The 25km handicap Tantanoola Wind Farms course event was the penultimate race in the 2022 Mount Gambier Cycling Club Summer Series
A slight hill onto Canunda Frontage Road and the perennial wind provided the backdrop for the riders in Sunday’s race.
The junior race opened proceedings along a flat 10km out-and-back course.
Glenn Tye left with a two-minute, 45 second head start over Sean Tye and Eddie Buckland.
By the turnaround the chasers had whittled down that lead to just over one minute and Glenn Tye was caught with two kilometres still to ride.
Glenn Tye tried to hold onto the train as it passed, but was unfortunately dropped before the finish.
Buckland tried to lead out an early sprint, but was unable to hold off a fast-finishing Sean Tye, who crossed the line at 25:08, three seconds ahead of Buckland with Glenn Tye following a further 33 seconds later.
A total of 19 riders signed on for the seniors race, which was held on a 25km course that included a climb over the Canunda Range at the 7km mark and a return with 8km to go.
The initial group to chase contained Jonathon Kidman, Jason Buckland, Ainsley Curtis and Dianne Major.
They were given a generous five-minute head start over the next group containing Jen Buckland, Don Sforcina, Damian Buckley and Rick Heaver.
One minute later the group consisting of Elmer Buckland, Spek Peake and Mike Bakker started their chase, followed three minutes later by Malcolm Tirabassi, Dean Zeven, John Cranwell and Phil Stasiw.
The second to last group containing Rob Mann, Jami Buckley and Matthew Opperman waited a further three minutes before they began their chase, with Nick Kidman launching a solo effort at the back of the pack 120 seconds later and some 14 minutes after the initial riders had taken to the course.
Out in front the early groups maintained their cohesion along the flat part of the course but rode up the little hills at different paces, causing some splits to happen.
Curtis was the strongest of the limit riders, pulling away from the rest of his group, with Heaver and Sforcina also putting a gap on their nearest companions.
By the turnaround mark Tirabassi, Cranwell, Stasiw and Zeven had caught Elmer Buckland, Bakker and Peak.
After the turnaround the combination of a false flat and headwind sapped the energy from the slower riders and many were caught before they could conquer the climb with 8km to go.
At the foot of the climb, it was still Ainsley out in front, with Cranwell, Major and Jason Buckland holding on.
Just behind them Elmer Buckland saw the climb as an opportunity to try and put a gap on his rivals and flew past the riders ahead, with Tirabassi and Stasiw continuing to reel in the rest.
Unfortunately for Elmer Buckland, the light weight that allows him to climb quickly, does not help him when the elevation drops and he was caught on the descent by Stasiw and Tirabassi.
Into the final flat kilometres the faster riders continued their chase of those ahead of them, but Tirabassi and Stasiw were not to be denied.
In the final rush to the line, it was Tirabassi who saluted the finish first, a welcome return to the winner’s circle almost 12 months to the day after his racing accident, followed by Stasiw.
They were followed by Opperman, Buckley and Mann, just ahead of Kidman, who took the fastest time honours once again, while Cranwell, Eddie Buckland, Peake and Curtis rounded out the top 10.
The final race for the Summer Series will be a 25km race on the familiar Caves Road course.
