Last weekend with a sophomore appearance, SPR again staged the revival of “The Beverley” –  a 114km handicapped Road Race on an out and back course starting and finishing in Beverley township. First, a bit of history……

This year marks 120 years since the very first running of what became “The Beverley”. That’s 120 years of WA cycling legacy we’ve been entrusted to care-take, and as one of the youngest Cycling Clubs in WA. Something we’ve taken on wholeheartedly.

This year a mighty field size of 170 entries including 37 female entrants, and a lot of SPR green, made up our peloton. Starting at 12:07 with the Limit group at 44 minutes we saw 14 groups in all hit the course. And it was a hot day out there. Very hot. 31 deg in October…… seriously?!?! Under the Handicap format, groups are “graded” according to their previous race average speeds, and matched up as start groups. As the early groups were caught and absorbed by the faster groups, there were riders some popped off the back, and some made to work harder to stay on.

At the turnaround point, it appeared that the pace had been pretty fierce in some groups. A mix of the 31, 33 and 36 minute groups seemed to be working together strongly, and held off the fastest groups on their tail. While the Scratch group were yet to get within sight of the leaders on the road, the Commissaire’s radio reports indicated there wasn’t a lot of cooperation in the chasing groups.

At the 18km to go mark, the Commissaires announced it looked unlikely Scratch group would catch the leaders, and it started to get exciting out on the road. At the Finish line there were radio updates coming through: “There’s a small group breaking away at 10km to go”; “There’s a solo break getting away at 6km to go”; “It looks like he’s clear over the top of Lennard Hill”.

And he was. Roger Blow from the Cove Legal team had got clear and rolled in for the win. Solo. Fifteen seconds back saw Anthony Smithson (also of Cove Legal), Michael Morris, Peter Hammond and SPR’s Adam Ralph sprint in for second through fifth from the chase group of seven. A group that also included SPR’s Yaro Volkov. First Woman was won by Ruth Murdie from East Goldfields CC, and First over 45yo went to Antony Smithson. Fastest time on the day went to Logan Calder with 2:36:16 – at an average speed of 43.77km/hr!!

There are heaps of great photos available to view and purchase. Search out Zac Willams (ZW Photography on FaceBook) and Daniela Tommasi (official event snapper). Check them out, buy some killer shots.

For the inside view we have invited a few of the SPR racers to contribute a Race Report – Debbie Bertolatti 5^th in Womens D grade, Faye Dalglish-Jones 5^th in Womens C and Adam Ralph 5^th overall.

Debbie Bertolatti

It came as a complete surprise to learn I’d placed 5th in the women’s D grade at Beverley. A few weeks ago I’d signed up for this event to gain experience for TOMR having never raced 100kms nonstop.

It was the perfect testing ground to see where my fitness was sitting and more importantly the mental endurance needed to push on when all you want to do is stop.

As Saturday the 14th dawned we were greeted with blue skies and the first really hot day of 30 degrees. After a pleasant drive to Beverley it was wonderful to be greeted by all the SPR volunteers which helped allay the nerves somewhat. With registration done it was time to head off to the muster area for the riders briefing and head off to the start line for a 12pm start.

The D grade women’s group was fairly small with about 8-9 in total, we set off at a comfortable pace with some good roll throughs happening. The first 20kms of the race were the toughest for me as the heat of the day felt intense and there was a slight headwind and that little devil on my shoulder started whispering “if you’re struggling already there’s no way you’ll finish”!

But than something happened I’d made a promise to a team mate that we would ride together and I knew she was suffering more than me. If there is one thing I’ve learned from SPR is there has always been an angel in green for me when I’ve wanted to quit or thought I couldn’t do it. If it’s been “the look” from David Menarry, a wheel from Faye Daglish or a helpful push from Peter Mah.

It was my turn to pay it forward and well…suck it up! By the halfway point it was hurting with cramping in my feet probably due to the heat but thankfully we had some cloud cover and a much appreciated tailwind.
Rationing of hydration and gels was crucial as many riders had hit the wall by this stage.

The last 10kms into Beverley with one last small climb were fantastic and to see the finish line sweet relief.
The encouragement on the day was amazing from every SPR rider that yelled out as they sailed past to every support vehicle with hoots and waves.

I knew I hadn’t finished the race in a particularly good time but more importantly I was able to support a fellow club member and feel much more confident about ToMR. I felt surprisingly good after 114kms in the saddle so good in fact I’ll be back next year!!

Faye Dalglish-Jones

The day started with a cruisey drive through lovely soft green hills into the town of Beverley. After a cold & wet few months & all the recent rain we had been having, race day looked like it was going to be a hot one.

In fact, according to my Garmin, it was a cracking 42 degrees when we started just after mid-day (Note to self, next time bring your camel pack). The route was a straight out & back ride (114kms) with a few lumps thrown in for good measure. I started tentatively due to the heat, not wanting to over cook myself too early.

I spent most of the ride attempting to work with groups coming through (ok it was more like just hanging on). It was great to see Meegan’s friendly face along the way & she really helped me out. A highlight was when Jon came through with a bunch of guys and for a time we were doing 55km and it felt easy, for a brief moment.

I still did a fair bit of time solo, riding as aerodynamically as I could to conserve energy but when fatigue hit, I felt more like an out of balance washing machine.

Whilst still being new to racing, the best bits for me, were the words of encouragement & the offers of taking a wheel from many friendly SPR faces. It really spurred me on & made the ride so much more enjoyable.  A seriously big thank you to all those that spent so many hours organizing the event, and for all those who volunteered on the day and some even the next day.

It truly is an amazing club!

Adam Ralph

Did that really just happen?  Nah, must be delusional, heat stress clouding my thinking, need water … I think I did ok, pretty happy to have finished with the first group … “What’s that Ginny, fifth?”  How??? … Wow!!!  That’s incredible … One of the best feelings ever!

Whilst my day finished on the highest possible note, it certainly didn’t start that way!  This was to be my third ever race and my only reason for entering, my only objective, was to learn more about race craft.  It was time to overcome my hesitations, pin on a number and give it my best.  Well, sort of my best.  I’d been traveling during the week, not training whilst away, eating ok but not great, and flight delays meant about four hours sleep on Friday night.  Plus, I was committed to riding with my son on Saturday morning for his first ever taste of SPR (supporting his interest was a higher priority for me than my race).  A nice steady Trannies Ride turned bad when Ash went down hard (so glad that he’s ok!), and the awesome support by Leigh, Bree and everyone else went straight into action.  After getting Ash into the Ambo, my son and I had to hi-tail it home so I could get to Beverley.  Running really late, would I make it on time?  Panda sorted the rego, Ginny and Sarah kept me moving, and I was almost dressed as Cathi called us to the start pen.  Wow, talk about cutting it fine!

After a casual roll to the start line, chatting to Doug and Glenn, I was already huffing and puffing!  Glad for the rest, I immediately felt reassured by the strong SPR presence. A bit of banter with David and Ross, chatting to Alan, waving to Faye and Meegan, allowed the morning’s chaos to dissipate and the pre-race nerves to stay away.  Still, it was hot and I knew it was going to be tough.  Dr J provided a reassuring presence and my wife offered moral support.

Wow, so lucky to be part of the SPR family … What a great group, I hope I can learn from this experience and race like these guys.

Niceties concluded, off we rolled.  It was hot … very hot.  It was fast … very fast.  And it was really, really hard!!!  The group started to work together at the front, then stopped, and then started again.  A few of the stronger riders worked hard to maintain the roll throughs, and whilst it took some encouragement for some others, those that could did, those that couldn’t genuinely couldn’t and would eventually be shelled.  I was burning matches rapidly.  Cooperation and working together was the key.

Do your turns, not too much, not too little,  keep playing your role. Watch for the group accelerating when rejoining at the back of the train.  C’mon Al, dig deep buddy … Argh, watch the pacing, learn and don’t get caught out and get gapped.  Focus, Aaron has already punctured, hang in there and focus, racing is said to be unpredictable.

It was still fast and hot.  With our group working well and keeping a rapid pace, we hunted down earlier groups.  Soon we’d caught all of the riders ahead of us, picked up some that were really strong (I think first and fourth were from earlier groups), and approaching the turn I was feeling ok.  Hoping for tailwind on way home, it started to feel great just after the turn.  Not sure if it was downhill, downwind or purely psychological.  Either way, it was really hurting again by 70 kms. I kept trying to hang in there, doing what I could when it was my turn and recovering when I could.  A solo break went off the front but we kept a cohesive pattern.  Let him bury himself and we can still catch him.  It took another 25kms before he came back into range!  Then a rider (second place getter) bridged over whilst his mate sat on the front slowing us down (the ultimate winner).  One unsuccessful chase down, some frustration in the group and I decided to try to close down the break.

“C’mon fellas, he’s protecting his mate and not working. We’ve got to go around him!”  Go hard and deep, great, got them.  OK, that’s me done.  Go get them Yaro, you’re smashing it mate!  I just need to try and hang in there a bit longer, don’t let them get away, hold that wheel.  A little bit longer.  No one’s going to catch us now, just go as long as you can.

It was a proper race now, attacks firing off the front, the group closing them down … exciting to watch and incredible to be part of it.  The end came around very quickly after the bridge, having let the winner get away to a strong lead.  Nearing the line I sat in third wheel readying myself to wind up.  I timed it as best I could, went around and gave it everything, only to watch two on the outside plus one more on the inside best me. All very deserving to do so, they were stronger and I had nothing more

Key learning: my sprint really, really needs work. Crits will be a great place to learn more.  This group worked so incredibly well together, that allowed us all to have a great race.

The hugest thanks and kudos to Greg, the SPR Committee and the dozens of selfless volunteers that made it such a professional and well organized event.  Finally, many thanks to my loving family for tolerating my Lycra fetish, SPR Ride buddies for pushing and supporting me, and my wonderful Soigneur wife for everything!  If you haven’t pinned on a number yet, why not give it a try?  You just never know how it might go.

Photo Gallery

So as el Prez noted in the weekly blog, it appears SPR purchasing a Van may not be sufficient already – we now may need to budget for a private jet to get our members to races in the numbers we saw competing in Lorne, Victoria at Amy’s Gran Fondo! #squadgoals, eh?

We have a few race reports to offer from the SPR Crew, and there were some crackingly good, and truly heart-warming results out ther -. Stuart Gee pipped on the line for a 3rd (by Gary Boylan AGAIN!),  Luke Ellis 6th in hotly contested 34-39 Men (riding for DOME),  Claire Tyrrell 4th just behind Laurensia in 19-34 Women, Amanda Nabi 4th 40-44 Women and Paul George beating out Robbie McEwen in the sprint home.

There are all the results on the Amy’s Gran Fondo website, with times and qualification for the Worlds, available here for your perusal. You will find quite few of our SPRouleurs with a “Q”!

What’s also awesome – SPR racers David Menarry and Peter Wilshaw, who both paid up to race at Amy’s this year prior to their crashes and serious bone breakages headed over anyway and offered support to the Green army. Clubmen? Hell yassss.

Laurensia Rosana – 3rd place Womens 19-34 years

After racing in the ‘Tour de Bintan’ race in March, I didn’t know what my next goal would be. That was until the announcement of the next UCI World Gran Fondo championship being held in Italy next year! Well I have never been to Europe before, so thought to myself, why not try to qualify at Amy’s Gran Fondo? After a discussion with my coach Toby Brown, my training was under way.

My training involved improving skills in handicap racing and endurance training. The mock handicap races every Sunday with the Strive and SPR club members raised my awareness on how to jump from one group to another, positioning myself, measuring my limit, practising my diet on a long ride and highlighting areas I should be working on. On top of this, I did strength training at the gym due to my on-going struggle after a lower back injury. It has not been smooth sailing but I collected my dividend from the hard training on race day.

On the race day, I was early on the start line and feeling nervous. The race pressure kept on building up as time ticked away to 830 am. Then the race went underway. The peloton consisted of men & women aged 19-34. Shortly after 500 metres, we started the first climb which was approximately 10 kms long. The male group swept us through pretty quickly. I tried to keep up with the pace but looking down at my power meter, I would not be able to hold on for long. As the peloton started fading away, I looked around where my female competitors were. I noted only 3 who were around my pace and none was in the peloton ahead. I was determined not to let them go, I kept up for most of 1^st climb, but eventually dropped off as I struggled to keep up. “Damn it!” I thought. I had to work harder to catch them in the next 110 kms!

I then rode with a small group of riders until we hit the flat section. A big peloton passed by and I jumped on to this group. I could keep up with the pace which was great. I managed to reserve as much energy as I could before the start of 2^nd climb. I also looked around in the peloton and thought “yes! I saw the top 3 girls”. I felt really positive and determined to not let them go! The 2^nd climb then started. My legs felt pretty good so I pushed on.

Slowly and steadily I caught up with these girls. I was not paying attention until I was over the 2^nd climb. Then I realised “hang on a minute, where are these girls? Am I ahead of them? I think I am!!” So I just pushed on even more until the last 40 kms. It was headwind along Great Ocean Road towards Lorne and I was alone – I knew I was in trouble. I held steady pace until a small peloton caught up to me. My body was aching from the hard efforts I put in. Moving from one rider to the next and jumping to different peloton drained me significantly. I was just hanging on by a thread. At 20 kms to go, some female riders passed me and when crossing the finish line, I was with few female riders. I was not sure on my placing and already let go of my hope for qualifying. I had a big sigh but also felt relieved when I rolled across the line. “Glad that was over” I thought.

One of great things about this event is that if you are top 25% of your age group, you will be notified immediately via SMS. I quickly stopped and checked my phone. I got the SMS! YAY!!! I am qualified to go Italy next year! The funny thing was that I did not check further on my placing until I got back to my accommodation and had a shower. I actually got 3^rd place on my age group which in hindsight I probably knew but did not want to believe it. I also missed the medal presentation altogether! I could only laugh and cried a little. I never thought in my life that I would actually get a podium placing in this type of events. I suppose my hard yard finally pays off.

Thanks again to Toby Brown, Peter Mah and Strivettes my training buddies for your support. This would never be possible without your involvement! Here is for another year of training and Italy here I come!

Peter Lander – Long Time Fan, First Time Amy’s Racer

I remember it was about this time last year, at the coffee shop after ‘Stockies’ that a few of us started to talk about Amy’s Gran Fondo 2017. As people started to register for Amy’s I made the commitment to go and dared to dream that I might be able to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo in Varese, Italy in 2018.

Training for Amy’s was less than perfect as it started to rain in July and there seemed to be few and far fine days. Nevertheless, I joined the Amy’s Replica riding group on three Sunday mornings to get a taste of the climbing and distance. By the third ride I was feeling confident that I could complete the Amy’s course in a reasonable time.

Then all too soon the day arrived for flying out to Melbourne. Getting to Lorne at about 4.00pm, Meegan and Faye, following their coaches instructions set off for a short ride with Greg (DG) in tow, I decided to follow my own training plan and relaxed. The beautiful town of Lorne clings to a narrow strip of coastline and behind the town where the houses are built is up. Our house was no different, being located on the course and the start of the 4 to 5 per cent 10km climb to the top of the scarp. A bonus of course was the sensational views from the balcony over the treetops and coastline.

A Rouleurs ride had been organised for the Friday morning, meeting at the bakery for coffee and then doing the 10km climb together. It had rained the night before and the skies were looking decidedly unfriendly. Nevertheless, about twenty of us took to the hill in cold and wet conditions. My housemates, again following their training plan, had a rest day and drove the course. On the ride down from the top there was more rain and all I could think about was a hot beverage in the warmth of the café.

On Saturday Vanessa Johnson had booked lunch at the Airey’s Inlet pub about 20km from Lorne and over fifty Rouleurs and partners packed out their back room. After that it was back into town to soak up of the atmosphere with some five thousand riders taking over Lorne as well as catching a bit of the action from the NRS women’s and men’s criterium races around the town circuit.

At last it was Sunday, the day of the main race. Getting up that morning the first thing I did was to check out the weather and it was blue skies and little breeze. He weather gods had turned on a beautiful day, albeit it was going to be cold start. Bikes were given a final check over and we made our way down into town from our house. It was a brilliant sight with thousands of riders packing out the main street in Lorne waiting for the starter to send them on their way. Most of the Rouleurs were in SPR kit and there were lots of smiles and hugs all round, photographs being taken and club members encouraging each other to do their best and have a safe ride. In my age category there were only forty four riders and I figured it was going to be tough to qualify for the UCI, but I would give it a crack anyway.

There were only a couple of minutes between each group and it was not long before the slower riders from other groups were being passed as we did the 10km climb. For me it was a matter of finding a bunch of riders that I could stay in touch with and jumping to the bunch in front if they were too slow and being picked up by the group behind if I got dropped. After coming down from the first climb we came into the hinterland with farms and rolling hills. The next stage was more challenging through the Otway National Park with some of the major climbs of the race. I managed to pace myself with a couple of other riders until we got to the final climb. Descending to the coast at Apollo Bay was nothing short of sensational with breathtaking views of the coastline and forest. Once at Apollo Bay we had 40 km of coast road back to Lorne.

There were hundreds of riders on the Great Ocean Road and often in large groups, and while closed to traffic I found it hard to get into a rhythm as you tended to be captive of the dynamics of the group. I did not know my position in my age category. Finally the finish line came into view and I was cheered on by Rouleurs who had finished earlier with bells and shouts of congratulations. My official time was 4 hours 8 mins and 30 seconds – 8 minutes slower than the last qualifier. The fastest qualifier in my age group was 3 hours 30 minutes; unbelievable!

While there were no major crashes, there were a few incidents. Someone brought down half a dozen riders, including Jeremy O and while not badly hurt it affected his overall time. Heiko was the author of his own misfortune when he stuffed his gilet under the back of his jersey, only to unzip it a while later and have his gilet fall out and wrap itself around his derailleur which prematurely ended his race. Fortunately he was not hurt, but the bike suffered some major damage.

As our riders came in and got their official times it was really pleasing to see how many riders qualified for the UCI. The Rouleurs across all age categories, both males and females were fantastic ambassadors for the club and their achievements speak for themselves with podium finishes and  so many qualifying. Post-race it was off to the Lorne Hotel to share stories and relax with all the SPR crew. I have no doubt that many of us will be back next year to do Amy’s again and for or me personally I will be aiming to get under that 4 hour mark. Congratulations again to all those who qualified and I hope to see many of the same faces back in Lorne in 2018.

Sarah Fitton – Hitter; 3rd place Womens 35-39 years

Last year at Amy’s Gran Fondo I was in pretty good form, given my recent return from European summer and endless mountains. But good results in racing don’t just require good fitness, they also require a bit of racing experience, good positioning and knowing when you really need to burn the matches. I finished fourth, just a second or two behind second and third and a place on the podium.

This year I returned a little smarter, a little bit stronger, although probably not as fit, with the aim to be on the podium. My race was far from perfect, but my aim was to position myself well in bunches and really push myself to stick with the fast bunch over the short power climbs which had dropped me last year, left me isolated and lost me time.

Andrew Ballam’s group swept me up a while after the first climb and descent. I absolutely busted my guts to stick with them. Which I did ……. until just before the second climb……. In the process taking “Top 10” Strava cups throughout this whole section, which is testament to how fast they were going!

In the closing 3kms of the race, a big group, including Amanda Nabi, swept me up and I spent the next few minutes trying to work out if there was anyone there from my age group – nope.

So I rolled across the line without having to contest a sprint, knowing there was at least one female ahead of me but hoping not more than two others – the rider I knew was ahead of me finished a minute ahead of me so I managed to grab third and get my podium spot.

Expressions of Interest are Open………………… and closing soon.

Thank you to those members who have responded and attended the first of the two EOI sessions at Dome. It was great to see the turn out, and a selection of some ToMR first timers too!

These sessions are to give up-front information on logistics, costs, expectations with your nomination and to establish some ground rules for the Squad. Club Volunteers give up dozens of hours of time to organise this annual event – it is expected nominees give back a little in return and as noted in the previous post:

• ToMR is a commitment – if you nominate you need to commit to the event
• Nominees are expected to volunteer as support at one SPR event this year
• We are creating a #SQUAD initially, with graded teams to be selected from the squad by the APRC
• Expected to attend group ToMR sessions and race at lead up events (such as Collie-Donnybrook, Pinjara Classic, Beverley Handicap RR) to assist in grading teams and getting race experience for some of our newer racers.

To nominate for the SPR ToMR teams:

• Email your EOI with your name and mobile number to race@southperthrouleurs.com.au; AND
• Attend the EOI session at Dome Westralia Plaza after Saturday Main Rides at 09:30 am this week.

The SECOND AND FINAL EOI session is on this weekend at Dome, starting at 09:30  at the outside tables.

SPR Squad announcements to follow!