IF you excluded Bathurst from the Cycling NSW Club Team Time Trial Championships men's 150+ years competition then the results came down to the wire.
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Unfortunately for every other team involved in the competition Bathurst's result did indeed count - blowing everyone else's times out of the water.
Bathurst's team of Richard Hobson, Jeremy Ryan, Charlie Gascoyne and John Roberts - Ryan and Roberts are both Cowra locals - completed the 30 kilometre course at Glendon in a time of 42 minutes and three seconds.
That time put Bathurst 2:27 clear of their nearest rivals Randwick.
The men's 150+ team were Bathurst's only representatives at the event but they made the club proud with a dominant showing in one of the championships' most-contested races.
The quartet completed the course at an average of 42 kilometres per hour and left their rivals to fight for the scraps.
Randwick beat out Bicisport by two seconds in a great scrap for silver but they were far off the pace set by the Bathurst men.
Hobson and Ryan successfully defended the men's 150+ years title they won in Parma last year alongside Mark Windsor and Dennis Martin.
The best part of winning Saturday's race according to Ryan?
"What I liked the most, and what Hobbo, Charlie and John would agree on, is that it's always nice to beat those city boys," he said.
"We were the winning team from last year so we went out last. That means you go out there and do all the chasing."
The Bathurst men made the most of their last start position, noting the pace of the teams ahead of them and formulating a plan.
Bathurst got by four teams on the road over last year's longer distance race but with a drop back to 30km in 2019 there was a much smaller chance of passing other riders.
Even that couldn't stop the Bathurst crew from making moves.
Ryan said the team had a target on their backs.
"Randwick were ranked two so they went out two minutes ahead of us," he said.
"Last year we entered as an unranked team so we were able to overtake four teams. This year, going last, we knew the teams going out just ahead of us would be strong.
"It's great to see and catch people because that gives you a bit of incentive but we thought with two minutes gaps we wouldn't end up seeing those guys. We actually passed them and the team in front of them."
Ryan's great weekend continued in Sunday when he finished third in the division one men's race at the Robbie Williams Memorial Criteriums at Singleton.
Gascoyne also raced in Singleton but failed to finish the division one race.
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
