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Brunswick CC Road Championship 2026 - Race Report

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Numbers at the club champs have been a little light on in recent years post Covid, so it was encouraging to see almost 40 riders from under 11 to under 65 make the trip to Balliang. Close to half the field rode the Northern Combine ITT in the morning, making it a two stage event for the purists amongst us. Great to see many Brunswick riders young and old on the podium for that event.  Under postcard conditions, Mr Pink assembled the riders, gave them their orders and sent them on their way. One 10km lap for U11s, two 10km laps for the U13s and two 25km laps for the rest of the field. It was great to see so many families riding in the same peloton, the Fuad family (Zafran, Ziqry and Nasir), the Fitzgeralds (Lucas and Tim), the Moulds (Michael and Stuart), the Christensens (Fletcher and Glenn), the Kirmizis (Aziz and Omer), the Dempsters (Rhett and Jed), the Muscats (Domenic and Isabel), the Disseldorps (Oscar and Felix) and Brunswick power couple and former club champs Bella Gadsen ...
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Apple Crumble #6

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While Melbourne Roobaix took a hiatus this year, the Apple Crumble team at Brunswick Cycling Club came up with "Rumble to the Crumble", a rambling adventure through the cobbled laneways of the inner north, paying homage to Melbourne Roobaix on the way to Petty's Orchard. The route was meticulously planned by Ben, our president, who rode his polka dotted single speed, that gets an outing once a year on this day. from left, Ben, Cam, Elise & Pat It was a fresh morning with the temperature hovering in the mid single digits, but a brave crew of three joined Ben for the first "rumble to the crumble". The crew were well warmed up after a 34km ride traversing the gnarly cobbled laneways of Northcote, the steep bergs of Ivanhoe and Eaglemont and the always delightful Yarra River Trails. The quote of the day did come from Elise, who won Women's A, who said Ben's "rumble to the crumble" was actually harder than the race itself. By now word is getting...
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Nose Breathing

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Introduction Following on from my N=1 series of becoming a stronger cyclist for less than a cup of coffee a day, it was time try something new. I regularly listen to the Roadman Podcast, whose interview with Dr Andrew Sellars on breathwork got my attention.  Dr. Sellars explains that training the diaphragm and intercostal muscles can boost a cyclist's functional threshold power by up to 6%. The episode details how managing CO2 levels through nasal breathing and using a 30-breath resistance protocol can delay fatigue and improve overall cycling performance.  The protocol from the French study Sellers references ran for 48 weeks, broken down into eight six-week blocks: diaphragmatic breathing and nasal breathing first, then coordination work, then resistance training, then aero-position-specific breathing. The pro cyclists in that cohort increased tidal volume from 6.5L to 7.7L, a 10% improvement, and averaged 6-8% FTP gains. Summary of the known Benefits With some help from A...
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Bendigo and District Cycling Club 3 Stage Tour - Race Report

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The Bendigo and District Cycling Club hosted the Merv Dean Memorial 3 stage tour over the King's birthday long weekend at Sutton Grange and Harcourt just outside of Bendigo. 83 riders across Men's A, B & C grades and Women's A, from as far afield as Alice Springs, Mt Gambier and Adelaide signed for 3 challenging days of racing. More notably Alyssa Polities, a local star of road and track and heading to her second Commonwealth Games in just over 6 weeks and Mark O'Brien, who has won about every road and gravel bike race there is to win in Australia, were ready to serve it up to their rivals. The elites in A grade received a lot of the coverage, so this report is going to concentrate on the combined Women's A and Men's C grades. Whilst there was an overall General Classification for each grade, the stages, the sprint and king of the mountain primes and time bonuses were combined. Picking up time bonuses within each stage would be vital for those hoping to sta...
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Jack Wood Memorial Hcp - Race Report

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Northern Combine and Coburg Cycling Club hosted the Jack Wood Memorial Handicap to honour the memory of Jack on the Glenaroua course, just out of Broadford.  The 16min bunch of 8, started 18min behind limit on 34min in conditions as good as you could hope for at this time of year. By two thirds the way around lap one, we were down to 6, but still rolling strong. Shayne Kirby gave us a time call of 3min to the group in front and 7min to Tom McDonough's 25min bunch. It was deflating to know that we had made no progress on the group of 11 in front of us with a 3min head start, containing some pretty handy riders. On lap two, Shayne was parked at the top of the Sugarloaf Creek climb and this time the margin was down to one and a half and four to Tom’s group. This time we were in with a shot. We took the left hand turn onto the Broadford-Glenaroua Rd and had the 19min bunch in our sights. We swept them up and a good few of them including Roger Venning, Seb Slezak, Carl Simmons, Stephen ...
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Apple Crumble #5

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Hopefully by now, the Apple Crumble Gravel Crit needs no introduction. Since September 2025, the Brunswick Cycling Club has been serving up something truly unique in the form of a gravel crit held inside Petty's Orchard , a working organic farm with some of the best tasty treats and coffee. The venue is a comfortable one hour ride from the inner north of Melbourne along the Yarra River trails. If you are feeling a little more adventurous, you can test yourself on the many single tracks that divert off the main trail. B grade heading up Col du Monsieur rose 23-05-26 The course itself is 820m, which includes a hill to rival Melbourne's other famous crit track, the "Teardrop" and has now been named "Col du monsieur rose" in honour of Brunswick CC's very own Mr Pink and is adorned with a pink marquee. First lap of Mens C/D grade 13-09-25 There are three left hand corners each with their own nuances. The first, Knog Bend a descending left hander, which has b...
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Pop, Alf & Norma Hcps - Race Report

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What travels at 100km/h, has 4 heads, 12 wheels, a kitchen sink? Stephen Saunders' Kombi on the way to Balliang for the Northern Combine Pop Stewart, Alf Walker and Norma Adam's Handicaps. Never mind how we fit 4 bikes into and onto a Kombi, all I can say is that I was rewarded with the most leg room in the back. Needless to say that I was "on the rivet", "in the wheels" and "chewing bars", and we hadn't even left Melbourne. Business Class in the Kombi: Tom, Roger & Steve Welcome to bucolic Balliang where thanks to global warming the weather just keeps getting better each year. The late autumnal weather was turned on as about 60 riders from as far afield as Portland and Warrnambool fronted up for three torturous threshold laps, including a challenging climb, corrugated gravel and a stiff northerly headwind. Before the race, Bella Gadsen (limit) came over to me and asked me to take care of Liam Vaughan who was riding his first race. Happy to...
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Location: Balliang VIC 3340, Australia
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