As we have seen the past couple of years, alongside the National Road Championships being held in Kings Park, there is an opportunity for us non-elites to compete in the Gran Fondo on the same course. Last year this event sold our fast and entries opened for earlybird access at 10am this morning. I missed out last year and eventually got in via a transfer from another rider who had injured themselves. They couldn’t release any more spots as their insurance only covered up to the limit, so it became a bit of a scramble towards the end. This year I have climbed out of my death bed to make sure I didn’t miss out.
There are, however, a couple of changes that may affect which race you do as they are also offering a short course version. The Gran Fondo National Championship (long course) takes in 6 laps of the same circuit raced on the last two years. To be able to enter this event you need to have a Race or Club licence. A non-competitive Ride licence is not enough and no day licences are available for this race. If you want to be eligible for a national champs jersey, podium and medal, you need to have a Race licence. A Club level licence only allows you to race in club level events and as this is a National Championship, to be eligible you need a Race licence. You can enter on a Club licence, and if you think you will finish off the podium, then this will be all you need.
The short course race covers 2 laps of the same course and you do not need to be an Auscycling member to enter, but you get a discount if you are. The other difference is the age limits, where you need to be 15+ for the short course and 17+ for the long course.
Luckily you can get all the different licence types by becoming a member of our club and a visit to our membership page outlines the different types. If you have any questions about becoming a member, please contact the club or reach out to a committee member after one of our rides. It is important to note, that even though AusCycling offers a monthly payment, the commitment is for a year and you cannot just cancel your membership after the event.
Last year to assist in people training for the Gran Fondo, we ran a series of training sessions in the months leading up to the event. We will be doing the same again this year, and these will be open to everyone whether members of SPR or not. More details will come out soon on the specifics of each session, but basically there will be a Women’s only session on Tuesday morning in Kings Park, a Friday three lap session and a Sunday full six lap session.
The Tuesday Women’s session will concentrate on building confidence on the main climbs, while the Friday/Sunday sessions will be race-pace with regroups. Again the Fri/Sun sessions will regroup to neutralise the riders on Mounts Bay Road to minimise the risk of solo bikes dodging morning traffic.
This coming January is the last official year for the Nationals being held in Perth. Organising racing in Kings Park is costly and not something that can easily be activated without a lot of financial support. This may be our last chance for a while, so make sure you jump on board while you can as SPR has you covered for licence requirements as well as training.
From the Committee
As previously mentioned, we will start to communicate out the broad areas that are discussed at the committee meetings that take place every 6 weeks or so. They are hosted at one of the committee members’ house and items are tabled in advance so that good active discussion can take place. If there is something that you think needs to be discussed and implemented by the committee for the club as a whole, please reach out to one of the committee members.
Event Information
2026 and 2027 international trips –
SPR is again looking to organise trips overseas after the success of ones to the Italian & Swiss Alps 2025 and The Grand Alps France 2024.
Please complete this brief EOI for the tour
Note: no SPR member nor the club benefit from the organising of these trips – it is intended to extend the cycling experience with fellow cyclists
Tour de Cowaramup 18th Oct –
The Tour de Cowaramup charity road bike event is on again this year on Sunday 18 th October. Three distances 60km (piccolo), 85km (medio) and 130km (gran) with funds going to assist men suffering from Prostate Cancer.
Start/ finish: Juniper Estate
Register for normal entry $125 until 30th September, then late registration $145-$180. If no SPR team already established when you go to register, please set up a SPR team based on the distance eg SPR-Gran, SPR-Medio or SPR-Piccolo so others can join you.
We have booked accommodation for three nights at the Leeuwin Apartments as per last year; in Friday 16th October out Monday 19th October 2026. This is now currently full with those who have already put in an EOI. However, in case there is a cancellation or enough new interest, we could book another apartment but would need to know soon via this EOI. Note shorter stays cost the same price. Please contact Carol or Danielle via comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au for more info.
Upcoming Racing
- WCMCC Rockingham Crit (13 Sep)
- MCC Pickering Brook Road Race (20 Sep)
- MCC Midland Traders 100 Road Race (25 Oct)
- AusCycling WA Road State Champs (1 Nov)
- ATTA Earlybird 1 (3 Nov)
- MCC Pickering Brook Road Race (22 Nov)
- AusCycling Gran Fondo National Championship (10 Jan)
Juniors
Last week we had another enjoyable ride around the Canning River Regional Park and along the Roe Highway. Hugh continues to make very impressive progress in his training, showing great improvement in his confidence, riding skills and overall endurance.
Due to a quite uncertain weather forecast we will not have our usual ride for the U11s. However the weather should be good for the club ride early in the morning. So our U17 and U15 juniors are invited to join our main club rides from Coode St car park (South Perth) at 7am. I will be there supervising them.
Please check our WhatsApp SPR junior channel for any last minute call. If you are not in the group chat, please let me know if you would like to be included.
Events coming up:
Race: Pickering Brook #1 on 20/9/2026. Registrations: https://entryboss.cc/races/31952
Bike It To Ballidu on 27/9: if you will be going to the gravel event in September, please sign up choosing “SPR team” as your team. The event has several options including short distances for the juniors (11.7km is the shortest ride you can participate in). Check here: https://ballidugravel.com.au/rides/
From the Ride Coordinator
It is always great to see a large turnout in club colours. Be seen in green.
At SPR, we encourage all riders to familiarise themselves with the planned route before joining a group ride. Not knowing the next turn can increase the risk of accidents — for you and others in the group.
Saturday 5th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) 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
Transition: Trans Abernethy 39.96km SPR Saturday
Fast & Main: Abernethy Rd 48.21km SPR Saturday
Coffee – Dome Westralia Plaza, Perth City
(*) Please note that our Ride Leaders will adjust the composition and route for Development, Transition and Main 4 to suit people and conditions on the day.
Sunday 6th September
Rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am
Social River Loop – approx. 50km
Short Hills (Social): Welsh Falls Repat MWR 74.76km SPR Sunday
Short Hills: Welsh Falls Repat MWR 74.76km SPR Sunday
Long Hills: Wlsh Obs Cam Goose 86.02km SPR Sunday
Coffee – SnL,Victoria Park
Monday 7th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
Currently no ride scheduled – stay tuned for a new Monday ride
Tuesday 8th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) at 5:30am
Two groups – solid roll through vs relaxed pace
SPR Tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
Coffee – Steamlab, Applecross
Ride starts at 6:30am at Koorak Kings Park Cafe Car Park
Main 4/Transitional/Novice
Kings Park laps at own pace, coffee at 7:30am
Coffee – Koorak, Kings Park
Wednesday 9th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
No drop recovery ride
SPR Wednesday 35.3km (2023 Edition)
Coffee – Little Horn, Applecross
Thursday 10th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) at 5:30am
Three groups fast paced roll-throughs
SPR Thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
Coffee – Steamlab, Applecross
Friday 11th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
SPR Friday Alternate 38.43km (Shelley)
Coffee – Hoopla, Kensington