Season Review - 2013 Road

Brock Roberts rode for the Target-Trek team at the Herald SunTour in early January. Brock finished 6th on the first stage into Bendigo, then unfortunately crashed out on stage two.

NSW TTT Championships at Nowra - BiciSport entered 7 teams into the State TTT Championships. The Sassafras Challenge teams of Joc Young/Brett Tarlington/Simon Weidenhofer and Peter Davis/Noel LaRose/Mike O`Reilly started in the right mind set after winning the meat raffle at the Greenwell Point Bowling Club on the Friday night. The Brett Tarlington squad finished 6th from 10 teams whilst the Peter Davis led team finished with the perfect score of 10 from 10. The Womens Masters team of Sue Tierney, Kirstie Dolton, Merryn Truskett and Karen Crabb finished 4th from 10 teams. The winning time being 1hr 10min and the BiciSport gals posted a very competitive 1hr 13min.

BiciSport entered two teams in the Masters 150+ category. The team of Graham Tierney, Ian Grainger, Raoul Westbrook and Graham Cockerton finished 16th from 24 teams in a time of 1hr 10min. This was a good solid result. The other 150+ team of Mike O`Brien, Mike Lawson, Peter Verhoeven and Dominic Zumbo appeared to be a potential medal contender but bumped into some seriously high quality 150+ opposition ... the winning Bathurst team posted a sensational 59min 26secs that would have earned them 7th in the younger Masters All Ages category !. The Mike O`Brien led squad finished 6th from 24 teams in a time of 1hr 4min.

The Masters All Ages category had 43 teams entered and it is always a cracking affair. Over recent years its been a Penrith/Manly/BiciSport/Sutherland battle and the competition is red hot. The BiciSport #2 team of Rolando Delaytz, Jason Keane, Danny O`Keefe and Geoff Baxter finished 16th in a competitive time of 1hr 4min. All eyes were focused on the battle at the end of the All Ages program with Jays Austin, Stewart Campbell, Matt Glanville and Stan Genakis. The story goes like this ... at the 13k mark on the way out Sutherland led BiciSport by just 2 seconds, with another 10 seconds to Manly and Penrith. The return leg was just as close as Sutherland faded only ever so slightly & Manly and Penrith stormed home. Penrith took a great victory, Manly second at just 6 seconds !, BiciSport third at 23 seconds and Sutherland fourth at 28 seconds. BiciSport finished 4th (from 23 clubs) in the NSW TTT Shield.

The NSW Masters Road Championships ITT (Breadalbane) - In W5 - Sue Tierney took Gold in 38min 35secs. In M3 - Jays Austin took 3rd in 31-27 and only beaten to the Silver by 3secs. Stuart Campbell was 12th in 34-37. In M4 - Simon Weidehofer was 20th in 42-11. In M5 - Geoff Baxter was 6th in 34-48 and Dom Zumbo 17th in 37-29. In M6 - Graham Tierney was 10th in 36-57, In M7 - Mike Lawson was 4th in 37-07. Criteriums (Marulan) - In W5 - Sue Tierney took Gold. In M1 - Rolly Delaytz took 4th. In M2 - Adam Socha took the Silver. In M3 - Jays Austin took 4th. Road Races (Gunning) - In W5 - Sue Tierney was a good thing beaten in a sprint and took Silver to a hubcap. In M1 - Rolly Delaytz took 4th. In M2 - Adam Socha a very good Silver medal in a very high quality field. In M3 - Jays Austin for 13th did a lot of work early but too many hubcaps meant another bunch finish. In M5 - Geoff Baxter was 7th, Peter Verhoeven 24th again in a bunch kick. In M8 - the BiciSport elder statesman Ian Grainger took 11th. BiciSport took 13th (out of 54 clubs) in the NSW Masters Shield Pointscore.       

Matt Glanville was a starter at the UWCT Masters Road Worlds in Italy after qualifying in Perth in April. Matt finished 106th from 150 starters over a mountainous 110k circuit which included climbing over Mt Bondone (often used in the Tour of Italy) at 20k long with an 8% gradient.

Geoff Baxter won the overall Division 2 pointscore as RAW Track concluded on 13 September at DGV. BiciSport finished in 11th place in the Hillbrick Teams Challenge out of 42 clubs. 

Jays Austin took the Bronze medal in the NSW Cyclo Cross Championships (Masters M3/M4) at Manly Lagoon in late September. 

 The National Masters Road Championships were in Goulburn in late October. BiciSport were to take away 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. The ITT was at Breadalbane - In M3 - Stewart Campbell looked comfortable for 7th in 33min dead. In M4 - Simon Weidenhofer was 22nd in 39min 50 secs. In M5 - Dom Zumbo posted 17th in 36-37. In M6 - Graham Tierney punctured. In W5 - a seriously focused Sue Tierney took the Gold in 36-43 with new BiciSport recruit Tani Ruckle an excellent 4th (just 20secs off a medal). Criteriums at Marulan - in M1 - Rolly Delaytz was a good thing beaten and took 4th (Rolly really deserved better). In M2 - Adam Socha was rock solid for Silver and has a great finishing sprint. In M3 - a jet lag suffering Matt Glanville was there for most of the day but jet lag resulted in a DNF. In M5 - Geoff Baxter rode a cracker - missed the 2 man break of the day, nearly bridged across solo (but didn`t), then won the bunch kick for the Bronze medal. In M6 - Graham Tierney rode well for 10th. In W5 - Sue Tierney zeroed in on another Gold. Road Races at Gunning - in M1 - Rolly Delaytz looked a podium chance but faded on the last lap for 14th. In M2 - Adam Socha was consistent for a fine top 10 with 8th. In M3 - Matt Glanville was coming good for 11th. Stew Campbell cramped on the last lap for 24th. In M5 - Geoff Baxter took 19th. In M8 - Mr AnyTime Ian Grainger took 17th. In M9 - John Crouchley faded 20k from the finish and John finished 6th. In W5 - Nothing was getting in the way of Sue Tierney and Gold medal number 3. Solid support from Tani Ruckle along the road assisted and a long lead out guaranteed the Gold medal result. Tani finished an excellent 5th in the bunch kick. Sue was then awarded the W5 Champion of Champions jersey for her series domination.

Matt Glanville was a starter at the UWCT Masters Road Worlds in Italy in late September after qualifying in Perth in April. Matt finished 106th from 150 starters over a mountainous 110k circuit which included climbing over Mt Bondone (often used in the Tour of Italy) at 20k long with an 8% gradient.Shortly aftrwards Mike Lawson and Matt Glanville competed in the UCI Masters Track Worlds in Manchester from early October. Day 1 - Matt took 10th in the M3 Time Trial in 52.71secs (winner 48.92secs). Mike took 5th in M7 Individual Pursuit in 2min 37secs (fastest qualifier 2min 30secs). Mike missed the medal round by a mere 1 second. Day 4 - Matt took 4th in the M3 Sprint and Mike was 12th in the M7 Scratch Race. Day 5 - Matt took 6th in the M3 Scratch Race final and Mike 13th in the M7 Individual Time Trial. Day 6 - Matt took 9th in the M3 Pointscore. Mike was in all the moves in the M7 Scratch & Points races and finished in the peloton both times.

Sue Tierney (Master) was a finalist in the Cycling Australia Cyclist of the Year Awards in early November in Melbourne.

Season Review - 2012/13 Track

Alan Townsend competed in the World Masters Track Championships in Manchester (UK) in early October. Alan took 5th place in the ITT (in 50.9secs), then qualified 4th in the Sprint, and finally finished in the top 6 overall.

Matt Glanville & Peter Davis contested the Pan Pacific Masters Games in Qld in October. Matt took on the track (Scratch-Silver, Sprint & TT-5th) and road (Crit-4th, ITT-6th, RR-bunch finish). Peter Davis was Crit-2nd and RR-3rd).

At the Clarence Street Cup in November, David Browne qualified for the CC Final and finished 18th. Jays Austin rode the NSW Elite Pointscore Championship and finished 5th.

At the NSW Masters Teams Pursuit Championships in late February BiciSport took its 21st Teams Pursuit medal since 2006, when David Willmott, Andrew Burne, Alan Townsend & Duncan Crosby first took a Bronze medal at a NSW Championships. In 2013, the BiciSport teams took Gold in the 150+, and Silver in the All Ages category.

In the All Ages it was a three way contest between Illawarra, BiciSport & Randwick. Illawarra always appeared to have the best balanced team, whilst the others had to blend exceptionally well to offer realistic competition. The BiciSport AA team was Jays Austin, Stuart Campbell, Rick McArdle, Matt Glanville (for the heat), and Mike O`Brien (for the final). Based on past experience the heat time had to be around 3min 22secs to ensure a Gold/Silver ride off. BiciSport started almost too well, and paid for it towards the end of the heat and posted 3min 27secs. Illawarra looked comfortable and well drilled in doing a smoothe 3-23, and for BiciSport an invitation to the Bronze medal ride off beckoned until Randwick posted a 3-28. Phew !. The final wasn`t a close contest as Illawarra posted a seamless 3-21 having been reduced to three men with 4 laps to go, and BiciSport posted 3-28 for the Silver. In the 150+ category the Bici team was Peter Barnard, Geoff Baxter, Mike Lawson & Peter Verhoeven. The strategy was a simple one for the 2,000 metre journey ... Peter Barnard started first and took them as far as possible, swung up, and let the other three look for the finish. In the heat the Bicis posted 2min 23.3secs, and were 7 seconds faster than the next team. In the final against Hunter Districts it was a repeat performance with a faster time of 2-23.0 for the Gold.

At the NSW Masters Track Championships in early March BiciSport took 6 Gold 8 Silver 5 Bronze. A successful teams pursuit effort the previous weekend underpinned the Day 1 Individual Pursuit results at the NSW Championships. In M3- BiciSport took the trifecta with Jays Austin 1st (3min35secs), Rick McArdle 2nd (3-45) and Matt Glanville 3rd (3-48). In M5 - Peter Verhoeven took 3rd (2min30secs) and Geoff Baxter 4th (2-35). In M7 - Mike Lawson took 2nd in a great effort in 2min35secs. Every Bici made the medal rounds, well done. Day 2 was for the sprinters with the absence due to injury for David Willmott (broken bone in the foot), and Alan Townsend (hamstring). Kirstie Dolton took her first Gold in the W4/5 and Peter Barnard a Silver in M4/M5. Matt Glanville was 5th in M3. Day 3 was Time Trials in the morning & Points races in the afternoon. M2 - David Browne took Silver in 1min12secs. M3 - Matt Glanville 6th. M5 - Peter Barnard took Gold. M7 - Mike Lawson the Silver. W4 - Kirstie Dolton was 4th. In the Pointscore Championship several categories were merged, which meant several races were decided by a single point. M1-M3 - Watching Jays Austin demolish a Championship field is like watching an urban terrorist go about their work - drop a bomb here, a grenade there, look and see what damage has been caused, try it all again. Jays took Gold in M3 and so did David Browne in a brilliant ride in M2, with support from Rick McArdle and Matt Glanville who were in the mix all day. M5 - Geoff Baxter went real close to a Gold but had to settle for a Bronze, ably supported by Peter Vehoeven. M7 - Mike Lawson looked on the way to Gold but was pipped at the post and took Silver. W4 - Kirstie Dolton took 4th and finished in the front group, and everybody more than a bit confused as to how her efforts weren`t a medal (Postscript - Kirstie was eventually awarded the Bronze after the rider who was given the Bronze originally admitted she was lapped three times !). Day 4 - In the 135+ category in the Team Sprint Peter Barnard, Alan Townsend & David Browne took the Silver. M2/3 Scratch Races - Negative doesn`t begin to explain some races, but it does for this one. Rick McArdle clipped away for a great Silver, with Matt Glanville 5th, Jays Austin 6th and David Browne 7th. M5 - Peter Verhoeven jumped off the front with 6 laps to go and huung on for a great Gold, with Geoff Baxter 4th. M7 - Mike Lawson took the Bronze.

At the Sydney Metropolitian Track Champs in late March, Kirstie Dolton took a Silver, and David Browne took two Silver medals.                   

At the National Masters Track Championships in Perth in early April - Mike Lawson took Silver (Pursuit), Bronze (Pointscore & Time Trial), and 5th (Team Sprint). Matt Glanville took Bronze (Pursuit), 4th (Pointscore), 5th (Team Sprint & Sprint), and 6th (Time Trial). Kirstie Dolton took Bronze (Team Sprint), and 4th (Pointscore & Sprint)