RACE REPORT: ACC NULLAKI HANDICAP Road Race 2025 .
7am, Sat 15 Feb, 2025.
Albany Cycle Club’s latest race, the Nullaki Handicap, was held on a deceptively testing course on the Nullaki peninsular. While the initial kilometres of the race are flat, each end of the prongs of the course feature some testing climbs; not especially long, but with a leg killing gradient.
Setting off as the ‘go’ group, Dave Marshall and Jill Bascombe made good progress, holding the three and seven minute groups off for the first half of the race. When these groups came together it was a group of five, Andrew Le Fort, Jacob Greenwood, Anton Davey, Steve Maguire and Marshall who then jumped away, forming a strong lead group.
Behind this, the longer handicap groups were working hard, initially with the wind at their backs, but once the turn was made at Anvil Beach, they faced a headwind that just got stronger as the race progressed. The four separate groups that started later had become two larger groups by this point, and with numbers came higher chase speeds with more to share the workload.
The leading group of five held together through the sharp hills of Nullaki Drive, maintaining a diminishing advantage. Behind them though, the larger groups were fracturing as stronger riders pulled away, and by the turn back onto Eden Road there were just two chase groups with a chance of overhauling the frontrunners. The Denmark trio of Paul Clifton, Greg Newton and David Beckwith had roughly four minutes in eleven kilometres to make up, and Michael Gardiner, Tom Russell and Colin Rose about six minutes. As it turned out, these two groups needed a little more road.
As the five frontrunners neared the finish line together, a five-rider sprint for the win was on the cards. With the enthusiasm of youth, Jacob Greenwood tried a long range attack, hoping to catch the group unawares. Unfortunately, they were wise to this and ran him down before really cranking the pace on in the last fifty metres. The photo finish revealed a tyre width win to Andrew LeFort, with Anton Davey and Steve Maguire taking the minor places. Greenwood was the fastest junior. Liz Cooper was the fastest female, and Tom Russell had the fastest time of the day; one hour and eleven minutes, a great average in windy conditions of 37.9kmhr.
Thanks to the volunteers who set up the signs, ran the start/finish line, managed the gate button; those who raced appreciate you giving up your time.