THERE were a raft of lead changes on the final climb but once the dust had settled it was Simon Hickey who lifted the Rockley Cup aloft on Sunday.
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Hickey worked in tandem with fellow backmarker Tim Guy to hunt down every single rider who started ahead of them in the 50th anniversary of the handicap event.
Husband and wife Dennis and Jodie Martin looked the likely winners heading into the final climb but they would have to settle for third and fourth respectively as the scratch riders got the job done.
Hickey was thankful for the help his fellow Orange rider did to make winning the cup a possibility.
"Having a guy who riders in Europe for part of the year is a massive help. That's perfect for helping us get over these hills here. It's a tough course," he said.
"Part of the reason I've wanted to do this race is that it's such a great race. You look through the riders who have won before and there's some big names there.
"I enjoy the climbs. Tim was kind in helping me over but he pushed me along as well which helped us get to where we needed to be at the right time."
Gary Theiss was the first to jump clear of the limit bunch but a large group consisting of Ray Thorn, Wayne Powell, Toireasa Gallagher, Rod Esdaile and Chris Davis chased well off the 24 minute mark.
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However, the group broke up on their first ascent up Rockley Mount as Thorn, Davis and Gallagher got ahead of the pack.
Over the top Thorn lost contact and Esdaile caught up to Gallagher and Davis.
The trio hunted down Theiss into Rockley but had a new threat of 18 minutes group Scott James, Tony Shaw and Orange rider Ray Straney to watch out for.
Backmackers Hickey, Guy and David Nicholas had now begun their race and stayed together to hunt down their rivals.
The same cohesion wasn't found in the groups ahead of them.
Dennis Martin and Jack Reen jumped ahead of the six minute bunch and Jodie Martin and Paul Upston had done the same in their 12 minute pack.
Gallagher and Davis entered the final climb together, and looked the winners before Jodie Martin hit the front.
Martin looked set to become the first female winner of the cup before her husband arrived on the scene to take the lead.
But there was another twist to come as Hickey surged past Martin to win the title.
Winner of the 1969 race, Geoff Rice, was on hand to present Hickey with the trophy.
Naturally, with winning from scratch, Hickey also won the fastest rider award (1:47:59).
Hickey is the third scratch rider to win the cup in the past four years.
Guy, who is still yet to win a Rockley Cup of his own, was more than happy to play the supporting role for Hickey.
"I've rode with Simon a couple of times at the start of the year and he was going really well then and when I heard he was doing this I thought it would be worth coming down to see if we could get him up," he said.
Jodie Martin has been a strong supporter of the cup over the past decades, winning the first female rider award in 2002, 2006, 2016 and now 2019.
She has now won three of the past four fastest female rider titles.
When her 12 minute group fractured early in Sunday's latest edition Martin knew she was in for a challenge.
"There was a glimpse of the win," Martin said.
"It was hard race today because I lost my bunch early and I was in a dilemma for what I wanted to do so I just kept going."
Her race was a solo adventure for much of the 63km distance but despite that she put herself into a winning position.
"When Dennis went past me I thought for a moment he was going to be the king and I was going to be the queen and then it all just fell apart," she said.
"I'm still rapt to be the queen and take fourth overall."
