Albany Cycling Club hold final race of the calendar held in wintry conditions in Elleker

The final race of Albany Cycling Club’s 2022 calendar in the Terry White Chemmart Chester Pass Road Series was held at Elleker last Saturday in the form of a graded handicap.

A variation on the usual handicap racing, a graded handicap format prioritises group cohesiveness over individual goals, resulting in highly tactical racing.

Starting on dry roads but with ominously dark clouds looming, the Continental group of Mike Garland, Mark Guerin and Paul Gibson needed to average 36km/h to stay at the front of the race assuming the other groups also rode to target speeds.

As a smaller group on the road, their task was harder than the bigger groups that were to follow and their cause was not helped by a capricious wind seemingly in the riders’ faces all around the 9km circuit.

For three of the five laps these three riders stayed slightly ahead of the target speed and time but by the start of the fourth lap the smoothness which had characterised the early laps was fraying.

Next off the start line was the Pro-Continental group of Ben Murphy, Jessica Davison, Mike Staude, Ryan McLaren and Simon Barrett, looking at an average speed of 38km/h to win.

Their first goal was to sweep up the Continental squad and ensure that they kept the World Tour behind them.

Just three minutes later followed the National Road Series team of Liz Cooper, Lucy Wellstead, Brett Turbill and the super domestique, Murray Howson.

This group had only to do four laps rather than five, and assuming they could manage 30km/h they would be arriving at the finish line at the same time as all other groups.

Turbill, new to racing, found the pace distinctly uncomfortable and wasn’t able to hold the group after the second lap.

Cooper and Wellstead remained on the back wheel of their tow before he tired and allowed Cooper to break away with a lap to go.

Cooper and Wellstead at that stage had a gap of more than three minutes on the chasing groups and one lap of hard riding to maintain their advantage.

With the NRS and Pro-Continental riders under way it was the turn of the World Tour duo, Brent Schoof and Brett Dal Pozzo, to kick off their chase.

They had a target speed of 40km/h over the 45km course and without the wind may well have made up the time.

Despite having the highest average speed of 39km/h and the fastest time of the day from Dal Pozzo of 1hr. 10min. 53sec, they were unable to catch the Pro-Continental riders or the front of the race.

The five Pro-Continental riders were able to reel in the three rider group in front of them, forming a working collective of eight.

This octet rode hard to try and gather up Cooper and Wellstead but their average speed of 37kmh wasn’t quite enough.

The collective solidarity lasted until the last 500m before the sprint for the pickings of the podium was on.

Cooper took first place ahead of Wellstead in second.

Staude had the legs to claim third place, with Ben Murphy not quite able to repeat his heroics from the previous race.

Thanks to the volunteers who marshalled and managed the signage and the handicapper for the mathematical complexities of the handicapping making the graded handicap concept a very enjoyable reality.