THANK YOU:

Commissaires John Buckton D & E grades, Richard Jenkins A, B & C grades. Thanks to Richard Jenkins who deployed and retrieved all the witches hats and signs. Thanks to Anna Fortuna for manning the canteen.  Thanks to Sue Shavkin & Rocky Fortuna who manned the Registration table.  Thanks to Leeann Emery for being our First Aid Officer.  Thanks to our safety marshals Katrina Hadrell & Murray Booth.

CLUB SPONSORS (see logos right)

Randwick Botany Cycling Club is proudly sponsored by FRF Couriers, parent company of Excelpro.  Excelpro is the distributor of products including BH bicycles, Argon 18 bicycles,  Cinelli bicycle accessories, Colnago bicycles & accessories, 3T cycling assessories, Vittoria shoes and Speedplay pedals.  Bike Bug carries all our major sponsors bikes and products such as Colnago, Cinelli and Argon 18.  Bike Bug is offering all Randwick Botany members a 15% discount off parts and accessories.  Go to cyclebits.com for all your cycling consumable needs like tyres, tubes, bar tape, etc, etc.  Order online from an Australian company, and have your cyclebits arrive at your door a day or two later Long term RBCC sponosr DS Labels – Marrackville. Sponsors of our club jersey include Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers,  Tenpoint, Vantage Freight, Sydney Morning Herald.

REPORT

It really is hard to please all of the people all of the time.  In what I, as handicapper, thought was an excellent handicap, B grade caught C grade with 3 to go and then A grade having completed 15 of their 17 laps caught the combined B/C grade with 2 to go.  All three grades then battled it out over the two remaining laps and all grades featured in the placings. 

One outspoken critic of the handicaps went on to inform me that I had got it wrong evidenced by all the riders standing on the side of the track.  Well I'm sorry but I don't set the pace of a race.  A handicap is a hard race and everyone goes out of the blocks.  The attrition rate is normally much higher than that of a scratch race and there are going to be plenty of riders relegated to spectators. That's the nature of the beast. 

Talking about competing in handciaps, there are still a lot of people who have a bit to learn about handicap racing.  I witnessed riders doing the right thing and swapping off turns nicely and keeping the pace high.  Then I witnessed people crashing through on their turns, others sitting about 3rd or fourth wheel, not doing a turn and basically getting in the way by interrupting the rythm of those who wanted to work.  In previous handicaps, I've witnessed riders sticking following riders in the gutter in the wind and yet others launcing off the front.  I overheard riders arguing post race this week stating, "We don't chase down club mates".  Well that's all well and good in a scratch race but when you have Peter "The Machine" McDonald inexorably mowing you down, only team work of the entire bunch is going to keep you away. You can worry about individual tactics about 2 to go when you know that your bunch is not going to be caught.

Suffice to say, Peter did catch everyone then went past to win by about the length of the straight.  Congratulations Peter.

START TIMES

Randwick Botany Cycling Club conducts racing at Heffron Park, Maroubra NSW each Saturday throughout the year. Juniors start at 3pm. Seniors D, E, & F grades will start at 4pm and A, B & C grades will start at 5pm.

RACING SHEDULE

A handicap race for A B & C grades will be conducted on the first Saturday of every month.  Second,  fourth & fifth Saturdays will be normal scratch races.  On the Third Saturday of every month racing will be longer and conducted in reverse direction.  A grade 25 laps (50 kilometres), B grade 23 laps and C grade 20 laps.  D, E & F will be normal distance

For more information please contact the club secretary Joanne Buckton on 02 9315 7801 or email: secretary@randwickbotanycc.com

Web page layout & editing by: John Buckton

Photos by: Rocky Fortuna

Report by John Buckton

Contact:
John:   webmaster@randwickbotanycc.com