IT was a challenging night for racing with hot temps, wind and a finish on the Coombesberg.

Dave Bock was the first of 18 riders to set off, followed by Dave MacDonald and Craig Wilson at 3’30. At 5’30 Steve Curnow was going solo until the 8’30 group of Adrian Dowd and Oliver Hall, the 9’30 of Steve Duke, Simon Hall, Simon Mulvihill and Mick Pearce, all merged to form a large group by the turn around.

The 11’30 group of Darren Bakker, Ryder Chadd and Ant Bateup were working well together to advance on the lead group and holding off the 12’45 group of Bruce Halket, Chris Miller and Damian Grundy. Little did they know that Chris retired from the race with a puncture and Bruce was feeling the hurt after a week of dead lifts and squats in the gym with Wardy.

Andy Garrett was the lone Scratch rider, setting off at 13’30. Andy was gaining on the field at the turn around but couldn’t quite bridge the gap.

After the turn into Barwite Road, the larger “lead group” was fast becoming the “splinter group”, allowing Ryder, Ant and Darren to work their way through the field.

Ryder had his sights locked on the lead riders and was carving his way through the field, determined not to carry any potential sprinters with him.

At the turn into Old Tolmie Road, Ryder, Steve D, Oliver and Simon were starting to look around to see who had something left in the tank for a sprint finish.

Ryder proved too strong and bridged a gap up the climb, maintaining this to the finish to take the win by three seconds.

In the background, Mick had put in a huge effort to get back on the lead group and drag Ant with him.

It was then a sprint for newspaper article rights, with Ant narrowly getting 2nd, Mick 3rd and Oliver in 4th, all on the same finish time.

Closely followed by Steve D, Simon, Damian, Darren, Steve C and Bruce.

Damian continued with his current good form, riding fastest time for the night.

Thank you to all the marshals.

Next week is one of the highlights of the MMBCC road calendar, the Bakker Plumbing Handicap at Jamieson.