A glorious late autumn day with a moderate easterly breeze, saw the opening round of our Road Racer of the Year (RROTY) competition. 16 riders rolled up to the start line ready to do battle as we kicked off the comp on Long Swamp with 30 km of handicap racing.
The pair of GO riders were women’s club champion Jo Wauch and Jackie King, while at 3 minutes was the duo of Richard Wilco and Pete Wilco. At 7 minutes, there was a strong group of five riders with Andrew Swan, Rob Tindale, Dean Bourke, Pete Hosking, and Rod Christie. There were 3 muskateers at 9 minutes of Hugh McKellar, Andrew Kirk, and Abbott White, with block 2 minutes further behind consisting of John Kennedy and Phil “KegLegs” Thomas. Last to roll off as the scratch pair was current RROTY champion Pat Ferris and Sean Brennan at 13 minutes.
As riders hit the turn at the end of the first lap. Joe and Jackie were still rolling nicely but their lead was diminishing as the two Wilko’s were hot on the heels riding strongly as a pair. Also going well was the 7 minute group with all five riders still pulling strongly and in the box seat take control of the race as they had more than halved the gap on the front riders. The 3 muskateers were now a duo as Hugh had dropped his water bottle on the outward leg and lost the group. Meanwhile, Block had also split with Phil Thomas on a bad day, and John Kenny just ahead waiting Scratch, who were still a full 3+mins back on the groups ahead.
As riders made the final turn and the run for home, the GO riders had been caught by the two Wilkos but hot on their heels with a 7 minute group who in turn were under pressure from a now combined scratch block trio. As always the Imbota climb would prove decisive, and it was here that the 7min group started to fracture, and this opened the door for the Scratch/Block chasers to get the front riders in their sights. As the race came together and riders hit the final Dump Hill climb, engines were fired up and it was Scratch who put down a devastating attack to blow the remaining groups off their wheel, and it was Shaun Brennan who blasted off to take out a fantastic win; well done Brenno. Current RROTY champion Pat Ferris was second, and the podium was rounded out by big John Kenny a few seconds back. The remaining RROTY point were mopped up by Roddy & Pete Hosking.
Well done to all racers; next week its time to top up your tyre sealant as we hit the gravel!
| Rider | Date | Place | Handicap | 15km | Finish | Adjusted | KM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRENNAN Shaun | 2023-05-20 | 1 | 0:13:00 | 0:36:48 | 1:00:27 | 0:47:27 FT | 30 |
| FERRIS Pat | 2023-05-20 | 2 | 0:13:00 | 0:36:48 | 1:00:39 | 0:47:39 | 30 |
| KENNY John | 2023-05-20 | 3 | 0:11:00 | 0:36:26 | 1:00:54 | 0:49:54 | 30 |
| CHRISTIE Rod | 2023-05-20 | 4 | 0:07:00 | 0:33:51 | 1:00:58 | 0:53:58 | 30 |
| HOSKING Pete | 2023-05-20 | 5 | 0:07:00 | 0:33:51 | 1:01:04 | 0:54:04 | 30 |
| WILKINSON Pete | 2023-05-20 | 6 | 0:03:00 | 0:32:18 | 1:01:07 | 0:58:07 | 30 |
| KIRK Andrew | 2023-05-20 | 7 | 0:09:00 | 0:34:53 | 1:01:29 | 0:52:29 | 30 |
| SWAN Andrew | 2023-05-20 | 8 | 0:07:00 | 0:33:51 | 1:01:39 | 0:54:39 | 30 |
| WILKINSON Richard | 2023-05-20 | 9 | 0:03:00 | 0:32:18 | 1:01:58 | 0:58:58 | 30 |
| WHITE Abbott | 2023-05-20 | 10 | 0:09:00 | 0:34:53 | 1:02:10 | 0:53:10 | 30 |
| BOURKE Dene | 2023-05-20 | 11 | 0:07:00 | 0:33:51 | 1:02:13 | 0:55:13 | 30 |
| WAUCH Jo | 2023-05-20 | 12 | 0:00:00 | 0:31:02 | 1:02:23 | 1:02:23 | 30 |
| TINDALE Rob | 2023-05-20 | 13 | 0:07:00 | 0:33:51 | 1:02:53 | 0:55:53 | 30 |
| KING Jacqui | 2023-05-20 | 14 | 0:00:00 | 0:31:02 | 1:03:20 | 1:03:20 | 30 |
| MCKELLAR Hugh | 2023-05-20 | 15 | 0:09:00 | 0:35:56 | 1:05:29 | 0:56:29 | 30 |
| THOMAS Phil | 2023-05-20 | DNF | 0:11:00 | 0:36:48 | – |