IN a slight change to the planned event at the start of the series, the Mount Gambier Cycling Club returned to the familiar Caves Road course for Race 7 of the spring series.
A field of 13 riders signed on for the 30km event with line honours going to Elmer Buckland at its conclusion, who started the race from the third group of riders.
First off the start line was Jason Buckland, before Jen Buckland, Damian Buckley and Bruce McLaughlin set off six minutes later.
A further five-minute wait ensued before Elmer Buckland and Dean Zeven teamed up to begin their chase.
A large group, consisting of Niel van Niekerk, Jami Buckley, Craig Andrae, Malcolm Tirabassi, Matthew Opperman and Patrick Langsmith were next off the mark, another seven minutes behind.
Once again Nick Kidman was the back marker and he set off 30 seconds behind the large chasing group.
Speeds were high on the journey down to the turnaround marker, as riders enjoyed a tailwind for the first part of their ride.
Each of the groups worked hard, but the back riders still had over 5km of road to catch up to the leader at the turnaround.
Out in front the speed slowed considerably after the turnaround as riders found the wind in their faces.
The benefit of being in a group and taking turns to rest behind other riders, came to the fore in this part of the race, with the large group maintaining a strong pace.
With 10km to the finish, Elmer Buckland and Zeven had caught up to Damian Buckley, Jen Buckland and McLaughlin, with the latter two riders holding onto their wake as they passed.
With 8km to go, as they were passing Jason Buckland for the lead, Elmer Buckland decided to push the pace and see if he could solo away for the victory.
After being unable to hold his wheel, McLaughlin, Zeven and Jen Buckland worked together to try and drag him back into their reach.
Van Niekerk, Opperman, Andrae and Jami Buckley had also pulled away from their former companions and pushed hard to catch the riders in front.
As the finish line came into view, Elmer Buckland was able to hold off the challengers and win by approximately 300 metres over Zeven, followed by Jen Buckland and McLaughlin.
Van Niekerk, Opperman, Jami Buckley and Andrae closed in fast but just ran out of time to clinch a placing.
They were followed by Jason Buckland, Kidman, Langsmith, Damian Buckley, and Tirabassi.
The fastest time for the race went to van Niekerk.
This Sunday the club will host the postponed Bailey Memorial Race, which will be held as four laps of an 8.5km circuit around Kongorong for a race distance of approximately 34km.
Racing will start at the Kongorong Primary School at approximately 9.30am.
