After a brief hiatus from racing due to the Easter weekend, and another weekend of low entry numbers, the 9th race of the Brew Coffee Bar Summer Series was held in surprisingly calm conditions at Tantanoola.
Sunday’s race rolled over the hills of Canunda before taking in the sights of Lake Bonney and returning to the start/finish line.
Eight riders signed on to begin the race, the lower numbers perhaps due to the start of local school holidays.
The first rider away was Martin Farmilo, providing the bait for the other riders to chase.
There was an eight minute wait for Sandra Parsons, Chris Neave and Ethan McKenny before they could begin, and a further four minutes for Craig Andrae and Tim Koopman, before the final pairing of Jami Buckley and Scott Waters began their chase another three minutes later.
This race usually has a strong wind to add to the mix, but the race started with a slight tailwind, though it did get a little stronger before the race was completed.
Riders were working hard to try and lessen the gaps between them, with Sandra Parsons the first to find her group’s pace just a little too much, perhaps still feeling the effects of a couple of broken ribs.
The turn marshall decided the advertised turnaround mark (15km) was just a little unsafe for the riders, so an extra kilometre was added to allow for a safer u-turn.
Martin was the first to arrive at the turnaround, but his lead had been shortened considerably, with Chris and Ethan less than three minutes behind him.
Jami and Scott had already caught up with Tim and Craig and were less than five minutes from the front of the race as they made the turnaround.
This group had already caught and passed Sandra just before the turn.
Jami, Scott and Tim were riding very strongly, with Craig the next to find their pace too strong, dropping off from the back of the group.
Martin was next to be caught by both groups, just as he was about to climb the hill that separated Tantanoola from Lake Bonney, with Ethan and Chris being caught by the fastest riders soon after.
Ethan was able to jump on the back of the group and held on to them with 5km to race, but the pace proved too strong and he was unable to maintain the connection.
From this point it was just a matter of race-craft as the riders tried to set themselves up for the finishing sprint.
After getting to the back of the group close to the finish line, and waiting for the others to begin their sprint, Jami Buckley powered past Scott Waters and Tim Koopman to take the victory and fastest time honours.
Chris Neave had caught back up to Ethan McKenny close to the finish line, but had no answers when Ethan sprinted for the line, nearly three minutes after the leading riders.
They were followed later by Craig Andrae, Sandra Parsons and Martin Farmilo, each battling the conditions individually.
The next race will be the Soldiers Memorial race to be held from 12.30pm on Anzac Day, along the Caves Road course for a 42km handicap.
Riders from as far afield as Warrnambool are anticipated to join local riders for one of the longer lead up races to the 100 Mile Classic which is now just over a month away.
