Weekend update

Lots to get through this week… by the way, have you subscribed to MMBCC News email yet?

The artist formally known as BikeBuller: Alpenflow Epic

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The organisers of the Alpenflow Epic, Rocky Trail Entertainment, are looking for volunteers to help with their new event on the Labour Day long weekend. They’re happy to offer free entry for anyone that wishes to help and race across the event, otherwise general vollies will be looked after with food and merchandise.

Roles they need support with:

Fri 5 March – Rocky trail Academy (school event)
Roving marshall x 1
Race starters x 2 (8.30 to 1.30pm)

Sat 6 March
Pre sweep ride of all Super Flow tracks prior to 9am
Race starters x 2 (8.30 to 4.00pm)
Roving Marshalls x 3
Sweep rider

Sun 7 March
Pre sweep ride of all Super Flow tracks prior to 9am
Race starters x 2 (8.30 to 4.00pm)
Roving marshalls x 3
Sweep rider

Mon 8 March
Pre sweep ride of all Super Flow tracks prior to 9am
Race starters x 2 (8.30 to 1.00pm)
Roving marshalls x 2
Sweep rider

If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Jo Parker, the Event Manager, via email or mobile 0424 955 332.

Mansfield Hotel Tour first aid

We need qualified first aiders to help Leonie during the Mansfield Tour… someone with HLTAID011 or HLTAID003 certificates, what used to be called Level 2 First Aid.

You’ll also need to be able to drive your own car.

Is that you?

Or… are you keen to do a First Aid course before the Tour with support from the club?

Here’s the deal… if you volunteer for the Tour and can drive, we’ll pay for your first aid course! You’ll also then be able to help out with first aid for our local road races and Dirt Crits, etc. Here are the upcoming course options:

1. Northeast Training have two dates for between now and the tour - 23 February or 9 March - $155.

2. St John Ambulance have options, including virtual. Courses range from $195 to $245 (virtual) and there are many options for dates.

If you’re interested, please contact Jason. If you’re already working at the Tour and have been allocated a job, we’ll move people around to free you up for first aid.

Dirt Crits is back!

After a week’s lockdown holiday, Dirt Crits is back this week with another Gravity Enduro.

Please make sure you have renewed your membership, as we’ll need to check licences this week. So please print your receipt, or have your membership details on your phone, and have it with you on Tuesday.

No license, no start!

Bakker Plumbing Handicap

By Ewyn Carter and Bruce Halket

A short drive from Mansfield saw the start of the 2021 Bakker Plumbing Handicap. The quaint valley town of Jamieson hosted the club for the out and back course along the Jamieson-Woods Point Road. 14.5 kilometres of rolling incline and 14.5 kilometres of rolling decline. The brainchild of club stalwart and unofficial mayor of Jamieson, Darren Bakker, the race entices participants with prizes and medals on offer at the Jamieson Brewery to conclude the evening.

The first group moved off the line to start the contest for the silverware; John Eisner, Tony Morris and Dave Jagger. (Kudos to Jagger for using gaffer tape to ‘repair’ his cycling shoes after they fell apart before the start!) The last began 15.5 minutes later, Josh Hopwood on his own. Regular subscribers to this print would be aware of the pedigree of the last to leave. If you don't subscribe, Hopwood was capable of steamrolling all before him for the biscuits. Nonetheless, the participants in all groups were enthusiastic with their chances because the course winds its way through Kevington … plenty of bends to hide from those chasing.

The danger group was Bruce Halket, Ewyn Carter, Dave Moore, Chris Miller and the returning William Calvert-Jones. With the numerical supremacy of the night and an experienced number of race days combined, if they rallied together consistently and collaboratively, then the race would be close.

At the turn, club president and marshal Mauro Brega was making friends with some locals whilst directing each group safely and efficiently, multitasking 1.0.1. The handicap was accurate with minimal catches between groups and a good spread on the road leading into the still difficult descent back to Jamieson.

The danger group had a sniff though.

Lockdown version 3.0 was over in Melbourne and the returning hordes of campers staking their claims along the Jamieson-Woodspoint Road were treated to some live sport in real time definition. Race sponsor Bakker, Jarrod Appleton and previous week's champion Tom MacMunn were swept up by the danger group to make eight. Justin Berry and reigning club champion Janine Appleton were next to form 10!

A formidable pace line resulted and was driving to collect the rest. Meanwhile Hopwood was on a good day, recording some impressive individual numbers behind in contention still for the win, but still chasing alone. 

The final catch of the danger group snowball occurred two kilometres from the technical uphill-downhill chute finish and all riders were still in with a chance. Hopwood losing some ground, still alone. But the race wasn't over.

With one kilometre remaining the impetus of the leading pack, "knowing" Hopwood wouldn't make the catch, reduced its collaborative speed. Riders began to shuffle and stir on their saddles knowing a large bunch sprint finish would decide the Bakker Plumbing Champion of 2021. The large club member crowd that had formed in Jamieson was mulling. The unofficial mayor himself was in with a shot in his own race.

Halket pulled a big turn to the bottom of the final climb and dropped J-rod off with 500 metres to go. Appleton flicked through knowing the finish was too far a stretch to sprint with 400 metres remaining and put Carter onto the front trying to dull the sprinters legs, forcing him to pedal.

The uphill part of the finish began at speed with Carter breaking out and Bakker next inline for the roll over win on the downhill chute. But with heavy legs and a high heart rate his dream was shot and Chris Miller was all of a sudden in with a chance at 50 metres to go. With Carter fading, hampered by his safety-pinned skinsuit, the finish line came just a little too quickly for Miller. Finishing order: Carter, Miller, Bakker.

The festivities continued at the Jamieson Brewery with the local crowd being drawn into the presentations for the evening. All in attendance exclaimed their fascination with the way the race played out from a pacing perspective and exclaimed their general delight at the course itself.

Darren is passionate about Jamieson and its terrific to be a part of his love for this space. His organisation of trophies and sponsorship for the race is quite special and really makes the night worth the short trip out after the working day. The club once again thanks Darren for his enthusiasm on this now traditional summers evening. Again thanks also to the many volunteers (no them, no us) Jamieson Brewery for their hospitality and regular club sponsor the Mansfield Hotel for their continued support.

Here are the results and the point scores.

Finally…

Here’s one for the road bike luddites. (Don’t worry, the other side of the argument will be published soon.)

Lockdown unlocked!

Restrictions ease - sport and hospitality open again

The stage 4 restrictions have been eased meaning we can race again.

Entries are now open for Thursday night’s Bakker Plumbing Handicap in Jamieson. Due to the later than usual start, the Commissaire has asked that everyone check your tail light to make sure it’s charged and working properly.

Dinner and presentation (of prizemoney and trophies courtesy of Bakker Plumbing) is planned for afterwards at the Jamieson Brewery. Entries and/or dinner bookings (just so we have an estimate of numbers) to John via SMS on 0428 503 437 by 8pm tonight.

The end of lockdown also means next week’s Dirt Critters and Gravity Enduro at Riflebutts are on too!

Lockdown weekend news

Recent MTB results

Some great results from last weekend by MMBCC mountain bikers. The Green's and Empey's raced at round one of the Victorian Enduro Tour at Falls Creek on the weekend of 6-7 Feb 2021.

Friday night turned it on with over 100mm of rain, making Saturday practice a festival of mud.

The format included a Saturday "urban" race section, mixing up natural trails with slick concrete, sealed roads and a nice little rock garden between the buildings.

Sunday was clear and sunny and allowed things to dry out and get faster through the day. The course included four stages from the top of the resort all the way down to the entrance gate, followed by a two-hour climb back to the top. It made for a great day on the bike with plenty of podium finishes for Mansfield riders.

Selina Green - 2nd U15 Women (in her first enduro)
Zac Empey - 24th U17 Men
Bella Green - 1st U17 Women
Elise Empey - 2nd Elite Women
Alex Green - 25th Masters Men (not last)
Dave Empey - 5th Super Masters Men

Sam Mosley travelled to Mt Baw Baw for the State DH Champs. After a really wet and muddy weekend, he came away with a well-deserved 11th in the highly competitive Under 17 Men.

Congratulations to all!

Dirt Crits Gravity Enduro

Lots of riders last Tuesday at Riflebutts MTB Park for another Gravity Enduro.

There were some seriously impressive times with Ant Bateup taking the win in the Men ahead of Stu Clark and Zac Empey (who kept Sam Mosley off the podium by just one second.)

Women was won by Ruby Dobson ahead of Maddie Smith and Bella Green.

Here are the results.

There’s a rumour going around that Ruby Dobson is camera shy - but it seems she just had more training to do so missed the podium shot.

Thanks to Alex Green and Cam Dobson for the pics.

Unfortunately, with stage 4 restrictions in place, Dirt Crits on Tuesday 16 February is cancelled.

Black ’n’ Tan the best!

By Tom MacMunn

The Black and Tan is the best race on the MMBCC calendar. Apparently inspired by beer, the route (and name) was dreamt up by the fiendish club cycling tragic and word nerd - Bruce Halket. It combines the bitumen sections Buller, Graves, Barwite and Whitfield Roads (black) with two gravel sectors along Scullys Lane and Mt Battery Road (tan). Riding a road bike on gravel roads might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it makes for unpredictable and exciting racing.

Thursday night saw groups of ones and twos riding into a nasty cross/head wind out the Buller Road being chased by a strong three-man Scratch group. Darren Bakker’s race ended prematurely with a flat tyre thanks to the Scully’s Lane gravel. Anthony Plummer pushed on without his partner, caught Tom MacMunn and powered the pair towards the second gravel sector. Tim Hall was able to jump on and join the group but Dave Bock was caught on a tricky climb and could only watch them blow past.

Back down the road the Scratch group was being driven by the power of Ewyn Carter and the gap was steadily closing.

Anthony and Tom hit the gravel of Mt Battery Road with a little breathing space over the remains of the Scratch group. Bruce Halket and Dave Moore were riding well together and had the leading pair in sight. A quick look over the shoulder just before the last pinch on Mt Battery Road and Tom realised that he had to go for it if he wanted to get to the gravel descent with a lead. He opened up a gap down the hill and swung onto Graves Road with a tailwind. The win was his. Anthony pushed through for second and Bruce powered on for third. All three of them finished within 30 seconds.

The Black and Tan is hands down the best road race route in Mansfield. The fact that we had more volunteers than entrants may point to the fact that not all MMBCC members agree with me but I’ll be spending the rest of the season wishing there were more gravel sections to race my bike on.

Here are the results and many thanks to both Jenni Sparnon and Tony Copland for the photos.

Should the stage 4 restrictions be lifted as scheduled, next Thursday is the Bakker Plumbing Handicap in Jamieson, one of the MMBCC’s headline races of the year. There’ll be some serious prize money presented at dinner afterwards too!

Weekend Update

Nationals Silver

Congratulations to Josh Hopwood who won silver at the National Championships Gran Fondo Individual Time Trial in Ballarat on Wednesday.

Great work Josh. Here are the results, including 7th out of 39 in the Road Race on Saturday afternoon!

Good luck too in next weekend’s Melbourne to Warrnambool.

First Dirt Crits of 2021

Tuesday saw the first Dirt Crits of 2021, held on a fiendishly tricky short course on the lower slopes of Riflebutts Reserve ... 10 laps for 11 starters.

Ruby Dobson started strongly and rode away from everyone, comfortably taking the win in A-grade.

Kudos to Archie O’Brien for a great ride for 5th overall and the win in B’grade. Kudos also for Charlies Hall and Dobson for great rides.

Finally, kudos to Alex Green for his quick reflexes in being able to avoid Bruce’s left elbow.

Here are the results and thanks to Alex Green for selflessly choosing to take photos instead of racing!

Next week is a Gravity Enduro.

Hopwood cleans up

By Ewyn Carter

Thursday 4 February welcomed riders at the Lord's Cricket Oval with warm and windy conditions feeding through the valley from the North. Once again a traditional Handicap race was allotted, with the course turning left onto Howes Creek Road, out to the intersection of Cummins Road for a u-turn and finishing between Malcolm Street and Maroondah Highway, 25km in length.

Di Condie began proceedings with a 12 minute handicap. As she was a lone rider, there would be no respite for the return leg into the headwind and she would need her best pacing for the night to stay away from the six staggered groups behind, of 13 riders. Would she wait for them or would she forge on alone?

The second bunch to leave contained Tim Hall, Craig Wilson, Andrew Clarke and Steve Curnow at 5'30" minutes behind. With some horsepower leaving not long after them, an opportunity for the middle pack riders to link up on the tailwind out leg and contest a win clear of the chasing riders was apparent.  

The returning Joshua Hopwood would be last to leave, also solo, but with a big torque engine and placing second at the recent Australian Nationals in the age group individual time trial the cat was very much amongst the pigeons. Josh would require a pacing strategy reducing his time gap by 28.8 seconds per kilometre for a win.

By the time all groups had made their way onto the tailwind out leg along Howes Creek Road it had become apparent that the evening would produce some fantastic individual efforts and some very fast course records also. Justin Berry and returning 2020 club champion Janine Appleton both put in sterling performances, with an average speed of 37.2 km/h, placing them both in high positions overall on the all time list for that particular segment. Justin should be congratulated on his progression through this season. With consistent training and a positive attitude to his fitness, results are being produced. Well done Justin. 

Meanwhile a virtual club rivalry was reaching its climax behind. Josh had scorched his bicycle tyres into the bitumen of Howes Creek Road and a new standard for excellence was becoming apparent. Ex-Mansfield lad Dan Purcell in 2017 set an eye watering time of 18'51" for the 13.58 km section of course that was considered unbreakable by some. With Dan turning his attention to circuit criterium racing in Melbourne, and doing extremely well one might add winning top category A Grade events against some of the countries best racers, Josh was motivated to return the balance of country vs metropolitan order back to its rightful place. And he did. His time of 18'25" at an average speed of 44.3 km/h was simply astonishing and the question remained; could he continue this pace to the end and take the overall course record that had stood since 2012?

The groups ahead were mostly spared Josh's cycling lesson and had stayed away for the u-turn at Cummins Road. They began their march back into the headwind, still in good positions. Di had forged on alone to still be leading with 11 kilometres remaining. Janine and Justin had collected Tim, Craig, Andrew and Steve ahead to form a strong bunch that potentially could ride away, while the faster groups behind were marshalling together to also still be in with a chance.

But the power and consistency of Josh was too good. He swept all before him on the way to a commanding victory. His pace setting had continued consistently on the return with the groups he picked up tucking in on his wheel to form a large line of riders driven by one engine. Some punchy climbs and false flats that went skyward put a lot of riders into the red and by the finish Josh had two hangers on for morale to miss the course record by a mere 4 seconds! A fantastic individual performance and the gold standard of the district was on display. Josh mixes a busy young family life with his development position in DELWP and Forest Fire Management Victoria duties over summer to consistently train and set challenging cycling goals. We wish him well for the upcoming National Road Race in his category and the world's second oldest and longest race the Melbourne to Warrnambool at 267 km.

Once again thank you to the club volunteers who produced the evenings racing and the Howes Creek community for their patience and cooperation in allowing us to use the roads safely and efficiently. The general fitness level of the club is at an extremely high standard and it is encouraging to see members' hard work paying off come race day. The results may have stopped for some, but not through lack of enthusiasm as the base of your fitness pyramids are there. I would encourage each rider to reflect on their weaknesses and really target those in the coming weeks leading into the last races of the season for a strong finish.

Here are the results and thanks to Tony Copland for the pics.

Next week it’s Black ‘n’ Tan time! Time to spend the week contemplating tyre choices. Entries to John via SMS by 8pm Wednesday please…

Finally…

A family-friendly event on the rail trail, the week after the Mansfield Hotel Tour.

End of the month news

Dirt Crits is back!

This coming Tuesday 2 February, senior Dirt Crits is back!

See you at Riflebutts MTB Park at 5.30 for a 6pm start.

(Lots of Gravity Enduro racing this season! Keep up to date by subscribing to the newsletter. And while you’re doing that on the Homepage, check the MMBCC Events calendar!)

A big, wet, fast sprint

By Ewyn Carter

Wet roads and humidity greeted the 15 starters for the out and back course from Botanic Park to Sawpit Gully Road on Thursday night with a traditional staggered time handicap.

Each group contained evenly matched riders, all with strong fitness levels for the mid season. With the return of members from a good training block in the Adelaide Hills the week prior, a winner was hard to predict. The final time gap of 13.5 minutes over 25.5 kilometres for the last group (Chris Miller, Bruce Halket and Will Calvert-Jones) seemed achievable. This “scratch” group needed to take 32 seconds back per kilometre at a speed difference of 10.0 km/h, for a shot at the win.

(After a long, long, loooong, hiatus… welcome back to MMBCC racing to Dave Anderson!)

The leg out to Sawpit Gully Road saw each group maintain a consistent pace. The long straight roads provided clear vision for each rider to see the group ahead of them. The proverbial carrots on a stick.

By the halfway point, the pacing was consistent and all groups had a visible time gap as they crossed paths on opposite sides of the road. The race was well on its way to being a grandstand finish.

With a fast downhill return trip, 12km to run, the group of Mauro "Jock" Brega, Darren Bakker and the returning Jarrod Appleton put in a strong turn of speed to ever so slightly increase their advantage on the chasers behind. They began to pick off the groups ahead, setting themselves up for a real shot at the line on their own.

Meanwhile, the Scratch group were on song themselves mowing down groups and singles in their path, linking up with some extras, and forming a strong chase to surprisingly crack the paceline of Brega, Bakker and Appleton. Catching with 5km to go.           

The diesel engine, Tim Ross, has been posting good numbers not only in the accounting practice but on the weekly morning rides making a welcome racing return with the ride of the evening. He and sprinter Anthony Plummer pushed their advantage consistently for the majority of the race and were only caught at the Barwite Road intersection by the large Scratch "snowball" that had formed behind. 2km to run and the race had come together.

The pace quickened on the final downhill rollers to the Botanic Park finish line. Those caught, formed up on the stronger riders' wheels to contest the finish in oily conditions. Halket pushed the pace hard up a smaller incline 1km out with the aim to disrupt the heart rates and minds of the fast finishers, but they hung on. With a few more surges and swarms in between, the group of 8 began the sprint at 57.0 km/h. Anthony, starting a fraction early 400 metres from the line, unwittingly provided a springboard for those behind to use his slipstream to their advantage. With 200 metres to go and a slight tail-cross from the left shoulder, the afterburners were lit and the riders accelerated. The speed topped out at 66.0 km/h and the final podium Ewyn Carter on the top step ahead of Chris Miller (Fastest time) and Will Calvert-Jones. Mauro Brega and Darren Bakker dead heated in fourth. Here are the results.

Congratulations to all competitors on a hard fought race held in excellent spirits considering the conditions.

On behalf of the riders we would like to thank the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club for organsing both the road and mountain bike local racing each week. Additionally all the club volunteers who roster to produce the events, particularly David Jagger installing a marquee cover this week for the entries table in monsoonal conditions. 

Finally, thank you to the local community for allowing the club to use the roads we race on and the cycling conscious motorists who provide a safe environment for us to ride.

Thanks again to Tony Copland for the pics.

Delatite River Trail closed for repairs.

The Delatite River Trail will be having the damaged bridges repaired soon. It’ll be closed all day from Monday 8 February through to Friday 12 February.

Physical barriers will be in place and all trail users are asked to respect the closures while works are undertaken.

Pro roadie snippets

Trek Segafredo have become the first pro road team to pay the same base salary to both their Women’s and Men’s teams. Chapeau! It’s the best thing to happen to Trek in the pro peloton since they gave Lance the flick! (And in case you were wondering… the Mansfield Tour pays equal prizemoney to Men and Women.)

EF Education-Nippo released their new team kit for 2021. Although pink wouldn’t be our choice at MMBCC Towers, it at least shows some panache and will stand out in the pro peloton. And by comparison, shows once again how boring the GreenEDGE kit is!

Finally…

In the market for a new mountain bike? Pink Bike says these are the 7 things all new mountain bikes should have.

Fake News Update

Andrew Clark makes it to the line ahead of the 498 others. Donald Trump can’t actually be seen in this photo but he really was standing just next to Steve Brown, on the right. Image: Tony Copland.

End of an inaccurate era

By Bruce Covfefe

To celebrate the end of the Trump Presidency, we present all altogether inaccurate account of Thursday night’s road race in Mansfield.

The Donald arrived in Mansfield on Thursday afternoon to avoid watching the Biden Inauguration and to witness the first Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club road race of 2021 on the Whitfield Road. With road works on Graves Road and parts of Old Tolmie Road, the course was shortened from the expected 132km to 28km. The thousands of enthusiastic onlookers were not happy.

There were 499 entrants! Notable locals included John Eisner and Andrew Clark off Limit; new dad Anthony Plummer and Nathan Pelling off 6 minutes; Tom Macmunn and Steve Duke off 4 minutes; and the Scratch group was made up of Dave Moore, Bruce Halket and Chris Miller. The other 490 riders were scattered in various groups on the start list. It was the largest start list ever seen in Washington!

Despite the generous handicap, Limit was severely hampered when Eisner punctured a kilometre in, leaving Clark to ride the remaining 127 kilometres alone. Sad.

Further back, Pelling and Plummer were flying! Macmunn and Duke were riding really well too until Duke dropped his bundle at Bridge Creek, had to turn around and pick it all up, leaving Macmunn to wait for Scratch.

The Donald was impressed. He was quoted as saying “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening” and “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”.

Scratch caught Macmunn after the turnaround at Sawpit Gully Road and set about rounding up the rest of the field and caught all but a few of the hundreds of riders ahead of them. But they were fake news.

In the end, Clark build an unassailable lead (a bit like a big, beautiful wall) taking the win ahead of the hundreds of others, in a time of 57:34. Pelling crossed for second ahead of Plummer, with Miller fourth and fastest in a time of 44:28. Just outside the top ten were some other also-rans: Merckx, Armstrong, Hinault, Froome, Wiggins, Bernal, Indurain, Bartoli and Evans.

The Donald said “It’s like, you’ll go, ‘Clark, Pelling, Plummer, Miller, Halket.’ So they say, ‘Could you repeat that?’ So I said, ‘Yeah.’ So it’s, ‘Clark, Pelling, Plummer, Miller, Halket.’ OK, that’s very good. If you get it in order, you get extra points.”

The extra points went to the nine local entrants who all scored a bonus 4000 points each, just for entering, to have Clark leading the championship easily from previous leader, Craig Wilson, on 29 points in tenth.

Presentations were held afterwards at the Mansfield Hotel, although for some reason The Donald wanted to hold them at Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

Many thanks to all our officials and volunteers and, of course, The Donald. He said it was the greatest bike race ever, after the Tour de Trump.

Many thanks to the Graham Watson of Mansfield, Tony Copland, for the images and here are the results.

Next week’s race will be again be held on the Whitfield Road; entries to The Handicapper by 8pm Wednesday.

Club kit is available for one more week

Use this link to place your order. Email Bruce to get the access code.

Standard delivery is to All Terrain Cycles or you can choose to have it delivered to your place with a small extra charge.

Road race course update

Thursday night’s road race is going ahead, with a slight change…

There are road works on Old Tolmie Road and Graves Road. To avoid the new sections of bitumen and keep everyone safe, the Commissaire has decided to shorten the race by approximately 4km.

It’ll be on the same course but instead of finishing on Graves Road, it’ll now finish on Old Tolmie Road (somewhere near Soldiers Road, before the road works.)

You’ve got till 8pm to enter via SMS on 0428 503 437.

Mid-month update

Elise hitting the second road gap. PIc: Dan Friday.

VDHS a success!

By Dave Empey

MMBCC ran the first downhill event in Victoria in almost a year on the weekend.

It was a welcome return to racing for all the athletes, but it was not without its challenges. The weather played its usual unpredictable self with 10 cm of fresh snow and temperatures in the minus’s for Saturday practice but race day was a totally different affair with the track ready to race on Sunday.

Local riders were well represented and performed extremely well with Shannon Rademaker coming second in a very competitive Veteren’s men’s class, Sam Mosley finishing fifth in U/17 men’s closely followed by Zac Empey in 13th. The big result of the day was Elise Empey winning Elite women with Maddison Smith coming 3rd and Bella Green coming in 4th.

It was a big challenge to put together an event in 3 weeks. A new cycling governing body, Covid, border restrictions and the weather. Great credit must be given to Ben Annear from the Resort Management Board at Mt Buller for taking up the challenge because without his help the event would have been a challenge to run. Also many thanks to the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club members who volunteered their time and who braved the atrocious conditions on Saturday.

(Plus a huge thank you to the Empeys and Greens for all their hard work - congratulations on a great weekend! - Ed.)

Thanks to Markus_kessler_photography for the podium pics and to Kate Stonnill for the others.

Results - amazing time considering the conditions and this is for over 3km of downhill.

Elite Men
1. Dean Lucas 3:01.45
2. Jackson Frew 3:07.16
3. Jackson White 3:16.81

Women
1. Elise Empey 3:45:35
2. Maddison Smith 4:12.19
3. Jessica Sheridan 4:18.46

Vets
1. Mitchell Bull 3:32.51
2. Shannon Rademaker 3:38.06

Club kit is now available!

Use this link to place your order. Email Bruce to get the access code.

Standard delivery is to All Terrain Cycles or you can choose to have it delivered to your place with a small extra charge.

Mansfield Tour about to be launched.

Just so you know, the Mansfield Hotel Tour will be held on the weekend of 20 and 21 March.

This is a sneak peak of the new event logo. More details on the race soon.

Racing is back!

Road racing is starting up again this coming Thursday with a handicap on the Whitfield Road. Entries to John Eisner via SMS on 0428 503 437 by 8pm Wednesday.

Dirt Crits will start soon too… more news soon.

To keep up to date, make sure you subscribe to the MMBCC News on the homepage.

Finally…

An interview with MMBCC Life Member Simon Gerrans.

Happy New Year!

Mt Buller Downhill - calling for MMBCC volunteers

MMBCC are again running the Mt Buller downhill this year, so we are seeking volunteers to help out. This is a considerable opportunity for the club to raise some funds.

Event Date: 16 & 17 January 2021

Location: Mt Buller

Roles: We require at least 15 marshals to support the event each day and have a variety of roles ranging from course marshalling, car parking and general support.

To offer your support / time or for further information please email Mel Green or call her on 0400 066 855.

Road racing

Alex Green is currently having a great time (not) trying to organise our permits for re-starting road racing later this month, on Thursday 21 January. In the meantime, the duty roster had has a few changes made to it. Please have a look through here or here to see when you’re rostered on.

Another club kit reminder

It looks like we have enough members interested in new kit, which has been updated by Ventou to include the AusCycling logo. If you want some, please contact Bruce.

New kit for GreenEDGE

As mentioned late last year, GreenEDGE have changed sponsors, bike and name. The new Bianchi bikes look great, they’re now called Team Bike Exchange and the new kit is… underwhelming. Yawn!

Pre-Xmas Update

Have you subscribed yet?

Dirt Crits Gravity Enduro

The first of the regular monthly Gravity Enduro nights was held at Riflebutts on Tuesday 15 December, the last Dirt Crits before the Xmas break. Gravity nights are for those who aren’t built for climbing to get revenge on those who aren’t into descending. Three courses were set with each racer required to post a time for each and the totals of all three deciding the result.

It was very tight at the pointy end of the Men with Stu Clark just getting the win by just 6 seconds from Ant Bateup.

Dan Friday was also in the hunt but he was beaten with the ‘bad luck stick’ and broke his saddle and chain on Course 3.

A different weapon was used on Sam Mosley; he got fastest time on Course 2 but was struck by the ‘navigational issues virus’ on Course 3, took a wrong turn and didn’t get an overall result.

The ‘navigational issues virus’ was obviously quite contagious; Elise Empey won on Courses 1 and 2 but she also took a wrong turn on Course 3, handing the win in Women’s Class to Ruby Dobson.

Here the results.

The next Dirt Crits for Seniors will be on Tue 2 Feb with the next Junior Dirt Critters slated for the following week, Tue 9 Feb.

Uphill with a tail wind

by Steve Curnow

The Rob Curtis Memorial Time Trial was held last Thursday with a tail wind, warm weather and with 20 riders participating. Darren Bakker was worried about being late for the start so he pushed hard to get to the start at Sawpit Gully turn-off - only to be told that we were to have a late start due to Cameron, the trailer man being somewhere between Shepparton and Merton. Mauro Brega came to the rescue and we got off to a flying start.

Steve Curnow, who won the time trial, shared the secret of his success: the new lightweight titanium hip and a double shot of coffee before the race. Everyone should have one (coffee, that is!)

Will Calvert Jones turned up in a flapping white t-shirt and was taken to task over it at speech time at the Mansfield Hotel. Apparently Will was hoping for rain and winning the wet t-shirt competition, but it didn’t rain.

It was great to have Steve Brown at the Christmas break-up putting up a brave front. We are also thinking of Judi Duke and wishing her well.

Back to the time trial. It is a real gut bust. Good on everyone who participated. First place went to Steve Curnow, who was passed by only one rider. Second place went to James Dunn with the fastest time overall. Well done. Third was Rod Manning, fourth Ewyn Carter and fifth Chris Miller.

Thanks to the Mansfield Hotel for having us at end of the year gathering. A good evening was had by all. Also a big thank you to all the marshals for making it all happen on the night.

Here are the results.

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday 21 January for the next race of the series, from the Botanic Park out to Sawpit Gully Road, then around to Graves Road.

And bunch rides every day at 8am from the Botanic Park over the Xmas period (unless it’s forecast to be really hot, then it’s 7am).

Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year to all!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

MMBCC Christmas Party

Our new club sponsor - The Mansfield Hotel - is hosting the MMBCC Xmas Party this Thursday.

After the Thursday night road race - this week the Rob Curtis Memorial TT - we’ll meet at the Mansfield at 7.30 for dinner, race presentations and a few celebratory beverages.

All members and their family are welcome!

To RSVP, please email Janine with numbers.

Warm weekend update

Hope you’re getting out on the bike while the weather’s so nice… and before the Silly Season gets too silly!
(If you’re reading this on BookFace, don’t forget to subscribe to the MMBCC News on the website.)

Dirt Crits

Last week’s results saw this week’s field split into three grades: A, B and C.

Ruby Dobson proved that tan wall tyres increase your speed by taking A-grade on new rubber.

Younger brother Charile showed there’s something in the genes, just getting to the line ahead of a much-improved Stu Clark to win B-grade.

Selina Green proved the fastest of the Green Girls taking out C-grade.

Here are the results.

Next week is a four-run Gravity Enduro. Don’t be late for the start!

Racing on The Coombesberg

By Beau Geste, Boorolite Times cycling correspondent

Thursday 10 November 2020 will be remembered for strong southerlies and the looming giant - “The Coombesberg”. 19 Riders took to the road in howling winds, 12 minutes separating Scratch rider Josh Hopwood from the Limit group of Wil Wilson and Di Condie.

Wind usually brings a result for the strong riders and Thursday’s race was no exception.

After the start Condie and Wilson worked hard against a savage and brutal cross head wind to finally turn onto Graves Road and enjoy the tail wind which was to push them up the treacherous slopes of the “Coombesberg” and over into the land of Barwite.

In later groups Josh Hopwood was mopping up all before him setting a blistering pace, groups split, riders were unceremoniously “dispatched out the back” as the test of the Coombesberg took it’s toll.

Block group of Dev Moore, Chris Miller (Welcome), Ewyn Carter, Nathan Pelling and Jarrod Appleton stayed more or less together but were no match for the power and speed of the Hopwood, who blew them away early in the race.

Other groups broke up, reformed and all completed the course within 7 minutes of each other.

Condie and Wilson stayed away seeing very little of the race behind, “never saw them” Wil said.

Wil prevailed in the end with Di second and Belinda Cipa breaking away from her group for a strong 3rd place. Josh Hopwood placed 4th with the fastest time for the day 30:54.

Wil said after the race ”Staying together wins races”, he also said a lot of other stuff.

Presentations were enjoyed at the club’s new sponsor, The Mansfield Hotel, a great social atmosphere where everybody promptly forgot who won and agreed that it was a great race… perhaps one of the best!

Thanks to our volunteers and our sponsors, especially our new sponsor “The Mansfield”. Next week is the Rob Curtis Memorial Time Trial on Whitfield Road to from Sawpit Gully Road up to Spring Creek Road - “No place for fat old men”.

Here are the comprehensive results (with thanks to The Handicapper) and thanks also to Tony Copland for the excellent camera work.

MMBCC club kit reminder

A few members have contacted Bruce regarding club kit - but not enough for a minimum order yet.

The Ventou club kit has been updated to include the AusCycling logo. If you want some, please contact Bruce.

New bikes for GreenEDGE

The Kings of Bland formally-known as Mitchelton-Scott have traded in their bland Swiss steeds for some much-needed Italian flair for next year. The team will have a new name, ride new Bianchi bikes (Mi piace molto!) and hopefully have some new, not-so-bland, kit to wear.

Don’t forget…

The ATC gravel ride very Wednesday during Daylight Savings. Meet at ATC in High St at 5.50 for an hour of gravel, rewarded afterwards by a fermented recovery beverage.

Early December Update

Dirt Crits

The first Seniors Dirt Crits race last Tuesday was a ‘seeding’ race - to form the basis of handicaps for the rest of the season.

Five laps of a ‘Dave Empey Signature’ course awaited the 16 riders on the start line.

After a slight navigational issue at the start, Ruby Dobson made her way to the front of the field and was never headed. Dan Friday and Bruce Halket fought it out behind her with Dan comfortably taking the second step on the podium. Here are the results.

Big ‘ups’ to some Tuesday night newcomers: Dan Riley, Stu Clark, Ant Bateup and Rob Mosley.

Next week will be a series of graded races, based on these results; we might even find out who was sand bagging.

Ruby’s form obviously continued through to the weekend… congratulations to Ruby on winning the first round of the Victorian MTB Championship Series at Forrest on Saturday. Hopefully she’ll repeat the result at Sunday’s race two.

The next round of the series will be at Ballarat next weekend; the round after that will be held at Eildon on Sunday 10 January. More details on the series here.

Howes Creek, O’Hanlons and THAT hill!

By Tim Hall

It was a beautiful night for racing – warm and sultry, but the finish at the top of the hill of O’Hanlon Rd / Campagnolo’s Road is always dreaded by those in the know.

Limit riders John Eisner, Di Condie and David Jagger started together but quickly left John behind on the rolling hills of Howes Creek Road. John was later heard to say that he was off to have some serious words of displeasure with the handicapper.

Second limit group of Tim Hall, Craig ‘Wil’ Wilson and Andrew Clark worked well together to catch Limit on the way out, making a robust group of five for the rest of the race.

Behind them Janine Appleton and Mike Pearce worked together, too strong for Steve Curnow who fell off the group early. Janine was determined to beat daughter Talia up the climb to the finish. Mike rode strongly, noting this as his first race with the club.

Great to have Rob Skinner back racing after some considerable time off the bike. His group, with Talia, Ian Gipps and Anthony Plumber got caught by Scratch, but not early enough for them to help Talia to catch Janine.

Back at Scratch, Matt Hoskin also had his first ride with the club. Ewyn Carter was fast on the flat, with Will Calvert-Jones and James Dunn just fast throughout. Scratch caught ‘Block, then it all fell apart in the chase for the front markers.

Heading back in from the McMillan Point Drive turn-around, the Limit group worked hard to stay away. Although nearly missing the turn into Campagnolo Road, Tim was first around the corner and made best use of a small break to push on up the hill to the line to take the win in a corrected time of 48:23.

Everyone struggles on the hill; it’s a great commendation to the club members that every rider is encouraged and cheered across the line. Wil came in second, with Dave third.

Fastest time went to James Dunn, off Scratch, in a time of 38:19.

Thanks as always to the race committee and the marshals, who make all this possible!

Here are the results and many thanks once again to Tony Copland for the pics (Isn’t it strange how no one seems to be smiling on the O’Hanlon Road shots?! - Ed.)

Next week’s racing is the Barwite Loop; starting at Rodwell’s, and finishing on Mt Battery Road outside the Showgrounds. Entries to John Eisner by 8pm Wednesday night thanks!

Club kit sales open soon

The MMBCC club kit from Ventou has been updated and will be available for sale shortly. The logos on the jersey have been updated to include AusCycling for a cleaner, neater look.

If you want club kit for the fist time, or need to update your tired, old stuff, please contact Bruce.

(It takes about 8 weeks to make the kit once the orders are finalised… so think about the cooler weather next year too - Ventou make a really good winter jacket at a reasonable price.)

ATC Gravel shop ride

All Terrain Cycles are now hosting a Wednesday night, no-drop, gravel ride. Over the ‘summer months’ (while we have Daylight Savings) we’ll meet at ATC in High St at 5.50 every Wednesday evening for an hour of meandering off-road followed by a fermented recovery beverage at a local watering hole.

Everyone is welcome!

Weekend news

A big update of racing news this week (both on- and off-raod) and a huuuge note of thanks.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the MMBCC News - on the right hand side of the Home page.

Dirt Crits starts again this Tuesday

Juniors

4.00-4.30pm Sprocket Rockets ages 5-7yrs.

4.30-5.00pm Chain Gang 8-10 yrs.

5.00-5.30pm Trail Blazers 11yrs +

(generally 13 plus should go to Seniors at 6pm, but if you’re new to MTB racing, then start with Juniors).

There’s a $10 charge for the 3 weeks in December - 1st, 8th and 15th.

If you haven’t been to Junior Dirt Crits before, Tuesday 1 December is a Come and Try Day - bring your bike and a helmet and give it a go!

If you have been to Dirt Crits before, you’ll need a valid MTBA/AusCycling membership - go to the Join Now page for details and a link to AusCycling if you don’t already have one. No license, no start.

Seniors

6.00-7.00pm. For the first week, Seniors will be a series of graded races; A, B, C and possibly D. Course planning is currently underway and will be unveiled on Tuesday to great acclaim! (Right Dave?)

All riders need a valid MTBA/AusCycling membership - go to the Join Now page for details and a link to AusCycling if you don’t already have one. No license, no start.

Road racing is back, baby!

By Will Calvert-Jones

After the Covid-delay, the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club summer season finally got under way on Thursday 26 November. Questions were posed; was the Paps fire going to affect air quality? Well, No. How was everyone else’s winter fitness? Subpar and keen. Was the handicapper paid for favourable times? Maybe. But, gee, were we excited to be back racing?! YEAH!

The route was thirty kilometres with road and gravel involved. Those on gravel bikes, not so much involved.

Bypass Eisner (welcome back, old chap) took us off limit but was stopped at the Rifle Butts traffic light. Janine and Nathan worked seamlessly to Booroolite together, with the block group of Tom, Talia, Anthony and Will breathing down their necks. Scratch group (the faster ones that leave last to catch the others) consisting of Bruce, Steve, Dave, Browny and Kody had matches to burn and were ready to strike on the bumpy stuff. Except for Kody, who needed to see a man about a dog, under a tree, out of sight from everyone mid-race with a puncture.

They nearly caught Will who crossed in first with Browny roaring in for second and the fastest time. Nathan took the last podium place on his sparkly new steed while Bruce and John rounded out the top five.

Many kudos to the committee and organisers for getting the race season off and running. The bike club is keen for more participants both fast and leisurely, check out our website for upcoming events.

All the best to Judi and Browny on their recoveries.

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

Next week it’s the O’Hanlon’s Road finish; starting at Lord’s Ground, we ride all the way out to the end of McMillan Point Drive and back, then turn left onto the dreaded finishing hill. Entries to John via SMS by 6pm Wednesday…

Get well soon Judi and Steve

If you hadn’t heard on the grapevine, Judi Duke and Steve Brown were involved in an accident during the usual recovery ride on Friday morning. Both were taken to hospital but are, thankfully, on the mend.

The club sends all our best wishes to both Judi and Steve for a speedy recovery and hope they’re both back on the bike soon.

We also send a huge thanks to those that helped out at the incident; in particular the members of the public and tradies who stopped to assist and helped direct traffic until the emergency services arrived. We’re really grateful for your assistance.

Thank you to the police and ambos for their efficient help and a massive thanks to the other riders/club members who helped out too.

New road race calendar and duty roster

The next few races are now up on the Events Calendar. Have a read through and check when you’re rostered on. The rest of the season’s races will be published shortly.

To make it a little easier, here is just the duty roster on one page. There’s only a few races listed at the moment, the rest will be updated shortly.

Finally…

Here’s a link to the 2021 Pink Bike Trail and Enduro bike Field Test.

After news earlier in the week that Simon Gerrans is getting involved in cycling again now that he’s back in Australia, here is news on what other retired pros are doing.

And with AusCycling starting up earlier this month, here’s an interview with the incoming CEO.

Road race course detour for tonight

Due to roadworks on the Mansfield-Woods Point Road (at the corner of Riflebutts Road) tonight’s race will need to detour along Delatite Lane.

This won’t change the overall course length but will add to the amount of gravel - up from 4km to 10km.

See you at 5.30 on the corner of Pollards Road!

The Let's-go-racing update

With restrictions easing further on Sunday - it’s time to start Covid-Safe racing!

Dirt Crits

Racing will start at Riflebutts MTB Park on Tuesday 1 December. More details soon.

Road racing

Thanks for being patient. Three more sleeps until Thursday 26 November - our first race for the 2020/21 Summer Season. 

It’s 29km including some gravel - starting at the corner of Pollards Road, near the airstrip, travelling along Jamieson Road, left onto Chapel Hill Road and onto the gravel, left onto Hearns Lane, left again onto Buller Road and finishing at Walsh’s driveway. 

If you want to race, you need to text John Eisner on 0428 503 437 by 8pm Wednesday.

We will be allocating permanent season numbers on the night. You will be responsible for this number for the whole season. If you have a specific race number you want, please let John Eisner know. A reminder that there will be no entry fees for the races up until Christmas.

A couple of other things to keep in mind:

• If you drive out to the start line, please park safely and allow for smooth flow of traffic along Pollards Road;

• if you don’t enter the race and just come out for a look, we ask that you use the QR scan code at the event for an accurate record of who attends;

• Think about which tyres you are planning to ride on. We are hoping to have a tail car to pick up the riders with flats;

• Remember your mask for before and after the event; and

• It’s back to the Mansfield Hotel for drinks and/or dinner afterwards. We will have two or three tables of 10, so feel free to come along at around 7.30 pm after the race, out in the courtyard.

AGM highlights

The covid19-delayed AGM was finally held at the Delatite Hotel for the MMBCC AGM on Monday 26 October.

Damian Grundy has stepped down as President after two years and as Dirt Crits co-ordinator after years and years! A huge thank you to Damian for all his work. Hopefully we’ll see him on the bike a bit more often from now on.

Thank you too to Belinda Cipa who has resigned from the Secretary’s role. Belinda stepped in at short notice after Donna Stephenson moved to the other side of the country.

Congratulations to Mauro Brega on being elected President and to Cameron Dobson who is our new Secretary.

Many thanks to Kate and Dave Empey who have put their hands up to organise Dirt Crits this summer.

The minutes from the AGM will be available to download from the Documents page very soon.

Finally being able to have more than 10 people meet together meant we finally had a chance to present the trophies from last summer’s racing. Here are the photos of the winners and the final points scores for your perusal.

Summer Road Race Championship

L to R: 3rd Talia Appleton, 1st Janine Appleton, 2nd Bruce Halket.

Women’s Road Race Trophy

L to R: 2nd Talia Appleton, 1st Janine Appleton.

Dirt Crits

L to R: 3rd Maddi Smith, 1st Ruby Dobson.

Alain Guerin Memorial Crossover Champion

L to R: 3rd Alex Green, 1st Talia Appleton, 2nd Bruce Halket.

Membership page updated

With the changeover to AusCycling on the first of November, the MMBCC Join Now page on memberships has been updated. This is the page you need to go to if you didn’t update your current membership before 1 November.

Whether you want to race road, MTB, BMX or even track cyclocross - AusCycling has you covered.

It’s an easy renewal process, just follow the instructions.

And remember - as it says on the Join Now page, no licence, no race.

Join BNV through the MMBCC

A completely new section on the Join Now page - just scroll down a bit further - is the option to join Bicycle Network Victoria through the MMBCC.

So, if you don’t want to race (or join AusCycling) yet still want to be covered by decent insurance, this might be for you.

Almost road racing again...

Just one more week to wait until we can probably race, with the imminent announcement of some easing of COVID restrictions this Sunday. 

In the meantime, we are planning to meet tomorrow at Mansfield Botanic Park, Thursday evening at at 5.50pm for some road rides at 6pm, followed by drinks/dinner together from 7.15 pm.

1. Remember to bring your face mask for the 5-10 minutes while sorting out groups;

2. Keep 1.5 metres apart while stationary at Botanic Park;

3. Do not congregate in groups greater than 10 while waiting;

4. Ensure you are aware of the route that your group is riding - it is especially important that the turnaround is safe. There will be no marshalls; 

5. Ride safely - it is a privilege to be able to ride together; and

6. The front bar and tables outside have been booked at the Delatite Hotel for the cycling club, so please feel free to rock up with your mask for a drink and/or dinner afterwards.

False start - racing isn't back just yet.

Red flag - stop race.

After some more deep diving into the DHHS restrictions, we’ve decided we’re NOT racing on Thursday 12 November after all. (But if you’ve entered already, why not come along for a ride anyway… maybe at race pace! And maybe a recovery ale afterwards - meet at the Botanic Park for a 6pm start.)

More news on when we can actually race (both on- and off-road) as soon as we can let you know.

Sorry about this…. it’s been that kind of year.

Road racing is back!

We have been given the endorsement of AusCycling Vic to return to racing, in a Covid Safe way, for the next two weeks. A covid 19 Safe Plan has been written and must be strictly adhered to.

We’re planning Graded Scratch racing on Thursday 12th and Thursday 19th with 3-4 groups (A grade, B grade, C grade and maybe D grade - depending on numbers) with a maximum of 10 per group.

The location for Thursday 12th is Course 12 (Mansfield-Whitfield Road, finish on top Coombesberg) starting at the Botanic Park and Thursday 19th is Course 2 (Buller Road , turn around after Hearns Road) starting near the BP servo on Buller Road.

After the 22nd of November, we may be able to race as per the rest of the calendar, depending on DHHS and AusCycling Vic regulations.

1. NO cyclist should attend if they are unwell at all or have had contact with a family member who is unwell.

2. Cyclists must enter online via email this week to John Eisner, who is in charge of organising the Handicap Groups. There will be NO entry fee charged this week.

3. You MUST have a current race licence with either Cycling Australia or Mountain Bike Australia, or a new one issued by AusCycling. You will be required to email your race membership number and expiry date when you register for the race.

4. You will be issued with race numbers for the duration of the racing season. It is your responsibility to attach the race numbers. NO ONE is to ask anyone else to attach race numbers at the event.  

5. Cyclists must wear a face mask to the event until they are about to start. They must put on the mask as soon as they have finished their race. The group will need to leave the finish area immediately once the last rider from that group finishes.

6. All cyclists must scan the QR code at the event. We will have a record of entries but this will help with knowing what spectators, family members, volunteers etc will also be at the event.

7. We encourage ONLY cyclists and volunteers that have been scheduled to volunteer to attend the event - no onlookers for the first two weeks please.

8. Maintain 1.5 metres while waiting for your start. Stay in the allocated area for your group. 

9. Download the government's COVID SAFE app to your phone if you haven’t already. 

10. There will be lots of other rules too. If you don't think you can follow them all, then perhaps give these first two weeks a miss till we sort out all the finer details.

So, if you are keen to race this Thursday, email John Eisner  by 6pm on Wednesday with your name, race licence number and identify if it is AusCycling, Cycling Austraila or MTBA.

Stay tuned for news on the start of Dirt Crits.

The 'what's been happening' update

(Keep up to date by subscribing to the Latest News.)

We’ve had a lot of questions lately regarding what’s going on with the club. Normally we’d be racing by now and we’d have had our Annual General Meeting. Here’s an update.

AGM

The AGM has been delayed while we’ve waiting for Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted enough for us to have more than just a few members attend in person. It appears that’s not going to happen in the next couple of weeks.

So we’ll delay no more!

The MMBCC Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 26 October at 7.30pm. The venue is to be confirmed - but that only concerns 20 members anyway - most of us will have to attend via Zoom.
(We might even find we have to have the whole meeting via Zoom, but we’ll let you know that too.)

Details will be emailed to members as soon as they’re confirmed, including a formal Notice of Meeting, the club financials and a proxy voting form.

In the meantime, if you’d like to nominate for a position on the Executive Committee, please download the nomination form here, print it out, get it filled in and follow the instructions on the form to get it to club Secretary Belinda Cipa by Friday 23 October.

Road Racing

From the information we have received from Cycling Victoria, we will not be able to begin racing in Mansfield until metropolitan Melbourne are at Stage 4/Final Stage - meaning there have been no locally acquired COVID cases in 14 days. Both Melbourne and regional Victoria will be able to race at this time - no early entry for Regional Victoria unfortunately. From the DHHS roadmap - this is unlikely to occur before November.  

Until that time, we are allowed to ride together as a bunch in groups of up to 10, keeping 1.5metres apart. It is important that you carry a mask with you at all times, as when not cycling, you should be wearing your mask.

The GOOD news is that we now have one national cycling body - AusCycling from 1 November 2020, which will allow more members to participate in road racing (and all road racing members to participate in mountain bike events). For existing members of any of BMXA, MTBA or CA, your current membership, including insurance coverage, will be recognised by AusCycling until the expiry date of that membership.

The road racing committee has been working on getting our Road Racing COVID SAFE so that once we’re allowed to start, we’ll be ready. A big part of being COVID safe includes reducing the "touching of equipment". This includes the decision to encourage members to pay for a 10 week local race payment and online entries, instead of night-before, individual entries. This payment will also give you access to a permanent race number and seatpost/bike number which you will be responsible for, for the duration of the 10 weeks. We are also looking into the purchasing of timing equipment to reduce our paper trail.

In preparation for our racing season, all members are encouraged to download the COVID SAFE app if you haven’t already. We’re also encouraging all members to have a look at some online COVID Infection Control training as it is the responsibility of all members to comply with our COVID safe plan.

Dirt Crits

Dirt Crits will resume once we get the DHHS approval for more than 10 people to gather, which we hope will be some time in November.

Kate and Clarissa are gearing up for another huge season of Dirt Critters, which includes new number plates for all riders, like the one below for the Sprocket Rockets (thanks very much to Adam Baker.)

Adult Dirt Crits needs an organiser. Damian doesn’t have time anymore so we need someone to take over and continue his good work.

If you’re interested, please nominate yourself on this form as the MTB Delegate.