Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club

19/09/2026

Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club
Graded Scratch races - HEZ 19/09/2026

Race report and results

Forty-two riders raced hard in hot and windy conditions, participating in graded scratch races hosted by the Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club at HEZ. My thanks go to commissaire Chris Groves; first aid officer James Crew and Lauretta Mellows on desk and race lap counting duties. Kia and ICombined360 services provided traffic control, ensuring safe racing conditions.

I was good to see family and friends supporting the racers. Michael and Lincoln Hitchcock made the trip up from Sydney. Jarrad Pearse of the Parklife cycling club raced in A grade. Five Central Coast cycling club members made the trip up. Nicky Western of Scone brought her friend Mev Sedgwick. It was Mev’s very first race and she trounced the men, winning D grade.

The heat and westerly wind made attempts at breakaway difficult. This didn’t stop Derrin Lee from having a two lap dig in B grade. Ross Murdoch was also seen attacking the D grade bunch up the pinch. In C grade Brayden Everett rode away from the bunch in the last lap winning convincingly and surely paving his way into B grade. Juniors Caine Platt and Hamish Kirkman made it tough for Matt Moore in the B grade kick to the line. In A Grade, Maxi Amidy edged out Ryan Edward in an impressive sprint tussle.
Juniors Jett and Harrison rode tenaciously. Well done.

Our next race is a handicap and the last 2pm race for this year. Hopefully the weather will be kinder for racing. See you all there.
Arthur Snow
Club President.

Formal results
A Grade: 1st Maxi Amidy, 2nd Ryan Edwards, 3rd Simon Ball
B Grade: 1st Matt Moore, 2nd Caine Platt, 3rd Hamish Kirkman
C Grade: 1st Brayden Everett, 2nd Dan Hanly, 3rd Arthur Snow
D Grade: 1st Mev Sedgwick, 2nd Ethan Graber, 3rd Warwick Nichols
Juniors: Jett Craig and Harrison Lim

17/09/2026

A good contingent of our members and friends that have entered in the 2026 AusCycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships this weekend on the Sunshine Coast.

Gerry Grimes
Ruby Sauvage
Boston Gillanders
Bredan Kelana
Luke Kendall
Graham Lewis
Sam Fritz
Michael Pickin
Ben Neppl
Lincoln Johns
Hayden Trevor

Good luck to you all and your supporters.
Sorry if I missed someone.

17/09/2026

Racing Saturday HEZ 2.00pm

Weather forecast is 30 degrees but hopefully not as windy as last race.

Entries Open
https://www.buncheur.com/newcastle-hunter-cc-nhcc-hez-road-race-18-12

09/09/2026

07/09/2026

Looking for something to do with the family. Pedalfest is on 18th to 20th September. https://pedalfest.org.au/
Unfortunately NHCC won't be part of it this year but hopefully next year will see Criterium Racing return to the streets of Dungog.

05/09/2026

Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club
Graded Scratch races HEZ 05/09/2026

Race report and results

My sincere thanks go to our volunteers for making our race meet a great success. On the desk we had Lauretta Mellows ably assisted by Ash Johns. Chris Groves took on the commissaire's role. Alison Lee, a registered nurse, volunteered for the first time to be our first aid officer. Many thanks. (She also proved handy on the camera.)

Fifty-two riders fronted for our first Spring race. The weather was more like late summer than Spring with the temperature gauge above 30 degree and a searing forceful dry westerly making racing conditions truly horrible. Hydration management was the key, and I would like to thank all the riders for racing with due care.

With Michael Picken taking a bye, the President’s A grade Spring Classic saw the riders conserve and converse until the last frantic kick to the line. Special mention goes to Matt Johns who attacked off the front and made the bunch work hard to chase him down. In the end it came down to a bunch sprint and Maxi Amidy had the power in his legs to take the first prize envelope. My thanks go to Margaret Conroy from the Griffith Cycling club who decided to take on the A grade men.

Felix Buda continued his run of winning form in the B grade race. It was good to see Stephen Jamieson and Russell Menzies returning to racing. The last lap proved decision when Gibson Herusalem launched a stinging attack from the roundabout, followed by a blistering sprint by junior Hayden Trevor up the last pinch. The bunch fragmented and the front four went on to compete for the places. With two wins from two races, the handicappers must be looking at Felix very closely.

That old warrior Bryan Atkins was all smiles for his C grade win. Niki Weston made the trip from Scone to race with us. The C grade bunch was the biggest bunch which is very pleasing. If you have not raced for a while join in the C grade Fun.

In D grade Warwick Nichols track racing with the Townsend Veterans proved the difference in the sprint to the line.

Finally, Harrison Lim completed his junior event and was handsomely rewarded for his efforts.

Thanks everyone for racing with the Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club. We race again in two weeks. See you all there.

Arthur Snow
Club President.

Results
A Grade: 1st Max Amidy, Joshua Lincoln 3rd Ryan Edwards, FW: Margaret Conroy
B Grade: 1st Felix Buda, 2nd Russell Menzies, 3rd Derrin Lee, FW: Ruby Sauvage.
C grade: 1st Bryan Atkins, 2nd Lincoln Hitchcock, 3rd Harry Schumaker, FW: Niki Weston
D grade: 1st Warwick Nichols, 2nd and FW Nadine Platt, 3rd Ben Platt
Juniors: Harrison Lim.

04/09/2026

Todays A grade scratch race becomes the President's A grade Spring Classic if ten or more riders front the line.

01/09/2026

Entries for this Saturday open.
Enter NOW https://www.buncheur.com/newcastle-hunter-cc-nhcc-hez-road-race-18-11

31/08/2026

House Keeping.

1. NHCC Club Members please log into the new Just go auscycling member portal and make sure your current racing license is up to date. If you have no intentions of doing State level events sign up for the cheaper "Club" membership and maybe even entice other family members to take out "Ride" membership. We will be inspecting the electronic copy of your license at the next race meet. https://auscycling.justgo.com/

2. We are racing at HEZ this Saturday 5/9/2026 2pm. This is our first race of Spring and the A graders will be competing in the Presidents A grade Spring Classic. (If we have ten or more riders sign up for A grade.)

3. Call out for volunteer traffic controllers. When we have one volunteer traffic controller we break even. Traffic control Certificate level 1 is sufficient if you are working with our contracted crew. If you know of a person with such qualifications and they would like to support our club's sporting activities, let us know. We really need to solve this problem to move forward.

Arthur Snow
Club President.

29/08/2026

Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club Graded Scratch races HEZ 29/08/2026

Race report and results

My thanks go to Col Haisell who responded to our late call to be commissaire. Col did a great job. Similarly, Chris Groves worked his magic on the desk and as race starter. He was assisted by Ruby Sauvage. Justin Sauvage did the heavy lifting and proved that it is possible to cram all of the race setup 'stuff' into a humble sedan. James Crew was our First Aid officer. Thanks James. Our traffic control team also did a great job - many thanks

I would like to thank the 47 riders who competed on the Roundabout Sprint finish variation of our course on a splendid late winter's afternoon. The charge into the roundabout was where the winners were decided for three of the grades.

In A grade Michael Picken continued to dominate. His power and pedalling efficiency are a joy to watch. Tom Burton rode away from the bunch at the last moment. Whilst youngsters Boston and Sebastian had a tight sprint for the final podium step.

There were a few digs off the front of B grade. Nothing stuck. Felix has a knack of finding the front of the race at the right moment and he held off two of our talented juniors in Cain Platt and Hamish Kirkman.

The decision to realign B and C grade has had the right outcome, with seventeen riders enjoying a fast "big bunch" race. Unfortunately, that HEZ wire shards took several of the riders out with flats. Next time Fellas. Grant Beattie executed a perfectly timed attack into the roundabout, paving the way for Daniel Hanly's explosive sprint win.

Last but not least the D graders also decided that the first in and first out bunch sprint was the way to go. Chris Arp took the win.

Next week we return to our traditional course.
See you all there.

Results
A grade: 1st Michael Picken, 2nd Tom Burton, 3rd Boston Gillanders
B grade: 1st Felix Buda, 2nd Cain Platt, 3rd Hamish Kirkam First Female Hayley Dell
C grade:1st Daniel Hanly, 2nd Sam Welbourne, 3rd Michael Frost First Female Lily May Mackenzie
D grade: 1st Chris Arp, 2nd Ben Platt, 3rd Ross Murdoch, First Female Nadine Platt