PERFECT weather greeted riders for the South Australian Kermesse Championships on Sunday at a closed Blue Lake venue.
The Men’s Kermesse Championships was the highlight and did not disappoint, as the riders covered 75 minutes of racing around the course, with two laps then left to decide the winner.
The pace was hot from the outset, with a small group breaking away to apply the pressure.
One rider suffered a mechanical issue, stopped and put his chain back then, joined the chasing group then set about creating another breakaway.
That small group remained in front until the finish, despite the main chasing group looking set to catch the front runners late in the lap count.
With just one lap to run it was clear the winner would come from the breakaway group and Lucas Hofman powered to the line, just ahead of Angus Miller, with Jason Thomason home in third place.
The Women’s Kermesse Championships was held over 50 minutes, plus two laps, again with a hot pace set early.
The majority of riders stuck together, with a fast sprint finish providing real excitment for onlookers.
In the sprint to the line Chelsea Holmes did enough to greet the chequered flag first, ahead of Dharlia Haines and Elizabeth Young.
The Junior riders kicked off proceedings, starting in different bunches depending on age groups, with the Under 17 group followed by the Under 15 males, Under 15 females and the Under 13 group.
Three riders broke away quickly in the Under 17 Kermesse, held over five laps and were able to maintain their advantage.
First across the line was William Mathwin, followed by Kalan Tucker and Jack Clark.
Leani Van Der Berg won the Under 17 female category.
In the Under 15 male race, also over five laps, William Brown soloed away to victory ahead of Liam Underwood and Angus Corbett.
Paige Squire won the Under 15 Female event, followed by Isobel Cranage and Lavinia Ward.
The Under 13 riders covered three laps of the Blue Lake course, with Maximus Moore claiming the win from Ryan Underwood and Thomas Brinkley.
For the girls, Freya Miller claimed the honours in front of Molly Opperman and Philippa Ward.
In the male support categories, E Grade went to Peter Grivell, from Chris Winter.
In D Grade James Kelly won ahead of Harry Opperman and Nathan Thomas.
In C Grade, a close bunch finish saw eight riders contest the final sprint.
100 Mile Classic winner Arturs Markovs won the sprint, closely followed by Alex Magarey and Robert Mann.
The B Grade was also a tight finish, with Andrew McCarthy edging out Angus Southerland and Patrick Shanahan for the victory.
The B Grade women’s race went to Sarah Dally, followed by Genevieve Zlatkovic and Emma Underwood.
