Thrilling women’s finish in club esports series

A last-gasp surge by Jessica Bemrose (Gold Coast Cycling Club) has made for a spectacular highlight in round 2 of AusCycling’s club series.

On Thursday, the 2022 AusCycling National Club Esports Series continued on Zwift’s Makuri Islands – Wandering Flats route, a deceptively named parcours given the late climb (2.1km at 3%) that peaked with 4km remaining.

In the Women’s A race, Bemrose looked to be out of contention after deploying her Draft Boost powerup early and slipping to the back of the five-woman breakaway with 200 metres remaining.

However, one last acceleration in the closing metres brought Bemrose back through the slipstream and, with the finish arch rapidly approaching, the Queenslander edged ahead to take the win by a whisker ahead of Indonesia’s Rizcha Da and Rebecca Manning (Bathurst Cycling Club).

Bemrose added another 30 points to her club’s tally, doubling up from round 1, with Kate Spicer (Dubbo CC) joining Manning on the podium again.

As was the case in round 1, the Men’s A race was characterised by multiple attacks by members of Team AERO, particularly Australian representative Torben Partridge-Madsen. However, a large group of over 40 riders survived the climb to contest the finish.

Aiden Sinclair was the first to jump, but Adam Evans tracked the acceleration and came past with an authoritative surge, going clear by 10 metres to finish first.

Crossing the line second, Nick Squillari (Hawthorn CC) was the first AusCycling-registered rider and claimed maximum points for his club, while last week’s top pointscorer Kyle Marwood (Mackay CC) took the runner-up spot.

The peloton races through downtown Neokyo during round 2 of AusCycling's club series.

On the overall leaderboard, Waratah Masters CC extended its lead a total of 903 points, while Bathurst CC moved up to the second place (596 points) ahead of Vikings CC (492 points).

Audrey Braun (Randwick CC), Cait Williamson (Dulwich Hill BC) and Alyssa Little (Gold Coast CC) took out the Women’s B, C and D races respectively.

Ian Morrison (Randwick CC), Bruce Black (Parklife CC) and – for the second week running – Robert Dannoun (Waratah Maters CC) won the Men’s B, C and D categories.

The AusCycling National Club Cycling Esports Series continues on Zwift next Thursday with a hilltop finish on the Volcano KOM.

Each round of the series is being streamed on the AusCycling YouTube channel.

Clubs can continue to register riders throughout the series. For more information, visit the series page or contact your club.

Replay

Standings after round 2

1. Waratah Masters CC 903
2. Bathurst CC 596
3. Vikings CC 492
4. Randwick CC 459
5. Gold Coast CC 391
6. Southern Cross CC 268
7. University of Queensland CC 265
8. Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club 227
9. Northern Sydney CC 186
10. Balmoral CC 180
11. Mackay Cycling Club 175
12. Illawarra CC 172
13. Port Adelaide Cycling Club 154
14. Jindabyne CC 135
15. Lifecycle CC 132
16. Newcastle Hunter CC 114
17. Mudgee CC 91
18. Sutherland Shire CC 89
19. Dubbo Cycling Club 84
20. Hawthorn CC 82
21. Byron Bay CC 66
22. Parklife CC 62
23. Brunswick CC 50
24. Hamilton Wheelers Cycling Club 49
25. Cairns CC 47
26. Italo-Australian CC 45
27. Manning Valley CC 40
28. Knox BMX Club 30
29. St Kilda Cycling Club 18