THANK YOU:

Commissaire John Buckton. Thanks to assistant Commissaires Joanne Buckton & Richard Jenkins.  Thanks to our safety marshals Pat Naughton & Leo Neil Dwyer. Thanks to Matt Hynes for deploying and retrieving all the safety equipment. 

Thanks to Joanne Buckton & Richard Jenkins for assisting on the registration table.  Thanks to Anna Fortuna for manning the canteen.  Thanks to Leanne Emery for being our First Aid Officer.  Thanks to Rocky Fortuna  for being club photographer.

CLUB SPONSORS (see logos right)

Randwick Botany Cycling Club is proudly sponsored by FRF Couriers, parent company of Excelpro.  Excelpro is the distributor of products including BH bicycles, Argon 18 bicycles,  Cinelli bicycle accessories, Colnago bicycles & accessories, 3T cycling assessories, Vittoria shoes and Speedplay pedals.  Bike Bug carries all our major sponsors bikes and products such as Colnago, Cinelli and Argon 18.  Tony "the Bug" is offering all Randwick Botany members a 15% discount off parts and accessories.  Go to cyclebits.com for all your cycling consumable needs like tyres, tubes, bar tape, etc, etc.  Order online from an Australian company, and have your cyclebits arrive at your door a day or two later Long term RBCC sponosr DS Labels – Marrackville. Sponsors of our club jersey include Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers,  Tenpoint, Vantage Freight, Sydney Morning Herald.

REPORT

After recent rain, and with what could only be described as a magnificent day, riders came out in droves. Even had a great junior turn up.

The kids had a great time and  most of them listened to what I asked them to do.  One of the fathers said to me, "I don't know how you do it John.  You send them all out and they all come back." Well in one particular case during a handicap one came back very early.  Either I had got the handicap horrendously incorrect or he had taken a short cut.  When questioned this young man was quite adament that he had gone the correct way.  Further questioning from his parents however revealed the problem, "The others all went the wrong way, he said."

Good to see Rebecca Fortuna back on the bike. Thankfully she appears to have inherited NONE of her father's riding skills. Rebecca sprinted home like Robbie McEwen and was first girl in the handicap race.

	Number pinning became a team effort for the Fortuna clan.
	Strange photos indeed.  Strange to see the riders climbing the pimple from the Netball courts in reverse direction.  Andrew Kirk looks like he is giving his all in the A Club bunch.
	Here's Tony "The Bug" Corrigan  taking A grade up the steep side of "The Pimple".  Bug is getting better and better since he stopped training with Rocky and I.
	Matty Lucas drives the A open bunch down the straight in pursuit of the A "Clubbies" Unfortunately Matt had a big morning taking out the RBCC 2 day Tour and I think the legs were a little tired.  After a lot of work, he finally retired to the Commissaire's location.  Matter of fact, about half way through the race I had a cast of thousands with me.
	A Open finally caught the A clubbies with about 2 or 3 to go but Chris Coke had hit off the front of A club early in the race and was about a minute up the road.  They had to dig even deeper and reeled Chris in on the final lap.  Left, The Bug had a fabulous sprint head to head with Nick Wood with Nick just taking him on the line.  John Kenny was happy to settle for third.
	B grade was a great race as well with young Taylor Aitchison getting away with Steve Foster.  The pair worked well together for some 10 laps and were going away from the bunch before Steve finally blew up.  With Steve gone Taylor gave it up as well and went back to the bunch.  Another 2 man break went away and the same thing happened except this time Robert Carlisle didn't worry about losing his second man and put his head down and stayed away for a fine win.
	Second and third placings came down to a sprint between two Easts riders with Mark Ardouin just taking it from club mate Sen Mitsuji.
	Two young ones got away in C grade.  Congratulations boys.  They rode really well together sharing the work and staying away from the chasing peleton.  In the end Alex Carver just outsprinted Jack Bennett.
	Ben Hammond takes the C grade chasing bunch over the pimple in pursuit of the 2 C grade escapees.
	Meanwhile back at the peleton, Tony Aithison got ever so close in stealing 3rd place from Keiran Latty.
	As you know we have a few Doctors and other medicos in our club.  I have been been a little off colour lately and whilst conducting the racing, several of these experts looked at my symptoms, including the shirt I was wearing, and concluded that I was indeed suffering from PHD.   I was later informed that PHD was an acronym for Post Holiday Depression.  See Tour of Sicily report.
	Nice to have money !!   Bazza shows off his Colnago C50 with carbon wheels.
	D & E grades on the starting line ready to go.  D, E & F still race in normal direction, normal distance.  Reverse direction racing is conducted every third Saturday over lager distances, but only for A B & C grades.

PRIZE MONEY

Handicap winner receiving $150.  A grade winner on normal day is $120 and we now have a first A club prize of $50.

START TIMES

Randwick Botany Cycling Club conducts racing at Heffron Park, Maroubra NSW each Saturday throughout the year. Juniors start at 12.30pm. Seniors D, E, & F grades will start at 2pm and A, B & C grades will start at 3pm.

RACING SHEDULE

A handicap race for A B & C grades will be conducted on the first Saturday of every month.  Second,  fourth & fifth Saturdays will be normal scratch races.  On the Third Saturday of every month racing will be longer and conducted in reverse direction.  A grade 25 laps (50 kilometres), B grade 23 laps and C grade 20 laps.  D, E & F will be normal distance

For more information please contact the club secretary Joanne Buckton on 02 9315 7801 or email: secretary@randwickbotanycc.com

Web page layout & editing by: John Buckton

Photos by: Rocky Fortuna

Report by John Buckton

Contact:
Tony:  communications@randwickbotanycc.com

John:   webmaster@randwickbotanycc.com