Currently we’re in the middle of a summer season heatwave of Crits. And with these opportunities, Race@SPR wants to encourage anyone race-curious to come and have a crack, but with some support and guidance available and ready to help you through.
Yep – the SPR Race Mentors are back.
We invite SPR members (have you renewed your CA membership yet?) if you are interested, curious or cowbell-crazy to give racing a try – with guidance from us. The Race Mentors will be your go to for questions, queries and advice so you can dip your toe with some support. Right now there is a “Bring A Mate” program with Cycling Australia going on, so we can sign you up for a 2 week trial race membership to do a few races and see if you like it….. Spoilers – you will.
What do WE do?
We’ll get in touch by email.
We’ll assign you a Mentor from the SPR Race Sub-Committee to be available to guide you through the race experience.
All questions are valid, so ask away to your Mentor. We don’t know it all, but we’ve seen enough to understand that there is some stuff you just wouldn’t know if you haven’t experienced it. Let’s face it – any concerns or fears are there merely to be kicked into oblivion. Racing isn’t actually that scary and stupid – the racing we have is safe, on managed or closed roads, is readily achievable and available for all of our members (you’ll need a race license to continue past the trial), and is a great challenge if you are eager or curious to have a go. Have a look over at the What Makes Crits Great? post.
So, go on. Email us at race@southperthrouleurs.com.au, chat to us at Dome post Saturday Main Rides and have some fun. We’ll be firing up the SPR SuperVan again this summer too. Bring your picnic chair and cowbells.
There is so much on offer at the moment, I can’t even keep up with self-effacing race reports – it’s THAT busy. This time of year is Crit season. Criteriums are short-course circuit races, and they are based on race TIME, not distance.
There is racing available throughout summer – pretty much every weekend. This weekend alone there are FOUR options available – Midland CC on Saturday afternoon, while Peel District CC, RCCC and West Coast Masters all have races on Sunday. There is an updated program with links to the events HERE.
Tip it in Thursday!
What Makes Crits Great? Crowd support – The courses are short, so spectators see the racers come past the start/finish every 1-2 minutes. Even come out to watch a race first. Cowbells, anyone? Familiar – you lap the same circuit (around 1km long) over and over. You’ll hit the same corners and straights in-situ and will soon nail that perfect line. Close– you are never further than a couple of hundred metres from the start. If you get a flat, drop a chain, just wanna bail out – you’re not worried about being stranded on course. Cheap– club races at club prices. You could probably spend more on a coffee in Perth (*”probably”, ooooooor at least kinda close!). Fun – with race times between 25 and 60 minutes, it’s way shorter than a group ride, you can sit in easier than an interval session, and you get to sprint at the end!
Done with Fourth, The Librarian takes a podium. Photo: Jedsman
Also, check out the Race Mentors post published VERY SOON if you are dead keen or even a little bit curious about racing with SPR, check it out.
Summer Crits are NEVER like this classic award-winning shot. Photo: Jedsman
Your ToMR Squad for 2019 are prepared and are heading South this weekend for the big event. We are fielding four teams this year – 1 women’s, 3 open teams.
SPRouleurs, your Squad for 2019:
Kate Bonner, Olesya Alutina, Maddy Rhodes, Darcie Richards, Rebecca Kelly, Natalie Laurendeau
Craig Denham, Lloyd Forsyth, Andrew Lilley, Brook Burgess, John Carnicelli, Callum Millard-Webb
Paul George, Adam Ralph, Steve Burns, Graham Begg, Mitchell Spencer, Craig James
Damon Sutherland, Mike Barrenger, Ashley Brown, Chris Fox, Peter Mah, Greg Murray
Occasionally there is no better volunteer than Mum. Love your work, Michelle.
As always, we bring a team volunteers to make the weekend happen seamlessly for the racers and to just “Be More Club”. The Vollies are as much a part of the ToMR adventure as the racers, and year after year put in a huge investment of time and emotion to making things just happen – as far as the racers know, anyway!
Our ToMR Volunteers for 2019 are:
Michelle Bonner, Mark de Castro, Craig Spencer, Aaron Stroda, Frank Richards.
We also have the new addition of Zac Williams, who has photographed all three Grand Tours this year and a host of other WorldTour level races with legends such as Rupert Guinness and Beardy McBeard. In between engagements with the ToMR Eent Organisers (Hi Bec and Brendon!!) Zac will be documenting the SPR experience for us. And also lifting heavy stuff – he is a unit!
There’s likely to be some coverage on the “socialz”, as el Prez calls it – getting down with the lingo of the kidz – so keep an eye out.
And it was too. The Beverley 2019 has been an interesting lead up. Lots of variables are expected, and pretty well planned after a few years in practice.
This year has been a process of handover. After three years as a near one-Mo-show, this year was approached with the aim of handing on the experience and knowledge to others in the Club.
Running The Beverley day entails a volunteer group – at Registration managing any changes, misses or requests from racers; volunteers to build, manage and pull down the start/finish area and timing systems; a convoy of lead and follow car drivers with radio communication and coordinating with Commissaires and external bodies, like Traffic Management.
Listen up, and no one gets hurt. Photo: Jedsman
Some things crop up and just get managed on the fly and no one notices. It’s these issues in that no one is aware of that make the directing of The Beverley rewarding. Last year, when we expected to have Stop/Slow bats available for the Start/Finish area – they didn’t show up. Some quick thinking, and one race convoy vehicle hightailed it out to our traffic managers to borrow a set and we were sorted. 12 minutes is all it took. No one outside of the Event Staff even noticed and on we went with the day.
Warning – deep excavation ahead. Photo: Mo
This year was an unavoidable pot hole at the 50km mark that appeared days before race day. Spanning half the road width and several inches of deep wet sand there was risk involved. We talked it up at rider briefing, and again on the start line, the area was spray painted pink, attended by Event Staff (thanks Fi for waving arms furiously!) and it was safely navigated around by the whole field. Sorted. Smooth as…..
Our Volunteers for your Beverley 2019 were:
Back at Base:
Race Convoy:
Steve Burns
David Menarry
Nick Vinson
Adam Ralph
Selina Hanson
Fiona Williams
Megan Fyfield
Dan Harvey
Mike Morris
Marcel Willimann
Kathryn Dines
Pete Mah
Charles Roche
Andrew Williams
Ingrid Roche
Neil Gerace
Thank you, Crew.
The feedback from our Chief Commissaire and racers really hits home why we do this. “Favourite race of the year”, “best managed race on the calendar”. The weekend must be fun. There must be a good time had, or why would we bother? There are always things we can improve, and there is a hit-and-miss aspect to things we do, no doubt. But to have this sort of message come back indicates we are generally on the right track. May we be even better in future.
There are a number of other thank you’s that need to be given:
David Menarry and Steve Burns have stepped up to run with The Beverley Race Director responsibilities
Cycling Australia Commissaires Ken, Richard and Gary – our WA Commissaires are the BEST
Beverley Shire President Dee Wridgeway, and the Shire Councils of Beverley, York and Northam
Local Police Commands of Beverley and York
Clint and Co from Peel District CC ran the timing system, Midland CC supplied radios and equipment, WestCycle provided sanctioning and equipment
Toby Hodgson – Mr Vesparazzi. The mind, spirit and soul behind The Beverley Heroic weekend.
Made it. Just. Photo: Mo
WA club run race events, in general, have become much more challenging to host over the years since we started this. Participation numbers at club run events have suffered enormously. So a wholehearted thank all of those racers and volunteers that came out to make The Beverley happen this year. SPR racers – first timers AND all-the-timers. Midland CC who brought a huge contingent along, those in Race Team colours holding memberships across a range of clubs – Dome Coffees Cycling Team, Chaotic Energy (with a bit of SPR mixed kit!), King KOM, Cove Legal, VeloFit to name a few. The event is hosted FOR you and happens BECAUSE of you.
Thanks for coming out to The Beverley and we hope to see you all and MORE next year.
1st female, fastest female time, 5th overall, 1st female teams classification.
A race report from Kate Bonner. Over to you Kate. (Feature image: The Legend – Daniela Tomassi)
Race day. Excited. An hour and a half of sitting in the car with Ben. Not so excited. Arrived at Beverley Hall to see it entirely decked out with some of the coolest bikes, awesome, totally vintage cool. 22 mins from Scratch, sweet. Olesya, Darcie, Teneal and Annie, so much strength in this group. Ness, Bec, Ali, Kirstie and many other talented women within 7 minutes. Scanning the list for other familiar names… Hang on, how did Hanno get off at 34 mins! The cheek of it!
Photo: #ralpha
Race smart, not hard. We knew we were out for a tough day. Ladies agreement that we would use the first part of the ride to ‘warm up’, forming a paceline and taking even, steady turns along the rough as guts road. It wasn’t long until the 21 min group caught us. Toby, Ross, Tom, Chris… hell this is just like a Fast Too group. This. Is. Going. To. Hurt. “Up, up, up, up” we hear as the group has already swamped us, they had us sprinting to get up to speed and start rolling through immediately.
After a messy 10-15km, we finally got the group working well. Yes, that’s right, only one side needs to be riding hard to drive the pace. Unsurprisingly, the women were holding their own. At various points on the way out, we picked up Bec, The Chaotic Energy Crew (incl. Nancy, Kirstie, Jo and Shannon) “Have a rest and then roll when you can” was echoed throughout the group. Nope, none of that. Straight into it. Inspirational stuff.
Photo: #jedsman
Unfortunately, with the weather being warm (yet not apocalyptically warm) and a high average speed, I looked back to find a smaller and smaller group. Within a km of the turn-around, we caught sight of the leading group, they didn’t seem that far ahead, but they had more numbers. Once we cleared up the confusion of the U-turn (where the cones finish is where we are meant to turn around, Roger, stress less) we faced the reality of our smaller group and our roll throughs turned into a pace line. As we continued down the road, we saw the flood of smaller groups coming the other way. Bloody hell, they seemed close – I’m sure we would be caught. Once they joined to form a bigger group, they would overpower the 6, 7 maybe 8 of us left working together.
Current plan, keep this group as far ahead as we can for as long as possible, retaining enough energy so that the jump onto the next group would not result in a leg explosion and getting dropped. 2 gels, 4 Clif blocks, a bottle and a bit down. Plenty of food and water left, I felt confident. 66km… 75km… 80km… I started looking back. Where the hell was scratch? Tom very kindly reminded me “Stop looking back Kate, Hanno’s up ahead, we have to catch him first.” Right you are Tom, let’s keep rolling. By 95km, we caught sight of the front group, rounding a slight uphill bend, a few shouts of encouragement and we were pulling short, hard turns to bump up our speed. With a steady surge up the hill, we started to absorb those who had been distanced. This change in pace also put a few others in strife, leaving wheels dropped and only 4 of us left from the 21/22min group.
At 105km, suddenly the realisation that Scratch was not going to catch us sunk in, and if we wanted to catch the front group, we had to do it ourselves. Ross, Tom, Darcie and I had our work cut out for us. We edged closer and closer until we hit the final hill, roughly 4km from the finish. Ross rolled off the front, and the front group was in sight, and what seemed to be within reach. It would take a pretty hard turn to close that gap, as they could taste the win on the tip of their tongues. Right, I thought, now was the time. I pushed down on the pedals harder and harder, and tried and reduce the gap to the front 5. When I looked back and saw a gap had formed between myself, and the other 3, I decided to attempt to catch them in a solo pursuit. Cresting the hill with around 300m of distance between myself and the leaders, I tucked down as low as possible in the drops and pedaled manically down the other side of the hill. The 53/11 was no match for this hill and I found myself spinning out very quickly.
Photo: The Legend – Daniela Tomassi.
The last person I would pass would be Adrian, barely off the back of the front bunch but 112ish kilometres had taken their toll, a fantastic ride none the less. I pushed on for those last 3 and a bit kms solo but couldn’t quite match the speed of the group ahead, rolling across the line for 5th place, and 19 seconds down.
What a day. While I was undeniably happy with my personal results, I was more thrilled with the atmosphere and the privilege of being able to race with so many fantastic personalities that I ride with weekly. The banter in the groups were second to none, and the familiar faces eliminated any nervous energy that might have otherwise been present.
Thank you Beverley Heroic, I can’t wait to be back next year.
The Tour of Margaret River 2019 edges ever closer, and sadly for some it has meant withdrawal from the SPR Squad. Due to instance of injury, injury and more injury, the SPR Squad requires a few more people to fill the team places. The sole Women’s team has a full complement, but the Open teams need riders – Women, Men, speeds – doesn’t matter, as we can accommodate!
Be like Craig.
The event is a three-day, four stage race from Friday through Sunday 7-10 November, with more details available HERE. The SPR package deal is approx $660 inclusive of event registration and 4 nights shared accommodation with the SPR ToMR Squad in Busselton from Thursday 6 November departing Monday 11 November.
Stalk.Always.
We are short on time to finalise, so if you have an interest in riding this year in what The Mo would probably call one of the best events of all time*, please email race@southperthrouleurs.com.au.
Or come and have a chat with Steve, David, Vanessa, Mike, Amanda, Jon or Greg at Dome on Saturday and we can discuss options and answer any questions you may have.
On the weekend of Saturday 12th October, we continue the revival of the famous old race, and WACX host their Beverly CX in the eve. Then on and Sunday 13th Mr Vesparazzi hosts the Beverley Heroic Classic rides through the roads less traveled – see post HERE.
SPR are staging the event in the same format as the last three year’s awesome outings. A 114km Handicap race, starting and finishing in the charming Wheatbelt town of Beverley – one and a bit hours East of Perth.
As we wrote previously……..
“Rolling over undulating terrain, riders travel through rural views gently uphill, into shaded bushland of Wandoo National Park. The turnaround on to the return run sees a fast flowing lightly downhill run – handicap groups will need to work well to keep the scratch men at bay. The racing climaxes in the short rise on the approach to Lenard Rd with 4km to go– the first rider to crest holds the advantage in a fast run into the line. The handicap format encourages groups to work well together over the parcours.”
Our first year we were graced with multiple Track World Champions and local legends Cameron Meyer and Michael Freiberg as our winner and runner up in a cracking sprint finish. Not to mention Col Tierney attacking solo from 18km out and ONLY JUST getting caught in the final 300m. Second year, the win came from the bunch off a healthy handicap and last year saw another Moustache win, from MCC.
If you’ve nominated for ToMR this year, you should already have your entry done. Who’s up for the win this year……. ?
Entry for The Beverley Heroic Race is closing soon!!! The link to the EntryBoss registration page HERE.
Be a part of WA Cycling history. Go on – be Heroic.
The Beverley Weekend big one for SPR. As well as The Beverley Race, WACX is again staging Cyclocross racing on Saturday afternoon, then the Beverley Heroic Classic rides on Sunday. A it’s massive weekend of cycling!
WACX hosts the Beverley Heroic CX at dusk on the banks of the Avon River. And if you know CX, you KNOW it’s good fun.
The Beverley Heroic Classic rides are a more social affair. A choice of 50 mile or 100 mile rides (80 or 160km) takes you through some amazing backroads, including some awesome gravel sections.
Even BIGGER this year is The Heroic Triple. Make a big weekend of it and enter all three events – Race, CX AND Classic 110 miler. This year, Triple entries are a packaged discount, as well as camping packages to stay overnight in the town.
Links to all entries are HERE at the Beverley Heroic website.
Volunteers are the Best people!
We’d love to see a sea of green once again. You can race or volunteer to help run either or both of the days. Volunteering and giving back to the Club is what makes our little green community great! Get behind and support the Club.
SPR ToMR 2019 Expressions of Interest are closing this Saturday, 6th July at TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT!
ToMR this year celebrates it’s 10th birthday. Nice work Brendon, Bec and Co! The Tour this year also sees a return to FOUR stages over three days.
Stage 1: Gold Rush TTT – day 1, on a new circuit, starting and finishing in Nannup
Stage 2: The Kandalee Catapult, Road Race – day 2 from Nannup to Greenbushes with 2 big climbs
Stage 3: The Mur de Hay, Road Race from Nannup to Balingup, finishing on the frightening Mur! 1st stage of day 3
Stage 4: The Cathedral TTT on the stunning Balingup to Nannup Rd. 2nd stage on day 3
More details are updated to the event website and their FaceBook event pages.
At this point is time, it appears we may only barely be able to field 3 teams in total. Quite a departure from the 6-7 teams from days of yore. Or even just last year.
Most importantly, WE NEED MORE WOMEN!!!! While the ToMR Crew are coming to town for an Info Session in August (as advertised on FB) but we’d really like your EOI now! Ask on the SPR Chicks FB page if you’ve got any queries in the meantime, though.
The SPR ToMR trip is a “Club” event, with team houses booked, a Squad BBQ on the final night and a huge support from within the squad. The budget is expected to be approx $630-$650 per person, covering your $360 event registration fee, 4 nights accommodation and subsidising our SPR Club volunteers at the event.
This week is your last chance to express your interest before team numbers, accommodation and pricing is finalised. Please read the previous post for further details on “The Deal”.
Organisation for SPR’s Tour of Margaret River is underway for 2019. And Race@SPR are seeking Expressions of Interest for Members to be a part of the SPR Squad for 2019 prior to opening nominations.
Since opening EOI’s, we have a mere 7 people showing interest. Not even two full teams. For TOMR!?!?! Say it ain’t so!
EOI’s will be closing shortly, and the number of teams registered, accommodation booking and volunteers required will be based on these responses.
Have a read of the original post HERE for further details on the event and the non-negotiables. Once open, nominations this year will again require a deposit and an acceptance of the SPR ToMR Guidelines. If you have any questions, have a chat with your Race Sub-Committee members post-ride on Saturday’s at Dome.
We invite SPR members (have you renewed your CA membership yet?) if you are interested, curious or cowbell-crazy to give racing a try – with guidance from us. The Race Mentors will be your go to for questions, queries and advice so you can dip your toe with some support. Right now there is a “Bring A Mate” program with Cycling Australia going on, so we can sign you up for a 2 week trial race membership to do a few races and see if you like it….. Spoilers – you will.
All questions are valid, so ask away to your Mentor. We don’t know it all, but we’ve seen enough to understand that there is some stuff you just wouldn’t know if you haven’t experienced it. Let’s face it – any concerns or fears are there merely to be kicked into oblivion. Racing isn’t actually that scary and stupid – the racing we have is safe, on managed or closed roads, is readily achievable and available for all of our members (you’ll need a race license to continue past the trial), and is a great challenge if you are eager or curious to have a go. Have a look over at the What Makes Crits Great? post.
