The Annual SPR Christmas Ride and DOME Breakfast was hosted again this year, on Saturday 23rd December. For those that attended, thanks for helping us all celebrate another awesome year in green. Along with the decorated bikes, costumes and killer soundtrack on Main 1.1 (“Oooooooh, we’re half way there-ere…..”), we award our members for their efforts, results and sometimes their epic failures.
The SPR Social Committee put out to the membership a survey to find out what we thought were the highlights of our year 2017.
Social Committee Survey Awards.
Most improved rider and racer; a rider or racer who over the last year has made the greatest improvements in ability and skill.
Faye Daglish-Jones – Faye improved an enormous amount this year, riding smarter, in a better position and with much more confidence which has also shown up in her racing outcomes. She has competed in many events this year including Tour of Margaret River and Amy’s and she is a superstar up Stock Road.
Liz Sheehan – Liz… what a gutsy effort, in 4 months having almost never raced, she went from the nominating for Tour of Margaret River, to competing. Liz puts in a lot of training and never gives up.
Other Nominees:
- Adam Ralph – Beverley ..ToMR …Amy’s. A general mountain goat
- Andrew Williams – going up a hill like a demon now
- Anna Lim – took on Tour de Gracetown and moving up to tackling the Sunday hills
- Ashley Brown – worked hard and improved throughout the year
- Belson Yong – Alias Mr Wobbly. Belson has been a steady improver since his beginnings at climbing hills. The very staccato peddling rhythm causing him to wobble everywhere. He has been a big improver and now does ride leading AND can present himself as a reasonable hill climber and coach to his wife Anna.
- Bonner 2.0 – got on the Bonner train and never got off
- Bree Mitchell – progressing and taking up ride leader program.
- Claire Tyrrell – from aspiring MTB rider to placing 4th at Amy’s GF in age group, and regularly heading out in faster groups is a huge leap.
- David Menary – become much stronger in the last 6 months
- Debbie Bertolatti – great growth in climbing and endurance thru ToMR training. Massive effort at ToMR
- David Jones – improvement and inspiring
- Greg Jones – from not wanting to group ride to taking on being a Ride Leader
- Jo McInnes – dramatic improvement over the last 2 years, going from a very nervous rider to tackling long distant events like Tour de Gracetown – Town finisher. Just keeps slogging away, working on her skills, speed and fitness
- Josie Meyers – her consistency and she rode at Amy’s so well; joined SPR hills
- Kate Bonner – growing in strength & confidence, from beginner to Dolomites in a year our if nowhere she’s dominating rides
- Liz Leydon – fantastic improved rider
- Meegan Fyfield – dedicated training has led to an amazing increase in strength fitness and capabilities this year. Just keeps getting better.
- Sam Flockhart – has dedicated herself to training this year, getting fitter and stronger. Working FIFO, most of her training KMs are done far from home on a stationary bike – her self-discipline and dedication to train after working long shifts in order to achieve her goals are inspiring. Her feisty racing style and the Leederville crit made the race, and Sam the poster girl for The Ring series this year!
- Steve Burns – new member, started at the back and now pounds it out at the front.
- Tania Baharom – from 0 to 5 dams
Most inspirational rider: someone who has influenced you this year through their deeds or helped to motivate you to achieve more in cycling than you thought you could.
Leigh Outschoorn -Leigh is such an inspiration to all riders, always positive and encouraging and she qualified for Amy’s in style. She is dedicated to training and to the leadership program.
Amanda Nabi & Andrew Ballam #banabi –
Amanda: for consistently showing grit and determination in training and racing, she digs deep and just keeps on taking it up a level, such as 4th and 6th places at the Worlds in Albi. She gets the results and is inspiring to ride with, always leading by example.
Andrew: rides hard and provides encouragement to others when the going gets tough. At the same time, he is always ready to help anyone even if it impacts his ride.
Other Nominees:
- Al “Panda” Penaranda – came back after serious accident
- Belinda Evans – bounced back with dignity, hard work and her big sense of fun from a very difficult year. She is hitting all-time PBs in TTs and pinning on numbers in Crits. She is always so supportive of other riders and racers, putting her had up to volunteer at the Beverley and ToMR as well as numerous other times over the year. She is so inspirational to other who have suffered health or other issues and spent significant time away from riding
- Belson Yong – always there to lend a hand and offer advice
- Claire Tyrell – Amy’s qual, then cape to cape, then ToMR just cause she can!
- David Menarry – always pushes me and offers advice and encouragement. The “look” is all I need from David to know I need to get out of my comfort zone and try harder
- Davina Summers – really made me face my fears, and now feeling a lot more confident on the bike
- Dean Roser – simply an absolute gentleman by every measure, always helps the weaker riders and is as fit as a fiddle (good going at his age)
- Debbie Bertolatti – always encouraging, I have watched and learnt from her and she is always so helpful and positive and supportive
- Faye Daglish Jones – has achieved so much and has done it in style and always ready to help others. Peaks, Amy’s, ToMR, Ride Leader training
- Fiona Hope – inviting me on our own shorter rides
- Gary Boylan – for ‘results in excess of appearance award’ proving that looks mean SFA
- Gary Pennefather – to be back riding in G2 on a Thursday is an amazing feat
- Greg Murray – helped make the step up to racing feel more achievable.
- Heiko Potzeldt – always willing to pull you out of your darkness
- Jon Hanson – was so encouraging when I first started racing, always made me feel so at home at events several “Spartan” rides over 300km, trains harder than most everyone, ALWAYS has fun doing it and is a ‘king good bloke!
- Josie Meyers – 3 Dams & Amy’s
- Kat Buckley – always affirming of other riders, and always encouraging those around her to keep going and push harder
- Mark D T. – Fat bastard rides better than me
- Meegan Fyfield – for her commitment to training and constant improvement
- Mike Bonner – never seems to get pissed off
- Paul George – rides like a tank, all the time. Always on the front with a go hard or go home approach
- Peter Mah – always helping others achieve their goals
- Phil Stephens – his epic 300k Spartan rides are something I consider some of the best days on a bike ever.
- Rebecca Kelly – always supportive
- Rob Ramsden – Ride Leader Program is a fantastic achievement which delivers real benefits to the club; the work, time and effort put into a great ride leadership course. Also, FWRC organising, genuine Crumpet credentials and is riding super quick. Cool, calm and collected all the rides! ToMR; crits. Is there anything he can’t do?
- Sarah Fitton – post cancer scare she has returned to training harder than ever and racing at close to a national elite level
- Shane White – patient and very encouraging. Lovely man!
- Smittons – their desire to hurt themselves is unsurpassed. From the Dirty Dozen to Fitton’s riding round the Vic outback to Smithy’s recovering from injury those girls are an inspiration
- Tania Baharom – from 0 to 5 dams
- Vanessa Johnson – nominated
Good Samaritans: someone who has taken an opportunity to help on the spur of the moment another cyclist in need.
Liam Donnelly – For the donation of his bike to Bec Kelly so she could ride stage 4 of the ToMR after her bike was written off in a stage 3 crash. This allowed SPR Women’s 2 team to finish competitively and snatch 2nd in their division. This sacrifice meant Liam rode a borrowed bike for his last stage of the tour that was several sizes too big.
Dave Menarry – Oh My God, this guy needs to stop helping everyone. He helps random cyclists with flats as well as SPR members. Not only that, despite injuries that prevented David from riding, he still went along to Amy’s event to provide as much support as possible.
Other Nominees:
- Andrew Ballam – the Hand of Ballam – always prepared stop and give you a hand fixing a mechanical or give you a little assistance to get back into a bunch for always, always, always waiting & helping (me & others) especially in the hills; So many times he put others ahead of himself. Always helping all others in need.
- Andrew (and Fiona) Williams – they were sold out as slave labour as ToMR Event staff to allow SPR to be allocated current World ITT Champion Annemiek van Vlueten, and made an awesome contribution to the overall event. Stopped to lift the saddle of his wife, Fiona Williams. Volunteer at ToMR and running around after all teams to make sure we had good races
- Anna Lim – very helpful to new starters.
- Belson Yong – really helpful and positive ride leader
- Bryan Thurstan – for stepping in at the last minute to manage ToMR for the club
- Dean Roser – pretty much every Ride, every day
- Faye Daglish – always happy to offer a wheel
- Ginny Donley- was nominated
- Greg Murray – for 100 percent commitment to others
- Heiko Potzeldt – who always helps and then inspires with his ability
- Iain Dow – I have often seen Iain Dow offer help to cyclist within his group – a gentle push or even help other cyclists fix broken chains.
- Leigh Outschoorn – what a gem of a lady, patient, giving and caring at all times, lots of love for the Trannies
- Mark de Castro – recently encouraged & helped me complete hot short hills
- Michelle Bonner – ToMR helper extraordinaire
- Fiona (and Andrew) Williams – they were sold out as slave labour as ToMR Event staff to allow SPR to be allocated current World ITT Champion Annemiek van Vleuten, and made an awesome contribution to the overall event.
- Pete Mah – So many times he put others ahead of himself
- Peter Wilshaw – gave guidance with recovery and despite injuries preventing him from riding, still went to Amy’s event to provide as much support as he could
- Rebecca Kelly – always offering a kind word; letting Kate Bonner take bike parts at ToMR
- Rob Ramsden – aka Good Cop aka Crumpet
- Whoever donated their bikes at ToMR for the SPR Womens 2 team.
Epic equipment or moment t award: something that sticks in your mind about a rider and/or their bike/gear that was so unusual, be that good or bad
Heiko Potzeldt (the Panzerwagen) – A clear winner for his Isadora Duncan moment when his gilet fell into the rear derailleur on Amy’s Grand Fondo. Heiko had to abandon the race to peel out the pieces of his gilet.
Ben Thorman – too many to mention but includes the wheelie up Mur De Hay ToMR, and riding Stockies on a Wednesday morning with Nico Brungger, a Pro cyclist who was not known to any of the riders that morning. Ben cracked after the 4th climb, with Nico not breaking a sweat…Ben later commented, “I was sure I would have cracked him….”
Other Nominees:
- Al “Panda” Penaranda – most injury sustained in one fall….. softy.
- Andrew Ballam – Rumplestilskin (who could spin straw into gold); breaking so many bikes he now has Velosure gold status; Ridding his TT bike in the Worlds with a crack held together with duct tape!
- Anna Lim – having a Cinderella moment – no shoes.
- Ashley Brown – demonstrating pace lines with spoons
- Bec Kelly – bike ready for Stage 4 ToMR.
- Brian Sing – quick enough tube change in a race to stay in A grade contention during a time trial. Sub 20sec tyre off with bare hands.
- Cate – stung by a bee -lost pearl diamond earring. Went back for it. Spent an hour combing the narrows bridge. Found all three parts – she could go home to her husband then!
- Dave Menarry – winged appearance at Amy’s; spectacular dismount during Amy’s GF training, but didn’t quite execute the landing.
- Faye Daglish-Jones – no longer wears a high-vis vest.
- Greg Murray’s moustache.
- Greg Prosser – Mission Impossible. This bike will self-destruct in 5 seconds.
- Greg Murray – 100 mile fixie attempt at Beverley after being the legend of the preceding weeks to organise the Road Race. Legend.
- Julian Johnson – Skippy the Bush Kangaroo – for an incredible early morning hit on VP Julian Johnson on the Zig Zag road. What’s that Skip? You nailed him good?
- Peter Lander – for his outlandish Polish & Russian cycle tops, as well as his colour coordinated (orange) shoes & bike.
- Sarah Smith – bang for buck the biggest damage done to ones’ body in a single crash with her broken leg, and now sporting more metal than a l’Eroica bike event.
- Shane White – riding the last stage of TOMR with a damaged derailleur.
- ToMR Womens 3 team – getting kits from Annemiek van Vleuten.
ElPrez Awards
Completely at the discretion of el Presidente, Mr Peter Mah , and awarded for contribution to SPR over the year:
- Jon Hanson, Race Committee, ToMR racer and ToMR Team Manager (until 2 days before!)
- Greg Murray, RD for SPR’s Beverley Road Race, Race Committee
Race Committee Awards
The SPR Race Committee has discussed, deliberated and arbitrarily awarded (as only the APRC can!) our Racers awards this year.
Best SPR Female racer 2017 (predominantly in SPR kit)
Our nominees are:
- Amanda Nabi – because #banabi
- Louise McKay, Vanessa Johnson – both have stepped up grades this year and consistently improved.
- Corrie Johnstone nee Fillmore – winning.
- Sarah Fitton – East Coast chapter hitting podiums having done lots of training dragging around Smithy all year long.
Winner – Corrie Johnstone (nee Fillmore). Actually, we allowed the results for both Fillmore and Johnstone to count!
Best SPR Male Racer 2017 (predominantly in SPR kit) –
Our nominees are:
- Elar Kalda – 2nd The Element Series in B grade
- Michael Bonner – Mr Worldwide
- Stuart Gee – Strong consistent very near misses through the Road Race season.
Winner Elar Kalda. Season-long consistency.
Most Improved SPR Racer 2017
Our Nominees are:
- Ashley Brown, Liz Sheehan – stepping up to eventual ToMR representation.
- Mike Madsen – winner of The Ring Series 2017 E grade.
- Jiyoen Kwan – The Element Road Series win for Women’s C grade
- Meegan Fyfield – contested C grade racing through the season with some strong results and a consistent gain.
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Meegan surprised. Not so the rest of us, Megs. Adam Ralph (top 10 at The Beverley, qualifying at Amy’s GF and division winner ToMR.); Leigh Outschoorn (qualifying for the Worlds at Amy’s GF), Clare Tyrrell (4th in 19-34yo Amy’s GF). Each stepping up to more road racing, contesting The Beverley, and ToMR.
Winner – Meegan Fyfield. This award made for a difficult choice, but a consistent improvement throughout the season in speed and race craft saw Meegan win out. But not by much!
Best SPR Racers’ Crash 2017 – wiping out the competition and their season.
We have tried to be lighthearted about these, but only after the fact. There’s no doubt we have seen some spectacular and damaging incidents in the list here, but we are happy to report all have been on the mend successfully.
Our Nominees are:
- Stuart Gee – 6 ribs, collarbone, and massive bruising after getting collected by a car in KP.
- Sarah Smith – spiral fracture of her tibia and fibula failing to cleanly un-clip, whilst exiting a Margaret River winery, no less. Permanent metal work now in place – a carbon upgrade was not available.
- Greg Murray – dislocated shoulder, 3 weeks. Hang on, that was just left on the template. He doesn’t qualify…..
- Louise McKay – capsizing on the TT rig with excellent photos captured, whilst following THE SMOOTHEST wheel in the club.
- David Menarry – Amy’s GF training ride, collarbone.
- Andrew Ballam – a late but brave entry after a quiet year, stopping with his face last week in The Ring B Grade criterium.
Winner – Peter Wilshaw. A broken pelvis suffered near the home straight of Collie Donnybrook. Won partially because he can actually put socks on again. But mostly because it was in the heat of battle.
And the iPad Winner is………..
This year there was a draw for a brand spankin’ new iPad for those that took the time to complete our SPR Club survey, and put their name to it. And the iPad went to:
DAN CROSBY – absent on the day, but CONGRATULATIONS!
Thanks for a great Xmas Ride and a fantastic year SPRouleurs.
Photo Gallery
