Whakatāne Cycle Club’s first club race of the season delivered drama, surprise victories, and a record-breaking ride – though not all the action was on the track.

Race director Dave Wright set a neutralised first lap of 17 kilometres to ease riders into the season.

After that, the five scratch riders were scheduled to complete two additional laps totalling 25km, while the break group tackled two shorter laps totalling 16km.

The format was designed to test early season form while keeping the racing tight and tactical.

Two of the five-strong scratch group missed the memo, however, and stopped racing after the first lap.

Lilly Collombet’s much-anticipated return – fresh from her stint with the Black Magic Women’s U19 European Racing Team – also ended early due to a mechanical issue, forcing her withdrawal at the same point.

That left Alex Coventry and Donovan Jackson as the only remaining scratch riders to push for the win over the longer course.

Once the flag dropped, riders clung to scratch as best they could, but by the 4km mark, the race had fractured, with competitors scattered in ones and twos along the course.

Scott Christie, Donovan Jackson, and Antoine Collombet scored the hole shot by staying with scratch the longest.

Once they established a working rhythm, the handicapped race result would be decided between this trio and the two remaining scratch riders.

Ultimately, the extra 9km proved too much for Coventry and Jackson by themselves. They conceded, and finished well back in the field.

In the leading trio, Christie’s timing and positioning proved decisive as he crossed the finish line first, ahead of Donovan and Collombet, in second and third respectively.

The three set a blistering pace, riding tightly to minimise the punishing 10km crosswind.

After scratch and the winning trio had scattered the peloton, riders formed groups to conserve energy in the wind.

Neil Jones, Malcolm Harison, Corrie Smit, and Jason Boonen formed their own race, with Jones breaking away on the last sector to cross the finish line ahead of the others.

Albie Hulse rode a strong race for a climber on a flat parcours, leading Dave Keown, Annelise Wright, and Wendy Boonen to the finish.

The club was pleased to welcome three new riders to the peloton: Tom Yang, Keown, and Wright, each making a strong debut on the wind-exposed Awahou Road circuit.

Eighteen riders took part across the three grades. As ever, the wind on Awahou Road played its part – none more so than for Jacques Collombet, who set blistering Strava KOM’s for two sectors on Awahou Road, averaging 48kmh over the 8km.