Central Coast Velodrome @ Call Cup @ 24 Jan - Davide Browne (BiciSport Happy Wheels) takes 3rd at the Call Cup.
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - the annual Sunde/Spurgeon Memorial Criteriums offer great history coupled with great domestic racing
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Julian Arias (left) & Christian Quintero (BiciSport Happy Wheels). In the handicap B grade ruled the day and C grade did it hard. Julian was second C grade to finish
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Julian Arias (left) & Christian Quintero
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Christian Quintero (left) & Julian Arias
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Christian Quintero
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Davde Browne and his 1985 single speed steel Benotto
Heffron Park Tuesday Night Criteriums @ 30 Jan - Julian Arias, MOR & Christian Quintero
DGV Christmas Series - Father & Son (Lawson & Davide) Browne together in a Team Madison …. a great family picture for the ages
BiciSport Masters of Spin Calendar for February 2024
Francesco Signor dominated the January 24 edition of the BiciSport Masters of Spin Calendar. This month its the turn of the Eternal French Baguette in Eric Dole cruising through a sea of panatone at a Church Point cafe.
Stew Campbell at Happy Wheels Waterloo is well known for great cycling artwork …. a taster for what is below and headed for the upcoming Husky Triathlon
RACE RADIOS IN PROFESSIONAL RACEs - LET’s BAN THEM
The search for instant & perfect knowledge drives everybody to be addicted to their mobile phones. Go out for dinner with your significant other and an sms buzz will distract you, and nearly everybody forgets who is at the dinner table as you focus on your iphone addiction. Ditto applies in pro bike races with race radios.
The story is thus …. like the recent pro race in Geelong the early breakaway in a pro race fights like dogs to get in the tv break of the day. Once established the breaks gets to the magical 4 or 5 minute lead. Race radios give both the breakaway & peloton perfect knowledge - both to who is in the break, and how far ahead they are. Am not sure why they persist with motorcycle timing marshals as they really aren’t needed.
With perfect knowledge through race radios the breakaway knows the magical 5 minutes is about their limit - so the games start. The breakaway eases off to roughly 85% effort and then the peloton does the same ! ! !. So now the organized street theatre or mobile kareoke begins - all played out on live television. Two groups of “racers” rolling along at 85% like its an outdoor pantomime. The poor tv commentators try to make sense out of the abstract boredom before their eyes and show you pictures of surfers at Bells Beach.
Eventually the stale mate is broken with say 50k-60k to go as the breakaway gets the nod, and they resume hostilties (maybe they can win this time ?). The peloton are wired to race radios as well, and they go full gas instantaneously and overwhelm the breakaway with 15k-20k to go. Job well done and the lycra clad pantomime is complete for another day. The last 15k are the real deal and a deserving winner takes the flowers. What does the underwhelmed tv viewers make of this sporting charade ?.
Ban race radios and we may get a descent bike race
RACE SEEKER - THIS WEEK
11 Feb
Lake Hume Challenge Cyclosportive (Albury NSW)
Eastern Creek Raceway (Waratah Masters)
West Head Road Race (Manly CC)
BICISPORT TRAINING RIDES
Every Mon/Wed/Fri Mornings
Gruppo Molteni @ Centennial Park
Gruppo Molteni meet at the corner of Parkes Drive/Grand Drive at 8.20am and do CP laps until 9.30am then coffee at the Spruce Goose Cafe
Tues 6 Feb & Thurs 8 Feb
Blossoms & Buds 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 8 Feb
Belgian Waffle Ride @ Spruce Goose Cafe @ Centennial Park @ 10.30am for CP laps
Sat 10 Feb
Coffee @ Sandstone Cafe Miramare Gardens @ 9.30am
Sun 11 Feb
Depart Shark Park carpark near Cronulla @ 9.30am for Kurnell & return
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - 1979-80
The team only lasted two years, which is a pity. San Giacomo followed the Italian trend as a kitchen producer. In 1979 the bikes were Alan (Italian & performed badly), but improved with Benotto in 1980.
The 1979 team was a shocker with only an aging Fausto Bertoglio (ex Giro winner) any good. Into 1980 and a whole new team - Moreno Argentin (future legend & World Champion), Claudio Corti (single day rider of note), Alain de Roo (Belgium), Freddy Maertens (all time legend & past/future World Road Champion), George Mount (USA), Clyde Sefton (one of Australia’s finest) and Roberto Visentini. The revamped 1980 team had excellent performances from Visentini, Maertens & Clyde Sefton.
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - Freddy Maertens climbs the Koppenberg cobbles in the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) heading towards 5th place
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - Freddy Maertens on the Koppenberg climb in Flanders
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - a classic Ronde breakaway with (left to right) - Michel Pollentier, Francesco Moser, Roger De Vlaeminck, Jan Raas (World Champion) and Freddy M at the rear. Freddy ended up an excellent 5th.
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - a chaotic finish at the 1980 Tour of Spain with two San Giacomo team riders on the right (near the Coca Cola car)
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - Clyde (Kevin) Sefton was one of Australia’s best in the professionals after second in the Olympic Road Race in Munich in 1972
San Giacomo Pro Cycling Team (Italy) - a youthful Roberto Visentini before he joined the Carrera team and won the Giro
Team Presentation in 1980