Juniors apply the heat: Round 2 of the NSW/ACT Cyclocross Series
The Dunc Gray velodrome - home to track cycling events at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, provided the backdrop for racing.
Photo: Rich Scriven
This is a race report that was sent in to us by NSWCX aficionado Andrew Dunstall - thanks to him for taking the time to put it together.
Thanks also to Rich Scriven for taking the photos you’ll see on this article.
If you’d like to see a race report from your local club round here on CX Down Under, feel free to email us at cxdownunder@gmail.com!
Round 2 of the NSW-ACT Cyclocross Series was raced on Sunday 19 May under sunny skies at the park surrounding Dunc Gray Velodrome. Hosted by Parklife Cycling Club, course-setter and Series Director Andrew Burridge had put out a fast course on a drying circuit.
Women’s Elite national champion Katherine Hosking (Orbea Women’s Racing) turned out, fine tuning for the CX National Series rounds in Adelaide the following week. Men’s Elite national champ Chris Aitken opted to skip the round, leaving round 1 winner Nick Smith (Duke Flanders) the big favourite for the men.
Parklife CC have dialled in the Dunc Gray course, set-up and logistics. The day was smoothly run, with Parklife and Bankstown CC volunteers, along with AusCycling NSW helping deliver the event to the almost 90 riders who pinned on a number.
The Course
This was the third year of racing at Dunc Gray, with Parklife also holding the State Championhips and National Series rounds at the venue last year.
Heavy rain two weeks prior to race weekend had little effect on the day. Some softer patches on the course provided a welcome change to harder-packed sections on a fast 2.3km circuit. As with previous Dunc Gray rounds, the key sections were the off-cambers around the trees on the bank of the Velodrome, and the double flight of stairs that riders climbed towards the end of the lap.
Although the course’s off cambers were dry, they were still tricky enough to catch some riders out.
Photo: Rich Scriven
In the final part of the course, riders climbed the stairs from the lower to upper sections outside the velodrome, before tipping onto a steep bank with a 180 degree on loose-over-hard ground, which claimed a number of riders on the day.
A recently announced women’s racing committee have been working to build women’s numbers in the NSW/ACT CX Series. As part of that initiative, the day kicked off with a women’s skills session prior to racing, and later in the day the women’s grades (A, B and C) raced as a separate race with start waves, giving them the run of the course.
Racing
One of the main stories of the day – reminiscent of Ben Cathro’s recent observations in downhill racing – is the speed and skill of the junior fields. Several of the junior men’s field backed up to race in men’s B grade, the largest field of the day.
Juniors and C Grade men broke the course in for the early races. The fastest lap of the morning came from J15 racer Jett Stokes (Randwick Botany CC), setting a lap time of 7:00. However, he gave a big headstart to the rest of the field and couldn’t haul in Idris Arthur (Newcatle Hunter CC) before the flag. U17 men likewise put in laps in the low seven-minute range.
Jens Lucas (St George CC) took out the J17 men, while Sylvia Dagg (Northern Sydney CC) and Quiola Arthur (Newcatle Hunter CC) took the JW15 and JW17 wins respectively. C grade men put in lap times just below the 8:00 minute mark, meaning the quickest juniors are already as fast as the B Grade men!
In the women’s race, Claire Aubrey (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) and national champion Katherine Hosking led the charge, before Hosking pushed the pace with a 7:01 on lap 2. Aubrey chased consistently, losing a small handful of seconds each lap, while 16 year-old Hannah Gianatti was not far behind in third. Gianatti (Penrith CC) is part of the national ARA development team racing in Europe this year, with already a swag of Belgian races under her belt. A week after this CX round, Gianatti took out the road race at the Canberra Junior Tour.
Hannah Gianatti tackles the long stair run in the Women’s A Grade race.
Photo: Rich Scriven
Laura Brienesse (Lidcombe Auburn CC) rode consistently to take the win in Women’s B, and Allison Thomas (North Sydney CC) took out C grade. In the men’s C field, Neil Arnold (Illawarra CC) held off Mitch Dixon (Manly Warringah) in a two-up sprint. Simon Kane (Peloton Sports) – father of A grade rider, Finn, came home for third.
The junior and women’s podium was a highlight of the day, with Hosking in the green and gold, and former Women’s Road World Cup winner, Oenone Wood, presenting. MC Paul Craft, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of Australian cycling didn’t miss a beat in highlighting the quality of riders present.
Men’s A grade then kicked off, with a good field and under bright sunshine. Nick Smith, the 2023 runner up for the national title, and 20 year-old Finn Kane (Peloton Sports) – who had raced at the world championships this year – set the pace. By the end of the second lap, Smith had a lead of a few seconds over Kane, with the battle for minor placings shaping up between Dave Nairn (Manly Warringah CC) and Cameron Winfield (Penrith CC). Smith was the only rider to lap under 6 minutes, while Kane put in a 6-minute flat lap for a clear second. Smith took his second win in the series over Kane, with Cameron Winfield (Penrith CC) in third.
Men’s age group national champion Charles Wheeler shows off his hops at the barriers.
Photo: Rich Scriven
The final race and the biggest field of the day was men’s B grade, with nearly 30 riders lining up. B grade speeds were high, with leaders Rab Drummond (Peloton Sports) and Leo Yip (Sydney Uni Velo) putting in laps that would have seen them fighting for fifth in A grade. Their race came down to a sprint finish, with Drummond just managing to edge out Yip for the win, with Luka Collins (Southern Cross CC) taking third.
Very little separated the A and B men’s fields, and so strategy and maturity came into consideration of whether to race the 40 or 50 minutes, and whether to race for the B win, or the pride of competing at the top level.
The story of the day goes to the junior racers – Kane, Gianatti, Collins, Stokes and others – who must certainly be making the current elite riders nervous with their speed and bike skills. The stage has been well set for the next round, to be held at Sun Valley in the lower Blue Mountains on the King’s Birthday public holiday this June 10th.
From the national champion to first-timers, the women’s field are all smiles after their race.
Photo: Rich Scriven
This was the second of four races in the NSW/ACT series, which is jointly held by NSW between Camden CC, Parklife CC, Randwick CC and Werstern Sydney , as well as Canberra Off Road Cyclists in the nation’s capital.
Riders can also secure bonus points for the NSW/ACT state series by racing in rounds 5 and 6 of the AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Series which will be held at Heffron Park and hosted by Randwick CC on July 20-21.
The following week (July 28th) the joint state championship for both NSW and the ACT.will be hosted in St Ives by Turramurra-based Peloton Sports club.