The ghost of a World Cup past - National Rd 4, Mt Stromlo

The ghost of World Cups past shone through on the weekend, in the resurrection of the famous trail, of the same name. A trail that separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Ultimately defined by one section that holds such risk and reward, hidden behind names such as the “Hammerhead” and “Cardiac Arrest”. Features of such technicality that offer only the finest level of racing and at the front end there was no denying it.

It was a Trek domination session, Bec Henderson lead the Elite Womens race from start to finish, her World Cup pace shining through like many times before. The race for the rest of the podium was a hard chase with Peta Mullens at the fore, hunted by Jodie Willet and Em Parkes. Parkes impressively closing the gap in both time and performance from her junior years.

With the temperature climbing the mens race rolled underway but the Trek domination continued. Dan McConnell leaving his old race tactics behind opted for a far more direct attack and he had achieved a clear gap on the field by ‘Hammerhead’ on the first lap. The rest of the race followed suit with the win never out of McConnells grasp. The chase here was launched by series leader Scott Bowden tightly followed by Brendan ‘Trekkie’ Johnston, the lead of which switching back and forth throughout the race. However it was Johnston who won the sprint for the line with Bowden in third still able to retain the series jersey.