We were lucky enough to head out to Macclesfield for Adelaide Hills Cycling Club’s Stamps Rd Road Race – a gruelling 13km course with 150m elevation each pass. One lap can be hard, but multiple at race pace becomes brutal very quickly.

On Sunday a bunch of our crew made their way out to Bradbury for @adelaidehillscyclingclub’s Kermesse.

While the weather turned it on, unfortunately a disgruntled local had sabotaged the course with tacks. This turned the race from one that is typically one of attrition from a physical fitness perspective into one that mechanical attrition also became a factor.

In B Grade, Jimmy Wade hung in for a very tough race and took third place, backing up his podium from Fox Creek. Luckily, his tyre had been victim to a tack – but it ‘threaded’ in and out of his tyre without piercing the tube. Adam Bowey was not so lucky, falling victim to a tack on the first lap.

In C1, both Harry Hollaway and Pearce avoided the proverbial minefield, both getting around the course without incident. The finish was somewhat chaotic, with B grade passing C1 on the final lap with both grades. The result was  Harry taking a dominant W in his first ever road race while Paul was forced to thread the needle through B grade while still managing to take third – very impressive after Saturday’s performance!

In C2, Daniel Kelly and Victoria Veitch raced strongly, with Daniel taking third and Victoria fourth. Unfortunately Simon Veitch fell victim to a tack – with well over half of this grade in particular being ‘tacked’.

Finally, in D1 Luke Dingley snagged his second podium in as many races, taking second place behind an U19 rider who will no doubt be making his way up the grades promptly. Unfortunately – and this is becoming a familiar story in this report (!!) – Alison Skinner was unlucky to hit a tack.

All in all, a morning that held some great results for the team, if not being a little bittersweet for those that received a tack and didn’t get to let their legs do the talking. That said – onwards and upwards, we’re looking forward to the next AHCC race at Macclesfield this Sunday.

Thanks go out to Adam Bowey and Amanda for the photos.

Saturday’s @auscyclingsa Super Series Points Race was a tough one!