It has been a huge week, with SPR members heading east for some spectacular cycling. And some spectacular results – from UCI qualifications at the Tour de Brisbane through to the an U/23 Women’s Oceania Time Trial Champion. Kudos.
First up, a huge congratulations to Sophia Sammons on her win at the Oceania Time Trial Championship! A win in the U/23 category and second fastest women overall. Congratulations! Well done Sophia and kudos to the whole team at Cycling Development Foundation for their work supporting Sophia to her success. All the results here here.
Congratulations also to Kate Bonner for her performance in the Oceania Road Race. Kate put in an impressive ride, in what she described as a “brutal” day. Her race included getting dropped, chasing back on before losing the group with 15km to go. It should be mentioned that Kate finished 16th of 18 finishers in a race that saw almost half the race DNF. Well done Kate! All the results here.
Then we come to the Tour de Brisbane. We had lots of SPR riders participating, with the standouts being
- Michael Bonner – 2nd (60-64 age group)
- Lauren Humphreys – 3rd (19-34)
- Rebecca Kelly – 4th in (45-49)
- Claire Tyrrell – 6th (35-39)
Special mentions go to Lily Handoyo, Maurice Herrmann, Julian Johnson, Andrew Lilley, Greg Murray and Raymond Smith who rode on the day — and most (all?) qualified for the UCI worlds.
See all the results here. Please let me know who I missed (!!).
Finally, thanks to everyone who participated in the 2024 edition of the SPR Water Tower Challenge (write-up below).
Daniel
Water Towers Wrap Up — The 2024 Water Towers boasted 75 riders in teams of 2, 3 or 4, riding the 100km or 100 mile events. With perfect weather conditions riders set out around Perth to visit the various water towers around Perth on our Southern course. There are many climbs to navigate with two water stops for essential snakes, bananas and lamingtons (only if you do the 100 miles).
What makes this event great is the casual nature and the many many volunteers helping fill water bottles, handing out cold cans of coke or passing the lollies around. A big thanks goes out to the 10 plus volunteers that made the event operate seamlessly and without them the event would not be as big a success as it is.
Last of all congratulations to all the riders who participated in the event. There were many exhausted teams at the finish but with smiles on their faces telling stories about the day. This community feel, is why we love to ride.
We hope to see you all, plus more riders, next year.
The Race Subcommittee
SPR TOMR 2024 Information Evening — SPR is super-excited to announce the launch of the Tour of Margaret River 2024, starting with our information evening on the 1 May. Check out all the details and RSVP here.
SPR Giro d’Italia Dinner — The recent Paris–Roubaix was certainly exciting viewing and soon we will be treated with the Giro d’Italia. To mark the start of the grand tours in Europe 2024, the club is having a dinner at Bravo’s in East Victoria Park – fabulous food and friendly staff make it special.
Bring family and join friends for a classic Italian meal.
Menu $65 pp for a 3-course meal – fully licensed.
SPR French Alps Trip 2024 — The French Alps are calling cyclists – don’t miss out – only three places left!! 💚
The itinerary, quality hotels, fully equipped support vehicles provided throughout the trip is truly remarkable for a very affordable price. Thirteen Main 2 riders have already signed up for the SPR French Alps cycle trip with Christophe so don’t miss out – itinerary attached.
The 16-day trip starting in Geneva 31 August takes you through the iconic French Alps for ~ 700km to Nice. If you are interested, please put in an expression of interest via this link.
SPR is arranging this tour to support a collegial cycling experience in Europe with familiar likeminded colleagues.
Perth Hills Gran Fondo — The Perth Hills Gran Fondo evolved out of the City of Armadale Grand Fondo, the first ever Gran Fondo in WA.
The event this year offers three distances: Piccolo 47km (647m elevation) $120, Medio 86km (1453m) $130 and the Gran 136km (2369m) $140.
Each of the three rides transverse the Perth Hills covering Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill, Boya, Darlington, Mundaring, Carmel and Pickering Brook, all starting and finishing at the Hills Emporio in Karragullen.
More details here: https://piet.com.au/perth-hills-gran-fondo
You may want to chat with Petra Bauer or Christine McCarthy who are registered for the Gran and Medio distances respectively.
Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.
1. WA Cyclocross Numbat Cup One
2. MCC Stan Gurney VC Memorial Criterium (25/Apr)
3. CCC Tom Lowry Memorial Road Race (27/Apr)
Juniors Ride — Great turnout last week with a number or new and returning riders. Thanks everyone for coming along. I also want to remind that there will be no SPR junior rides on 20 and 27 April as we have leaders away — check back in the following week for details when we resume!
From the Ride Coordinator — With the sun rising later in the morning, having working lights on your bike is a must.
Familiarising yourself with the route will help make the ride safer for you and the rest of the group. We have great weather again this weekend – enjoy.
IMPORTANT: We have changed the start time of our Sunday Hills rides back to our winter time of 7am. Take note 🥶
Saturday 20th April
- Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
- Early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
- All rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am
- Development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
- Transitional 1/2 – Trans Abernethy 39.96km SPR Saturday
- Fast, Main – Karrinyup 52.34km SPR Saturday
Sunday 21st April
- Rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am (WINTER TIME)
- Short – Les Obs 67.37km SPR Sunday
- Long – Wlsh Weir Zigzag 98.4km SPR Sunday
- Rides start at Coode st carpark at 7:00am (WINTER TIME)
- Development group – coffee ride
- Short Hills (Social) – Les Obs 67.37km SPR Sunday
Monday 22nd April
- Ride starts under the Narrows (Sth Perth side) at 5:30am
Tuesday 23rd April
- Ride starts under the Narrows (city side) at 5:30am
Wednesday 24th April
- Ride starts under the Narrows (Sth Perth side) at 5:30am
- Ride starts Raffles bike pathat 5:30am
- Interval training – stock road repeats
- Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
- Midweek Transitional – Trans Shelley Midweek SPR 29.58km
Thursday 25th April – Anzac Day Public Holiday
- Ride starts under the Narrows (city side) at 5:30am
- All rides start at Coode st carpark at 7:00am
- Fast, Main – Public Holiday North 65.80km SPR Special
Friday 26th April
- Ride starts under the Narrows (Sth Perth side) at 5:30am