By Rockhampton Cycling Club
Sunday morning the 21 of May saw the Rockhampton Cycling Club hosting a handicap at the Alton Downs circuit. It was perfect conditions, although some will admit a “little chilly” for the two laps so it was always going to be a quick one!
The first group out on the road was the “Go bunch” of four riders who took to the course with a 5-minute advantage over the next four riders in Group 2. From there the gaps reduced to 3 minutes for the next small group of three. At 11 minutes was another strong group of three riders followed by four riders only 1 minute behind and the Scratch group of six just 1 minute behind them. In total there were 24 riders spread over six groups.
The undulating Nicholson Road is a big ask for the legs straight out of the blocks. Add in a bit of “how hard should we go out?” with a bit of “I need to get through this before I get caught” and you are guaranteed there will be some shuffling of the bunches early. The back 3 groups came together on Hunt Road in the first lap. This saw 13 riders swapping off turns, making for a fast-catching big bunch to reel in the front runners on the short circuit.
A few of the front bunches broke up early so the task of holding off the scratch markers was made just that little bit harder. Back markers started catching the mid markers at the start of the second lap. The second bunch caught the “Go group” by the end of Nicholson Road. By the time the back markers got on to Hunt Road for the second time, they had just passed the first of the “Go bunch” and everyone else was in sight. The lead car was just visible, so it was going to be a close one.
The front runners rounded the final corner on to Alton Downs Road with only a small gap back to the chasing bunch. The final run to the finish is a long straight descent followed by a deceptively long slightly uphill drag to the finish. In the end it was the scratch markers coming through in the final 500m to take the win.
The Ladies group set out by themselves after the Scratch Markers to do a 1 lap dash and the small field of two took off with just 1 minute between the riders. In the end Paris Stjernqvist took the win from Trisha Brannigan.
Rockhampton Cycling Club Komatsu Road Series Results Sunday 21st May, 2023
Seniors: 1st Damien Harris, 2nd Byron Rackley, 3rd Josh Herbert, 4th Brent Rorlach, 5th Damian Smith
Ladies: 1st Paris Stjernqvist, 2nd Trisha Brannigan.
As with all racing, our sport cannot continue to prosper without the support of our army of volunteers. Thank you to everyone who helped out, especially the cross participation support from our fellow cyclist at Rockhampton Mountain Bike and CQ Gravel Club, your support is appreciated. We would also like to thank our 2023 Road Series sponsors Komatsu Mining along with Battery World, CocoBrew Rockhampton, Milne Brothers & GIANT for co-sponsoring this event.
With Rockhampton MTB completing their Gravity Enduro last Saturday and Gladstone Cycling Club having their road race Sunday gone the next cycling event in Rockhampton will be the CQ Gravel Race on the 18th June at Lake Mary. For more information visit their FB Page CQ Gravel Cycling.