News

Posted 21 Mar 2012

Great Southern Ride for Sick Kids.

The team is not usually beaten by much but the weather got the better of the charity event. Southern Central NSW was belted with very heavy rain falls over 3 days. Roads where blocked and at the height of the rain event, 8000 people where evacuated from Wagga wagga's CBD. Tony, Leighton and Simon managed to ride from Talbingo to Cooma after just making it out of the Wagga area due to roads being flooded/blocked. The ride was cancelled once we became aware of the emergency at home on the Tuesday morning. It was the general opinion our families and friends needed our presents at home.

The Charity Fundraising event on the Saturday night was a great success. $10,000.00 was raised on the night thanks numerous Wagga Wagga business donating silent auction items. Michael Tomalaris (SBS Cycling TV Presenter) was in attendance on the night and certainly enhanced our enjoyment. Thanks to all the people involved in making the night a great success.

Posted 02 Jan 2012

New Partner.

FTP Training have partnered with the McDonalds Classic Cycle Team for the 2012 season. FTP will be providing training programs, racing and training advise for team members.

Posted 20 Sep 2011

Tour of Two Rivers.

The second half of the season is off to a good start with Tony winning stage 2 (Individual Time Trial) in D grade. Whilst Michael over came an off course experience to recover and take 2nd place in the C Grade ITT. Simon managed a 6th in the  A grade road race (Saturday) and a 5th in the ITT to be sitting in 3rd place on GC after the 2 stages. Billy again used his experience to take another podium, 3rd place in stage 1 of the B Grade race.

Team Bikes

The Teams  awesome 2011 Cervelo R3 bikes will be For Sale at the end of the year. Please e-mail Simon @ simon_haworth@bigpond.com to inquire.

Great Southern Ride for Sick Kids 2012.

The Team will again be involved in The Great Southern Ride for Sick Kids from 2 Mar 2012 to 7 Mar 2012.

Check out a short video of the 2011 ride.

Posted 30 Jul 2011

Tour De Riverina

Mick Schmid has finish 5th after only contesting 4 of the 5 stages. Mick missed the last stage due to competing in the NSW TTT. He was 3rd overall going into the last stage but the lure of a TT on his new P3 resulted him not entering. Mick shot up the leader board after his 3rd place in Coolamon.

NSW Club Team Time Trial (TTT) Championships

Rohan, Joshua, Mick and Simon entered the NSW TTT champs held in Goulburn recently. Extremely windy conditions made the event even more challenging. The boys hit a snag when Mick was unable to join them and were down to 3 riders driving out of Wagga. The boys were the only ones to line-up with 3 and represented themselves well, completing the 44km course in 1hr.7min.45sec. They were 16 seconds short of 5th and 4min's 24 sec's short of 3rd. The winners covered the course in 1hr.01min.22sec.

Great fun, so much so, we're going back next year.

Posted 7 Jun 2011

Wagga Open

Billy managed to make his way into the money during Saturday's 84km handicap, finishing 7th. Jason was away in a break-away over the last few kilometre's but was chased down in the closing stages of the race. Tony and his group was looking good for the win but were swept up at Oura. Both Simon and Rohan had a mechanical's in the 116km handicap.

The boy's backed up on Sunday with some good results. Tony finished 2nd in F Grade, Rohan was third and Billy was 5th in C Grade and Simon finished 4th in B Grade.

Southern Division Champs

Tony and Joshua had success finishing 1st and 2nd respectively in their grades. Tony contested D grade Masters and Joshua contested B grade men. Rohan, Simon, Jason and Michael all finished with the Peleton to be satisfied with their performance.

Posted 1 Mar 2011

Golden Wheel

Bill Robertson has added another podium to his impressive resume finishing third in the 2011 (2010 re-run) edition of the Golden Wheel 5 lap handicap race.

Tour De Riverina

All the boy but the Big T lined up in stage one of the 2011 TDR. Everyone rode well but Limit wasn't caught. It rained for the entirety of the race, hopefully that's not a sign of races to come.

Posted 25 Jan 2011

Tour Down Under

The Team has just returned from a Training Camp in Adelaide. The Camp was held in conjunction with the Tour Down Under. Team members had some great experiences including the Legends dinner night out. Lance Armstrong was a guest speaker on the night.

New Team Members

Joshua Kennedy and Michael Schmid will be joining the team for 2011.

Tour of Two Rivers

Simon finished up 4th in this years Tour. He was looking good to move into second but unfortunately the last stage of the Tour was cancelled due to bad weather.

Posted 8 Oct 2010

Northern NSW Ride for Sick Kids

Tony and Simon participated in the week long Ride for Sick Kids from Narrabri to Newcastle and had a great time. The Newcastle boys were a little taken back with the professional looking out fit we turned up in, the Bus. We were quickly embraced as part of the group and set about pedalling our way to Newcastle with the rest. It was a very busy week, up earlier in the morning and then the day was taken up with riding up to 160km, visiting a school and attending fundraising functions shortly after arriving at the outstanding accommodation. It was a great experience and the goal of gathering information for the Southern RMH ride was achieved. Congratulations must go out to Phil Jobling for an outstanding job. The Newcastle Boys raised $376,200.00 and the overall total stands at $1,283,200.00.

Posted 26 Aug 2010

Cootamundra Annual

The teams 2010 assault on the Coota Annual has taken a blow with work committeemen's and injuries seeing only Simon and Billy taking the start line. Simon's riding off 6  minutes and Billy's riding off 13 minutes. The forecast is for mostly Sunny conditions with light winds from the South West. Might be a front markers day.

Rohan's taking the start line on Sunday to contest the Coota recovery handicap. Whilst, Simon and Tony should be rolling out of Moree for the 140km journey to Inverell. Simon and Tony are participating in the week long charity Ride for Sick kids, Ronald McDonald House, 1015km and end up in Newcastle.

Posted 22 Aug 2010

Wagga to Albury 130km handicap

The Team survived the crash marred John Woodman memorial. Cross winds and a lapse in concentration saw up 10 riders from B grade fall just outside Culcairn on the roughest bit of road known to man. Some very nasty injuries resulted, one rider was reported to have lost a thumb. Billy Robertson was the only one to finish. He was caught and passed on the hardest bit of the course on the southern side of Walla Walla. Despite the rain, Billy continued onto finish his 1st John Woodman memorial in  number of years. The rest of the guys cheered him on from inside the nice warm dry Team bus. Billy was all praises for his new RS Cervelo and he's even more impressed with the Fit Kit done by Kidsons Cycles. Billy said it's the first time ever (30+years of  racing) that his ridden on the drops in a race for an extend period of time, without back pain.

It's great to have the support of GU and all team members had a quantity of the Roctane gels for the trip to Albury. I'm a big fan of swallowing one 10 minutes before the start. GU claim there've increase the amount of histidine, an essential amino acid, to act as a buffer and slow the energy-sapping lactic acid build-up in muscles. Having now used them for a while, I can certainly say I feel the effects of lactic acid less during fast starts of handicap races.

Donation to Ronald McDonald House

The Tour De France night raised $560 for RMH Wagga. The cheque was presented on air with Pottsy and Leighton, the Star FM morning crew. Pottsy and Leighton are the driving force behind a great deal of fundraising for the house and are responsible for the projects start and partnering with RMH. The partnership formed the Ronald McDonald House/Star FM Kids Kottage. Thanks again to our supporters of the night, Kidsons Cycles, Aussie Butt Cream and McDonalds Glenfield.

Posted 10 Aug 2010

Swap meet and TDF Viewing

The 2nd annual swap meet an TDF viewing was deem another great success. The swap meet saw a 10 fold increase in shoppers and sellers. Some forty cyclist sat down after the swap meet and watched the Col du Tourmalet accent . A raffle, sweeps and a trivia competition helped pass the time and raise money for Ronald McDonald House Wagga Wagga. Thanks to McDonalds Wagga Wagga/Leeton, Kidsons Cycles and Aussie Butt Cream for their contribution to a great night. Some of the TDF watches got to make their own McDonalds Sundae and Big Mac for answering a tricky TDF question, big smiles all round.

Wagga to Albury 130km handicap

The Team is fresh from a mid-year break and ready for this Sunday's Wagga to Albury. All but Dan will be lining up, Dan's still recovering from a major hip /back injury. It'll be a great heart starter for the Coota Annual in the fortnight after. It'lll be Tony's first go at the Wagga to Albury and a race of 130km. Billy's a little nervous lining up in his first big race in a number of years. He shouldn't be to worried, he'll use half as much energy riding his Cervelo RS and TOKEN wheels.

Posted 14 Jun 2010

McDonalds Classic Weekend

The Team had another successful weekend of racing , thanks to our major sponsor McDonalds Wagga Wagga & Leeton. Tony Aichinger had a very successful campaign in the 84 handicap, finishing 5th and half a bike length of 1st. Jason Condon rode well in the scratch bunch of the 84km race, whilst the rest of the boys succumb to the terrain and high pace of the race in the 116km event. Scratch got up and won the day in the 116km handicap.

The Sunday was a little different, new team member Bill Robertson got back into the winners circle fairly quickly with a 2nd place in the D grade criterium event. Rohan Taylor continued to add to his 2010 list of results with a 3rd in C Grade. Jason Condon and Dan Uden, (returning from injury) both finished in the sprinting pack in C Grade. Tony had another great ride in F grade and just missed out on being in the money again. Simon Haworth rode B Grade and was right up there in the sprint finish and placed 8th. Simon said the win was there for the taking but he ran out of bravery coming into the last couple corners.

Posted 7 Jun 2010

Tour De Riverina

Stage 4 at Griffith, the Dean Carter Memorial was hard fought stage. Wind and at times, driving rain made the race very difficult. Rohan and Simon finished in the top 10, Simon 7th and Rohan 10th. Both gathered valuable points towards general classification.

Stage 5, Coolamon Classic, Simon and Rohan went into the stage in 3rd and 4th overall. It came down to a bunch sprint and Simon finished 5th, whilst Rohan was 10th.  Tony had an outstanding ride after returning from injury, illness and a trip overseas. He finished in the sprinting pack. Dan also had a promising ride whilst he still recovers from injury. Jason had a hard day at the office and pulled out but still contributed to the Team's third place in the Team category.

Simon's 5th place moved him up into 2nd on GC. Rohan maintained his top 10 spot and took out 7th overall in the 2010 Kidsons Cycles Tour De Riverina. Jason, Rohan Carl Heman and Craig Williams finished 3rd in the Teams category.

Cootamundra Haycarters weekend

Saturday was a bit of a non-event after Rohan and Simon were held up by a train at Stockinbingal. About 80 riders ended up sitting at the crossing. The cross winds made it very hard to match it with the back markers, a lot of riders took the short cut home. Jason was still up front and racing hard, he missed the train. Unfortunately, there weren't to many willing workers and his bunch was caught by Scratch in the final half a dozen kilometres of the race.

Sunday was a different story. Simon's bunch were on fire and rode through the rest of the field. The final rider was caught in the last couple of hundred metres. Simon made a late dash for the line and took out second place. It's the second time Simon has finished 2nd in the Mothers day weekend race. On that occasion, there were 280 riders all up and 80 + in the sprint.

NSW State Road Championships

Simon was the only team rider to contest the NSW Road Race and Criterium  Championships in Moruya. It was a fantastic weekend of racing, the weather was outstanding. Some may say the courses were a little easy but safe. The best of NSW veterans were there and the racing was fast. Both of Simon's races finished in a bunch sprints. He placed 8th in the road race and 6th in the criterium.

New Team Member

Bill Robertson will be joining the team come 30 June. Bill has a mountain of experience both on the Road and Track. He's won numerous races at National, State and Local level. He's had some time out exploring other passions and recharged the cycling battery. It's now full and Bill's keen to return to racing and the winners circle.

Posted 9 Apr 2010

Scholarship Winners.

2010 Team McDonalds Cycle Classic $1000 scholarship winners were announced on Star FM on Tuesday Morning. The winners are Jamie Green and Grace Rees, Congratulations to them both.

Bathurst

The Team is off to contest racing at Bathurst this weekend. Saturday will be criterium racing around the start/finish line Pit area on the Mount Panorama racing circuit and Sunday's event will see 600 riders take the start line in Blayney, the race finishes in Bathurst.

Posted 29 Mar 2010

The First Victory for 2010.

Rohan Taylor has taken out the race he came second in 2 years ago, the Butch Menz memorial. Rohan rode from second block and joined in with the block bunch to mow down the rest of the field with 2 km of racing remaining. Rohan kept his head and waited for the opportunity to jump and never looked back. The day was capped off with Simon coming home in 4th. Rohan has now moved into 2nd place overall in the Tour De Riverina GC. Simon is just behind on GC, in third place after a 5th place finish at the Stock Fair race to go with his 4th place.

Southern Division Championships.

Simon has shown some great form backing up the day after the Butch Menz to take home the bronze medal in the 90km Masters A grade event. Jason, also backing up from the Butch Menz finished in the sprinting pack and gained some valuable experience against some of the best veteran racers in the country. The day was also consider a success after the Team got the opportunity to promote the McDonald Classic to all the participants at the Southern Division Championships.

A Change in Direction

Ashley Humbert will not be joining the Team for 2010. Ashley has been offered  a fantastic opportunity to manage the Push Bike store in Albury. The Team and it's sponsors wish Ashley all the luck in the world as he embarks on his new journey.

Posted 25 Feb 2010

New Team Bikes

Christmas in February, the team has just taken possession of 2010 R3 Cervelo bikes. What a sweet ride, all are looking forward to seeing how they perform in Stage 1 of the Tour De Riverina this Sunday.

Posted 13 Feb 2010

Start of the New Year

The team ventured to the Alpine area of Bright over the Australia Day long weekend to have a ride in the AUDAX event, Alpine Classic. Jason, Dan and Simon had a crack at the new 250km course. They rode over Mt Hotham to start with, then took on the steep slopes of the eastern side of Falls Creek and finished off with a hot climb over Towonga Gap. The boys rode a respectable 9hrs 15 mins for the 250km. Rohan and Tony joined the masses in the 130 km trek to Falls Creek and back. Tony took an impressive 56 minutes of last years time.

Posted 14 Dec  2009

A Round up

The team has covered a fair bit of distance over the last few months. Simon and Jason made the trip up to Nowra for the Berry Criteriums in November. Simon managed a podium place in B grade and both used the Sunday for some much needed climbing practice in the hills behind Nowra.

The Team had a fantastic outcome in the Tour of Two Rivers. Dan was first overall in A Grade, followed by Simon in second and Jason in third place. The Team also clinched the Team prize. It was the second year that Simon has finished second in the TTR, fantastic effort. Tony finished 5th overall in D Grade, a great effort for his first Tour.

The Morgan Street Series was another successful campaign for the boys. Rohan took out the overall series, Simon was second and Jason just missed out on third, finishing fourth.

Dan, Jason and Simon made the trip down to Bright for the Tour of Bright, extremely hard weekend. The bunches were large, 120 in Simon and Jason's grade. Dan had a bunch of a 110 in C grade. Fortunately, there were no major accidents in either group, making for a safer weekend. The major focus for the weekend was to publicize the McDonalds Classic weekend of racing June, mission accomplished. The van and sponsor flags drew a lot of attention from the near 600 entrants participating over the two days. The most outstanding thought to come away with from the weekend is, need to do more climbing before next year.

New Flash

The McDonalds Classic cycle team is extremely proud to announce that Ashley Humbert will be joining the team for 2010. Ashley has a wealth of experience with anything to do with cycling. Ashley has spent several years racing in Italy and has achieved a huge amount in his cycling career so far.  Team members will certainly benefit from Ashley's inclusion in the team.

For Sale

The team has it's fantastic Cervelo S1 bikes For Sale. All available bikes are $2400, we have a 58cm and two 56cm bikes available. Please call Simon on 0404251794 if your interested. The bikes should be available from the middle of January 2010.

Scholarship

Thanks to our very generous sponsors McDonalds Family Restaurants Wagga Wagga and Kidsons Cycles, the Team will be offering two $1000 scholarships to two luck juniors for the 2010 season. Stay Tuned.

Posted 3 Oct  20099

National Masters Championships

Injury and illness put a hole in the teams campaign on the Veteran National Championships held in Canberra over the October  long weekend. Simon was the only one to make the trip and lined up in the Vet 3 81km road race. It was a high quality field with the likes of Eddie Salis, Neil Skipper, Daniel Hennessy, Charlie Cascoyne and Daniel Abotomey. 38 riders took to the start line for the 2 trips in and out of the Uriarra Crossing. Simon succumb to the pace on the first climb up the three sisters and spent the rest of the race anywhere between 200 metres to 1.5km off the back of the main peleton, chasing.  David Evans was the eventual winner, Daniel Abotomey was 2nd and Eddie Salis came in 1.08min after the winners to take 3rd in the bunch sprint. Simon finished 16th and 6min.47sec off the winner.

It was the first major event for  the Team Bus and some fantastic exposure for the McDonalds Classic weekend of racing. The bus certainly attracted some attention from Masters competitors.

NSW Bike Week

Team McDonalds Classic joined in on the festivities at Wagga Beach on the 27 Sep 2009. It was great turn out the local cycling fraternity. Mayor, Kerry Pascoe was on hand to show his support for the event. There was some great displays of cycling skills, especially by Brodie Pearse, who showed his skill on rollers at high intensity.

Posted 22 Sep  20099

Stage 2 Tour of Two Rivers

No team tactics for stage 2, an Individual Time Trial sorts the men out from the boys. Dan was the best performer on the day finishing 3rd to the winner Raymond Jarrett. Dan's 3rd place now sees him leading the Tour. Simon's dropped to 2nd on GC 2 points behind Dan. Next stage is Bellbridge, couple of hills to cliimb.

Posted 15 Sep  20099

Stage 1 Tour of Two Rivers

The Team has had a fantastic start to the Tour of Two Rivers with Simon taking out the win after a 40km breakaway effort. Dan blasted past the rest to finish 2nd and Jason was just off the podium in 4th. The big surprise of the day was Tony's fantastic 3rd place in the D Grade event. He looked like Baden Cooke sprinting for the win in the Tour de France, sweet. Check out the Pic

The Bus

The Inaugural tip in the Bus was absolutely awesome, what a ride. We had a full bus for the first trip and all were comfortable in the airline style cabin. The next big trip will be to the nations capital, Canberra for the Veteran Nationals.

Posted 10 Sep  20099

Wagga Wagga Lake to Lagoon

The Team will be joining in with the Wheelies section this Sunday (13 Sep 2009) to offer some encouragement to the 250 + cyclists participating in the 9.5km Lake to Lagoon. The new Team Bus will be on display at the finish and Team members will be on hand to have a chat about all things cycling. The Lake to Lagoon will also see 750+ runners take to the course.

Posted 6 Sep  20099

Morgan St Cycle Series-Race 6

The post race comment was 'That was the best race of the year'. The McDonald's Cycle Classic boys had it all to do again for race 6. The Limit rider had 35 minutes (2nd limit had 30min) over the 56km course, that's potentially a 15 km head start , an average of 30km/hr. The  South West wind was again a major factor in the race and made the already tough run out to the first witches hat difficult. Scratch was organised quickly and the chase was on. Rohan, Simon, Dan and Jason were joined by Brad Carroll, Eamon Ryan and Brodie Pearse. Scratch had a 5min gap to Block.  Lionel, returning from a serious injury was stuck on block with the Riverina Academy boys and despite the time out with injury tortured himself until he couldn't pedal any longer, cramps at the finish line. Big Tony and the rest of the middle markers were working well. The Macca's boys caught up with Block just before the last turn for home. The middle marker had split and the strong guys were making their run for home., with a cross tail wind. The onlookers yelled' two thirty to the front'. The pace was upped, the Block boys joined in for the chase and we were rolling like a well oiled machine. The speedo was touching the low 60's and we were smokin. The finish was approaching fast and so were the Leaders. The Leaders hit the final little pinch before the sharp left hander to the finish line. The gap was still 200 metres within a 1km to go. Dan hit the front and gave it everything he had, the gap was down to 100 metres. Simon took over next, turned the throttle up and closed the gap to within 30 metres as they went around the left hander. Simon kept in going with Rohan, Jason and the rest of the race in tow. It appeared that the leaders didn't know we were coming, 'Surprise' here we are. Simon caught the front and hungry wolves burst past for the prize. Rohan took off with Jason in tow and Simon despite the effort, grabbed the wheel and sprinted for the finish.  Yahoo, It was a 1, 2 ,3 and fastest time for the McDonalds Classic boys. It was also back to back wins for Rohan. Check out the finish Here.

It appears as if Rohan can only been beaten for the Morgan St Cycles point score title by either Simon or Jason going into the last race.

There's going to be  a Celebration dinner at the Uranquinty Hotel on 17 Oct 2009.  If you ride a bike, your invited, bring the family and come along  (kicking off after the race - dinner around 6:30). It will be a friendly social atmosphere and a fun night out.  Please RSVP to Jason with your numbers for the night before the 26th Sept.  It would be great if all the riders, officials, helpers and families could attend and help make it a great night. The Uranquinty pub have sponsored race prizes each race so it will be great to show our appreciation by packing the place out on Saturday the 17th Oct.
 

The Team Bus

The Team Bus arrived on Friday. I am void of words, you'll see why! Look Here.

Tour of Two Rivers (TTR)

The Team is set to start stage 1 of the TTR in Griffith next weekend and it will be the inaugural trip in the bus, I'm excited. I can highly recommend the Race, Griffith do an outstanding job.

Posted 30 Aug  20099

Coota Annual

What a contrast from last weekend. The forecast was for heavy rain all week and it was raining on Saturday morning before the start. The weather radar showed it clearing from the west, so a dry race was looking promising. Rohan, Dan, Jason and Simon all made the trip over. The rain was clearing but the wind was starting to pick up dramatically. The flag in front of the Cootamundra RSL club was stuck out straight and quivering like it was -50 below, the wind was howling. Jason was first to start on 17 minutes, he had a good size bunch and were considered the bunch mostly like to stay away. Dan was next on 13.30 minutes, followed by Simon and Rohan on 10 minutes. The 10 minute bunch was looking a bit sad from the start when 7 riders failed to take the line.  The race headed out of Cootamundra towards Young, it's a hard slog of rolling hills. The wind was blowing from the left  and it was hard to keep everyone rolling through. The 10 minute group battled along, steadily overtaking a stream of dropped riders from the bunches in front. However the bunches behind had a lot more momentum and the 10 minute bunch was caught 500 metres out of Young. The pace went up another notch and a few rider were dropped in the tail cross wind. Simon and Rohan were reaching speeds in the high 60's swapping turns along the flatter sections, it was getting hard. The 10 minute and 7 minute groups entered the tough section at Kingsvale (60km mark) only to be surprise by a flying Scratch Bunch that blasted past and left all but a couple behind. Simon and Rohan watched as the Red machine of Drapac raced up the road at break neck speed. Both were a little disappointed at not still being in the hunt but relieved that creature called 'pain' had stopped squeezing it's sharp claws into every muscle in their bodies. Dan and Jason were still in the hunt and on the Scratch bunches radar. Both made it into the tuff section at Harden, it's a steep descent into the township with an equally steep climb out the other side. It turns at the top (east of Harden) and then it's back down and the up again for the run home to Cootamundra via Wallendbeen. Scratch made contact with the front on the decisive  section coming back out of Harden and left all behind. The wind was now a head wing gusting at 60km/hr, it was tough. Some smaller chase groups formed behind and continued to race for the minor placing's. Wagga CC member Chris Mummie, rode well to finish in the money (16th). Wagga CC member Eamon Ryan was also looking good for a high place finish but failed to cross the finish line when he rode off the course, didn't turn left after the railway lines in Cootamundra. As you could imagine Eamon was a bit disappointed. It always pays to find out were the finish is before the start of the race.  To sum up, it was a challenging race, the boys were very competitive in their respective bunches and all were happy with their individual rides. We'll be back next year.

Next Race

The boys have all got some good racing in the legs and will be lining up for the second last race in the Morgan St Series this weekend at Uranquinity The Team will be working towards keeping Rohan in the lead and moving Jason up on GC. The weekend after that will be the first Stage of the Tour of Two Rivers in Griffith.

Posted 22 Aug  20099

Wagga to Albury

What a buzz. Tail winds, nice weather, beautiful green hills and high speed was the recipe for the day. I nearly felt like Leonardo DiCaprio hanging over the front of the Titanic every time I came through for a turn, mind you I was puffing a bit more than he was. Jason, Rohan, Dan and Simon lined up for the 130km drag race to Albury. Jason got a 16 minute head start on Scratch and was happy to make them chase. Dan, Simon and Rohan were not so lucky and landed in B grade, Just 8 minutes from the wolves. Tony had just returned from a 600km week in the QLD riding for Sick kids (Charity Ride, photo's) and chose to cheer the guys on at the start line. Lionel took up the driving duties for the day. Despite feeling good, Dan had a rough start and pulled the pin early in the race. He was suffering from a heavy week at work and the tail end of a cold, bit of asthma. However, Simon and Rohan were going great guns and swapped turn for turn with the rest of B Grade. Rohan and Simon caught up with Jason just after the cutting out of Walla Walla, he dropped off the pace and was cruising into the finish. B Grade caught up to C Grade just out of Jindera but spectators on the side of the road where still yelling 4 minutes to D Grade, inside 15 kilometres to go. It didn't look like A or B grade where going to catch the front of the race today. B Grade ended up holding off A Grade and averaged 45 km an hour but didn't catch the front, missed them by a couple of minutes. William Lind from Canberra CC won the race and Rhys Pollock was fastest. All in all, Simon and Rohan  were very happy with their race. Jason was wrapped to get in a hard hit out, with the intentions of building on some form for the Coota Annual and Tour of Two Rivers. Dan's put an ordinary week behind him and is looking forward to the Coota Annual.

The New Team Bus

The new team bus is getting it's final touches and will be ready for the trip to contest Stage 1 of the Tour of Two Rivers in Griffith.

Iron Mike

Dan, Jason and Simon made the trip over to the Iron Mike scratch race in Canberra in early August. The Iron Mike course was the same as the Canberra Tour, so the boys had a bit of an idea what they were in for. It's a tough course, that has some climbing and sections that are open to cross winds. The trip was made the much more worth while due to a crystal clear day. The B Grade field was a nice size and made a steady start on to the course. Simon Launched the first attack and made the field chase for a few kilometres, Dan and Jason were tucked away in the pack. The race came back together and the climbs started. Simon cracked at the first turn and dropped off the back, Dan and Jason were still holding pace and riding well. A small break went off the front at the second turn heading back out for the second lap. The race came back together before the third turn. Unfortunately Dan cracked and dropped off the pace. Jason was still in there and looking good, only the climb back out of Uriarra crossing to go. The strong men hit the front and turned up the pace on the climb out Uriarra. Jason couldn't hold and dropped back, he finished a very respectable 12th and 2min.35sec from the winner Joshua Quilliam. Jason was very happy with his ride after having a recent extend break from riding. It was a great race and the team  highly recommends it as a race to do.

Posted 16 Aug  20099

Morgan St Cycle Series-Race 5

The McDonald's Cycle Classic boys had the odds stacked against them again for race 5 of the Morgan St series. Rohan, Simon and Jason rode from scratch and gave what seemed like a life time head start to the limit markers. New comer Eamon Ryan and first time Scratch rider Peter Johnson, joined the bunch for the chase. Dan was absent, taking the opportunity to carve up the white powdery stuff. Big Tony was up front and determined not get caught to early. The Plan was to get Rohan and Jason to the front of the race for a crack at a win and hopefully either one could take over the series lead. Jason unfortunately had a rough week with a bout of Gastro and sarcome to the hard pace early. The rest of Scratch worked well and picked up Block 16km into the race. Both groups got together and worked well. The front marker had nearly 2 minutes at the final turn and the back of the field had 14 km to catch them. The pace got a bit frantic on the way home and we lost a few from the chasing bunch. The day was made a little more difficult with a strong northerly wind making the trip home hard. We caught the front of the race within 2 km to go, mission accomplished. A little bit of shadow boxing went on and the plan of the Team taking out the win nearly crashed on the side of the road.  Rohan rubbed his front wheel on the riders wheel in front and just avoided crashing. Simon rounded the corner and wound it up. Rohan made up the lost ground and come off the wheel with 150 metres to go, to take the win and his 4th fastest time in a row. The win catapulted Rohan into the series lead with two races to go. Simon held onto 3rd place just behind I've got to many gears, Brad Carroll in 2nd. Simon 3rd place has moved him into second overall in the series. Jason has dropped from 3rd to 4th in the series after his withdrawal.

Swap Meet and Tour de France get together.

The 1st annual Swap Meet and viewing of the penultimate stage of the Tour De France at Glenfield McDonalds restaurant  was deemed a huge success. We had half a dozen bike fanatics turn up with surplus bike stuff for the swap meet. The award for looking like a bike shop went to Simon Haworth. The most hopeful sale award went to Craig Williams, what were you thinking?

Thanks to Kidsons Cycles and GU Energy for providing some prizes to give away on the night. Greg Scott and Peter Johnson were the winners of the Tour Sweeps.

Andrew Blake was the winner of raffle. Andrew won a fantastic NiteRider Rebel 8.0 cycle computer valued at over a $300 (Donated by Kidsons Cycles)

In all we raised $450 for the Charity Ronald McDonald House. The money raised came from the raffle, sweeps and all profits on the night from the McCafe at Glenfield McDonalds.

Posted 2 Aug  20099

Morgan St Cycle Series-Race 3 & 4

So far the Limit markers have had all the Glory and are proving hard to catch (with the help of the Handicapper). Tony's win in round two resulted in being rewarded with a harder handicap, he's enjoying the challenge and his in the hunt for another podium place. Tony has dropped to 5th (17) in the points series and he is only 6 points from the lead. Rohan has now got  a hat trick of Fastest Times after taking out fastest in round 2, then round 3 and now round 4. Rohan finished off some solid work by the Team in round 4 and won the bunch sprint for third. The third place has now moved him into 4th (18) in the points series.

Members of the Team are off to contest their first Iron Mike in Canberra this weekend (8 Aug 2009). It's on the same course as the Canberra Tour, should be fun.

Posted 28 Jun 20099

Morgan St Cycle Series-Race 2

The Team lined up for race two of the Morgan St Cycle Series. Tony's steady improvement over the last few months has seen him take his maiden victory in the 56km handicap. Tony out sprinted 3 others to take the win. Tony's victory has moved him into the joint lead with rookie rider Emon Ryan.  Rohan ,Dan and Simon rode from scratch (with others) and only just missed catching the front of the race by a matter of seconds. Rohan finished off a tough ride with a great burst of speed to take out the fastest time prize. The boys managed to average just over 40km an hour for the 56km.  Jason's steadily recovering  from illness and regaining his strength. Jason was happy to finish with Rohan and the rest of the guys after a strong ride off block with Lionel.

Posted 5 Jun  2009

McDonalds Classic Weekend

The boys were pumped, this was it, the weekend we had all been waiting for. Unfortunately, Jason, Lionel and Simon had a disruptive lead up and were not expecting to much. Dan and Rohan however felt they had a bit of form and were nervous about the start. Dan Tony and Lionel made the split into the 84km race. Whilst Simon, Rohan and Jason made the split into the main event, 116km race. Tony improved considerable on last years effort and along with the limit bunch, got a fair way around before they were caught. Lionel sarcome to craps and dropped off the leaders to go back and finish with Scratch. Scratch missed making contact with the winners by a minute but Dan  capped off his day with Fastest time, a sash and a cheque.

In the116km event, Jason turned back early, still suffering the effects of a cold. Simon and Rohan made it across the hardest part of the course and were working well with their bunch. Block and second block made contact after only 55km into the race and boys had to dig deep to hang on. Simon couldn't handle the pace and dropped off. Rohan hung in and suffered through the foot hills of Junee but couldn't keep the pace of Block and dropped off.

The Criteriums were spectacular, with the course winding it's way around Victory Memorial Garden in the middle of Wagga. Tony was the first one to have a go and was right in there with a chance until his seat dropped. Jason and Dan rode the C Grade criterium and both were active up front. Jason was staring to recover from his cold and had a great ride to finish with the sprint. Dan capped off a great weekend with a 4th place. He got a bit of a fright when the gap his was riding into closed as he was sprinting for the win. Rohan and Simon lined up in B grade, Simon had a mechanical after 15 minutes and withdrew from the race a little disappointed. Rohan was extremely pleased with his ride, finishing with sprinting pack.

The Most exciting happening for the weekend was when Carl Henman (Wagga) won the $6300 Cervelo RS racing bike, donated by Cervelo and Kidsons Cycles.

Tour De Riverina

Stage 5 - The team had it all to do at the Dean Carter in Griffith. Rohan, Dan and Simon started from Scratch, Jason was off block, Lionel was in the middle and Tony was up front. Lionel got together with the group behind and drove the train like he normally does. Tony had a great ride and the limit bunch were proving a challenge to catch, until the bunch shut down for the hill sprint on the way home and allowed the middle markers to get across to them. The rest of the boys were doing it hard up the back trying to bridge the gap. Willing workers were getting harder to find as the race drew to a close and the back of the field failed to make contact. Lionel was in the sprint and went for in early but missed out on the points. Simon led Dan and Rohan out for fastest but John Forest (Suzuki/UNO) got the better of us and took fastest time.

Overall the Team finished just out of the money in the Team Classification. Dan and Simon were just outside the fastest Scratchman prize. The job was a little harder this year with Rohan, Dan, Simon and Jason starting from Scratch or Block. However, another successful Tour De Riverina and the boys are looking forward to next year.

Posted 11 May 20099

Coota Haycarters

Dan, Tony and Simon made the trip to Coota for the start of the 2009 edition of the Haycarters weekend. Lionel raced on Sunday, Jason was out with a cold and Rohan had some family commitments.  It's an extremely popular weekend of racing, with racing numbers having been as high as 280 in previous years. This years event saw another health field of 260 make their way west. The weather was the same as Canberra the weekend before, blue skies and mild temperatures. Tony's consistency and hard work is starting to pay some dividend after he took out the first hill top sprint. A big improvement after being dropped on the same climb last year. The highlight of the weekend that no one from the team was caught up in the massive pile up 3 km out of Cootamundra. The Professional Team of Drapac/Porsche ploughed a path through the field to take 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Drapac/Porsche repeated their victory on Sunday after an easterly wind blew up and increased the difficulty by 10. Drapac/Porsche team time trialled through the field again. Dan, Simon and Lionel were all happy with their respective rides.

Posted 5 May 2009

Canberra Tour

Team McDonalds Classic made the trip to Canberra to contest the 25th edition of the Canberra Tour. Canberra CC did a great job as always and the weekend was made that much better by the blue skies and mild temperatures. Tony, Dan, Rohan and Jason  were all racing the Canberra Tour for the first time and all were a little apprehensive about what to expect. The course had been changed from the 2007 edition due to some road works on the Coppins Crossing road but all were expecting some hills to climb. The talented Dan finished the best of the Team on Saturday and was only 28 seconds off the lead going into stage 2. Dan was again looking good nearly halfway into Sunday's race but punchered and had to get a spare from the follow vehicle. Dan was unfortunately unable to close the gap back to the leaders and called it a day. Rohan came good after suffering for the first half of stage 2 to come home the first finisher from the  Team. Rohan was followed a couple of minutes later by Jason and Simon. Tony gained some valuable experience and gave the hamstrings a good work out. Tony had another first for the weekend, a hamstring cramp. All the guys enjoyed themselves immensely and will be heading back next year.

Stage 4 Tour De Riverina

Team McDonalds Classic fought hard with the rest of back markers but missed out by a mere 23 seconds on a chance at victory and some points towards General Classification.  The wind played a factor again with speeds over 60km /hr being reached on the last leg for home. Unfortunately the front markers had there act together again and held off the rest of the field. Robert Hall from Griffith managed to repeat last years 2nd place and take the lead in Tour., whilst Wagga CC Mark Wilson won the stage. Dan had his first start as a scratchman and handled the extra pressure well.

Posted 30 Mar 20099

Stage 3 Tour De Riverina

Team McDonalds Classic have had a great finish to stage 3 of the Tour De Riverina. Daniel and Simon have made the split with a very select group of 16 fast men to take points in their quest for Individual and Team Glory. Dan finished 6th and Simon Finished 9th. Rohan put in an exceptional effort to make the initial break and fought hard but circum to the cross wind. Jason and Lionel missed the initial break after they were caught up in a small crash coming out of the Rock up a short sharp climb. Team McDonalds Classic have moved up into 6th place in the Team event. Dan and Simon have moved up into the top 20 on GC, two stages to go.

Wagga MTB 3+3

Team McDonalds Classic swapped their awesome Cervelo Road bikes for some fat tyre steeds and took on the Mountain Bikers in Wagga MTB Clubs first 6 hour contest. Lionel, Simon, Rohan and guest rider Geoff Hale teamed up to form 2 teams. The going was pretty tough after backing up from Saturday's race but both teams were in the hunt early putting in some great lap times. 5 laps in and it was a close tussle between Lionel/Simon and Rohan/Geoff for the remaining podium spot, 3rd place. It wasn't until Geoff Hale flattered that Lionel/Simon opened up a gap to hold onto bragging rights for the next 12 months.

Canberra Tour

The Team is heading to Canberra on 2 & 3 May 2009 to contest the Canberra Tour. We have a couple of spare seats/beds if you would like to join us give Simon a call on 02 69373437 Wk.

Posted 9 Mar 20099

Big River Roofing/Multi-Sport Criteriums

Team McDonalds Classic have tasted success on there first outing to a state event. The team lined up for two days of Criterium racing at Albury's Multi-sport weekend.  Best result of the weekend was Dashing Dan Uden's performance in Saturday's long course crit. Dan took an impressive 1st place in B grade in his first Criterium race. Simon Haworth backed up from last years win to take a hard fought 3rd place. Rohan Taylor and Simon were unlucky not to place in Sunday's shorter circuit crit after riding a very strong race. It was a fierce battle between Canberra CC riders and the McDonalds Classic  duo with the Canberra Boys getting the better of Simon and Rohan in the last corner, Rohan finished 4th and Simon was 5th. However, Jason Condon made Sunday's trip worthwhile after taking out  2nd place in C grade.

Team McDonalds Classic will be hosting a Bicycle Swap Meet on 25 July 2009,  just prior to watching Stage 20 of the Tour De France. The venue will be the Glenfield McDonalds Store on Glenfield Rd Wagga wagga. Selling/Swapping will start at 8.00pm.

The night will also be a fund raiser for Ronald McDonald House Wagga wagga.

Come and at least join the Team and watch the this year's Tour de France showdown, the third mountain top finish of the 96th edition and the all-decisive one. Some of the Tour's most legendary chapters - both the glorious and the tragic ones - were written on the slopes of the dreaded 'bald mountain', the Mont Ventoux. This year, the giant of Provence has been placed on the route just 24 hours prior to the final coronation on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, and is going to be the ultimate cycling spectacle.