2011 Highland’s Cycling Classic

On Sunday Northern in conjunction with Banyule Cycling Club conducted the  inaugural running of the  Highlands Masters Spring Classic which is expected to become an ongoing feature on the race calendar.

The race was open to AVCC registered riders, but also an invitation to all non-registered riders and eligible ACF Masters riders.  The event started in Highlands, a small town consisting of a single primary school and a CFA, 20km out of Yea situated on the top of the plateau above Seymour and Yea in the Pyrenees Ranges.

A, B and C Grades all rode the long course over 105km with more than 1500m of climbing culminating with two 4.5 km climbs within the final 13 km of racing.

A Grade race provided by Paul Logan.

A grade started with 24 riders but early attacks by Kos Samaras and Peter Howard forced the pace from the beginning and with Tom Leaper the clear favourite was forced to keep the pace high from the outset.

After 45km and returning back to Highlands A grade had lost at least 10 riders.  The second section of the course then descended towards Seymour, and after descending and descending some more, many riders started questioning Logan’s (the course designer) sanity anticipating the return trip.  With his history of designing tough parcours many were not surprised.

Not for the first time Samaras once again attacked the remaining peloton taking a number of riders this time including Howard, Van Slobbe, and Guy Green.  This once again forced Leaper to drive the pace, and at the turn-around in Seymour the peloton were hit by crosswinds pushing all into the gutter.  

Not long after the breakaway was brought back which thankfully slowed the pace slightly.  With the final 15km up hill, the Eltham Cycles guys decided it was time to try and set something up for their leader, Kirsch as Green and Howard set the tempo on the front.  

At the bottom of the penultimate climb Leaper upped the pace significantly dropping everyone except for Kirsch who hung on for a little longer before he also had to relinquish Leaper’s wheel.

Leaper took this opportunity to ride away on his own and crossed the line winning by over a minute.  The bunch was now down to 7 on the final climb which included Kirsch, Weightman, Probert, Van Slobbe, Steward and Mollison.  

Now it proved to be a race of attrition with James Steward 2nd followed by Kirsch, Mollison, Van Slobbe and Weightman.

Place	Rider	Club
1st	Tom Leaper	Eastern
2nd	Jamie Steward	Eastern
3rd	Stefan Kirsch	Eastern
4th	Justin Mollison	Central
5th	Andy Van Slobbe	Hawthorn
6th	Andrew Weightman	Ballarat

B Grade Report provided by Frank Nyhuis.

I took off on a hill after about 20km, and one guy bridged across for about 2kms then went back to the bunch. I persisted on my own till just before Seymour, which was around the 79km mark. Not sure what sort of gap I had, maybe 2-3 minutes through the hills, but the section into Seymour was straight and flat, and hard work on my own, plus the bunch started doing turns to reel me in.

Then I sat in till the final 13km, which has one downhill section in the middle, the rest all climbing a gradient something like 1in 20, or a bit less.

So the climb wasn’t bad, but I was cramping in both legs just before the climbing started, so I had to limit my efforts. In the end there were only 5 of us in the lead bunch – me, Tom McDonough, Fraser Short, James McArdle (he beat me in the Blackburn race) and Scott Logan.

Tom put in a few attacks, I put in a couple, the others just sat on. I’d just finished a stint at the front, thinking there was still 3km to go by my Garmin – next thing the others take off for the finish line about 100 m up the road! I just wasn’t ready for it, and had to settle for 5th.

Fraser Short took the sprint from Tom, James and Scott.

It was a great circuit, and I’ll be putting that one in the calendar for next year.

Place	Rider	Club
1st	Fraser Short	Italo
2nd	Tom McDonough	Northern
3rd	James McArdle	Dirt Riders
4th	Scott Logan	Northern
5th	Frank Nyhuis	Eastern

C Grade Report provided by Anthony Gugel.

With a cool wind keeping the temperature down and no warm up prior to the start I opted to stay toward the back of the C-grade peloton as we headed out to Terip Terip. Regular Peak Bike Hub rider Ian tested my reflexes early by dropping his water bottle whilst mid pack. Must have been first race nerves! The pace out to the turnaround point was reasonably sedate, though a couple of surges and double digit pinch climbs livened things up.

By the time we approached the turnaround I unfortunately started feeling one of the side effects of the prior night’s wedding. To put it bluntly, I needed a nature break and being a “neo-pro” in the Vets field I didn’t want to make a mess of things, or anyone else’s things for that matter. I dropped to the back after the turnaround and attempted to discover my inner experienced pro rider and keep the bike moving whilst…well…you know. Unfortunately I have a lot to learn about the art of peeing whilst moving. With the peloton riding tempo whilst scoffing down gels and the like I decided it was best for me to stop to relieve myself. I let Ron know and got to business as quickly as I could, cognisant of a female rider who was off the back at the turnaround.

Despite what seemed like a Formula One like pitstop I lost a lot of ground to the bunch, probably a good 800m.  It was probably a good 15 minute TT to close the gap and it was such a relief to finally bridge…and then the bunch surged!  Off the back again I was, struggling to keep in touch. Thankfully I managed to bridge again and stay with the peloton.

My only focus at this time was recovering until we got back to Highlands. Once again it was a tempo pace with the odd surge thrown in to test the legs on the uphill sections. Of the guys I knew regular ‘Vets riders George and Kiwi Kevin were riding strong, as were regular Peak Bike Hub riders Ron, Jeremy and Ian. Ian in particular was doing a truckload of work at the front and he can be very proud of his performance today.

The descent from Highlands was the cue for one of the riders I didn’t know to steal a break on the rest of C-grade. I paused momentarily to see if anyone was interested in a pursuit but remembered my preference to be up the front for this tricky descent. I was joined in the chase by Kiwi Kev and it was an exhilarating ride, only spoiled by a large divot in the road at one of the bridges that gave me the second vasectomy I didn’t need!

Kiwi Kev started marshalling the troops to roll turns in order to catch our escapee, however it became clear that not all shared the same interest. So it was myself, Kev and the regular Peak cohorts who did the lion’s share of the pace making to catch our escapee just prior to the turnaround at Whiteheads Creek.

With the impasse negotiated thanks again to Kiwi Kev, we set about raising the pace and rolling turns for a short time before our prior escapee – having sheltered in the peloton for some time – decided to attack the bunch just as the road pitched up again around the 90km mark. This was quickly shut down by myself, Kev, George and one other but had done enough damage to split the bunch.

A subsequent double digit pinch climb was the catalyst for more fireworks, with George and the escapee attacking, Kevin in hot pursuit, whilst I did my best to stay out of the red zone with one other guy for company. My companion lost touch and I managed to stay within 50m of Kevin, whilst the two up front duelled their way up the climb another 200m ahead.

In a really sporting gesture Kev soft pedalled for a moment to allow me to get back on and I then repaid the favour by chewing bar tape on the descent into the wind for him. Kev’s legs were cooked however and he motioned for me to go, which I did. The same bridge that gave me the second vasectomy once again caused me grief, almost send me over the bars as my hands were jolted from the impact due to the uneven road and bridge surfaces.

By this stage George and his companion were well up the road and with 5km to the finish I set about TT’ing the final climb . The legs were grumpy and it was a nerve racking final 5km, with repeated looks over my shoulder to check for what I felt would be an inevitable attack from behind.

I was relieved to get to the the Welcome to Highlands sign as I knew it the worst of the climb was over and the finish was in sight. One last check showed clear daylight behind me so I zipped up my jersey like a true pro and savoured the final pedal strokes to cross the finish in 3rd place. Mrs G was also there waiting camera in hand to greet me, which made my day!

I’ve already sung the praises of the Banyule Cycling Club and the Northern Vets but my biggest thanks go to my fellow riders for the way in which you all looked after one another on what were some sketchy pieces of road at times. Bravo!

Place	Rider	Club
1st	George Goodrope	Northern
2nd	Rod Hill	Brunswick
3rd	Anthony Gugel	Northern

See Brian Mangano for the event photos with the full results available on the Northern Cycling’s website.