Waratah Masters takes club esports lead into mid-season break

Waratah Masters Cycling Club will take a sizable lead into the mid-season break of the 2022 AusCycling National Club Cycling Esports Series.

The Sydney road and track cycling club finishes the first half of the series with 2,502 points, over 500 points clear of their nearest rivals.

Round six of the 12-race series was held yesterday on Zwift’s “Electric Loop” route, a fast and flat circuit race in downtown Neokyo.

Women’s A

Jessica Bemrose (Gold Coast Cycling Club) continued her domination of the Women’s A category. A group of eight riders contested the sprint after a hard race split by multiple attacks by Hong Kong rider Lam Kong.

As she has done time and time again this series, in the final 250 metres Bemrose dropped her aero powerup, unleashed a sprint at over 12 watts per kilogram and crossed the line well clear of her rivals.

Kate Spicer (Dubbo CC) returned to podium along with Kathryn Alley (Randwick CC), who continue to be consistent performers in this series.

Bemrose has now taken maximum points from each of the six rounds, with no sign of slowing down.

Men’s A

The Men’s A field consisted of 99 riders including an international contingent from Uganda’s Masaka Cycling Club and the first series appearance by superbike racer Troy Herfoss.

Racing was predictably fast on the pan-flat course, with the winner averaging 48.4km/h over the 27 kilometres.

Despite an aggressive race by Michael Gallagher, Matthew Sherwin and Adam Bemrose (Gold Coast CC), the peloton remained together to contest a mass sprint for the win.

A fast-finishing Sam Hill, who is an Australian esports representative, figured best for the home nation among a host of international riders at the pointy end of the sprint.

Kyle Marwood (Mackay CC) once again took points for his club as the best finisher out of the AusCycling-registered riders. Bemrose took the runner-up spot with Nathan Campbell (Lifecycle CC) in third.

Other categories

Audrey Braun (Randwick CC) and Alyssa Little (Gold Coast CC) both took their second wins this series in the B and D categories respectively. Fiona Kwok (Randwick CC) took out the Women’s C category to bolster Randwick’s overall position on the podium.

Ian Morrison (Randwick CC) joined his female clubmates in the winner’s circle by taking out Men’s B. Peter Davis (Port Adelaide CC) returned to the top of the Men’s C podium while James Salafia (Waratah Masters CC) continued his club’s winning ways in Men’s D.

Overall standings

After six rounds, Waratah Masters CC enjoys a commanding lead of 543 points ahead of Bathurst CC.

Randwick CC still holds third spot by a slender lead over Vikings CC, while Gold Coast CC holds steady in the top five thanks in no small part to the Bemrose family.

The 12-round 2022 AusCycling National Club Cycling Esports Series will resume with round seven on August 25.

Before then, you can watch Australia and New Zealand’s top teams contest the 2022 AusCycling Elite Teams National Esports Series from June 7.

Replay

Standings after round 6

Waratah Masters Cycling Club 2502
Bathurst Cycling Club 1959
Randwick Cycling Club 1479
Vikings Cycling Club 1390
Gold Coast Cycling Club 1224
Southern Cross Cycling Club 1018
University of Queensland Cycling Club 710
Mackay Cycling Club 703
Northern Sydney Cycling Club 663
Illawarra Cycling Club 610
Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club 500
Port Adelaide Cycling Club 480
Lifecycle Cycling Club 459
Balmoral Cycling Club 457
Mudgee Cycling Club 384
Jindabyne Cycling Club 375
Parklife Cycling Club 301
Byron Bay Cycling Club 292
Dubbo Cycling Club 284
Manning Valley Cycling Club 237
Newcastle Hunter Cycling Club 222
Birrarung Cycling Club 195
Hamilton Wheelers Cycling Club 190
Brunswick Cycling Club 181
Hawthorn Cycling Club 171
Cairns Cycling Club 136
Sutherland Shire Cycle Club 133
St Kilda Cycling Club 112
Knox BMX Club 108
Italo-Australian Cycling Club 59