About

The Northern Combine Road Championship, proudly hosted by the Northern Combine and Hawthorn CC

Championships Format Change

The Open Men's & Women's Champs format is unchanged and all riders wishing to contest this are free to do so (Please select 'Open' when entering).

All other champs races will be graded scratch races (rather than age-based).

Please race the same grade that you would normally race at Northern Combine, unless choosing to race Open.

As always, the handicapping team has final say on whether requested grades will be granted to riders.

Categories & Distances

Grade	Laps	Distance	Notes
Open Championship - Men	11	88km
B Grade Men	10	80km
C Grade Men	9	72km
D Grade Men	8	64km
Open Championship - Women	7	56km
B Grade Women	6	48km
C Grade Women	4	32km

Juniors:

• Juniors are welcome to race appropriate grades if sufficiently experienced and within distance regulations.

PLEASE NOTE: the Combine road champs are only open to Combine affiliated club members.

---

Medals

• Trophies or Medals will be on offer for all categories offered (depending on placing).
• As these are championship races, no prize money is on offer.

---

Schedule

• 09:00AM Registration Open
  
• 10:00AM Race Start (grades briefed & released progressively)

---

Registration

• Rego Location: Pitruzzello Estate Olive Grove & Winery (25 Deverall Rd, Sunbury Victoria 3429)

• Getting there: - Take the Calder freeway North West (M79) and take the Couangalt/Mundy Road Exit. Turn right towards Mundy Rd, left into Deverall Rd. Pitruzzello Estate is quite prominent on the right.

• Misc :

  • Parking: At Rego.
  • Toilets: At Rego.
  • Presentations: At Rego.
  • Race Number Return: At Rego.

---

Race Fees

• Race Fees: Volunteers FREE FOR CHAMPS , NC member-clubs (Non-vols) $27, Non-member clubs - Sorry not able to race Champs.
• Pre-Pay Only: - Race Fees are pre-pay only.
  
• Waitlisting: - Races have pre-set limits per grade. Riders may be notified (via Entry Confirmation Email) they have been wailtisted once entries reach these limits. Waitlisted riders are generally still a good chance of a start after scratchings and rider re-grades. Riders not wanting to be considered for promotion from the waitlist should scratch.
  
• Scratching: - Scratching is a self-serve, automated refund via EntryBoss if withdrawing within scratching cut-off (generally midday Friday - pls see above).
  

---

Course-Specific Notices

• Riders are requested to pay attention to their finish position and claim at the conclusion of their race.
• Please be careful to minimise congestion around the finish line area.

---

Race Day Procedures

• Disc Brakes: - Disc brakes have not been approved for racing in Australia and cannot be used until such approval is made.
• No License, No Race: - riders need a current license (or proof of renewal) to race. CA licenses only.
• New to Racing: - 3 Race Licenses are accepted. Please ensure you have organised this with a club or online via Cycling Australia prior to race day.
• Red Light Policy: - The Northern Combine complies with Cycling Victoria's red light policy. Riders are required to have a rear red light on solid to race. Spare lights may be available at Rego to borrow for riders who forget (no guarantee).
• On-the-day Entries: Sorry, on-the-day entries are not accepted.
• Spectating: - It is requested that family & friends watch from roadside vantage points & do not follow bunches in vehicles.
• Announcements: - Please check the Northern Combine Facebook page, twitter or website for any announcements regarding racing.

---

Special Notice - Women's Grades - Season Arrangement Changes

• Select races will offer separate women's grades as part of a Women's Series.

• For scratch races not designated as Women's Series events;

  • Women will race the standard Combine grades, but with separate podium recognition (see grade alignment below)
  • Podium depth is dependent on entry numbers and adjusted each race.
  • When racing on a combined basis, women are free to race with any other riders within their race.
  • Equal prize money will be offered
    
  • The alignment of grades has also been altered this year as follows;

Women's Grade	Combine Grade
Women's A	C grade
Women's B	D grade
Women's C	E grade

• Please note that we will support women wishing to race in a higher grade (eg WA with a preference to race standard Combine B or A grades). For those choosing to do this, they will compete for the standard podium on offer rather than a specific Women's podium.
• See https://goo.gl/YQOrPn for more details

---

More Information

• Northern Combine: - http://www.northerncombinecycling.org/index.php
• Volunteering: - http://northerncombinecycling.org/index.php/volunteer-roster
• CA Licensing: - http://membership.cycling.org.au/

---

Sponsors

The Northern Combine is looking for sponsors. If you or someone you know may be interested in supporting grass-roots racing please contact us via committee@northerncombinecycling.org