Self Righteous Cyclist

It was a picture perfect day, that cyclists dream of. Not too windy, not hot and not too cold, somewhere in the Goldilocks zone. With 138 starters, the race attracted riders from Victoria and interstate, including a strong contingent of ProVelo riders in Scratch and Chop groups. My club Brunswick CC, was one of the most strongly represented clubs with 13 starters across the breadth of the field. 23min bunch pre-race Scratch Aston KEY 5 Minutes Taj HINDELL, Leo WORSAM and Nicholas MAHONEY 11 Minutes Patrick RUGGLES 17 Minutes Lucas FITZGERALD and John Adrian D'ALFONSO 23 Minutes Michael KANIZAY, Andrew GANNON, Stewart HAY, Jeremy HINDELL and Max MCKAY 30 Minutes Karla BELL (best placed, 11th overall) Handicaps have a habit of bringing out the optimist in me. I quietly had confidence in the 23min bunch of 27 riders, the largest of the race being able to catch the groups in front and hold off those behind. The group spanned in ages from 16 (Bendigo's Sebastian Freer) to 62...

Brunswick Cycling Club member Luke Markov has been consistently on the podium at the Auscycling Victorian Time Trial 2025 series..He has kindly penned his account of the Victorian Time Trial Championships held at Philip Island. After the 35 min+ wait in line for scrutineering, this leaves a stunning 15 mins for warm up. I hit the rollers and start loosening the legs. I wrap that, pop the last of the aero gear on and head to the starting gantry. It’s a 4.4km lap for 22km total with plenty of corners on the Phillip Island Grand Prix track. Funnily enough, despite the slightly annoying lead in - I feel tremendously relaxed. I have seen this course before (18 years ago!) behind the wheel and am confident in the space and lines. Before I know it, I’m up. Get the hold, double check I’m in a good gear, hit “start” on the computer 2s before release and then I’m off. I punch out hard to get up to speed as fast as possible and then settle into position. Running anti-clockwise we come into an exp...