WOW. A whole new podium look. Here is how it happened.
0:00 Greg, Ian T, Richard W, Glenn and Ken E - Limit / Group 3
2:20 Frank, Jeff, Rob S, Rodd and Colin - Block / Group 2
3:00 Chris, Tony, Jason, Seb and Dave J - Scratch / Group 1
Allan missed the start due to mechanical issues. He joined in during the exercise but missed out on doing the full distance. Daniel had an early start and stayed clear for a number of laps before eventually being hauled in. This left us with 3 groups of 5 riders ready to take on the training exercise.
After several months with no results Frank and Jeff found themselves back in Block, while Jason and Tony deserved their promotion to Scratch due to consistent strong finishes.
Scratch started smoothly and made their way towards making the catch. Tony found the pace a bit high after being sick for a few weeks and dropped off after a few laps. Block had discarded Rob S and Colin early on, as they were picked up by Scratch they let them know the pace wasn't fast enough to catch Jeff and Frank. This turned out to be true and while Scratch rounded up Ken E and Rodd, they never got to the front.
Meanwhile Jeff and Frank pushed on, taking plenty of strong turns each, hoping to catch the remaining Limit riders of Greg, Glenn, Richard W and Ian T. At one stage they doubted if they would make the catch, however on the back of the last lap they stormed to the lead. Frank had has sights set on a maiden victory and pushed hard to draw clear of everyone else and storm across the line first. Glenn chased him over for 2nd with Jeff, recovering from a huge effort to get Frank home, rolling over in 3rd.
Next up were Ian T, Greg, Richard W, Chris, Jason, Dave J and Seb rounding out the top ten.
After the session the group stopped for a coffee and some banter. It was noted that the gaps were smaller than in April, however with the even number of riders, and some strong efforts from Limit and Block, the catch by Scratch was never made. Many riders put in an excellent training effort despite the cold temperatures.
Discussions covered a range of topics including the concept that Frank will provide a whole box of Lebanese Cucumbers to Jeff for dragging him to victory. There was also talk of Frank going back up to Scratch and winning from there to show how good he really is.
Stayed tuned for the next Handicap Training Exercise, scheduled for Thursday 27 June 2024.
Handicap Classic History
In 2017 a new activity was born. The monthly handicap classic. Riders are divided into groups according to perceived ability and set off from a standing start with a time gap in between each group with the goal of seeing who is first across the line. The top 3 in each activity so far are:
2017
Aug – PDC / Tom / Marcel
Sep – Jason / Chris / Dave J
Oct – Dave J / Jason / Rod
Nov – Dave J / Harry / Jason
Dec – Harry / Josh / Rene
2018
Jan – Mark / PDC / Colin
Feb – Tom / Chris / Josh
Mar - Jeff / Glenn / Colin
Apr - Dave J / Jeff / Rod
May - Jason / Rod / Andy
Jun - Harry / Chris / PDC
Jul - Harry / Jason / PDC
Aug - Chris / Dave J / Dave P
Sep - Andy / Jeff / Tom
Oct - Andy / Chris / Jason
Nov - Dave J / Jason / Chris
Dec - Rob S / Jason / Andy
2019
Jan – Andy / Harry / Dave P
Feb - Chris / Jason / Rob V
Mar - Eddie / Frank / Rob S
Apr - Harry / Chris / Jeff
May - Rob S / Tom / Colin
Jun - Rob S / Jason / Chris
Jul - Tom / Jason / Jeff
Aug- Rob S / Harry / Andy
Sep - Dave J / PDC / Chris
Oct - Ken E / Daniel / PDC
Nov - Richard W / Ken E / Rob S
Dec - Dave J / Chris / PDC
2020
Jan – Rob S / Jason / Darren
Feb - Rene / Andy / Eddie
May - Colin / Eddie / Frank
Jun - Andy / Jason / Rod
July - Jeff / Seb / Rod
Aug - Rob V / Jason / Seb
Sep - Chris / Dave J / Glenn
Oct - Andy / Eddie / Frank
Nov - Tony / Eddie / Frank
Dec - Seb / Paul K / Jason
2021
Jan – Ken E / Glenn / Rene
Feb - Dave J / Harry / Paul K
Mar - Jason / Dave J / Eddie
Apr - Seb / Adam / Rod
May - Tom / Rob H / Seb
Jun - Chris / Jeff / Seb
Oct - Rob S / Rob H / Paul K
Dec 2 - Tony / Ken E / Richard W
Dec 21 - Richard F / Seb / Eddie
2022
Jan – Paul K / Rob S / Chris
Aug - Seb / RobS / Jason
Oct 4 - Dave J / Jason / Tom
Oct 27 - Chris / Jason / Dave J
Nov - Rob S / Chris / Jason
Dec - Jason / Dave J / Eddie
2023
Feb 2 (delayed Australia Day) - Chris / Jason / Harry
Feb - Harry / Jason / Rod
Mar - Jason / Seb / Rob H
Apr - Jason / Jeff / Chris
May - Rob S / Paul K / Tony
Jun - Rob H / Jeff / Dave J
Jul - Tom / Jeff / Dave J
Aug - Rob S / Paul K / Rob H
Sep - Seb / Rob S / Paul K
Oct - Chris / Dave J / Eddie
Nov - Dave J / Chris / Paul K
Dec - Paul K / Tom / Rob S
2024
Feb 8 (delayed Australia Day) - Rob S / Seb / Rob H
Feb - Rob S / Tony / Glenn
Apr - Rob H / Tony / Jason
May - Frank / Glenn / Jeff