Can you give the readers an introduction to the club? Our current cycling club has been in existence since 1957 and we continue to grow every year. We have both a Cycling Australia Road component and a MTBA component which both sit under the same umbrella. We currently have circa 400 financial road riding members and another 100+ separate mountain bike members making us one of the larger clubs on the scene. However we haven’t always been this big and only a few short years ago we were a much smaller club. We are very much a racing based club and we are certainly one of the most active clubs within the region when it comes to putting on events and having our members attend events and we think that this will continue with a strong contingent heading to Bowral for the Classic.
What are some unique aspects of the Manly Warringah Cycling Club? We are the team of the Beaches due to our location on the northern beaches of Sydney. We have ‘Squadra Della Spiaggia’ on our jerseys which is that motto in Italian (at least i hope that is what it is saying). Whilst our rides take in the waterfront we are also very lucky to have a National Park within our region which allows for some riding in the bushland and hills away from the beachfront. We use that National Park for our monthly road races, which are the only regular road races in Sydney and these events attract 200+ riders every month.
Outside of our monthly road races, we also run a summer crit series, a summer short course mountain bike series and a winter cyclocross series that is just about to commence. We are the only club in Sydney that runs a regular cyclocross series, so as you can see by our calendar, our small team of volunteers put on a number of events.
We are certainly very lucky to have a core group of volunteers who are so willing to put on so many events, which we know many other clubs and riders rely upon for their racing and training.
Has the MWCC had any recent members ride to fame on a national or international level? We have a number of riders competing in the National Road Series such as Jake Kauffmann the current NSW Road Champion and we also partner with Mobius Future Racing, a NSW based NRS team. However our club isn’t just about the elite riders, we provide for all level of riders all the way down to our free kids races at our cyclocross events and free kids training at our crit events. We realise that all riders give 100% at our events, regardless of what grade they are racing in. We would expect that a number of our masters aged riders and our female riders will be competitive at this event.
What are some options for non-members who want to be more involved in the club? We have group rides from Tuesday to Saturday and they vary in size and speed and there is certainly something for everyone. Whether it be our Saturday Cruisers ride or our fast Coast and Toast Saturday group. Approximately 40% of our membership is non-racing and they are just as interested in our group rides, social nights or limited edition riding kits that we put out. A lot of our members start out as non-racing members before they become addicted to pinning on a number – it is a very contagious hobby!
Can you briefly offer any tips to those hoping to conquer the 160km Bowral Classic ride? You aren’t going to win it in the first hour, but you can certainly lose it. So many riders go out at 100% in that first hour only to grovel home. Similarly if you haven’t ridden at a fast speed in training, don’t think you will miraculously do it on the day. So the overall theme is – keep your ego in check.
Does the MWCC have any events that will help riders prepare for the Bowral Classic? In order to get into supreme shape for this event we expect a number of our riders and other local riders will be using our monthly West Head Road races to sharpen up their form and many will be at their peak since they will have only recently completed ‘The Wall’ on the 9 October. ‘The Wall’ is Sydney’s only handicap road race which our Club puts on. After its inaugural event last year, which saw a third of the field DNF, riders will know that they have to be in racing condition to compete. So expect some fast legs at the Classic.
Thanks to Alexis Kaless and the members of MWCC for the words.
