. Pascoe 1hr. 8min. 6secs. Average speed 41.6Kmh.

First unplaced female C. Fraser [8m]

Next week The 50Km. Peter Baker and Associates Handicap Woodstock 2 p.m.
Duty S.Fulford, D. Stewart, K. Waddington, D. Bakes, M. Angove

The 63Km. Danny Clapp Handicap was run in sunny but windy conditions. Starting at Newbridge heading out to Tarnagulla, turning west, over the hills of Moliagul , south to Dunolly, turning back through Tarnagulla, and finishing at Newbridge. The field of 45 riders was divided into seven groups with Limit heading off 32 minutes before Scratch.The limit group, with three riders, was struggling to keep ahead of the chasing group, and at the thirty-two kilometer mark, the twenty-three minute bunch, looking very strong, caught up, and for a while pulled them along. Meanwhile Scratch had caught the four minute group between Tarnagulla and Dunolly, however they just could not catch any others. In the middle of the field the eleven minute group of V. O’Brien, D. Barri, P. Stuckenscmidt, R. Lovell, G. Donaldson,

R. King,and R. Gilbey, were moving smoothly and caught the seventeen minute group at Dunolly, and it seemed the only group with a chance to catch the twenty-three minute group. However it was not to be with the twenty-three minute taking the first six places, it was V. O’ Brien who burst from the eleven minute group to get seventh place, in a great time,utimately finishing only fourteen seconds behind the rider with the fastest time.

First T. O’Brien 1hr. 55min. 09sec. [23 min.] 2nd.S. Smythe [23min.] 3rd. N. Hinton [23] 4th. K. McKredden [32min] 5th. J. Trickey [23] 6th. K. Hamilton [23] 7th. A. Berry [23]. 8th. V. O’Brien [11min.], 9th. D. Barri [11min], 10th. J. Farrow [17min].
Fastest time A. Pascoe 1hr. 34m 42s. Ave. Speed 40Kmh. 1st Unplaced female P. Robertson

Duty. P. Volk, C. Waddington, C. Wakeling, J. Wall, C. Weatheritt.
Next Week’s Race 47Km. Club Handicap Woodstock 2 P.M.

The Winter Aggregate Trophy, The Prestigious JT Trophy, will be supplemented this year with extra sponsorship from Peter Baker and Associates.

Resuts to the end of July are as follows; T. Pell 61 pts ,Chris Draper 56 pts. J. Mollison 55pts., B. Williams 53 pts., J. Thompson 49 pts.R. King 46 pts., A. Pascoe 45 pts.,R. Gibson 44pts., j. Trickey 39pts., J. Field 34pts., R. Lovell 32pts.,P. Volk 31pts.,K. Waddington 30 pts., D. Jane 28pts., M. Rankin 28pts.,C. Banfield 27pts., C. Harris 27pts., K. Lacey 27pts., G. Lockwood 27pts., G. O’Halloran 27., G. Bennett 26pts., T. Schintler 26., J. Macaque 25pts., P. Robertson 25pts., S. Smythe., T. Storer., 25pts., S. Auld 22pts., A Fitzpatrick 22pts., S. Thompson 22pts., C. Chambers 21pts., L. Dynon 21pts., D. Hare 21pts., T. Murphy 21pts., P. Pontell 21pts., R. Wright 21 pts., B. Jane 20pts., D. Stewart 20pts., K. Hamilton 20pts.

The thirty-one riders for the Bolton’s Office National 69.5 Handicap, faced cold, windy and wet conditions, many realizing that the strong cross winds would play havoc with the bunches, particularly along the long Maryborough Road leg. The field was divided into seven groups, with Limit thirty-eight minutes ahead of Scratch.

The field headed out down Power’s Road, along to Newbridge , continuing through Tarnagulla, then through Laanecoorie to the Maryborough Road, heading back to Woodstock to finish. The eleven minute group of D. Stewart, R. Gibson, R. Lovell, R. McCredden and D. Barri, was certainly the group to watch, working smoothly together catching the eighteen minute group about two kilometers into the Maryborogh Road, maintaining the charge to pick up the twenty-four minute group, and finally the Limit riders about six kilometers from the turn back to Woodvale.

Strong as this group was the race was not finished yet, the Scratch bunch of J. Macaque, T. Watchman, N. Shipp, A.. Pascoe, and J. Mollison, caught the four and eight minute groups by the Laanecoorie cross roads, leaving most riders in their wake, and finally catching the eleven minute group on the last hill before the six kilometre turn for home.

Scratch led this larger bunch home, with J. Macaque over the line first in a winning and fastest time of 1hr. 42min. 41 sec., [Ave. 40.8kmh.] 2. N. Shipp, [scr.] 3. J. Mollison, [scr.] 4. A. Pascoe, [scr.] 5. T. Watchman, [scr] 6. R. Gibson [11m], 7 T. Schintler [4m.]
8. S.Wall [8m],9. P. Volk [8m.], 10. R. Lovell [11m]

First unplaced female, l. Dynon

Next week 65Km. Danny Clapp “The Good Guys Handicap” 2pm.at Newbridge.
Duty. S. Thompson, N. Thompson, B. Tonkin, D. Trickey, R. Verkuylen

The field for the Woodstock 35km. Club Handicap was down on numbers, as a number of Club members were contesting The Rob Vernon 112km. Classic. However thirty-four riders faced up for the very windy 35km.The course took the riders down Powers road, then headed along the back stretch to Newbridge, then along the final 12km. leg finishing at Woodstock.

The field was divided into eight groups, with Limit starting fifteen minutes ahead of Scratch. It was to be a “Friendly” race with the 4min. bunch catching the 6min. bunch within the first 5km., and in turn, the at the 15km. mark, the combined 2 & 3min. bunch, had pulled in this group leaving a number of riders struggling to hold on. Meanwhile at the front of the race the limit riders were caught just after Newbridge by the combined 8 & 11min. groups.The 2 & 3 min. groups still riding strongly, had moved through the field to pick up the leaders about 8km. from the finish, with Scratch pushing strongly about 45seconds behind.

It was a large bunch that raced to the finish line with S. Wall [2m]. winning in a time of 53m 02s. [Ave. 39.7kmh] followed by C. Chambers [3m] R.Lovell [2m], R. Gilbey [3m], D. Hare [4m.], R. Gibson [2m.] and in 7th. place S. Auld [4m.]

Fastest Time D. Fogarty 52m. 31 sec. [Ave. 40kmh.]

First unplaced female A. O’Brien

Next Week Bolton’s Office National 60km. Handicap Woodstock 2 p.m.
Duty. S. Spencer, B. Steen, D. Stemmer, D. Stokes, P. Stuckenschmidt

Forty-two riders rolled up for the Newbridge 52km. Club Handicap. The route headed south through Tarnagulla, Dunolly, and heading back east towards Laanecoorie, then cutting back on the Eddington Road, finishing back at Newbridge. The course, always open to the elements, was going to be especially difficult with the low temperatures and strong wind.

The field was divided into nine groups, with Limit having a 28minute start on the Scratch group of J. Macaque, N. Shipp and T. Schintler. Scratch started well with the three riders combining well, and averaging about 40 kpm., but it was not until about 3km. from the finish that they pulled in the 1 minute group. Meanwhile the 3 min. group caught the 6.5 min. group at the 30km. mark.

However it was at the front of the field that the race was being won, 2nd. Limit caught the Limit just before Dunolly, continuing to work well together, maintaining the distances between the other groups, it was becoming evident that this was the “In-form” group, the one to beat. At this point groups had come together, making two groups of twenty plus, with the10 min. group holding its own, and chasing second Limit, but to no avail, the second Limit held off the challenge, finishing strongly.

Places. 1st. S. Smythe, [ 1hr. 37m. 56s] followed by P. O’Brien, W. Bennett, K. McCredden, J. Field, T. Pell, R. King,and in 8th. place S. Auld.

Fastest Time N. Shipp 1hr.17min.13sec., an average of 40.5 kph.

First unplaced female F. Medina

Next Week. 35km. Handicap at Woodstock.
Duty Roster. G. Saunders, P. Sawyer, T. Schintler, N. Sens, S. Smythe

1hr.17min. 13sec

The best conditions for some time encouraged an excellent turnout of 55 competitors for the 48 km July Feature Race sponsored by “Stewarts Accounting”. The race was conducted at Laanecoorie, and consisted of 6, 8 km laps of the circuit which took riders from Laanecoorie to the Maryboroough- Bendigo road then turning left down the Bridgewater Maldon road and back to the start via Cains road.

The good conditions and a flat track encouraged the riders and the speed was on right from the start. The 13 minute group got off to a good start and caught the 14 minute group just after the first lap. The 2 minute group was flying and caught the 4 minute bunch on the third lap. This group went on to catch the 6 minute bunch on the 5th lap. The rest of the field came together, just before the turn into Cains road producing a huge bunch of about 45 riders. The two riders off scratch chased hard but were unable to make up the deficit.

There were lots of moves within the bunch as riders tried to position themselves for the final sprint home. Terry Schintler from 2 minutes was the form rider of the day taking out first place and fastest time, completing the course in 1:15:28. Second, continuing his recent good form, was Brett Williams (2 min), 3rd Andy Hayhow (2 min), 4th Shane Thompson (2 min), 5th Rick McIntosh (4 min), 6th Barry Jane (2 min), 7th Chris Drapper (2 min), 8th Robert Gibson (6 min), 9th Murray Rankin (4 min), and in 10th place was Paul Dynon (2 min). Fastest unplaced lady was Pam Robertson (13 min)

Next week’s race is a 52 km handicap commencing at Newbridge at 2.00 pm. Officials for the day are G Patterson, G Pilcher, A Pitcher, P Pontell and A Sanford .

Despite the cold conditions, another good field of 45 riders took on the challenging Emu Creek circuit for Saturday’s 52 km “Nanga Gnulle” Handicap. The course took riders on two laps, starting at Emu Creek road then onto Story’s road, Sedgwick road, Axe creek road and back to Emu creek road.

The handicapper broke the field into 7 bunch’s. The 6 minute bunch was the form group of the day catching the 9 minute bunch at the completion of the first lap and the 15 minute group half way through the second lap. This bunch lost a few of the riders on the second time over the goose neck. Ultimate winner Brett Williams put the pressure on during the descent with speeds in excess of 70 km/hr.

Both scratch and second scratch (3 min) chased hard but were unable to catch any of the leading groups. The 6 minute group continued to reel in the lead groups catching the 20 min and limit (25 min) bunch’s on the last hill about 1 km from the line.

Brett Williams (6 min) prevailed in the sprint in a time of 1:22:11, 2nd was Rodger King (9 min), 3rd Craig Banfield (9 min), 4th Stuart Muller (6 min), 5th Ricky Lovell (6 min), 6th Rodger Gibson (6 min), 7th Shane Wall (6 min), 8th Darryl Stewart (6 min), 9th Paul Stuckenshmidt (6 min) and in 10 place was Pam Robinson (15 min).

First unplaced lady was Aileen O’Brien and the fastest time of the day was achieved by Nick Shipp completing the distance in 1:19:45. Following the race, riders and officials gathered at “Nanga Gnulle “for much appreciated hospitality provided by sponsor, Mick Anderson.

Next week’s race is the 48 km “Stewarts Accounting” Handicap commencing at Laanecoorie at 2.00 pm. Officials for the day are T Murphy, T O’Brien, G O’Halloran, D O’ Brien, and A Pascoe.

The worst conditions riders have faced for a long time reduced the field for the Central Victorian Veteran's Cycling Club race at Woodstock on Saturday to just sixteen tough competitors. Most warm-ups were done in front of the fire in the Woodstock Hall, and the toughest competition early in the day was to get in line to volunteer for corner duty rather than jump on the bike.

Driving rain and gale-force winds persisted for the duration of the 59 kilometre journey which took the field from Woodstock through Llanelly, up the middle road and then south to the Bendigo St. Arnaud Road before heading back to Woodstock via Tarnagulla and Newbridge. The field was split into five groups with two scratch riders Justin Mollison and Travis Storer conceding two minutes to a bunch of seven and another seven minutes to the next group. The next three riders had another eleven minutes in hand chasing the lone limit rider on twenty-six minutes, but were always going to have a difficult day, and things got worse when one of the group punctured.

Withdrawals due to the conditions and punctures also reduced the chasing groups. The scratch riders kept their heads down and rounded up second scratch at the turn onto the Bendigo St. Arnaud Road. Third scratch were overhauled just before Newbridge. Wendy Bennett was the lone cyclist out in front by this stage and held a four minute advantage at Woodstock, but this was never going to be a big enough lead in the atrocious conditions.

In the run to the line the two scratch riders steadily shed the others with only three of the bunch together at the finish. Justin Mollison took out the sprint from Travis Storer to win and record fastest time. Terry Schintler (2 min) hung on for third, followed by Ricky Lovell 4th (9 min), Chris Draper 5th (2 min) and Dale Lowe 6th (2 min). Wendy Bennett continued her great solo ride to the finish to register first unplaced female.

The Waddington Handicap lived up to its reputation of being “Hilly & tortuous”, with 43 riders competing over the backhills of Castlemaine, across to Maldon, then a loop back to Castlemaine.
Limit riders R. Mitchell & D. Keith were given a 26 min. start on the Scratch bunch, with six other groups spaced in between.

The Scratch group of J. Mollison, J.Macague, N. Shipp, & T. Storer, had picked up the 1.5 min. group just after the 2km. mark, and continued their roll to gather the next two groups shortly after. Meanwhile at the front of the Race the Limit duo were caught at the 36km. mark by a trio of P. Robertson, B. Tonkin and B. Leahy, who had ridden away from the fifteen minute bunch, and continued their surge towards the finish. However about 2km. from the line, the now large group of about twenty-five riders, led by the Scratch team surged through, and on the last hill Scratch sprinted and left the remainder in its wake.

Travis Storer was first in a time of 1hr 17 min., an average speed of 41.3kph., followed by, J. Mollison, J. Macague, N. Shipp, G. Bennett, D. Lowe, S. Thompson, A. Lindsay, B. Jane, and 10th. M. Rankin. 1st. unplaced female P. Robertson.

Next week’s Race: 59km. Club Handicap at Woodstock.Duty: G. Lockwood, C. Louchard, J. Macague, R. McIntosh, D. McKellar.

Cold wintery conditions confronted the 51 riders who took part in the “Alan Sanford” 47 km graded scratch race on Saturday. The race took riders from the start at Woodstock around the Powers road circuit to Newbridge, then back past the clubrooms to the Maryborough road turn around and back to the start finish line.

Attacks were on right from the start and riders had to deal with a brisk cross wind for most of the circuit, making it difficult for riders to hang on as they jockeyed for position. The toll began to tell early in most grades with a number of riders dropped on the run in to Newbridge.

A grade was won by the in form Andrew Pascoe, in a time of 1:12:31. Shane Thomson was 2nd and Carl Harris finished in 3rd place. James Thompson was 1st in B grade in a time of 1:18:41, Craig Banfield 2nd and David Hare 3rd. C grade saw Ken Lacey first over the line in a time of 1:25:42, 2nd was Fran Medina and 3rd Pat Pontell. Ever green Jack Trickey was 1st in D grade in 1: 30:11, Steve Bright was 2nd and Wendy Bennett finished in 3rd place.

Next week’s race is the 53 km “Kel Waddington” handicap at Castlemaine starting at 2.00 pm. Officials for the day are R King, J Kirkham, B Leahy, G Leech and A Lennon.

Maryborough hosted the veterans cycling this week with a good field of 45 riders contesting the 55 km “Paul Volk” Handicap. A light head wind faced the riders who set off from the start at Dundas road to Dunolly, where they were turned left and headed over Mt Hooghly, then left again through Timor West and back to the start.

Scratch riders were in trouble not long after starting when they took the wrong turn just after Timor. This cost them about a minute and the chance of finishing on the podium. The 3 ½ minute group, with Mick Anderson and Robert Gibson featuring, put in a strong performance and had caught the 5 ½ minute bunch in the hills at about the half way point. This group combined well together catching the 8 minute group at Timor West and the 11 minute group about 4 km from Timor and the 15 minute group at Timor. Limit riders were picked up shortly after on the run home. The 1 ½ minute group chased hard but without scratch to help just missed out on catching the lead riders.

Meanwhile in the lead bunch the pace started to surge as the pelaton now containing about 25 riders shook its self out as riders positioned themselves for the uphill sprint to the line. Paul Dynon (3 ½ min) in a powerful sprint to the line was first in a time of 1:17:00 for an average speed of xxxxxx. 2nd was Daryl Stewart (5 ½ min), 3rd James Thompson (5 ½ min) 4th Sheridan Hall (3 ½ min), 5th Richard Verkulyn (8 min), 6th Robert Gibson (3 ½ min), 7th David Hare (8 min), 8th Mick Anderson (3 ½ min), 9 Leigh Anne Dynon (5 ½ min), and in 10th place was Steve Auld.

Steve Fulford from scratch was the fastest rider of the day finishing the course in a time of 1:16:40. First unplaced lady was Aileen O’Brien.

Next week’s race is the “Alan Sanford” 47 km graded scratch race starting at Woodstock at 2:00 pm. Officals for the day are N Hinton, D Jackson, D Jelbart, T Kapakoulakis, and M Kennedy.

53 Riders took part in the 61km Stewart's Accountants Hcp on Saturday 5th June, conditions were slightly blustery with half the field starting under heavy passing showers. The race started at Newbridge and took the riders over a undulating course through Lianally, Rheola, Mt Moligal, Tarnagulla and then back to Newbridge.

All groups did well to stay away from their chasers but at some expense as all groups lost at least one or two of their riders by the time the race passed through Tarnagulla.
SCR combined with the 2min group at Mt Moligal while the 18min, 24min & 28min groups came together along some of the rolling hills heading into Tarnagulla.

With the 18min, 24min & 28min groups now heading back to Newbridge the 7min & 10min groups were just coming together passing through Tarnagulla and now with SCR & 2min combined they were quickly making ground catching the 4min bunch at Tarnagulla. From this point on the race remained the same with only the bunch of SCR, 2min, 4min catching the bunch of 7min & 10min right on the line. However the combined group of 18min, 24min, 28min had already easily crossed the line.

Overall placings were 1st Shane Bartley (18min), 2nd Ken Lacy (24min), 3rd Jenny Farrow (18min), 4th Aileen O’Brien (18min), 5th Jack Trickey (24min), 6th Pam Robertson (18min), 7th Pat Pontell (28min), 8th Gary Saunders (28min), 9th Geoff Higginbottom (28min), 10th Sabrina Smythe.

First unplaced female rider went to Wendy Bennett and fastest time went to Justin Mollison with a time of 1hr 22m 42sec & an average speed of 40.4 km/h.

There is no racing next weekend due to the Queen’s birthday weekend. The next race will be the Paul Volk Electrical 55km Handicap at 2.00pm Maryborough on the 12th June.
Duty: S Hall, K Hamilton, A Hayhow, D Heath, G Higginbottom

The Central Victorian Veteran’s Cycling Club conducted the annul Oppy Handicap on Saturday May 29th, the anniversary of Sir Hubert Opperman’s birth in Rochester 106 years ago. Oppy was one of Australia’s greatest cyclists and competed in Australia and overseas, setting many outstanding records. The Oppy is an open event and attracts veteran riders from across the state.

Conditions in Rochester for the race were bleak and wet, with rain falling all morning and throughout most of the race. Because of the weather the original field of 130 entries was reduced to 110 brave riders in twelve bunches who faced the starter for the 67 kilometre journey and set off into a stiff wind and steady rain.

The withdrawal of several limit markers meant that Ricky Mitchell had to fight a lone hand but managed to stay away from the field for a large part of the race. The 19 ½, 23 and 26 minute bunches had come together by the half-way mark towards the end of the Elmore-Colbinabbin Road, forming a large bunch of almost 30 riders. This group held a five minute advantage over the combined 15 ½ and 11 ½ minute bunches who had also come together. Further back, the 6 ½ minute bunch were about to pounce on the 8 ½ minute group, forming another large bunch. By this stage the small group of six scratch riders had swallowed up the 2 minute bunches and then joined up with the four minute riders as they turned into the Bendigo-Murchison road, but were struggling to make up much time on the riders in front of them.

Turning north onto Heathcote-Rochester Road, the riders raced along with the benefit of a tail wind and motored over the Corop hills. The scratch bunch exceeded 60 km/h on the flat but still couldn’t make much impression on the groups in front of them. With a few kilometres to go, the race was made up of three large bunches each separated by a couple of minutes and it was obvious that leading bunch, made up of most of the 19 ½, 23 and 26 minute riders, had the race in its keeping. The sprint to the line was a hectic affair with 15 riders all in with a chance, but Trevor Pell (Central Vic Vets, 19 ½ ) and Peter James (Eureka, 19 ½ ) jumped clear with 50 metres to go and fought out a thrilling finish. Even with the benefit of the video camera the two could not be separated, the judges calling a dead heat for the first time in the history of the race. Minor places were filled by Andrew Berry, Bruce Tonkin (both Central Vic Vets), Brett Caddy (Eureka), Sabrina Smythe, Pam Robertson (both from Central Vic Vets), Robert Manson (NSW), Aileen O’Brien and Fran Medina (both Central Vic Vets). The winning time was 1 hour 45 min 33 seconds. First unplaced lady was Annie Pitcher, once again from Central Vic Vets.

The next bunch home consisted of most of the remaining middle markers and came in about a minute later, followed shortly after by the scratch and back markers. The sprint for fastest time saw Leigh Egan once again blitz the field in a time of 1 hr 28 min 44 sec.

A strong field and good conditions greeted the 44 riders who took part in Saturdays 35 km handicap. The course took riders from Woodstock down Powers Rd to Newbridge then back home to the club rooms. The one minute bunch put in a strong performance, keeping away from scratch with Vin O’Brien from this bunch taking out the fastest time of the day completing the course in a time of 50:40 for an average speed of 41.4 km/hr.

The 5 minute bunch also had a strong ride, Noel Knight , Roger King and Rod McCredden amongst others pushed the pace, overtaking the 7 minute group at Newbridge. The combined group worked well together and maintained the pace, catching the 9 and 11 minute bunch about 5 km from the line. By this stage the pelaton contained about 25 riders and as the pace increased as the finish line got closer, gaps started to appear in the field.

Rod McCredden (5 min) in a strong finish, was 1st in a time of 54:30 for an average speed of 38.8 km/hr, 2nd was Leigh Anne Dynon (7 min), 3rd Jim Field (7 min), 4th Noel Knight (5 min), 5th Roger King (5 min), 6th Geoff Graham (9 min), 7th Graham Lockwood (9 min) and in 8th place was Shane Dellavadova (7 min). 1st unplaced lady was Fran Medina from 9 minutes.

Next weeks race is the 70 km “Oppy” Handicap. This is one of the club’s premier events, that starts at Rochester at 1:00pm. This race is an “open” event, and has attracted a quality field of 129 entries from across a wide range of Veteran cycling clubs. Spectators can expect the race to finish at Rochester at about 2:50 pm.

On Saturday 15th May the Central Veteran Cycling Club held another tough race the 57km Sport 927 Handicap event held at Bagshot, the race was run in beautiful sunny conditions with a very slight wind if any.

The riders started the race from the Bagshot Hall travelling along the Old Murray Road to Pitson`s Road then turning left onto the Midland Highway for 5kms turning left May Reef Road and undulating for a while then turning left into Imore-Raywood Road and more undulation for a while before again turning left onto Bendigo-Tennyson road heading over the more hilly portion of the coarse back to Old Murray Road and on to the finish.

The 5 limit riders started from the 25min mark ahead of the 6 scratch riders, then came the 17min group followed 2mins back to the 15min group and then the remaining groups were all 3mins apart back to scratch.

With the nice riding conditions all the groups were travelling well and by the time that the limit riders had turned onto the Imore-Raywood Road they still held a comfortable lead, as the 17min group of 8 riders was approaching the half way point they were caught by the 8 riders from the 15min group and now with the 16 riders they were chasing the limit riders at a slightly faster pace.
At this stage of the race the scratch riders were not making any ground on the 3min riders who were also having trouble making up ground on the 6min and 9min groups who had come together by now and were hotly in pursuit of the 12min group.

After turning onto the Bendigo-Tennyson Road with 20kms to go to the finish the 5 limit riders still held a reasonable lead but approaching the hillier section of the coarse was going to be tougher for them as they were being chased by the emerged 15-17min group of 16 riders and the big bunch of the 6 & 9min groups who just after turning onto this road had caught the 12min group making it now a bunch of 29 riders.

Scratch was slowly making up ground on the 3min riders who were in turn slowly making up ground but with the big bunches ahead now it was going to be hard, the limit riders had done well but were caught with 10km or so to go by the 15-17min bunch who were being chased down by the big bunch of 6-9-12min riders.

Shortly after turning sharp left and onto a narrower road these two big bunches had come together and was going to lead up to an interesting sprint finish, as the riders were positioning on the narrow road to keenly contest the sprint finish to the line it was Paul Dalton who prevailed as the winner closely followed by Brett Williams and Robert Gibson for third. The 3min group had finally made up ground on the winning bunch finishing not far behind them with scratch also making up ground and being able to get Justin Mollison up for fastest time.

Overall placings were 1st Paul Dalton (6min), 2nd Brett Williams (6min), 3rd Robert Gibson (6min), 4th Glen Farrow (6min), 5th Daryl Stewart (9min), 6th Stuart Muller (6min), 7th Shane Wall (6min), 8th Richard Verkulen (12min), 9th Leigh Ann Dynon (12min) & 10th Murray Rankin (6min), first unplaced female rider was Di Jane (25min) and fastest time went to Justin Mollison from scratch.

Next weeks race will be a 35km Handicap starting at Woodstock at 2pm with duty roster marshals being D Collier, D Coldwell, A Creek, C Davidge, S Dellavedova.

Conditions were excellent for the 59 km Danny Clapp “The Good Guys" handicap on Saturday. Fifty seven riders were sent on their way by the starter, with the course taking riders from Woodstock through Newbridge, Lanelly , towards Rheola left into centre road, then on to Tarrnagulla and back to Woodstock.

Riders faced a light head wind on the first leg, but the bunch’s didn’t start to come together until just before the left turn into center road, when the 6 min bunch overtook the 9 minute group. The 4 minute group was chasing hard and by the time they had reached Tarrnagulla they had caught the 6 and 9 minute group. The 2 minute bunch caught the pelaton, which by now included the 12 and 15 minute riders, on the downhill into Newbridge. The tail wind on the ride home enabled this large group to stay together and in a good result for the handicapper, the pelaton overtook the 19 minute bunch 7 km from home and limit, (24 min) about 2 km from the line.

The pelaton at this stage was made up of around 40 riders. The finish came down to a hotly contested sprint with Terry Schintler (2 min) taking first place and fastest time completing the distance in 1:26:36, 2nd was Paul Volk (2 min), 3rd Steve Spencer (9 min), 4th Vin O’Brien (4 min), 5th Barry Jane (2 min), 6th Murray Rankin (4 min), 7th Andy Hayhow (4 min), 8th Shane Thompson, 9th Sheridan Hall and in 10th place was Garry James (4 min). Fastest unplaced lady was Pam Robinson.

Next weeks race is the “Sport 927” 57 km handicap at Bagshot starting at 2:00 pm. Officials for the day are A Berry, C Banfield, M Banfield, D Barri and W Bennett