Cervelo & Focus Elite Points Races Cap Off Massive MetroMap Super Series
Finishing off the MetroMap Super Series with a Friday night Points Race at Pakapakanthi had been in the works for two years, after a planned 2020 version of this finale didn’t eventuate due to COVID-19. Consider the concept proven, with several hundred people coming out to see who would take home the Series wins across the two Elite Categories and their Classifications!
The night began with the Cervelo Elite Women’s Points Race, and it was not long before the fireworks started with Maeve Plouffe (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) duking it out against fellow Olympian Ash Ankudinoff (KOM-Tactic) to the line at the very first sprint, 4 laps in. A solo break from Kelly Fettes (Butterfields Racing) saw her hold on to take the points in the next sprint, but after that it was the Ash Ankudinoff show for much of the night, taking 3 of the remaining 6 sprints in the race. A small group of three consisting of Tori Barry (KOM), Carlee Taylor (Individual) – both named PREPD Most Aggressive - and Alex Martin-Wallace (ARA) got away from the bunch and had a considerable advantage, with Martin-Wallace taking the lion’s share of the points whenever a sprint came around. All together at the finish, it would be Ash who crosses the line in an emphatic final kick, sealing the win with a total of 24 points over Plouffe in second on 20. Chloe Moran (ARA) scored in all but two of the sprints to come home third on 14 points.
For the Series overall, Ash Ankudinoff cemented her spot atop the SCODY General Classification standings to take the Series win a year after fellow Team Pursuit teammate Nettie Edmondson brought it home in a similar fashion. She would also clean up two of the three minor categories, nabbing the Mischief Brew Sprint Classification win from ARA’s Ruby Roseman-Gannon and SASI’s Amber Pate at the final possible moment, and winning the Pangkarra Foods Masters Classification by a country mile from Libby Young (Butterfields). KOM-Tactic took the Adelaide Bike Fit Young Rider Classification, with Kat Chung-Orr finishing in top spot, holding off Hannah Seeliger (Butterfields) in second. Despite Ankudinoff’s GC win, it was the ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast with the most decisive Team Classification win across any category of racing – a grand total of 424 points to KOM-Tactic in second spot on 275 and SASI on a combined 153. ARA add their name to the perpetual Super Series trophy and take home the first-ever set of Elite Team Champion rings.
Elite Women
SCODY General Classification – 1. Ash Ankudinoff (KOM-Tactic) 152 pts, 2. Amber Pate (SASI) 114 pts, 3. Lauren Perry (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) 89 pts
Teams Classification – ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast
Mischief Brew Sprint Classification – Ash Ankudinoff (KOM-Tactic)
Adelaide Bike Fit Young Rider – Kat Chung-Orr (KOM-Tactic)
Pangkarra Foods Masters Classification – Ash Ankudinoff (KOM-Tactic)
In the second race of the evening, the Focus Elite Men’s Points Race, it was SCODY GC Leader Sam Welsford (ROKiT Racing) who hit out first, taking line honours on Lap 4 over closest rival Cam Scott (Individual). It was the young Tasmanian Dalton Stretton who took line honours in sprint 2, before Scott got one back in Sprint 3. ACT Academy’s Conor Leahy would take the next two from a breakaway, then teammate Graeme Frislie took Sprint 6 from the PREPD Most Aggressive rider on the day, Will Golding (Butterfields). It was the Cam and Sam show again for Sprints 7 and 8, the two going 1, 2 and 2, 1 before a late move snuck off the front of the bunch. Brendon Davids (Olivers Real Food Racing) took the final line honours followed by Conor Leahy who would move to 1st place with those last 6 points. Leahy’s winning 16 points was equalled by Cam Scott in second place (countback – finish position) then Welsford in 3rd spot on 15 points.
In the Series overall, Welsford came into the final round with a 21-point lead which proved easily defended – winning the SCODY General Classification by 20 points clear of Cam Scott in second. Pat Eddy took home third spot for ACT Academy on 97 points, but the real battle was for the minor placings – just 6 points separating 4th from 9th spot after 9 rounds of racing. Scott scored 3 extra points in the final round’s Mischief Brew Sprint Classification, taking out the category on 20 points to Pat Eddy’s 10 points in second spot. Eddy was the best of the youngsters, taking out the Adelaide Bike Fit Young Rider Classification from Matt Fox (ROKiT Racing) and Zac Marriage (Butterfields). The Teams Classification was hotly contested down to the wire, with just 4 points separating ROKiT Racing and ACT Academy. After the Focus Points Race it all shook out in favour of ACT, with 226 points over ROKiT’s 222 to take the rings and the perpetual trophy.
SCODY General Classification – 1. Sam Welsford (ROKiT Racing) 146 pts, 2. Cameron Scott (Individual) 126 pts, 3. Patt Eddy (ACT Academy) 97 pts.
Teams Classification – ACT Academy
Mischief Brew Sprint Classification – Cameron Scott (Individual)
Adelaide Bike Fit Young Rider – Pat Eddy (ACT Academy)
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