Now they’re adding something new in the hopes of building up even more excitement around the club: A handicap event.

Organisers are taking the times recorded from the past four rounds at Bathurst and using them to create individual starting times for each competitor.

Club president Richard Blackie said the format, which has gone unused for several years, should make for an intriguing race.

“We’re doing things a bit different with a handicap round. We’re running our short course and long course together,” he said.

“Luke Patterson, the vice-president, has been working out everyone’s times from their first few races. Those with the slower times will go first then we’ll send everyone off at different intervals and hopefully we’ll have a mad dash for the finish line.

“It’s interesting and exciting. We did it years ago at the triathlon club and we thought this weekend it would be worth mixing things up to see how it goes.”

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There’s just two remaining Bathurst rounds, including this Sunday, while there’s two Inter Club races still to come at Orange (February 17) and Dubbo (March 3).

Bathurst holds a slender lead over Orange in the Inter Club battle and Blackie said excellent participation numbers are helping the club immensely.

“We’re going so great this year and think it’s all been on the back of the Women For Tri initiative and the women’s race that we ran and it’s all built from there,” he said

“There seems to be a buzz about the place and everyone who comes to the events seem to be enjoying themselves and telling everyone how much fun it’s been.

“There more people we get involved the more points we get. We had 160 competitors at the Bathurst Inter Club round which is the most people we’ve ever had for a race.”

The Australia Day numbers were even more impressive considering the extreme temperatures in Bathurst.

While numbers, of course, won’t be near the Inter Club turnout it’s hoped that many Bathurst competitors will be out in force as a preparation for the upcoming round in Orange.

Racing on Stanley Street gets started at the regular time of 8am with the juniors to follow at 9.30am.