On  New Years Day, two club members were involved in separate but serious crashes with cars. Mike Bonner broke his neck and was very close to having permanent injuries. Thankfully, Mike’s recovery so far has been a good news story. He is almost back on the bike and soon will be again pacing the club’s A graders up Welshpool rd.

Mike’s story a long segue into promoting next Sunday’s Midland 100 race, but stay with me here. Last year, on a blistering 30 degree + day, Bonner methodically tore the legs of everyone in B grade (including me) to solo clear over 100km of hills. Few have seen him more animated than when he crossed the line to win, fist pumping the air in victory.

SPR had a great day last year. Patrick S-W smashed whatever grade he was sandbagging in (to be fair, it was his first race!) and Jonno Bolton claimed 2nd in the open men.

Mike can’t defend his title this year and not because he doesn’t want to. When you think about what excuses come up not to race next weekend, think of Mike and how much he would desperately want to be there. Do it for Bonner!

Registrations close this TUESDAY 7th April and can be found here. More info on the new course arrangements are on the facebook page. Look out for the SPR tent on the day!

Do I have to mention that it is the next race in the SPR 2015 Road Race Club Championship Series?

Every March Long weekend, the Southern Forests region around Pemberton gets inundated with cyclists. Although the bushfires this year forced the cancellation of the Karri MTB cup, the Pemberton Classic was able to proceed.

Saturday afternoon’s criterium literally stops traffic. It is the hardest criterium course of the year, a punishing circuit that goes up over the main street again and again. Unfortunately, a few SPR riders came off a little worse for wear. Poor Andre was involved in an incident with (run over by) a car during his warm up. Both he and the bike were OK, it rattled him just before his C grade attempt. Rising star Matt Howlett pushed himself so far into the red in A grade, he landed in hospital and had to withdraw from the road race. I tried a long range attempt to snatch the B grade victory from the bunch but got swamped at the last corner. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

A new day brings a new race and with that a new road race season! The main feature is usually the Pump Hill climb, a three minute 7% gradient heart starter that is early in each lap. This year there was also a sprint prime on the first lap and a nasty crosswind on the course to keep everyone honest.

The B grade race was steady for the first 2 laps. Andrew Ballam thought it was “just like a Main 2 ride”, which I thought was a little disrespectful to Main 2! I attacked up Pump Hill the last time with one other rider and managed to stay away for most of the last lap before tiring into the headwind. The frantic downhill finish ended in controversy with the first 4 riders being (appropriately) disqualified for crossing the double white line as we were coming into town. I ended up 8^th, with Andrew Ballam and Toby Brown wisely staying out of trouble.

The SPR boys in A grade also had a tough day at the office. The defining break happened in the crosswind and without the big teams interested in a chase, Brian Sing had to be content with finishing in the bunch. Jonno Bolton was, as usual, the best placed SPR member in 12^th. In C grade, 2014’s most improved rider, Ben Jackson finished strongly in 5^th place while Troy Blizard couldn’t contain his emotion on getting a podium position for the first time. Well done Troy!

The SPR Chicks, in strong contrast to the men, had fantastic results. Maybe these women’s fast group rides are doing something? In A grade, Amanda Nabi was just off the podium at 4^th and Dianne McAuliffe, without the support of a team and riding in SPR colours, finished a fantastic 6^th. But the biggest congratulations go to Natalie Britz who won the B grade road race and came 2^nd in the criterium. Well done and don’t forget to write us a postcard from A grade!

Club Championship Point Ladder – Names in bold were wearing SPR club kit. Please refer to the earlier post for scoring details.

Mens

Adam Roberts  – 14 Points

Troy Blizard – 8 points

David Manners & Ben Jackson – both 6 points

Patrick Quinlan – 1 point

Womens

Amanda Nabi – 21 points

Natalie Britz – 20 points

Dianne McAuliffe – 15 points

Lorna Henson – 14 points

Sarah Duffield – 12 points

Mollie O’Connor – 2 points

For those who were not in club kit because you were waiting for your SPR kit to arrive, your Pemberton points will count for the SPR kit club champs should you win further points during the year when riding in the kit.

Congratulations to everyone involved. The next race in the SPR Road Race Club Champs is the Midland 100 on Sunday April 12. Entries are open!

The APRC, in conjunction with the SPR committee, has developed a new initiative for 2015. The intention is to encourage more of our riders to race regularly and develop a way to formally recognise outstanding achievement within our club.

As with most things, there are rules

Every year on during the March long weekend, Pemberton comes alive with top quality bike racing. The criterium on Saturday is very tough and last year’s heat made it a true test. The road race on Sunday involves a great mix of climbing up the Pump Hill climb and scenic rollers though the tall tress. Watch out for the finish!

The horrible bush fires that are still burning in the Great Southern have unfortunately forced the cancellation of the Karri MTB Cup, but the Pemberton Classic is still on!

More info is at the great website and entries can be found here. Entries close Midnight NEXT Tuesday 17th of Feb. This is 2 Tuesdays before the event… Not the usual 1! Don’t miss out!

The main challenge to participate is getting accommodation! Given it’s a long weekend, it’s often tight down there. The Pemberton Visitor Centre is there to help with last minute accommodation in the area.

Here is the kicker…

The APRC will announce next week the plans for a SPR Road Race Championship. It will be open to all SPR riders racing in graded road races this year. The Pemberton Classic is the first race of the SPR Championship, so sign up and get racing in the black and green!

Renae’s Race is an annual celebration of women’s racing in memory of Renae Baker. Now in the race’s 14th year, it has gone from strength to strength. This years edition will be next Sunday, 15th Feb 2015. It is a criterium at the Tech Park course at Bentley. The men’s races are the curtain raiser to clear the way for women to shine. There is a Come & Try ladies event that is a perfect opportunity for women riders to enjoy the thrill of the race. The main event is Women’s A grade “Renae’s Race” at 10.40am.

As an extra feel good bonus, all proceeds are donated to Heart Kids WA, a great local charity that supports children who have heart disease and their families in WA. Check out their website to see more of their great work.

Entries close online on TUESDAY NIGHT 10th Feb and can be found here. More info on Renae’s Race can be found on the RCCC website here.

If your new years resolution was to race your bike more, then the time to start is now! The first in a series of twilight criterium races at Claremont Showgrounds through Jan and Feb is this Wednesday night, 7/1/15.
It couldn’t be easier… Check the Facebook page for details, rock up via Gate 5 on Graylands Rd, pay $20 entry fee (plus license if you haven’t bought a 2015 SPR membership) and race for cold hard cash and your own leaders yellow jersey. No pre registration required.

The good news for the ladies is dedicated and separate women’s categories (subject to numbers) for A/B & C/D grades, just like the Smashfest crits at Tech Park.

See you out there in the black, white and green!

SPR had great success at the recently completed Smashfest 2 crit series at Tech Park. There were lots of SPR members up on the podium and a couple of great wins! Congratulation to everyone who pinned on a number and thanks to all the volunteers!

The racing focus now shifts to the last race before Xmas, The Yanchep National Park Challenge – THIS SUNDAY – run by Northern Beaches Cycling Club. The new course is a tough but scenic loop in the beautiful Yanchep National Park. The NBCC supports lots of SPR events and we really encourage as many members as possible to participate!  More information is here.

Entries close TUESDAY NIGHT (9/12/14) AT MIDNIGHT. Registrations can be found here.

On a separate note, this Thursday will be the last criterium training session this year. The newly announced Total Travel WA Twilight Series, comprising several mid week crits at the Claremont Showgrounds, will probably replace our Thursday night crit training in the new year. As the best coaches say, racing is the best training!

Our crit training welcomes all riders of all abilities with a structured hit out focusing on specific criterium skills such as cornering, attacking and sprinting. It is at 7pm at Mordaunt Circuit, Canning Vale. Check out the previous post for more details.