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THE penultimate Mount Gambier Cycling Club Summer Series race was held on Sunday, with four junior riders greeting the starter for a 10km handicap event.
After his victory in the previous week, Eddie Buckland was given slightly less of a head start this time around.
Molly Opperman and Freya Miller left together, four minutes after Eddie, followed a further minute later by Elmer Buckland.
Taking advantage of the slight tailwind on the outward leg, Eddie Buckland minimised his losses and turned for home well ahead of the chasing riders.
Opperman rode strongly, having pulled away from Miller, with Elmer Buckland working hard to bridge the gap to both of them.
As the racers neared the finish line, it became clear Eddie was in a rich vein of form for the moment, as he took victory once again.
Opperman managed to continue her strong ride back into the wind, finishing second.
Elmer caught Miller just after the turnaround and they rode together to try to bridge the gap to Opperman, but to no avail.
In the sprint to determine the final spot on the podium, Elmer managed to edge out Miller to take third place and fastest time.
Another large number of riders signed on for the senior 30km handicap race, with seven riders joining from Hamilton.
The 21 starters were placed into three large groups, with Jason Buckland, Jen Buckland, Pam Menzel, Jacki Barnett and Shane Kennett first to leave.
Some 12 minutes later Spek Peake, John Cranwell, Bruce McLaughlin, Phil Stasiw, Dean Zeven, John De Pree, Mike Bakker, Jami Buckley, Harry Opperman, Rhyan Menzel, Dean Menzel and Colin Weatherill departed, with a two-minute head start on the final group of Chris Kennett, Matthew Opperman, Rohan Garfoot and Nick Kidman.
The pace was on from the outset, with some riders finding the going tough and losing touch with their bunch within the initial 10km.
The scratch riders pushed hard, catching all of the middle group by the halfway mark and on target to catch the limit group before the finish line.
At the halfway mark, it was Jen Buckland, Barnett, Pam Menzel and Shane Kennett still in front, with Jason Buckland between them and the next bunch.
After the turnaround it seemed the wind picked up and was directly into the faces of the riders.
Some of the groups, which had split on the outward journey, connected back up again.
The pace was still hot from the scratch riders and they passed the limit riders with 5km still to race.
As the race neared the finish line, Chris Kennett sprinted ahead to take the victory (with fastest time) just ahead of Kidman and Matthew Opperman, with Rhyan Menzel and Dean Menzel finishing in the bunch.
There will be a break over the Easter weekend, before the final race of the series to be held on Sunday April 11, a 40km shotgun race where the riders will all start at the same time, but with handicapped head starts.
