Bikeline Racing

Synergy Park Crit Racing - 4th July 2010

On Sunday, Raf, Bob and Jon raced C grade at Synergy Park, Brisbane.  Raf won and picked up the preem while Jon picked up second.  Bob finished close behind in the bunch.

Jacob raced A grade and finished in 6th place in a bunch sprint which was won by Peter Thomson of Virgin Blue.  Impressive ride by Jacob.

Metro Champs May 2010

The Metro Champs were held on the weekend of the 29^th and 30^th May and were hosted by Balmoral Cycling Club. The first day consisted of a Criterium held at Murarrie Sports Centre and a Road Race at Mt Alford near Boonah.

Jacob Mouatt and Alex Head represented Bikeline Racing in Elite B and the Elite C representatives were Justin Eastwell and Peter Collins. This was the first weekend that the new kits were worn to a senior open event and they were to feature prominently at the pointy end of the races.

B grade were first to go on Saturday with 40 minutes and two laps around the Murarrie circuit. The track was still damp but was drying out. The boys were hiding well in the pack for the first half of the race and then started to make their move as the race wore on. As the 3 laps to go was given the boys were well positioned in the first dozen riders but on the last corner Alex was given the shoulder and found he was out in the grass. Jacob managed to hold his position to finish in the top ten.

Peter and Justin were to do 35 minutes plus two laps in their race. The conditions seemed good as the track was drying out but only due to the increasing wind. As Peter was feeling the effects of a severe head cold, the plan was for him to stay sheltered out of the wind. Justin was helping dictate the pace at the front of the pack and helped to close down any breakaways that formed. All was going well until the rain started to fall at about the 30 minute mark. Both Justin and Peter were well positioned on the last lap but it was Peter that managed to breakaway from the field in the sprint to the line to take 1^st place and Justin finishing with the bunch.

Sunday brought us to Mt Alford, where near cyclonic winds were blowing. With both B and C grade to do 4 laps of the undulating course for a total of 94km it was not going to be a pleasant day in the saddle.

C grade were first to go and the idea was to sit with the bunch as it was highly unlikely that any break would be successful due to the windy conditions. On the fourth lap the bunch was broken on the last pinch and with approximately 14 riders breaking away. All was going to plan on the final kilometres’ into the finish with Justin setting the tempo to ensure there were no attempted breaks whilst protecting Peter from the wind.

The sprint started early with 500m to go and Peter was in the front from the start and was able to hold on for his second 1^st place in two days. Justin managed to come in and take 5^th place. After taking out the Oakey Two Day and now the Metro Champ, no doubt Peter will be racing Elite B next race.

The Elite B boys had their work cut out for them with many competitive teams racing in their grade. From the start the other teams were constantly attacking and by the third lap Alex was to retire with severe cramps. Jacob was holding his position in the bunch and making sure he was near the front of the group at all times. Once again due to the conditions no breakaways were successful so it came down to a bunch sprint and Jacob was able to take out 6^th place. An awesome effort against some tough competition.

Bikeline Racing TT Results - 24th April 2010 

Mt Kynock & Goombungee Race Weekend - 10-11th April 2010

MT KYNOCK KOM - SATURDAY 10TH APRIL 2010

Once again a reasonable turnout for the test of truth from Harlaxton to Highfields. Aero helmets, disc wheels and skinsuits made an appearance which indicates how serious some riders are treating this race. With weather conditions near perfect, most riders made an improvement on their times from the last race in November 2009.

The times of some riders clearly indicated the need to bump them up a grade for Sundays Road Race!!

A Grade
1. Pete Collins 11:53
2. Damien Nielsen 12:10
3. Jimmy Pauli 12:43
4. Peter Bennett 12:57

B Grade
1. Jacob Mouatt 12:05
2. Alex Head 12:08
3. Joe Millican (Lifecycle) 12:15
4. Ben Southey (TCC) 12:25
5. Ashley Seawright (TCC) 13:11
6. Lex Greenhaugh (Sun Coast CC) 13:42
7. Andy Gordon            13:44

C Grade
1. Dustin Van der Nek 13:08
2. Lou Gordon (TCC) 13:23
3. Peter Mouatt 13:25
4. Chris Head 14:05
5. Wayne Patching (TCC) 14:27
6. John Osbourne (TCC) 15:08
7. Lachlan Head - U/15 16:24

GOOMBUNGEE ROAD RACE - SUNDAY 11TH APRIL 2010

The weather gods were smiling on Bikeline again with perfect weather conditions for Sundays Road Race. Across the three grades, 32 riders fronted up to to tackle the ever-popular course. After Saturdays times the Platinum Health boys were bumped to A Grade which in turm made it one of the largest and most evenly contested A grade fields we have had with 11 riders. C Grade also had a large field with 13 riders contesting. Next race some of them will find themselves in B grade no doubt.

A Grade
1. Pete Collins
2. Dan Macpherson (TCC)
3. Gary Kristensen (HPRW)

B Grade
1. Simon Genrich (TCC)
2. Ashley Seawright (TCC)
3. Doug Graham

C Grade
1. Dustin Van der Nek
2. Lou Gordon (TCC)
3. Rob Free

A big thank you to all riders for riding safely and competitvely and an extra big THANK YOU to John, Kent, Nick, Flora, Jo, Renato and Stewart for volunteering over the weekend. We cannot hold races without the invaluable support of volunteers

Track State Titles - February 2010

Division 4 Men Sprint (Qualification) - Brian Schmacker 11.27 State Record

Division 4 Sprint (Final) - 1st Brian Schmacker, 3rd Karl Morris

Division 4 Men 666m Time Trial (Final) - 1st Brian Schmacker 47.85, 2nd Karl Morris 47.93

Division 4 Scratch Race (Final) - 2nd Karl Morris

Congratulations to Brian and Karl at the recent titles.  More medals to add to the already impressive collection.

Oakey 2 Day Event - 13-14th February 2010

Peter Collins represented Bikeline Racing in C-Grade.  Peter had a good start to the weekend by placing 3rd in the Crit event.  There was some wild riding in the sprint for the line where Peter was block and could have protested but decided not to.  The weekend only got better when on Sunday he broke away from the field on the last lap to claim 1st in the Road Race.  Jimmy Pauli had a blinder run in B-Grade with some of that old form returning.  He placed 5th on the Saturday Crit event which is hopefully a sign of things to come in 2010.

State Track Champs - 12-15th December 2009 

Peter Bennett represented Bikeline Racing at the Queensland Senior Track Championships in Townsville.  Peter competed in the Elite Men's Keirin and Sprint events.  Peter's best result came in the sprint event where he got through to the bronze medal round with Cairns compeditor, Ivan Cook. Pete took the first race with a time of 11.87.  Ivan then took the second sprint in 13.01.  The deciding sprint saw Peter back up with a similar time in the first and securing the bronze medal in a time of 11.92.  Peter also participated in the Keirin where he got through to the repecharge round where he narrowly missed out on going through to the final.  Well done Peter.

Team Time Trial 13th Dec '09 - By Matt Hickey

The idea behind the event was to have a Licensed, Social, Female & Junior rider in the teams composition and finish with your whole team.  I will let you decide who the female members were in some of the teams!  The Mo Go's rode a little further after missing the turn-around point but did well to keep calm and still put in a very good time.  The first team may have also left a team member behind with a flat in order to go for gold.  At least you know who your friends are John.

UCI World Championships 2009 - by Brian Schmacker

The second event in Sydney was the UCI World Championships. Most of the track cyclists consider this more important than the World Masters Games. There were a lot more serious competitors in Sydney for this event.
It’s hard to explain all the intricacies of sprint racing but I’ll try and explain some of the detail. Unlike sprints in most other sports with cycling the fastest rider does not always win. Using better techniques and tactics a slightly slower rider might win a sprint and with a bit of luck a slower rider can defeat a considerably faster opponent.

My first race was on Monday the 19th October, the 750m Time Trial. I actually only entered this race to have a ride but had no intention of being competitive. My stated intention was to ride a time between 56 and 57 seconds. The winning time was an exhausting 50.3 while I rode a comfortable 56.5 seconds to finish in the lower half of the field.

The Sprints
On Thursday the sprints started. This is what I was in Sydney for.

2:00pm, Event 81: qualifying for the sprint.
Each rider enters the track solo with three and a half laps to go. A time is taken over the last 200m. Riders choose the ‘line’ they ride to approach the start of the timed 200m. I think everyone else is wrong so out of the 32 entrants for the sprint I have a unique line approaching the 200m. The fastest 24 riders progress to the next round, the first fastest rides #24, #2 rides #23 etc. Jeff Stoker, winner of the World Masters Games Sprint was the fastest qualifier with a world record time of 11.111 seconds; I was second with a time of 11.26. Even though I didn’t win I still think everyone else is wrong.

1/16 final
As second qualifier I was due to race #24, due to a withdrawal I only had to present to the line ready to race, rode half a lap and progressed to the next round. That was easy.
9:30 pm, Event 98: the 1/8 final
The 1/8 finals are ‘sudden death’, winner progresses to the next round, loser to the repechage. This would be a bit harder; my opponent was Peter Barnard a previous World Masters Champion.  I ‘drew’ the bottom of the track which meant I was required to lead for the first half lap and for the first lap Peter was happy to follow. Then the Cat and Mouse started. First he tried to get underneath me and get to the lead, I blocked him, and then he accelerated hard round the bank over the top of me. I thought, if you want the lead that bad with two laps to go, have it. I happily followed for half a lap then drew Peter toward the top of the bank when he momentarily looked away from me, I turned my bike sharply down the steep bank, was underneath and in front with just over 250m to go. For the last lap I gently accelerated the bike to keep Peter behind me. That was my day over. I got home around 11:00, had some dinner and tried to get some sleep; tomorrow would be a big day.

Friday 23 October.
To be at the velodrome warmed up and ready to race by 9:00am I had to leave my accommodation well before 7:00. This meant up and active before 6:00. I was tired.
9:00am the session started, my event did not start for another hour.  
10:00 am, Event 115: the Sprint Quarter Finals
This is best of three rounds, loser out of the event. My opponent this time is a Frenchman, Philippe Vernet, Current World Masters Champion in the 750m Time Trial, in 1984 he finished 4th in the sprint at the LA Olympics. In the first round I drew the bottom again and had to lead. Vernet was happy to follow for a lap and half and then he tried to pass me but, unlike with Peter Barnard, I was unwilling to relinquish the front position.  He had not fully passed me when he started to enter the sprinters lane. The sprinters lane is on the bottom of the velodrome between the black (measuring line) and the red sprinters line. When passing a rider you must be fully in front of them before entering the lane, I had to physically shove him out of it with a bit of head, shoulder and elbow. Vernet dutifully swung up and dropped in behind me with 1 ¼ laps to go. In the back straight I let him draw alongside me and paced myself on his speed till halfway round the last bank when I accelerated to win reasonably comfortably. 1 up.
Round 2. This time Vernet was required to lead for the first half lap and I was happy to follow. I actually wanted to ‘approach from behind’ in this round; it’s not easy to pass on this track and I needed some practice. However, when the cat and mouse started and he baulked to try to get the back position I happily took the lead knowing he would not want to stay there. Sure enough we were on the top of the bank with 1 1/3 laps to go when he rode underneath to retake the lead, I threw in a ‘dummy’ dive to wind him up then waited till the back straight. With about 160m to go I accelerated, drew level in 80m and shadowed him to the line. Job done. Next round: Semi Finals.

2:40pm, Event 138: Sprint Semi Finals
My opponent: Matthew Diefenbach of the USA. I knew nothing of him and had a chat to Peter Barnard about how to race him, Pete said to watch out for him and that he would try and stall me. Ok, so if I’m leading try and get him on my hip and keep him there till about 80m to go. If following make sure there is some room and be high on the track and watch for opportunities. For the first round Diefenbach drew the bottom and was therefore required to lead for the first half lap; that suited me fine.  For the first lap I happily followed Diefenbach, leaving less than a bike length gap, then I started dancing on the pedals a bit while creeping up the bank, trying to draw my opponent higher on the track. It mostly worked. Approaching the last lap we were again on the bottom of the track with me close behind Diefenbach, not where I wanted to be, no options. I swung up the bank and accelerated, this provided me with height speed and space: just what I wanted. Approaching the back straight I was 3-4m behind and about 2m higher than Diefenbach and with some pace on. Diefenbach looked forward and started to get out of his seat (to start sprinting). Before he did I pounced and within 2 seconds was beside him and on the inside and passing. Once in front I backed off a bit to give Diefenbach no room and watched over my right shoulder. To pass Diefenbach must now overtake me on the outside, at about 55kph and with no room he cannot hit me fast so my intention was to hold this to the finish. !!#$%&%$* with 30m to go I heard a sound to my left and kicked, too late, Diefenbach came underneath me and won by about 7cm. Wow was there a flood of emotions now. Firstly anger with myself: I should have gently kept accelerating for the last 80m as with Barnard. Then confusion: how did Diefenbach get under me? I had the sprinters lane. Did I come out of it long enough for him to get under me? Than anger: He can’t do that, how do I put in a protest? Within 90 seconds there was an announcement that the result was being reviewed. About five minutes later Diefenbach was disqualified. Round two would now be easy, I only needed to front, in about 20 minutes ready to race to be given the win. I did a warm down had a shower and waited. Into the finals.

7:30pm Event 166. The Sprint Finals.
This race would be hard. My opponent, Jeff Stoker just walked over last year’s world champion and defeated me a week earlier in the finals of the World Masters Games. Even though he qualified over 1/10 sec faster than me I’m confident I have at least the equivalent top speed, but he has better acceleration. Ideally I need to be leading at 80% pace with a lap to go.
In the first round Jeff drew the bottom of the track and as was required to lead for the first half lap. I happily followed Jeff for the first lap with just a small amount of manoeuvring to make him work at watching me. Jeff moved to the top of the track and I tried to position myself slightly higher on the track, sometimes I was rubbing the rail. With a lap and a quarter to go I fainted a dive to try and get Jeff sprinting but he blocked my move and only lifted the pace enough to stop me from passing easily. As we crossed the finish line with a lap to go I climbed the bank to try and give myself some space and height advantage but Jeff countered my move by backing off slightly and watching. Down the back straight I had a two bike length gap to my opponent, which was good but, he was not going fast enough. I had to make a run, accelerated, and unfortunately caught Jeff as the bank started where he then accelerated and nullified my speed. Round 1 to Stoker.
Round two. This time I was required to lead for the first half lap. Down the back straight Jeff started to go up the track and  consequently I had to go higher as well. Generally though Jeff was happy to just follow for nearly two laps. Coming out of the last corner with just over a lap remaining Jeff started to accelerate and looked like he was about to dive for the bottom of the track. I accelerated and came down the track a touch to block his run to the sprinter’s lane but. Stoker had gone full steam off the bank while I was still trying to block, he rode around the outside and was in front by the next bend #$%. Hopefully he will go flat-out and I’ll have a chance at passing in the finishing straight. He was too switched on for that, after passing me he’s backed off a bit to give me no room, déjà-vu I’m now following again with less than a lap to go against a fast opponent who is not going flat out. I cannot get a sufficient gap for a run at him down the back straight; have to wait till the finish. With about 80m to run Jeff has finally gone full steam and from about a meter behind I start sprinting flat out with 65m to go hoping to get a good run down the finishing straight but, as I start passing I go too wide, over 1/3 up the track and lose by half a wheel.
Even though I made lots of mistakes in the final Jeff was definitely the better sprinter on the day.

Club Championships Goombungee Road Race 6th Dec '09 - By Matt Hickey

A good turn-out from the cycling community meant there was going to be some tough competition.  A-Grade saw one of the biggest fields all year and the juniors turned up to battle it out on a very demanding course.

Club Championships KOM 22nd Nov '09 - By Matt Hickey

Trying conditions for the KOM challenge on Sunday, hot and windy.  A good turn-out from the club with all the main contenders for the champ series putting in solid times.  All times have been posted in order of rider total time.

Club Championships Dalby Road Race 8th Nov '09 - By Matt Hickey

A strong turn out meant we were able to run an event for Juniors as well as A through D grades.  A couple of huge efforts need to be mentioned which are not reflected in these results; Alex Head and Raf Vainikka were still on U17 restricted gears while there friends moved onto bigger U19 gears.  Raf also got a puncture but was able to rejoin the pelaton and finish in the lead bunch.  Also, great to see Gabby Vainikka, Wendy Norgren & Michelle Lingard having a run for the women.  Hope to see this field grow into a women's only grade.

Club Championships Crit 3 24th Oct '09 - By Matt Hickey

Some incredible racing across all grades, with all races ending in close sprints (having to go to the video ref for confirmation).  With the club crit season over, and the crit champions decided, the focus will now shift to road racing and the KOM challenge.

Club Championships Crit 2 24th Oct '09 - By Matt Hickey

C & D Grades were run and won in fine style.  A & B grades got underway but about half way through the event, the rain came down.  The races were called off due to safety reasons.

World Masters Championships (Sydney) 23rd Oct '09 - Brian Schmacker

When Brian Schmacker stepped onto the podium to receive a silver medal in the Masters 4 Division of the track sprint event at the World Masters Games in Sydney he elevated Bikeline Racing to a new level of achievement.
Brian and fellow Toowoomba track specialist, Karl Morris, drove to Sydney to contest the track events at the Games. A practice ride on the track on Friday was their final preparation for their races which began on Monday afternoon. Their first race was the 750m time trial at 1:30 in the afternoon. Karl finished fourth with a time of 53.9, 1.9 seconds behind the winner, John Collette with a time of 52.0. Brian finished 8th with 56.2.
The next event was the 200m qualifying race for the sprint. Brian qualified 3rd with a time 11.59, three tenths of a second behind Geoff Stoker and 5 hundredths behind John Colette.
These times were slower than Brian expected but the track was very dead. Apparently as the temperature drops below 23° the track becomes slower, so when the temperature dropped to 16° tyres felt flat, even though they were inflated to almost 200psi.
On Monday at 11:30 am the sprint continued with the quarter finals, from now on the best of three rounds. Karl now faced Geoff Stoker, fought hard but was out classed over the line, while Brian met Tod Hayer of the USA.
In the first round Brian managed to get Tod on his hip with a lap to go and kept him there until about 60m from the line when Brian accelerated to ensure a win. The second round Tod led out and Brian passed him with about 60m to go.
The semi-finals were held from 4:00 pm Monday. Brian was against the number two qualifier. He won his semi-final 2-0 and progressed to the finals.
Brain noted that his opponent in the finals had legs that made his look like toothpicks(and if you know Brian that’s just hard to believe!!!) which did not deter him from putting in a super effort to win silver in the final, losing to Geoff Stoker 2-0.
Brian describes the action as follows: 4:00 pm Monday was the semi finals.
I was against the number two qualifier, John Colette. In the first round John was leading and I managed to bluff him into starting the sprint about a lap from the finish and passed him down the final straight. I had a moment round the bank, as we entered the banking at better than 60kph all of a sudden the G forces hit me unexpectedly and I had to regather my thoughts and start peddling hard again.
At events in Toowoomba and Brisbane you don't experience close to 2G on the velodrome!
Round two John was not going to be fooled so easily again. I was required to lead for the first lap but John took the front running so I was following again. Around the first bank on the last lap I managed to have John climb about half way up the bank and looking over his right shoulder then I dived underneath him and led from there to the finish.
8:00pm Monday - finals against Geoff Stoker.
In the first round Geoff drew the bottom at the start and had to lead. I happily followed till 1 1⁄4 laps out when I tried to ride around the outside then up the bank with the aim of having another go down to the finish but Geoff was too smart, backed off the pace a bit so I could not get a run on him then finished fast over the last 80m. I could not pass him.
Round two worked out simular except I tried using the bank to give me some space but as soon as I went up the first bank Geoff hit full steam and the gap quickly became too big to close and he won easily.
After big efforts all around, Brian stepped onto the podium, gave a champion’s wave to the crowd, and accepted his silver medal at the World Master’s Games and that was the moment that elevated Bikeline Racing to a world-class ranking.
Brian and Karl have more track events next week, while Charlie Bennett (Bikeline Racing) and Graham Day (TCC) will be competing in the road events after competing in the earlier events on the track.

Club Championships Crit 1 17th Oct '09 - By Matt Hickey

Perfect conditions for race one in the club championships, and some quick crit racing to kick off the season.  It was great to see some new racing faces and for the club to be able to provide racing for A-D grades.  Jo and Gabby were flying the women's flag but it would be nice to see some more of the ladies racing in future events.  Congratulations to all the competitors.

Tour of the Scenic Rim - Dave Kenny

I placed a gallant 5th and 2nd in vets (30-39yrs)

State XC Championships (at Rockhampton)

Aaron Benson - 1st

Noosa Enduro - by Dave Kenny

Aaron Benson - 2nd Noosa Enduro 50km

Dave Kenny - 12th Noosa Endure 100km

Hardest freakin' race I've done in years.

22/03/2009 - Mt Coot-tha Challenge