Scotsdale Slam 2024

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks!

Yes, it all got a little Shakespearean in the lead up to, and briefly prior to the start of the 2024 edition of the Albany Cycle Club’s Scotsdale Slam, held in the rolling hills of Denmark’s Scotsdale Valley. The drenching rain passed over just before the start, but the ‘hurricano’ did not abate and ensured that it wasn’t just the hills making it a hard day out. The riders faced a rather robust head wind all the way up the opening climb and out to the turn around point near Kordabup, where, being capricious in nature, it fluttered around the compass, refusing to settle into the expected screaming tailwind for the journey back to the finish.

While not the longest race at 44km, the 500+ metres of climbing ensured that riders finished with legs loaded with lactic acid and lungs gasping. The shortage of breath started as the riders rolled off the line in the precisely calibrated handicap intervals. Often much tougher than a mass start, handicap races oblige participants to work close to capacity from the outset in order to catch those in front and not be caught by those behind. Shirley Thurston led the field away from the start at Rockcliffe Winery, followed shortly after by Liz Cooper. As individual riders, their task into the wind was made harder than the group of Mike Garland, Paul Gibson and Alex Poulton who at 11 minutes, were able to work together to combat the tempest. Similarly, the next group on the road, Colin Ashton-Graham, Jimmy Watmore and Mike Staude used their collective power to chase down those in front of them. Vince Bascombe and Brett Dal Pozzo were off scratch at 26 minutes, with Brent Schoof, solo, sandwiched between them and the 14 minute group of Watmore.

Thurston, doing a very creditable Vingegaard impersonation, held onto the lead until after the turn, but wasn’t able to keep pace with the passing group of Ashton-Graham and Watmore on the climbs out of Kordabup. Liz Cooper caught and passed her just at the start of the final descent having hitched a ride with the 11 minute group of Garland, Poulton and Gibson.  They stayed close to the Watmore group until Garland suffered the ignominy of a double calf cramp, and without his formidable horsepower, they dropped away from the chase.

Schoof buried himself on the way up to Scotsdale in a vain attempt to hold off Bascombe and Dal Pozzo, and, having scorched his legs, applied the blowtorch further when caught by sitting on the front of the newly formed trio, driving the pace. At 5km to go, Watmore and Ashton Graham were caught by the rampant trio. Watmore missed the move to finish solo in fifth, however, Ashton Graham grabbed the wheels and hung on like a piece of melted cheese. 

While not exactly impressed at acquiring a passenger, the trio of Schoof, Bascombe and Dal Pozzo, were reassured by the knowledge that Ashton-Graham’s reputation as a sprinter was on a par with Mark Cavendish’s climbing prowess. There was a collective sigh of relief as their thoughts turned to outfoxing each other. Bascombe, with the impetuosity of youth tried twice to escape from long range, but was hauled back each time. However, the third attempt from about one hundred metres out stuck, and he took a memorable victory over Dal Pozzo in second and Schoof, with crispy cinders of legs in third. Bascombe covered the course in 1:07:48 at 39kmhr with the fastest time overall, and very generously donated his 200 Swiss franc winner’s cheque back to the UCI. Liz Cooper was the fastest female just four minutes in arrears. Pleasingly, no one, as a result of the storm went mad or lost their clothes.

The next event is the fast and furious Lowlands Gravel Race on August 3^rd, before the season finishes with the Elleker Graded Handicap on August 24^th. Both races start at 2pm.

Albany Cycling Club wishes to extend its thanks to Rockcliffe Winery for hosting us once again, to the marshals who handicapped, controlled the start/finish line  and did the turnaround. In particular, thank you Keith Symes and Steve Maguire for doing all the signage on the day.

Mike – this sentence – Pleasingly, no one, as a result of the storm went mad or lost their clothes.

 Is a throw away if you want – it references the initial quote and identifies the play. It doesn’t really make any sense in the context of the report.