AFTER a brief hiatus from racing due to the Easter weekend and another weekend of low entry numbers, the ninth race of the Brew Coffee Bar Summer Series was held in surprisingly calm conditions at Tantanoola, rolling 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, with Martin Farmilo the first away, 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 back to 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, although it did increase before the race was completed.
Riders worked hard to try and lessen the gaps, with Parsons the first to find her group’s pace just a little too much.
The turn marshal decided the advertised turnaround mark was a little unsafe for the riders, so an extra kilometre was added to allow for a safer u-turn.
Farmilo was the first to arrive at the turnaround, but his lead had been shortened considerably, with Neave and McKenny less than three minutes behind.
Buckley and Waters had already caught up with Koopman and Andrae and were less than five minutes from the front of the race as they made the turnaround.
The group had already caught and passed Parsons just before the turn.
Buckley, Waters and Koopman were riding strongly, with Andrae the next to find their pace too strong, dropping off from the back of the group.
Farmilo was next to be caught by both groups, just as he was about to climb the hill that separated Tantanoola from Lake Bonney, with McKenny and Neave caught by the fastest riders soon after.
McKenny was able to jump on the back of the group and held on to them with five kilometres to race, but the pace proved too strong and he was unable to maintain the connection.
From that point it was 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, Buckley powered past Waters and Koopman to take the victory and fastest time honours.
The next race will be the Soldiers Memorial 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.
