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Latest Central Division News
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The Finale - Calga
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Central Division riders will converge on the gentle slopes of the Central Coast Cycling Club's Calga course to battle out the final event for 2009.
A Grade will see a hugh battle to take out the inaugural Clyde Marshall shield. NewRad Gateshead #2 team currently lead the series, but will have to fend off challenges from the Central Coast Crushers and Manning Valley if they're to claim the series.
There's no junior categories at Calga, but U15 riders are welcome to ride grade if they are capable of riding on the open road.
U9, U11 and U13 riders can vie for Central Division Age Championships on Sunday morning at the Lucca Rd circuit at North Wyong. To get to Lucca Road from the freeway take the WYONG exit. Turn left at the third roundabout and follow the Pacific Highway north to the roundabout at Wattanobbi. Turn right at that roundabout and follow the Pacific Hwy for about 500m before turning left into Lucca Rd. Then turn right into Donaldson Street and finally left into Willowtree Rd. Click here for map. |
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News from the CD Meeting 02/08/09
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Clyde Marshall has prepared the draft 2010 Central Division calendar, and it will be delivered to clubs shortly. Feedback from clubs is required before the next Central Division meeting late October/early November.
A new rule has been introduced that requires riders to have competed in three (3) club races before they can compete in a graded Central Division event. Their initial Central Division grade will be provided by their club handicapper on the basis of results from those three club races.
The 2010 website is to include a clarification of the teams time trial rules relating to grading when riders from different grades form a team.
The committee will look into the viability of running a separate junior event from 2010 onwards to take the burden off clubs hosting the Age Championships. The move comes amid concerns over the safety of some courses, the ability to fit all age categories in under the TMP of each course, and the cost of running the event.
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Central Division Junior Age Championships
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The Junior Age Championships will now be held on the closed street circuit at Lucca Road, North Wyong.
The event for U9, U11, U13G and U13B will be held on Sunday 6 September 2009 with racing starting at 9:00am. Unfortunately the current Traffic Management Plan for the course prevents us from selecting a later start time.
The Junior Age Championships are likely to become a permanent event on the Central Division Calendar from 2010 onwards. The Central Division comittee is looking for suitable circuits to see if it a viable option. |
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HVV Announce Extra Grade
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Hunter Valley Vets may hold a non-championship G Grade race at the upcoming Central Division Graded Road Championships.
The event, to be held on Sunday 2 August, traditionally covers riders from A to F Grade. But with the number of riders increasing each year the standard of riding has improved right down to F Grade. This has left riders at the 'social' end of the racing spectrum without a home of their own.
Jim Stewart from HVV hopes that the additional grade will bring a few more riders to the championships. "Anyone who wishes to ride in G Grade will be graded on the day", Jim said. He added that "Riders will be competing for sweepstakes rather than medals. You never know who will turn up!"
So we hope to see plenty of riders on the start line. Riders are reminded that the start time for this event is 9:00am. |
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Age Championships Program
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Hunter District Cycling Club have announced the program for the Central Division Age Championships, to be held at Minmi on Saturday 11th July 2009.
The proposed age brackets are:
2.00pm Elite/U19/Mast 1 - 6 laps
2.02pm Mast 2/3 5 laps
2.04pm Mast 4/5 5 laps
2.06pm U15 4 laps
2.08pm Mast 6/7 4 laps
2.10pm Women Elite/Mast 1-4 4 laps
2.12pm Women Mast 5+ - 3 laps
2.14pm Mast 8+ - 3 laps
HDCC are looking forward to some big fields with the combined age groups, and that makes for great racing on Lenaghans Drive.
Entry fee for the Age Championships is $12.00, and correct money would be greatly appreciated at the sign-on desk |
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Mystery Surrounds Age Championships
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With only a week to go until the Central Division Age Championships there's very little information available for riders.
Host club Hunter District CC are holding their cards close to their chest. At this stage we know that the event will probably be held at Minmi in 10 year age brackets. We won't know the official start time or the age groups until HDCC releases the program of events.
What we do know is that the Minmi course is the fairest of the Central Division circuits, giving no advantage to either climbers or sprinters. So no matter what the program ends up looking like there's sure to be plenty of fantastic and hotly contested racing come Saturday week.
See you there!!
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A Grade Race Report from Wootton
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Overall numbers were disappointing for the Manning Valley event due the cold and wet conditions. Around 50 riders braved the elements and took on the tough Wootton Way course.
In A Grade there were two NewRad teams, the Central Coast Crushers and Manning Valley. Johnathon Millington and Joshua Taylor from Active Cycles made the journey but without a third team rider chose to ride B Grade instead. It might have been better for them to form a HDCC team by joining forces with one or two B grade riders because they absolutely blitzed the B Grade race.
The first 10km saw the bunch settle into a rhythm and come to grips with the wet roads. After a couple of little surges Elliot Stephens from the Central Coast Crushers turned up the heat from the 15km mark. Elliot's brutal dig showed many the back door and over the next few kilometers the peleton was whittled down rider by rider.
On the climb Pete Wickham came to the front and helped Elliot inflict even more pain. This move was enough to break the bunch in a big way, leaving only 4 of the original 25 riders out in front. So at the 20km mark it was Elliot Stephens, Peter Wickham and Mick Curran from the Central Coast Crushers alongside Dean Megahey from NewRad Team 2.
Over the next 30km the 4 man break worked hard to establish a 4 minute gap over the rest of the field. In the meantime Johnathon Millington and Joshua Taylor who started 2 minutes behind in B grade had caught the A Grade bunch!
With 4km to go Elliot hit out again only to have Dean Megahey close the gap. A short time later Peter Wickham attacked, agin shut down by Dean Megahey. With only 2km to go Elliot put in another surge but Dean closed it down once again. It was clear that Dean was on a watching brief, simply covering any moves and making sure he stayed in touch. But so was Mick Curran who, like Dean, hadn't overextended himself.
In the final 500m Dean opened it up and broke Elliot and Peter. Mick Curran had his wheel but was out-ridden in the final uphill finish. Mick offered no excuses, saying Dean was just too strong on the day. Elliot rolled in 3rd and Pete Wickham 4th after a very hard race.
So NewRad Team 2 picked up another 15 points to put them 9 points clear of the Crushers on the table. With 2nd, 3rd and 4th places the Crushers snared a massive 18 points and leapfrogged Manning Valley and NewRad Team 1 to sit comfortably in second position heading into the final round at Calga. |
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Grades for Wootton posted
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The final grading for next Central Division event at Wootton have been posted on the Grades page.
There have only been one or two minor grade changes as indicated by club handicappers or as a result of long term injury or illness.
Hoping for sunny weather for MVCC and everyone who heads to Wootton on Saturday. |
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Full details for the Wootton event
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MANNING VALLEY CYCLE CLUB (MVCC) PRESENTS
CENTRAL DIVISION EVENT 0904 – WOOTTON
The MVCC is hosting the Central Division event at the Wootton course on Saturday 20 June. This is the same course as previous years and
has proved very successful. The course is the old Pacific Highway
(Wootton Way) between Bulahdelah and Wootton. This is a
challenging course on a road in very good condition with many
sections of overtaking lanes.
Click here for a detailed course map. As was the case last
year, the full course will not be utilised, all grades will turn at the top
of O’Sullivans Gap.
A raffle will be held on the day with all proceeds going to injured
Newcastle rider Brian Radcliffe.
DATE: Saturday 20 June 2009
TIME: Sign-on 1.00pm -1.45pm
Race Start 2.00pm sharp
VENUE: Wootton Way, old Pacific Highway between Bulahdelah
and Wootton. Race will start on northern side of Wootton.
Wootton is located approximately 1 hour (98km) from Hexham.
There are 2 options to get to Wootton travelling from
Newcastle:
1. Travel from Bulahdelah on Pacific Highway and turn off
just before Coolongolook onto Wootton Way.
2. Turn off just North of Bulahdelah onto Wootton Way.
This will take you on most of the course, however is
probably 5 to 10 minutes longer.
RACE FORMAT: Graded Scratch
A Grade – 59.2 km
B Grade – 59.2 km
C Grade – 34.6 km
D Grade – 34.6 km
E Grade – 24.6 km
F Grade – 24.6 km
ENTRY FEE: $12, exact money would be greatly appreciated at
the sign on table. |
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NewRad Take First Blood
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NewRad Gateshead Team 2 leads the Clyde Marshall Shield pointscore with 15 points from the teams time trial. But they failed to take maximum points with Geoff Troup suffering a mechanical on the start line and finishing outside the 105% time limit.
That allowed the Manning Valley CC team to stay within striking distance with their four riders picking up 12 points for the second fastest time of the day. NewRad GatesHead Team 1 rolled in third fastest and picked up 8 points.
The Central Coast Crushers were lucky to come away with their 3 points with only two riders ready to sign on at the end of the sign on period. Matty Brown was able to fill in the third spot on a clunky old training bike and managed to hang on to post a decent time despite having done plenty of training miles earlier in the day!
So Manning Valley are in a strong position heading to Wootton Way where they will have plenty of firepower on the hills.
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