HISTORY
It all started at a barbecue in in 1978 when Don Beavis envisaged a cycling club that was more than just racing. One that was fun and incorporated weekday rides, tours and socialising as well as various racing disciplines. Now we're one of the biggest clubs in Australia with almost 500 members.
1978
THE BEGINNING
Don Beavis was the President of Eastern Suburbs Amateur Cycling Club but was growing concerned about the ‘hard core’ racing attitude of that club. Don envisaged a club that looked upon cycling as more than just racing. He resigned his position and in good Australian tradition, hosted a barbecue with his riding friends to discuss the idea – and thus our club was born with a more holistic view of cycling, incorporating both sport and recreation.
With riders sometimes racing interstate and even overseas, it was decided that the name Sydney would be identifiable anywhere and so the new club had a name.
The founding members were Don Beavis; President/Secretary, Tom Wilhelm; Treasurer; and Bruno Sibilia; Race Secretary. The general members were Jack Browne, Alain Agullo, Gilbert Droz, John Manini, John Lovell-Jones, Michael Goulay, George Chalvin, Dave Stakes and Paul Montesin.
1979
OUR FIRST KIT
Don Beavis also designed the club’s first jersey, which was produced by Mrs Christoff of Adelaide, and was 100% wool. However, unfortunately when it was wet, it would stretch out of shape and at times you would appear to be wearing a skirt. They would also shrink, unevenly of course, with the striped side shrinking more than the rest.
The chosen colours of red, white and blue were reflective of the club’s membership at that time (Australian, English and French).
Nowadays you might see some club members wearing a replica of the first jersey but made with modern materials that can cope better with wet weather. This new kit is reserved exclusively for our 'old boys' who owned the original wool version.
1979
CREATING CRITERIUMS
Club meetings were held at Sydney Bicycle & Motor Club, Wynyard Park. In 1979 the Bicycle & Motor Club was celebrating its centenary year, and SCC organised a criterium to coincide with that and the annual Festival of Sydney. The race circuit was along Hickson Road in The Rocks, and the race was called ‘Myer’s Cup Cycle Race’ with Kevin Nichols winning from Shane Sutton.
The event was such a success that Don decided to look for another course where they could hold more regular crit races without the need for road closures. With the help of some members from Randwick Botany CC they illegally pulled down a few fences at a disused migrant hostel centre in Maroubra. By doing this they opened up an outstanding criterium course but didn’t realise how successful it would become. Heffron Park is now a Sydney racing institution. As well as hosting local amateur racing, Heffron has also seen world-class cyclists such as Manfred Otto, Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Caleb Ewan and many more.
1979
THE FIRST TT
The club’s first Time Trial Championships were held at Heffron Park on September 16th 1979 with Alain Agullo taking best time on this ‘tight’ circuit and was presented with a trophy for the occasion.
1980
THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER
SCC struggled through 1980 and 1981 with only a handful of members. A meeting was held with the view of winding up the club. Don Beavis stated that his work commitments would not allow him enough time to preside over the club, although he remained President until 1983.
With dwindling numbers, all seemed lost until a rider cycled up alongside Alan Smith (Life member) in Centennial Park and asked to join the SCC. His name was John Beauchamp and due to his banking background was soon made Club Treasurer - a position he held for eight years. John also produced a monthly SCC newsletter, which he delivered by bike, of course! Thanks to John, membership began to increase and club meetings transferred from John's home to Woollahra Public School to accommodate more members.
1982
THE SPLIT
Membership stood at 54. In a vote, members decided to restructure SCC into two distinct clubs: Sydney Cycling Club and Sydney Cyclists’ Club. Sydney Cycling Club catered for the racing membership of the Club (membership was $36), while Sydney Cyclists’ Club catered for all club members purely for touring and social events (membership was $6). Club monthly meetings were conducted at the Royal Hotel, Randwick (Don Beavis had just completed interior alterations to the pub).
1982
SKID LIDS ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA
Club Secretary, John Beauchamp, first brought a Skid Lid helmet back from the USA, having used one while participating in the Cycle Across America. The Skid Lid was the first of its kind in Australia; it was constructed from polymer plastic, and proved to be a huge success with club members.
Race officials had to sanction the use of these new skid lids. The skid lid was a far better design than the leather hairnet, because it was strong but still quite flexible.
1982
KANGAROO VALLEY TOUR
In February 1982 the club held its first tour to Kangaroo Valley. The full circuit was 345km with accommodation at the Kangaroo Valley Caravan Park. The tour continues today and proves just as popular, although we don't cycle back and spend more time touring around the surrounding region.
1983
THE SUNDOWNER
A popular two day handicapped race starting in Coonabarabran and finishing in Gunnedah (107km), and then Gunnedah to Tamworth on the second day (75 km). Six SCC members – Alan Revell, Perc Carter, Alan Smith, Bruce Vote, John Burraston and Don Sigsby participated and the boys looked rather splendid in their red, white and blue jerseys. There was a major mouse plague in the region and members said it was not pleasant riding over large carpets of dead mice in several parts of the race.
1983
THE OPERA HOUSE CRITS
SCC decide to host another criterium in an iconic area of Sydney and this time propose Mrs Macquarie’s Chair as an alternative venue to The Rocks for the Carnivale Criterium. The State Premier’s Department announces it is not happy with the route and wants the club to pursue the Hyde Park Circuit. The club is assured that the Police Department will take full responsibility for traffic and crowd control. Final approval is received from the Urban Transit Authority and the Police to host the Carnivale race at the Opera House circuit with Air New South Wales as the main sponsor. SCC was represented by Mark Bonwick, who started in C Grade with a strong field of more than 30 riders. Mark stayed at the front of the race and rode away from the field to win quite comfortably.
1983
TOURING TAKES OFF
Club tours were already a popular part of club life but in 1983 SCC appoints Bruce Vote & Paul Montesin as the first Tour Secretary to organise tours to Bathurst, the Hunter Valley, Kangaroo Valley, the Bundanoon Weekend and several ‘day tours’.
Kangaroo Valley
Nine SCC riders set out from Centennial Park on a crisp Saturday morning to ride the 160km to Kangaroo Valley. Around Menangle John Burraston and Albert Guerreiro made a break from the bunch – don’t ask how you break away from a touring group! Needless to say, John and Albert lost their way and ended up covering a further distance of 60km before they finally arrived at Kangaroo Valley. The annual Kangaroo Valley ride continues to be a very popular event with members. The tour also showed the value of having a sag wagon available.
Bathurst Area Tour (B.A.T)
Seventeen members were hosted by club member Owen Lowe at his house in Evans Plains. Everyone drove up on Friday but Mark Kitteridge decided to leave a day early and cycle there, stopping overnight at Katoomba Youth Hostel. The team unexpectedly stumbled across a parade in Blayney and, not missing an opportunity, promptly joined in. The weather was hot and prompted lots of post-ride refreshments in the form of amber fluid.
Hunter ValleyTour
Besieged by rain, the first day became a tour of the wineries by auto! The second day looked foreboding but they clocked 86km and made it back before it rained again. Quote of the weekend came from Perc Carter who said “I can't win – ride in the rain and puncture two $30 singles, or keep dry at the wineries but splurge $60 on plonk”.
1983
FIRST ANNUAL LADIES TIME TRIAL
The first Annual Ladies Time Trial was held in Centennial Park with eight lady club members competing. The two lap race was won by Marjorie Lobban on silk tubes and a freshly installed 72 rear gear with a time of 13m 22s (34.1 km/h av). As well as the champagne for the winners Paul Montesin presented carnations and Russian chocolates to all competitors.
The mixed time trials were held down La Perouse. If you go on our Saturday Lapa ride you will ride along part of the 8km circuit. Cooper / Conceicao won with a time of 16:09 and John Sunde got the best individual lap time of 7:06.
The club also hosted a Time Trial in the Royal National Park starting at the Picnic Area and heading up Waterfall hill to the station and back again.
1984
AUDAXES & DAY TOURS
Audax rides were popular within the club and several were planned for the year. Most notable was the Sydney to Moss Vale return, which was 300km. Day tours were also on the club calendar including the Penrith to Sublime Point Tour. While not as long as an Audax, they were longer than our regular rides and either required a train trip to get to the start or from the finish. Day Tours continued to be popular for most of the club's history.
1984
GOULBURN TO LIVERPOOL
Paul Montesin finished 10th in the prestigious Goulburn to Liverpool Classic having previously finished 6th. This race which had been run on various courses was sadly cancelled in 2012 as police would not approve a rolling road closure of the Hume Highway that the teams insisted on.
1985
SYDNEY CITY CRITERIUM
After a great amount of anguish, the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust finally allowed SCC to use Mrs Macquarie’s Road Circuit for a race on the morning of 30th June. Over 130 riders were registered, including some of the State’s top riders, including Kevin Nichols, Graham Seers and Geoff Skaines.
There were 2 races - the first was at 8am for veterans/women, consisting of 20 laps of the 2km circuit. The second race at 9:15am was the junior/senior event, which was a 100km race that was 'sure to offer some spectacular riding as the men are sorted from the boys'.
1986
THE NEW KIT SAGA
A questionnaire circulated the previous year that showed members were far from happy with the lacklustre kit design, which had not changed much in seven years. As an individual club it was thought we should have a distinctive and specifically Sydney jersey. The executive searched far and wide for a dazzling design, which met the criterion necessary to please its members. Spencer White and Sarina Baker produced several designs for a more avant-garde garment and fashion designer Christine Sunde was also active in creating designs that were specifically Sydney based. Debate continued to rage with several ballots drawing no consensus, and no one willing to make an executive decision.
1986
in 1986 the Sydney City Criterium was sponsored by the film American Flyer
SYDNEY CRITERIUM - OFF TO A FLYER
Our Sydney Criterium got a big sponsorship with Seven Keys PR in 1986. They renamed the race the American Flyer classic to promote a feature film based on bicycle racing in the USA. The film features both a very young Kevin Costner riding the Hell of the West road race in Colorado, and Eddie, an effective but unconventional sprint coach. There were three races on the Mrs Macquarie’s Chair Circuit; the junior event started at 7:45am closely followed by the veterans / women and then the senior event. Prize money was $3500, making it one of the richest events in Australian Amateur Cycling. The event was a huge financial success as well a brilliant racing event making the club a $1090 profit.
1986
CHRISTMAS ROLL
Billed as a special Christmas Anticlimax, Brute Vote instigated SCC’s inaugural coasting competition on Christmas Day. A competition where over consumption over the festive period pays off! Starting at Woollahra Gate, competitors coast down Loch Avenue and see how far along Grand Drive they can roll before coming to a complete stop. In order to prevent pedalling, competitors’ cranks were carefully taped to their chain stays while marshals inspected bidons and removed unnecessary pumps or Christmas decorations. The only rules were you had to use a standard bike, no additional weights. First prize was a bottle of champagne and a Christmas cake, which was won by Bob Greig.
1987
MASTERS GAMES
Clubman Matt Marlow brings home 5 Silver medals at the Masters Games held in Launceston, Tasmania. Silver in the Road Race, the 500m TT, the 5k Scratch, 5k Point Score and the Criterium.
1987
SCC HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP
The inaugural SCC Hill Climb Championship was held in the 'so salubrious' Bellevue Hill. It was just a short climb of 1.4km up Beresford Rd / Drumalbyn Road. Unfortunately the winner has been lost in the annals of time.
1987
SCC WOMEN
The SCC Women’s Race Team single-handedly puts SCC into the winning circle with placings in every event they entered, showing themselves as a force on the Sydney scene. Helen Marcus finished 3rd in the Illawarra Open (B-Grade), the Mattara Open (B-Grade), the Nowra Open (A-Grade) and won the Randwick Botany Open (B-Grade) the Nowra CC 2 Day Tour. Rosemarie Peerenboom was 4th in Sutherland Open, 1st in the Nowra Open (B-Grade), equal first with Helen at the Nowra 2 Day Tour, 5th at the SCC Sydney Criterium and 7th in the Canberra 2 Day Tour.
After a saga lasting over a year SCC finally decides on a design for their new kit.
After a saga lasting over a year SCC finally decides on a design for their new kit.
1987
A NEW KIT AT LAST!
The ‘Great Jersey Design Exercise’ finally comes to an end and a decision is made. The result of numerous committee meetings, the design retains the club’s red, white and blue colours while creating a very dramatic and stylish jersey that was trendsetting for the time. Part of the design also includes a new logo, which incorporated the Sydney Opera House for the first time. The jersey was made from a cotton-backed lycra and cost $40. The club was so proud of the kit we introduced a club jersey ride every Sunday to show it off.
1988
CLUBMAN TROPHY
Frank Milner presented the club with a very precious memento, a pair of binoculars with an inscription “Won by R. Patrick, Sprint Race and Attendance, Sydney Bicycle Club 1896". The similar sounding named intrigued a few members and they set about researching it. They found no link between Sydney Cycling Club and Sydney Bicycle Club but they managed to track down and contact the granddaughter of the original recipient, R. Patrick. We offered to return the trophy but it was agreed that the binoculars should be used as a perpetual trophy and it became SCC’s trophy for Club Person of the Year.
1989
OUR HEROES
Five club members were featured on the cover of Jan/Feb edition of Freewheeling magazine in their superheroes outfits on the ‘Gong Ride’ raising money for MS sufferers. Michaela Evatt tried to be incognito behind her goggles and Clay Kesting had a very revealing Spiderman outfit and attempted to hide his modesty behind Kerrie-Ann Eaton.
1989
WATERFALL RIDE
The shoulders on the Princes Highway between Heathcote and Waterfall get sealed, resulting in a better and safer ride for cyclists on the busy highway.
1989
THE HILLTOP HANDICAP
The inaugural running of the 51km handicap club race on the Yanderra Circuit south of Sydney had 16 members turn up to race. The course rolls gently downhill for the first half to Tahmoor before rising through a series of climbs to the finish at Hill Top. There was unanimous approval of the event from all concerned and it was agreed that some fair dinkum club racing would be had twice a year!
1989
TRAGIC DEATH
Club member Frank Murray died on 6th November at the age of 21 years as a result of a bicycle accident while training at Watsons Bay. This was a very sad occasion for all club members as he was extremely well liked. Frank is remembered for his 100% effort in SCC events, especially the Time Trials and for this reason we named our annual Time Trial Trophy in his honour.
1990
AUSTRALIAN VETERAN TRACK CHAMPIONSHPS
Matthew Marlow brought home three Bronze medals at the Australian Veteran Track Championships in Shepperton. Matthew podiumed in the 500m TT (49 seconds), the 3 Lap Derby and the 10 Lap Scratch Race. At the time this made Matthew the club’s most successful racer.
1990
SCC SHORT COURSE RECORD
Marty Renwick breaks the SCC 2 lap (short course) ITT record with a time of 9:44:74 (45.63km/h) Although technically not a member of the club at the time it is still an impressive time.
1990
MOUNTAIN BIKING
A mountain bike ride is first introduced to the club calendar by Clay Kesting. Now Kesting’s bought a mountain bike, its fleece a stipple glow, And everywhere ‘El Presi’ rolls, His nobbie wheelies blow!
1990
EVENING RIDES
Evening and afternoon rides were introduced to the regular club rides. After all, not everyone's an early bird! On Wednesday evenings members could join for laps around the Park from 5pm to 7pm and also on Saturdays from 2pm for a couple of hours.
1990
WOMEN’S ROAD RACE CHAMPION
Robyn Van Nooten wins the Women’s Road Race Championship (30-35) held in Forster and came second overall in points. The race was an exciting event. Tanya and Robyn worked together to stop any breakaways being effective. Consequently, the bunch stayed together throughout the entire race. There was a bunch sprint for the finish which saw Robyn crossing the line and Tanya Bosch coming in third.
1991
OUR FIRST STATE TTT MEDAL
Pre-race jitters finally saw them away but it took the team 3-4km to get the basic paceline together, whereupon the pre-conditioned training techniques finally took charge. After 5km Victoria’s recent illness saw her drop off, with Fiona, Gaye and Ruthie finally settling into that perfect Sydney rhythm. At the quarter mark we were in 3rd position and 6 seconds down, not that we knew that at the time. At the first hill on the way out, gear problems clouded the flow… they turned like Olympians, Gaye having ridden to the pre-race strategy now hung on for life. Ruth riding like a state rep, held the team together, while Fiona utilising her ‘Schwarzenegger' leg muscles, rode gears a little too big and complemented Ruth. The last quarter being the most fluid and smooth, we came in fast to the finish – with a time of 35:48 it was just 7 seconds off first. The team behind the Club’s first State Silver medal was Victoria, Fiona O’Connor, Gaye and Ruthie - coached by Peter Montford.
1991
Members at the 2002 Kilo event at Botany Bay
In more recent years we've held the Kilo at Tempe Velodrome.
Members at the 2002 Kilo event at Botany Bay
OUR FIRST KILO
The inaugural Kilo event was first introduced to our club racing calendar. The standing start 1km time trial was held along the breakwater at Botany Bay. It has been a fixture in club racing ever since moving to a number of different courses including Tempe Velodrome. The Kilo Trophy is so big it's been likened to a boogie board.
1991
AUSTRALIAN CRITERIUM CHAMPION
Tanya Bosch, with clever tactics, won the women's Australian Criterium Championship (30-39 age group) holding off a field of 13 other riders. Tanya in a breakaway of five, jumped the last corner to sprint the final 250 metres for gold and the Australian Champion title. Tanya also finished 4th in the Road Race on a 28km circuit.
1992
LONG COURSE RECORD
Peter Montford sets the Club TT Long Course (10km) record with a time of 13:41.65 (43.79kph). The long course started at the Woollahra gates and did two ‘cat ear’ laps.
1992
MOUNTAIN BIKING
The club affiliates with the Australian Mountain Bike Association. With a growing number of club members opting for a mountain bike as a second or third bike the club looked into conducting a club MTB race
1992
OUR FIRST SPONSOR
Bondi Junction Cycles become our first sponsor. The amount of support was $3000 and was spent on race clothing for sponsored riders, transport to country races, race entry and trophies as well as a 20% discount at Bondi Junction Cycles for sponsored riders. The jersey was revised to feature the new sponsor.
1992
NATIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sam Naudin becomes the first member to represent SCC at the National Road Championships in Adelaide, finishing in the top 20.
1993
NSW TEAM TRIAL - SILVER BULLETS
SCC wins Silver in the NSW Women’s Team Time Trial Championship at Calga. This was the third year running SCC got a medal. All the early morning training sessions with Clay Kesting paid off as they really gave the more fancied Northern Suburbs team (packed with AIS riders) a scare. The starting line up of Charlotte, Kerith, Jane and Sue were to be applauded with a gutsy effort with a time of 32:40.
SUPER GIRL
Kerith Duncanson continued the medal winning form of our female riders with a fantastic performance in the NSW Road Titles held at Centennial Park. Kerith picked up Bronze which was even more fantastic since as it was only her second road race ever. Her strength and determination relegated some more fancied riders out of the placings.The state selectors were so impressed that they no choice but to select her for the NSW State team to compete at the Australian Nationals.
1993
1993
SUPER GIRL RETURNS
In a meteoric rise to fame and stardom, club member Kerith Duncanson helped the NSW Women’s Time Trial team to a Bronze at the Australian Championships. By all accounts Kerith’s efforts almost blew away her own team members.Kerith’s race history is remarkable having only joined the club in early 1993. Back then she was an awkward triathlete and with no real idea about team or bunch riding, but things were about to change! With the guidance of Clay Kesting and the support from the club including Charlotte, Sue and Mary she had a truly unbelievable first year in the sport.
1993
TOUR DE TWO DAYS
The club race got completely revamped this year and was held over two days comprising of three stages. The first stage was a Time Trial at Centennial Park and was followed by a criterium in Heffron Park. The final stage was a handicapped road race on the Hilltop circuit in the Southern Highlands with Simon Wells winning the race in a fine breakaway and jumping from this to win the overall General Classification. Simon had a great year winning the Veterans Southern Cross Cup and dominating most of the races he entered.
RUNNERS CORNER
Jane Depas wins at the NSW State Duathlon Championships. Not only did she win but she took an amazing 4 minutes off the record. Jane also came 10th in this year's City 2 Surf with a time of 53 minutes. Jane went on to win the National Duathlon title in Geelong on an endurance course of 8km run - 60km ride - 8km run held in bitterly cold conditions. Jane blitzed her rivals by over 8 minutes and earned a fully paid trip to Texas to compete in the World Titles.
1993
CLUB MEMBERSHIP
Club membership reaches 90 members.
1994
ONE LAP RECORD
Ben Litchfield breaks the SCC 1 lap ITT record with a time of 4:48:00 (47.1km/h). The One Lap Course started at the cannons.
1994
SHORT COURSE RECORD
Tom Brook sets a time of 9:48:00 for the SCC 2 lap (short course) ITT. Debate arises as even though it is 2 seconds slower than Marty Renwick’s time, Marty wasn’t a SCC member when he set the time. The Short Course started at the cannons and did two laps.
1994
BIG CRASH
Unfortunately, in our sport there’s a chance of crashing. Most of the time you’ll get away with just some road rash but in 1994 one of our club’s worst crashes happened. The lessons learnt from that day made us into the safety-focused club we are now. On that fateful day, Marty Renwick and a number of other riders crashed heavily on the Waterfall ride during the sprint to Sutherland doing 70kmph. A number of clubs were riding together along with a rider no one knew. This mix of riders and abilities is thought to have contributed to the crash. Marty came off worst with a head injury resulting in him spending a week in a coma.It was an awful moment and understanding that it could never be repeated, the position of “Ride Captain’ was introduced. Chosen from the most experienced riders in the SCC bunch, this person was responsible for everyone’s safety on a training ride. It was their remit to say what others might not, to whomever it should be said to. It didn’t matter if they were a newbie not doing what they should, or an experienced member doing something they shouldn’t, and it relieved fellow club members of having to take this task upon themselves.
1994
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ROAD RACE
After a spectacular debut season Kerith Duncanson (pictured left #480) races the elites at the Australian National Road Race.
1994
SYDNEY CRITERIUM - OUR RACE
The club has not one but two races to run at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair thanks to NSWCF. It was almost the criterium that never happened after three sponsors hit the silk and we were left high and dry with a week to go before race day. Luck was on our side and sponsorship arrived like the cavalry over the hill from a variety of sources. Bondi Junction Cycles came in, bringing with them Maxi and Netti. Why did this happen? The cost of running the race had steadily stretched over the years beyond the means of most of our friends in bike shops and in bike-related companies. We had to look outside the industry for a sponsor and frankly most of them couldn’t care less about cycling so we scramble every year for more and more money. The club didn’t make very much money from the race, if at all and very few of our members race because they are helping out on the day. We wanted the NSWCF to help meet the fixed costs of running the race otherwise we wouldn’t hold the race anymore. It was the best crit course in the country and our logistic and management of the day was superb. Sydney City Council also felt the race was interfering with tourism.
1994
BRETT RETIRES AS EDITOR
With more than two years in the role Brett turned the Sydney Cyclist into ‘TIME Magazine’. In the past, the newsletter had been a simple, but informative affair issued monthly. However, this changed when Brett, a particularly funny and literate member became editor and decided that the newsletter should really be both informative and an opportunity for the club to really engage with itself. The newsletter grew from one or two A4 sheets, to often a dozen pages, and in colour as well, as new columns were added, pictures from club events appeared, and members began to contribute articles, commentaries, and yes, gossip, of their own. It was, in equal parts, funny, serious, and informative. The newsletter became quite an anticipated and unifying feature of the club - and on the odd occasion when publication was late for one reason or another, it was common to receive several phone calls asking where it was.
1995
STATE TEAM TIME TRIAL GOLD
Once again, our female club members lead the way winning the State Time Trial Championships at Calga and smashing the course record by 50 seconds. Consisting of Jane ‘California’ Despas, Sarah ‘she’s so’ Fein, Charlotte, ‘The Joker’ Pordham and Sally ‘The Rock’ Thompson.
1995
WOMEN’S LONG COURSE CLUB RECORD
Charlotte Pordham breaks the women’s SCC Long Course ITT record with a time of 14:44:27. The Long Course started at the Woollahra gates and did two ‘cat ear’ laps.
1995
Charlotte White on the podium at Mrs Macquarie's Chair
Charlotte White on the podium at Mrs Macquarie's Chair
SYDNEY CITY CRITERIUM - OUR RACE
This year we tried something different, a new course, a different direction, a new race format and a new way of funding. Clarence Street Cyclery agrees to provide support for the race by committing $2000 for raffle prizes. Every member of the club is asked to sell a 50 ticket raffle book valued at $100 to help raise the $6000 needed to run the criterium with the aim to be a self supporting event. They were the key to the financial success of the event.
The actual event was a ripper, the weather was brilliant, the set up went smoothly, the catering was run with panache and the racing was top notch. Charlotte Pordham blew away any would-be contenders for the State Criterium crown. Charlotte’s win not only secured her the Gold medal for the criterium series but completed the trifecta in winning all three State Road Titles in 1995 as well as the Teams Time Trial Gold - a feat unmatched in the Federation records.
1995
Charlotte gets Silver in her first Nationals
Charlotte gets Silver in her first Nationals
WORLD CLASS CHARLOTTE
1995 was the year that our very own Charlotte White (nee Pordham) announces herself as a world-class cyclist. She beat the entire Australian team by more than 3 minutes at the Cowpastures Bicentennial; won the NSW State Road Championship, won the State Time Trial Championships breaking the Calga course record, won Gold at the Metropolitan Track Championships the 3000m individual pursuit with a time of 4:02:92, finished 2nd in National Championships in Canberra and qualified Australia for the Olympics by finishing second in the Oceania Road Championship.
Charlotte joined SCC as a rank amateur with little cycling background but with club tutelage and a hell of a lot of hard work she became one of our best ever cyclists.
1996
ANOTHER BIG YEAR FOR CHARLOTTE
• Charlotte was offered a full AIS Scholarship for 1996. She was included in a seven-woman squad to vie for the three spots for the Atlanta games.
• Finished in 5th place in the Bay Criterium Series in Melbourne racing against 38 of the best cyclists in Australia.
• Successfully defended her State Road Title on a gruelling 75km Course at Kangaloon.
• Got selected for the World Championships but had to pull out through injury.
• Was voted NSW Roadwoman of the Year.
• Charlotte marries Club member Chris White.
1996
NSW CYCLISTS OF THE YEAR
Adding to their already impressive lists of achievements, our two most illustrious racing members, Charlotte White and Simone Bernoth, were recently honoured by the NSWCF as the outstanding women cyclists of the past year in their respective classes.
Charlotte was voted NSW Road Woman of the Year after her incredible feat of scooping the State Road, Time Trial, Criterium and Team Time Trial Championships. A first in NSW's history.
Simone was honoured as the Outstanding U/19 Woman Cyclist of the Year after her tremendous accomplishment of winning every NSW track title in 1995, the U/19 Road Time Trial, three Silvers at the National Track Championships and then representing Australia at the Junior World Championships in Italy. Our Golden Girls!!!
1997
PENNY FARTHING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The wheels of time turn back over a hundred years as the peaceful village of Evandale in northern Tasmania attracts enthusiasts from across Australia and around the world. Our very own Geoff Olsen placed 3rd in the men’s national Penny Farthing championship!
1997
GIRO ITALIA
A going away dinner was held for Charlotte White prior to her leaving on a five-month overseas training with the Australian Cycling team. During her time away Charlotte competed in the most prestigious stage race on the women's calendar - the Giro Rosa or the Women's Giro Italia as it is also known. Charlotte finished 32nd in a highly competitive field in her first Grand Tour. Charlotte also raced in Germany in The Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen, a women's stage race and finished 30th.
1998
SYDNEY CITY CRITERIUM MOVES TO CENTENNIAL PARK
After much drama and setback we couldn’t secure the course at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. This was sad news as the club had hosted a criterium race on this iconic course every year since 1985. A new venue was needed and fortunately Centennial Park allowed us to host the race there. This year’s event was also held in conjunction with ‘The International Women’s Cycling Challenge’. The challenge took place on the ‘World Cup’ circuit, a 75km course (26 laps of a 2.9km circuit). Charlotte White had an incredible ride in the 75km road stage, finishing 2nd. Charlotte helped set up a break of 5 riders who lapped the bunch with a final sprint to the line deciding it.
1999
OUR FIRST WEBSITE
SCC enters the dot com boom and launches its first ever website. It was designed by a freelance designer and built by technical guru Ian Schofield. The site got a remarkable 800 hits a week. Also the newsletter goes digital, with it being emailed out as a PDF (for those who had emails).
1999
SYDNEY CITY CRITERIUM
The club hosted the Sydney City Criterium for the second time at Centennial Park, with an amazing turn out of 224 riders. The Centennial Park course provided riders with a challenging 1.6km course that’s a short, sharp pinch every lap. The Centennial Park Trust was extremely supportive of the event. Chris White was the club’s only competitor in the Div. 3/4. Despite a nasty fall Chris finished a gutsy 3rd. This one event laid the financial foundations for the year.
1999
AIRPORT TUNNEL
The RTA expands the airport tunnel from 6 lanes to 8 lanes by removing the breakdown lane to cope with additional traffic. Even with the breakdown lane the tunnel wasn’t pleasant to ride. It was too hard and too expensive for the RTA to implement a cycle tunnel. To this day Sydney cyclists have no safe alternatives to get south of the city to places such as the Royal National Park.
1999
TOUR DOWN UNDER
The first edition of the Tour Down Under was held in January 1999 as part of an effort to fill the gap in South Australia's sporting calendar left by the move of the Australian Grand Prix from Adelaide to Melbourne. The lure of top European pro teams at a UCI cat 1 race on Australian shores was too tempting and a group of seven SCC members based themselves in Adelaide and rode to watch the race each day. It was quite an experience riding the same roads that the tour would ride. Taking in the spectacular scenery and exciting racing, the Tour Down Under became a popular inclusion on the club calendar ever since.
1999
MASS RESIGNATIONS
A Special General Meeting was held in August to discuss amendments to the Club’s constitution. The fallout from that meeting left us with no club President, Immediate Past President, Secretary or Assistant Race Secretary. The ‘social membership’ issue had been the catalyst for this instability. It concerned people affiliated through another club being firstly, allowed membership and secondly, allowed to compete and accrue points in the Club Championship. Phil McKnight later withdrew his resignation as the club was in an unstable position and he received a lot of support from members. A sub-committee was set up to avoid any personal involvement and gather information so when members voted at the next AGM they did so in a completely informed manner. In the end the motion passed and the constitution was amended.
1999
ON TRACK FOR GOLD!
John Arkwright and Chris White bagged 7 medals between them at the Metropolitan and State Track Championships. John won a State Gold in the Veterans Div 2, 500m TT In the 500m Time Trial with a blistering 35.99 seconds to take the title. He also got Silver in the sprint and pursuit. Chris got 3 Silvers in the Time Trial, Sprint and Pursuit.
1999
SCC TRIUMPHS AT NATIONAL TITLES
John Arkwright won 3 Gold and 2 Silver medals at the National Veteran Championships at Nerang on the Gold Coast.
John’s results in the Vet 2 category: 500M ITT - Gold. 200 Fly - Gold. 3km Pursuit - Silver. Sprint - Gold. 10km Scratch - Silver.
1999
THE ONE HUNDRED CLUB
The club reached the milestone of over 100 members!
2000
CLUB PATRON
Phil Liggett, the 'Voice of Cycling', agreed to become our Club Patron in the year 2000! This honorary position came about when Phil was approached by club member Jeff Linder at a meeting in London. We had a Patron’s page set up on the club’s website, with an endorsement from Phil and we were also lucky enough to receive regular articles from Phil for the club newsletter.
2000
THE END OF OUR SYDNEY CITY CRITERIUM
The club was again allocated the first round of the NSW Criterium series. Unfortunately the timing of the event and the large cost attached to running the event, meant the club declined the offer to host the event. Like most other authorities, Centennial Park charged a user pays basis, with a charge of $270 per hour being levied for park usage alone. This was a sad day and broke a 21-year tradition of SCC hosting a top class criterium in iconic Sydney locations including the Rocks, The Opera House, Mrs Macquarie's Chair and finally Centennial Park.
2000
SCC JERSEY ON SALE TO PUBLIC
The club’s jersey was put on display in the window of Clarence Street Cyclery. The Committee decided to market the club’s very appealing line of clothing through the Clarence street store during the Olympic period. The club’s very narrow stream of income, meant the committee saw this as our only legitimate option of cashing in on the Olympics and strengthening the club’s financial position.
2000
NSW STATE INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIALS
The club was very well represented at the NSW State Individual TT held late in July. Sarah Entwistle was our most successful competitor, finishing second overall in the Women’s Masters category and fastest in her age division!
2000
WORLD MASTER TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
John Arkwright finished fifth in the 40-44 age group 750m time trial at the World Master Track Championships in Manchester.
2000
NSW STATE TEAM TIME TRIALS
Pete Scott, Dave McAlpin, Phil McKnight and Norman Rydge won a Bronze medal in the NSW State Teams Time Trial. Dave McAlpin drove the team on the way out, pulling some long hard uphill turns and keeping the team in the hunt. Everyone pulled like there was no tomorrow on the way home, putting in gutsy turns. This put the icing on the cake for a successful year for having also placed 5th at Bathurst and 2nd in the Tamworth Two Day Tour.
In the previous week at the NSW Road titles at Calga, in the Masters Women’s event, Ann Clarence placed second, Julie Avakian third and Meg Croft fourth! A fabulous effort from the girls who only decided the week before to ride the event in preparation for the Teams TT!
2000
NSW CRITERIUM CHAMPIONSHIP
Ann Clarence, Tanya Bosch and Monique Batterman all took part in the NSW Criterium Championships held this past weekend at Sutherland. Cheered on by a very enthusiastic crowd including a good number of SCC riders, Ann made several breaks with Tanya acting as the block and eventually managed a very impressive 2nd place.
Malcolm, Tanya and Doc bump into Lance Armstrong in Centennial Park during the Sydney Olympics.
Club members watch the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the Robin Hood Pub
Malcolm, Tanya and Doc bump into Lance Armstrong in Centennial Park during the Sydney Olympics.
2000
SYDNEY OLYMPICS
In September Olympic fever really did grip Sydney. The Road Race went through our spiritual home - Centennial Park. The course was a circuit of 17km, taking in some spectacular scenery around Sydney's Eastern Suburbs such as Bronte Beach before heading back through the city's green belt of Centennial Park and finishing outside Sydney Cricket Ground. Alan Lumb organised a great day at the Robin Hood Hotel at Charing Cross. We had over 35 members attend to watch the crème de la crème of the world’s road riders pass within metres every 25 minutes. The Olympic Time Trial in Centennial Park on the following Saturday was just as exciting. Seeing these athletes tearing parts of our usual TT course to pieces was incredible. Doc, Paul and Phil McKnight were standing on the exit of the Park on Ekimov’s last lap with 1km to go, when a discarded spectator's drink bottle blew onto the course right on Ekimov’s line, only 20 secs before he arrived. We yelled at the police escort motorcycle, but he didn’t understand what we were on about. As Ekimov tipped the bike into the blind corner at about 45kph, he saw the bottle at the very last second, deftly changed line, just missing the bottle by an inch and stayed upright! Many members wondered how on earth they would go back to a ‘normal’, Olympic-free life.
2001
EXTENDED COURSE RECORD
Stan Genakis breaks the SCC ITT Extended Course (16km) with a time of 23:36:42 (40.678kph). The extended course started at the Woollahra gates and did three ‘cat ear’ laps.
2001
MEMBERSHIP FEES
The club had not had a rise in fees for six years, but the level of membership had doubled and the range of club activities on offer had never been higher. The membership fees rose from $35.00 to $50.00.
2001
NSWCF METRO AND COUNTRY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
John Arkwright started 2001 on a bright note picking up Gold in the Individual Pursuit and Bronze in the 500m time trial at the NSWCF Metro and Country Track Championships.
2001
NSW CRITERIUM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ann Clarence and Tanya Bosch rode in the Masters category and had a carefully laid out plan. On the third lap Ann raced ahead, securing a large gap on the bunch as Tanya impeded the bunch’s chase. Unfortunately one girl bridged the gap and caught Ann, and it is here that the real race began. The other rider started to stretch out her lead. Later Ann told us that she thought that being a sprinter the Sutherland girl would blow herself up and she was biding her time. With one lap to go Ann had caught her rival who was so surprised she said, “How did you do that? Ann had given 110% to catch her rival and, while looking strong, had nothing left in those legs coming in a gallant second place. The other half of the race was still going on. Tanya had sacrificed herself for Ann’s benefit, not attempting to cross to the leaders in case she towed along the others, one of whom was also a good sprinter. The final lap saw Tanya sprinting for Bronze.
2001
TEAM TREK JOIN SCCThe committee agreed to have the members of the Australian Trek Racing Team (ATRT) join SCC for the 2001 season. This was the first time that the club had affiliated with a road racing team. The ATRT decided that the national road series would be their primary goal for 2001 and the team raced the vast majority of Interstate and State Open races on the calendar. Although they raced in Trek gear their results were reported as Sydney Cycle Club. The team members got involved with the club's activities during the year and attended a few training rides with us. The group of riders who were assembled were all young up-and-coming A-grade riders with bright futures in Australian cycling.
Team Trek Results: 1st Rosemount Estate Open (Matt Smithson), 1st Gunnedah to Tamworth handicap (Brian Appleyard), Coonabarabran to Gunnedah (Brian Appleyard), Mount Isa Berkley Challenge (Kevin Poulton), 1st Stage 4 - Mt Isa Berkley Challenge (Kevin Poulton), 1st Gunnedah CC "Keegan Downs" Memorial Handicap (Brian Appleyard), 1st Gunnedah to Tamworth Road Race (Brian Appleyard), 1st Rosemount Winery Open (Matthew Smithson), Fastest Time Ken Dinnerville H’Cap (Jono McCormack).
2001
2001 - NSW STATE OMNIUM CHAMPIONSHIP
Tanya Bosch won the Gold in the Women’s Masters Division at the NSW State Omnium titles at Dunc Grey Velodrome on Sunday 11th February. Tanya beat Karen Dutton from Sutherland on a countback. Karen recently beat our Ann Clarence in the State Criterium. The Omnium comprises of four events chosen at the last minute and a rider gets points for places in each race. Karen and Tanya finished with two 1st and 2nd placings each but Tanya beat Karen in the 500m TT which won her the Gold.
In the same event, John Arkwright got the Bronze in Masters 1 - 2.
2001
NSW MASTERS ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS – MEDALS GALORE
The Sydney Women Masters Cyclists did very well at the recent NSW Masters Road Championships taking three of the nine medals on offer. Meg Croft won Silver in the Masters 1 division, Tanya Bosch won Gold and Breeda Kelly won Bronze in the Masters 3 division. The number of women from SCC did provoke some comments.
2001
WOMEN DEFEND TEAM TIME TRIAL TITLE
The SCC teams again did us exceptionally proud with our women's team winning State Gold (Meg Croft, Sally Thomson, Julie Avakian, Breeda Kelly) and our Men's team getting Bronze Masters 1-3 (Phil McKnight, Steve Hogg, Dave McAlpin, Leigh Ringrose).
2001
BUNCH ETIQUETTE BOOK
The Committee produced a SCC Bunch Etiquette & Rules gleaned from the accumulated wisdom of experienced club members and edited by Lea-Ellen Schneller. It acted as a useful resource for both new and old members and helped improve the safety of riding in the club.
2002
NSW CYCLIST OF THE YEAR
Sally Thomson wins the NSW Cyclist of the Year (WMAS Div1) for 2002. Sally rode some great races during 2002 including winning the State Titles at the Women’s Masters Road Race Championship down at Wagga.
2002
MUDGEE TOUR
Mudgee was introduced to the SCC touring calendar in October of this year. Members stayed at the Winning Post Motor Inn.
2002
BUSHFIRES
Many of our regular rides being curtailed due to the high pollution levels and road closures caused by the terrible bush fires surrounding Sydney.
2002
WOMEN DEFEND TEAM TIME TRIAL TITLE
Our Masters Women did us proud by defending their Gold medal from last year and our second team getting Bronze! Even more impressive was that no one fell off the podium!
2002
MORE MEDALS
The Club’s Masters Women riders carried on their great form from the State TTT Championships to win five medals at State Masters Individual Road Championships at Wagga. Taking Gold were Sally Thompson and Debbie Pearce, with Anna Murray, Julie Avakian and Julie Howard also winning places on the podium. Special congratulations went to Sally Thomson for Gold in the Masters 1 by breaking away for 30km by herself in very windy conditions. Congratulations also went to Deb Pearce for shattering the bunch in the final climb and also finishing solo to claim Gold in Masters 2. Julie Avakien claimed Silver in Masters 2 and Anna Murray the Bronze in Masters 1. Julie Howard got 2nd in Masters 3. That makes eight State Championship medals collected by SCC riders and teams this year, with the women excelling by taking seven of those.
2002
NSWCF v NSW POLICE
An ongoing battle was being fought by the federation and clubs with the NSW Police over the holding of Open Road Races. The Men's State Masters Individual Road Championships at Wagga was delayed by 2 hours while police and organisers agreed on conditions for the event! A requirement for the riders to ride a maximum of two abreast and that there be no sprinting was clearly ludicrous, but that is what the police demanded. Events on day two were cancelled. Pity those who made the long trip to Wagga to have their races called off on the day. Poor planning and bloody mindedness is a recipe for the destruction of our beloved sport.
2003
JACK BROWNE PASSES
Jack Browne, one of the original Sydney Cycling Club founders and members passed away in early August. Jack had been an SCC member since 1978 and was granted life member status for his services to the club.
2003
CLARENCE ST CYCLERY WHEELRACE CUP
Dan O'Callaghan wrote a new chapter in the SCC and NSW cycling history books in an evening in March by becoming the first ever SCC rider to win the most keenly contested track cycling event on the NSW calendar - the 21st edition of Clarence Street Cyclery Wheelrace Cup at Dunc Gray Velodrome. The CSC Cup is a seven lap (1.75km) race and is the biggest money race on the annual NSW track calendar. His win, ahead of quadruple world masters champion, Keith Oliver, and 1995 world team pursuit champion and FdJ rider Rod McGee (Brad's brother) was all the more remarkable for Dan who had only made his comeback to track racing six weeks earlier. To put it in perspective the previous year’s winner was Mark Renshaw (member of Australia's [then] current World Champion Pursuit Team & World Record holders and later pro).
2003
GRAFTON INVERELL
We had three (brave or foolish?) entrants from the Sydney Cycling Club (David McHugh, Steve Ofanas and Phil McKnight) racing in C grade. A truly epic ride with the only flat section being in the first 5km. After some terrible bad luck getting 2 punctures and after 5 hours and 155km racing Phil pulled out. Dave had a great race and finished 15th overall in C grade and a time of 8 hours 12 minutes and 16 seconds. Steve cruised in few minutes later, pedalling with one leg; his knee had gone on him 10km out of town. His smile couldn’t be bigger with the whole town of Inverell cheering for him. The locals understand just what an achievement it is finishing this race, men and women riders punch the air or give a victory salute to finish in 50th place. Steve finished within sight of his group, 19th at 8 hours 14 minutes and 45 seconds. Jane Despas, a former SCC member who was then racing in the USA managed to finish 5th in the 140km Women's event.
2003
AUSTRALIAN MASTERS TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tanya Bosch won Gold in 500m TT, Gold in the Sprint Derby and placed 4th in the Pursuit; Dan O’Callaghan won Bronze in Pursuit & placed 6th in the Scratch Race.
2003
NSW CLUB TEAM TIME TRIALS
Another successful year for our women in the Team Time Trial. We had three Women's teams enter. Team 2 (Victoria McNeill, Julie Howard, Kate Everett and Denise Bennett) narrowly beat Team 1 (Sally Thomson, Meg Croft, Anna Murray and Breeda Kelly) by just 21 seconds to win Gold.
2003
CRASHES
We had some major accidents at the start of 2003 during the first round of the Club Road Race series. In this incident Tony Johnson, Steve Hogg and Dave McAlpin all came down after a touch of shoulders, bars or wheels. While Steve and Dave got back on and rode to the end of the race, Tony’s day was over and he had to come home in the car. Later in the same event Des Sullivan had a nasty fall close to the finish line. It was quite an eye opener into the dangers that most of us take for granted. Des had some major injuries including a broken collarbone, a broken bone in his back, some broken ribs and probably worst of all his little finger on his left hand had to be amputated.