This week:
- recent road races;
- a bit on dirt crits;
- some upcoming events; and
- volunteers still needed for the BikeBuller MTB Fest.
Thank you!
To all the MMBCC volunteers at the Mt Buller round of the Victorian DownHill Series... a huge thank you very much for all your time and effort. The event ran really well due to plenty of work by Ben Annear (many thanks to you too Benny!) and all of you!
Juniors Juniors Juniors
By Jarrod Appleton
Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club has had an unprecedented increase in juniors taking up road cycling and participating in racing on Thursday evenings. In particular, the junior female division has burgeoned. Juniors now make up a quarter of the field and they are not just there to make up numbers. They are getting great results regularly taking home the prize money. Their rapid progress is due to the support of all the senior members of the club. Every bunch training ride or race is a coaching session with senior riders giving advice on all aspects of riding from pedalling technique and bunch etiquette, to race tactics. This generous support has also extended to the provision of bikes and equipment. The club is so keen to help juniors into the sport it has acquired a good supply of loan bikes over recent years. It is committed to provide a bike suitable for any kid wanting to give it a go.
Mansfield is rapidly becoming a cycling Mecca for road cyclists from all over the state. They are drawn here by Mansfield’s growing reputation of quiet scenic roads and magnificent climbs. This is complimented by the polite and careful driving of motorists in the district allowing cyclist to relax and enjoy the ride.
Despite the heat and humidity, two races have been run in the last fortnight. A 10km hill climb handicap from Sawpit Gully Road up to Spring Creek Road along the Whitfield Road was dominated by the juniors. Cycling Australia rules have juniors racing on restricted gearing. This means on down hills and fast flat roads they run out of gears. Since this race only went up hill, gearing played no part in the results. Four of the top five places were filled by juniors. Kody Appleton was delighted with his first win in his second season of racing, not to mention the $30 prize money. Good earnings for a 14 year old for twenty nine minutes of very hard work. Following him over the line in second place was his sister Talia. Another sibling duo, Elise and Matt Empey, took third and fifth place respectively. And breaking the junior clean sweep was Craig Wilson in 4th.
Last Thursday’s race was on the longest course used by the club. 32km out to the turn around at Sawpit Gully on the Whitfield Road, then around the Barwite loop and finishing in Graves Road. The results indicate a classic tortoise versus hare scenario. Scratch riders Dan Purcell and Kian Lerch-Mackinnon devoured almost the entire field finishing only 34 seconds behind the winner Craig Wilson and 20 seconds behind Dick Forrest in second place and Rod Manning in third place. Dick and Rod were the limit riders, starting first, 21 minutes prior to Dan and Kian.
Many thanks again to all our volunteer marshals and the courteous drivers north of town. Next week sees racing on the western edge of Mansfield, finishing atop the intimidating hill on O’Hanlons Road.
Here are Tony Copland's pics of the Hillclimb Handicap on Thursday 25 January.
And here are the results.
and the long 32km Handicap last on Thursday 1 February. And the results.
Dirt Crits
The last two Monday evenings have been oppressively hot so Dirt Crits have had to be cancelled. But surely we'll get to race this week!
Next up on Monday 5 Feb it's the first kids race for 2018 and an Irish Handicap for the big kids.
Some upcoming events
A visit by cycling author Jeremy Scott to Mansfield Library...
and the Tolland Cycling Club's Open Handicap at Wagga Wagga in early March.
BikeBuller MTB Fest
The MMBCC has been offered money if we can get a few club members to help marshal at Mt Buller on the Labour Day long weekend.
If you have some spare time on that weekend, please drop Wil a line.
Is this the future of road bikes?
The 3T Strada of Herald Sun Tour leader Lasse Norman Hansen has proper brakes (yes, discs) and only one chainring. It's almost a mountain bike!
Finally...
Beware of kangaroos out on the road and good luck this weekend to Kian Lerch-MacKinnon racing in the Victorian XCO Championships at Falls Creek on Sunday (plus round 5 of the series at Mt Beauty on Saturday!)