Tag Archives: BMX racing
From criterium racing to retro BMX racing
What a difference, 4 years makes, back in 2012 I was racing 1 hour criteriums on a road bike and loving it, the criterium is a very tactical race and is not always about the person that has the fastest sprint. Break aways are common as are spells of hard riding, that are designed to take the sting out of the sprinters leg. I personally had a decent sprint, but couldn’t mix it in the end with the pure speed demons, but I could take out a race from along way out and make the race difficult for those behind me, I also loved breaking away out on my own and challenging myself, most often my solo break aways would not work out, but from time to time I would spring a surprise and hold on. With these tactics I found myself at the pointy end of the field
Rider Bio: Ashley Grange
Name: Ashley Grange Home Club: Knox, Vic. Classes: 40+ Retro Bike: 1983/84 Profile Champ Best Retro Results: 3rd Lilydale back to the valley 2016 3rd Frankston Helltrack series 2016 4th Frankston Helltrack open 2016 6th Vic riders cup Wyhndam 2016 6th Park Orchards open 2016 8th Knox Thunderdome 2016 12th overall Victorian State Titles. About Me: I’m 40 years old and started racing bmx in 1982. Numerous race wins and state plates between then and when I stopped racing in 1988. My best effort was 4th in the 9 boys expert state title and 7th in my last state titles in 1988. Raced Australia titles in SA in 1986 and missed out on a spot in the final due to a heavy crash in the semi while leading. Fast forward 28 years to 2016 and I’m back out on the bike racing and loving it. Sponsors: Old School BMX Progressive
Rider Bio: Adam Moules aka Retroracer31
Name: Adam Moules Home Club: Knox, Vic. Classes: Retro 40+ Bike: 1988 Vortex Cruiser Best Retro Results: 3rd South Eastern Cash Dash 2017 3rd Battle on the Border Wodonga 2017 3rd Portland Pandemonium 2017 2nd Frankston Summer series 2016 3rd Sunbury Stars Open 2016 3rd Geelong Spectacular Open 2016 3rd Knox Club Championship 2015 About Me: As a kid I always wanted to race bikes in some form, I lived next door to the Edithvale Velodrome so spent quite a bit of time there, alas my sports that I participated in had nothing to do with cycling, they being swimming, lifesaving, karate and tae kwon do. Fast forward 25 odd years and at the age of 40 I bought myself a bike and became a member of the Southern Masters cycling club. When I first started riding I was incredibly unfit and unable to ride 5 kms without having to
Retro racing into the future
Retro racing to date, has been a long time lobbying effort, not only by those that started it all about 8 years ago, but also by the people who revived the class and started laying the ground work, to build the class over the last couple of years to what we have today. It is the people who are racing today that need to push the necessary adjustments and fine tuning so that the class prospers in the years to come and as such here are a few of my personal thoughts of what I would like to see, not only in Victoria but Australia wide. Removal of the pre 1986 rule Australia wide, this one change alone has increased the sizes of the retro fields in Victoria to the point where we regularly see 2 gates of rides at a clubby, full gates at open meets and 48 entries
Pondering the state titles
With the Victorian BMX titles starting in 2 days time from now, particularly my class 30+ retro, I was thinking about the long time in between drinks. What do I mean by that? Well at the age of 45, I honestly can say I would not think that I would be entering into state titles for any event let alone a sport I am relatively new to, that being BMX. My history in Victorian state titles in all sports I have participated in, is littered with awards, trophies and podium places, my last Victorian titles for any sport was back in 1998 on the day that I turned 27, I competed in the masters state swimming titles, in a return to the sport I did as a kid, I was proud to come home with gold, in the mens 200 breaststroke in the 25 to 29 age class. Before that
Knox Thunderdome retro class finals
Thanks to Adrian, who took the video of the retro class finals at the recent Knox Thunderdome event, enjoy. The author of the site is in the invitational final, which runs 1st and brings it in for 4th place, quite a fair way behind the first 3, but hey you have to start somewhere.
Knox Thunderdome 2016 results
Knox Thunderdome is the biggest BMX race event in Victoria next to the Victorian state titles, held over the 5th and 6th of November 2016. Thunderdome attracting a total of 24 entries over the 3 retro classes with the bulk of those entries making up the 14 man field in the 30+ retro class. Six motos and finals over the weekend saw some fast and furious racing. With the Victorian state titles comming up in 2 weeks, Knox Thunderdome was the last chance to race in open competition before the big one and no one was holding back. Simon Anderson was the eventual winner with Michael Herceg and South Australian Ali Scott making up the podium. Closely followed by Neale who had a very consistent weekend with all 7 races in the 37 seconds, 2016 new comer to the retro scene Brendon Marshall was stoked to come in at 5th