Oakville Handicap @ Parramatta Club @ 18 June - Peter Verhoeven (left) & Ian Grant (BiciSport Anytime Fitness) hard at it in the Oakville Handicap near Windsor
Oakville Handicap @ Parramatta Club @ 18 June - Ian Grant (left) & Peter Verhoeven
Waratah Masters @ Heffron Park @ 19 June - Eric Dole (BiciSport Happy Wheels) finished 5th in A2 grade
Wattle Signs & Print @ 17 June - Wattle Signs are based at Terrey Hills and offer a great service. If you need signage for your car or business then Matt is your man & kindly helped to restore the BiciSport 504 Peugeot to its former glory. Thanks Matt.
Crisis ? What Crisis ? …. the iconic Supertramp album from the 1970’s had a strong view on the past and present that resonates even today
If you’ve been browsing the national media lately you’ll no doubt see the trials & tribulations of the national netball federation. The similarities between netball & cycling could not be more apparent. Whenever sports administrators cross the jagged line into sports promotion then just wait for the tears and debt that begin to flow. You can be assured it will be a rough ride. Sport administrators are skilled in many aspects of their beloved sport but sport promotion is rarely (if ever) one of those. History is about to be repeated and yes, when you need to deflect blame, there is always the Covid card.
Whilst on the topic of abject failures that seemingly disappear into the Maxwell Smart “Cone of Silence” what is with the complete silence & lack of accountability for failed sports promotions at our domestic level ?. There are several NSW cycling events that have just quietly disappeared off the calendar and little is heard of them again. The lack of publicity on these cancellations is somewhat perplexing. Recently the Gunnedah Weekend was cancelled on the Tuesday before with no fanfare (cancelling the Coonabarabran event on the Saturday killed the whole weekend including a Womens Championship). This comes on the heals of other notable cancellations including the Bathurst to Bathurst Cyclosportive (woeful course design buried that hugely popular weekend), the Rememberance Cup @ ECR (?) and the Sydney Championships @ Penrith Lakes. It’s really annoying if you’ve missed your accommodation refund date but clearly its a sensitive issue for some when a simple & clear communication strategy is all that is needed.
BELGIAN WAFFLE RIDE IN CENTENNIAL PARK REVERTS TO A THURSDAY
The BiciSport gruppeto tried Wednesday, but have now reverted back to a Thursday @ 10.30am from the Spruce Goose Cafe in the centre of the Park. All welcome.
NATIONAL MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS - WOLLONGONG DATES & COURSES ANNOUNCED
Details of the National Masters Road Championships in Wollongong are now posted in the Special Events section of this website
EASTERN CREEK RACEWAY RACING NOW IN WINTER RECESS UNTIL SEPTEMBER
Waratah Masters now focus on Lansdowne Park & Heffron Park during the Winter 22 recess. So see you at ECR in early September
RACE SEEKER - THIS WEEK
26 June
Lansdowne Park (Waratah Masters)
Individual Time Trial (West Head)
Melburn Roobaix Cyclosportive (Melbourne, Vic)
BICISPORT TRAINING RIDES
Tues 21 June
Waratah Peloton @ pass the corner of Yulong Ave & McCarrs Creek Rd Terrey Hills @ 8.00am for Akuna Bay, top of McCarrs Creek Rd climb at 8.40am, then direction Duffys Forest, then return Terrey Hills shops @ 9.15am then to St Ives for coffee
Centennial Park Lower Loop from 5.30am to 7.45am
Thurs 23 June
Belgian Waffle Ride @ Centennial Park @ Spruce Goose Cafe @ 10.30am for Park laps
Waratah Peloton @ pass the corner of Yulong Ave & McCarrs Creek Rd Terrey Hills @ 8.00am for Akuna Bay, top of McCarrs Creek Rd climb at 8.40am, then direction Duffys Forest, then return Terrey Hills shops @ 9.15am then to St Ives for coffee
Sat 25 June
Coffee @ Sandstone Cafe Miramare Gardens @ 9.30am
Plum Vainqueur Cycling Team (Belgium) - 1949-61
In 1910 Pol Desnerk opened a tiny bike shop in Ghent Belgium. Originally the shop was called La Plume as everything that sounded French stood for quality (even in Flanders). The name changed to Plume Vainqueur, and finally it became Plum.
Plum started sponsoring riders and teams and had a full pro team from 1949 until 1961. The shop soon started taking upstairs tenants including numerous Australians (Alf Strom, Reg Arnold, & Alan Peiper) and several Englishman (including Gary Wiggins (father of) & Tom Simpson).
Tom Simpson became the 1965 World Road Race Champion racing for Peugeot-BP. The antique bike museum in the basement of the Plum shop is a bit chaotic (that is an understatement) but the Gios bike of Fons De Wolf was worth a closer look. The Plum Gent website is www.plum-gent.be
Richard Bukacki (Belgium) raced successfully for Plum then went on to win several professional races for his future Belgian teams.
Plum Sport where steel is real
The Plum Sport cycling museum is in the basement under the bike shop in Gent
Plum Sport cycle shop in Gent