Riders headed to the West of the city this weekend to tackle 30K’s of Boorolong Road with a head wind out and therefore a faster than normal downhill return requiring extra consideration from the handicapper.  With RROTY leader Luke ‘San Remo’ Milan back in scratch and Jo on signs duty, there was a perfect opportunity for Ice Cold Billy Mara to close the gap at the top. It was great to welcome two new riders, both from Walcha, Aylie Allen and Jack Feltham who bolstered the start line numbers to 23.  With Aylie just checking out her form along with Karlee who’d sprinted across town from junior racing, we had two female riders off Go keeping Wilko honest on the outward leg. Wilf and Haydo followed after 2 minutes and then a strong bunch of 6 left at the 5 minute mark, then a bunch of 3 at 6 minutes, and finally the 9-rider joint block and scratch group at 9 minutes.

In the main, everyone stayed together to the turn by which point Wilf and Haydo had all but caught the leaders and the 5 and 6 minute groups had combined so there were effectively 3 bunches out on the road with gaps of 1 minute and 1m:30s between them. Scratch probably lost a little bit of momentum when a large cattle truck passed them right at the turn but things were well poised for a rapid wind-assisted homeward run.

And what a run for home it was. The leaders were caught on the downhill stretch to Dumaresq Dam Road with 6K to go, having been chased by the middle bunch who averaged around 44kph for the Eastward leg. The pace stayed high although at times the sniff of victory impacted the smooth turns that both groups had been enjoying previously.  They soon settled back into a rhythm, aware that the chasers were hot on their heels and only good solid teamwork would hold scratch at bay.  With two bunches of similar size out on the road with about 40s between them, things were looking very interesting. Scratch also had the hammer down, averaging 46+ kph themselves and on the long straight before the final turn they had the leaders in their sights but by this time the front bunch were at full speed, gearing up for the sprint.  With 100m to go the lead-out peeled off and it was a mass sprint for the line.  New boy Jack Feltham pipped Col on the line for a great victory with Keglegs and Jeff grabbing 3rd and 4th and Wilko claiming a well-deserved 5th spot.  When scratch hit the line just a few seconds later it was John ‘The Cannibal’ Scott-Hamilton who powered home first, winning the sprint with ease from Houlty and San Remo who continues to show great form.

Thanks to Jo Wauch for running the race (ably assisted by Kenny and Chicka), doing the signs and the photo splits – much appreciated.  Congratulations to Jack and well done also to Aylie on a great first comeback race – we hope to see you both back next week for the points race out on Dangarsleigh.

In the RROTY league, Billy was just a couple of places outside bonus points territory so no change at the top but Wilko jumps from 10th to 6th, Houlty jumps one place to 5th and Col moves into the Top 10.